Lots & Lots done

The Cauliflower is ready to pick. 
We will have Cauliflower Cheese for dinner soon.

Tomatoes doing well in the greenhouse. 

I'm managing to water them regularly as its so hot at the moment.

We have Cucumbers too.

Still lots of Peas, they are filling out nicely. 
We have had lots so far and still loads more to come.

All of the Cara potatoes are in flower, the Picasso, planted a week earlier havent flowered yet.

Last week I showed the Pheasant nest, so neatly arranged amongst the Broad Beans. 
But sadly a few days after, we found the nest had been raided and all the eggs gone, we are sure it was a Fox. 
So Jo continued clearing the Broad Beans and tying up any that weren't.

The Apple trees are laiden and the June drop has happened, so we are expecting a bigger harvest this year.

I cleared around the pond, pulling out lots of Ground Elder, Nettles and Comfrey. 
You can see it now & while I was pulling all those weeds I could hear the Frogs plopping into the water. 

So another great harvest, lots of fruit this time and the Blackcurrants are ready, so Jo picked a punnet full.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo.

It's clearing & harvesting time again!

 Last week these Borlotti Beans were 2/3 of the way up, now they are almost at the top, just a few more days and I'll nip the tops off, to allow the beans to form.

Ooh exciting we have the beginings of a Cauliflower, it's the first we have grown for a few years.

 The Peas are filling out nicely, we have had some already with our dinner, and there are loads more to come! 
I even ate a pod full myself they were so sweet. 

Had to take this photo, of all the Poppies, the yellow ones are California Poppies. 
It's the view from our rest spot while having a cuppa & lunch.

Another cracking harvest: Charlotte Potatoes, Peas, Broad Beans, Strawberries, Raspberries, Loganberries & Sweet Peas. 
A Turnip too was found while clearing weeds in the Broad Bean patch, a surprise too! 

So while Jo was weeding the Broad Beans, she disturbed a Pheasant that flew off, later on Jo unearthed a nest among the undergrowth with 7 eggs in it. 
So she stopped and re-covered the nest in the hope the Pheasant will return, I'm sure it will.

Anyway we got lots done, even had a bonfire to burn some of the weeds we have pulled out and dried, there are still plenty more weeds, so another bonfire will be needed!

The pond is here somewhere, it's a bit overgrown again and will need clearing next time we are down!

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo

A weekend of weeding & clearing! Picking crops too.

On Saturday, after clearing around the back of the plot, I harvested some Raspberries & lovely they are too. 
Also got some Strawberries. 

On Sunday Jo did loads of clearing around the plot, mostly pulling out nettles, ground elder and more! 
But these Strawberry beds needed a big clear out of weeds and look a lot better, straw addded to prevent mud splash.

I thought it would be a good idea to weeds the potato patches of horsetails, poppies & nettles.

I then earthed them up, might be the last time I get to do it as the main crops are getting bigger, must be all the rain we are having!

The peas are looking great, loads of pods, some with peas swelling, wont be long before we get the 1st harvest.

These beans are climbing the canes, almost 2/3 of the way up now. 
When they reach the top we will nip off the growing tip to stop them growing but will encourage the beans to grow.

With all the clearing, this cheeky Robin was getting lots of bugs we uncovered, this one wasn't frightened of us as it got so close to us.

Anyway, as you can see from this photo, it went very dark and rain was in the air, so we packed up and headed home, not long after it poured down! 

But before we left I did dig up some more Pentland Javelin & Foremost potatoes, Jo got some Rhubarb too.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo.

A few days between the showers

Sunday: We only visited our plot to do a bit of harvesting, as you can see it was a good haul. Rhubarb, Potatoes x2, Strawberries, Raspberries, Pak-Choi, Broad Beans and Salad leaves.

First early spuds dug up, first of many too. 
I wont dig them all up, as they store well left in the ground and will dig up as needed. These are Foremost (yes spelt wrong on my labels) also dug up some Pentland Javelin, to compare.

Wednesday: We noticed on Sunday that the path needed another trim, as the rain had made the grass and weeds grow! 

So fired up the petrol strimmer again and looks a lot better for it. 

Will do it again I'm sure.

As the Onions I planted last autumn are starting to go to seed its time to lift them and leave in the greenhouse to dry before storing.

Well its been a lovely day, lets hope summer is finally here.

Will return Sat/Sun to do more weeding & strimming.



Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo

Another 6 hours and lots done again!

We arrived around 9:30 on Sunday, because we had lots to do, first job cutting the grass path!

But before I started up my petrol strimmer, I pulled up all the Nettles & Mares Tails as any that I chop up, each tiny piece, can grow again, adding to our weed problem ! 

But after a quick cut it looks a lot better, I carried on until lunchtime and managed to trim all the paths. 

I cleared around all the raised beds too & infront of the greenhouse so we could put some outdoor Tomatoes there.

I also earthed up all the Potatoes again, Pentland Javelin, Foremost, Charlotte & Picasso, even the Cara I put in a few weeks ago have come through.

Jo planted Borecole, Kale & Pak-Choi here, so we protected the young plants with an extra wide netting tunnel. 
I made another cane wig-wam (without netting) for some Borlotti Beans that Jo planted, 1 per cane.

Jo also planted more Squashes, 1 Butternut & 2 Patti-Pan (yellow scallop).

As most of the Strawberries are in flower we made sure they were netted as birds will scoff any ripe fruit before we get to them!

After lunch, using the strimmer again, I tidied up the fruit cage, at least its a lot neater and we can get around more easily.

So now the path is finished, but will need another cut soon, as all the sun we have had has caused everything to grow fast, including the weeds!

We left around 3pm, shattered but happy we got so much done.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo 

Just a quick visit

Built another Pea wig-wam, the cardboard disc, helps get the structure even & stops weeds growing as the centre is difficult to reach when the Peas are fully grown and full of pods to pick.

The rain & sun has helped the Potatoes they are looking good & luckily no frost damage.

So while I was busy, Jo dug a bit more of this patch and planted 2 more Courgettes

The greenhouse: 
The Tomatoes & Cucumbers are doing well, Jo planted another Tomato in the corner.

The Pond: 
Can you see the Tadpoles in the shallow end warming in the sun ? There are 2 frogs keeping guard too, you cant see much of them except the tip of a nose now and again, breaking the surface of the water.
Its difficult getting a photo due to reflections etc. 

More Rhubarb, its getting to be a regular crop at the moment. 
6.5lb this time, 12lb so far this year! Plus about 10lb we donated to a local spring fair, it all sold, 4 stalks for £1.

Anyway, yes just a quick visit, had to leave at 2pm. Shame as its been a lovely sunny day today, long may it last.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo

Another 6 hours done on our plot

No we didn't start with a tea break and home made cake.  

Thought this would make a good title page, in fact we had this break later in the afternoon, after we had done all the hard work, read on........

The last of the chitted spuds, 'Cara' main crop, ready to go in.

Not the straightest trench, but it will do, I planted 36 spuds, 4 rows, 9 in each. Each row 30" apart, each spud 15" between in the bottom of trench then back filled with the soil dug out.

Yes another bonfire, but we have so many weeds that we have dug up & some rotten wood, so better to burn it and return the ash to the soil.

In this patch that Jo cleared, she planted some more Beetroot in a block, behind that 2 wigwams covered in netting and about 20 Peas planted around each.

Jo planted 2 Cougettes & a Squash in this patch, we both cleared this earlier and it was full of ground elder, nettles and horsetail, so it all went on the bonfire!

With all the rain & sun we have had, everything is growing fast, the Broad Beans have almost doubled in size !

So yes, another 6 hours, but a very satisfying 6 hours, we got lots done, even cleared a patch we though we might not get to use this year.

And finally, the 4 rows of Cara spuds planted, I realised its about 3 weeks earlier this year as I found one of my laminated labels from last year with the date on.

Thanks for reading/retrurning. Ian & Jo