Zooooooooooooooom!

   It has been a week of drama! One of our ewes lost her lamb through spontaneous abortion. She is well though. Our matriarch ewe, Mrs. Sheep, has finally had her now confirmed ewe lamb and both are doing well. Of course she had to wait until the weather turned wet and cold didn't she! 

   Today, Sunday, 23rd March, a pair of pet dogs got into the grounds and attacked the chickens. We lost five, one being Little Chick who had been raised from an egg. A call to the gendarmes and eventually the owners called to collect them. Compensation pending. 

   In the garden lots of transplanting going on including Little Gem and salad bowl lettuce, more Aubergines and Ethel Watkins best tomatoes (both own seed and bought). At last the field beans have flowers on them! There are now more pea pods in the poly tunnel and the Louvier cabbage in there is growing as you watch it!

Bay Tree flowers

 The Bay tree, currently living in the poly tunnel, has loads of flowers on it. Also in the poly tunnel fleece cloche seeds are stirring. I will soon been having to transplant more tomato varieties.

  In an effort to try to get at least some sweet peppers I have sown more seed of one I grew last year, California Wonder, in to modules, however, I suspect it is too late! I have also sown in modules a first sowing of Sanguire beetroot. An experiment this year is to try to grown asparagus from gathered seed. If it works any return from them will be at least three to four years away!

  In the outside garden the rhubarb is all but ready to pick. I have been preparing beds for the peas being grown in seed trays in the poly tunnel. They germinated within three days of sowing and are supposed to be transplanted outside when they are about two inches high. I reckon they are about a quarter of the way there.

Louvier cabbage in the poly tunnel, Little Gem to the right!

   More tidying up done. Edges straightened and the drive cleared of some overgrown grass and now it has rained again which can only mean the grass growing faster and me having to get the mower out! Hey ho! 

Sun! Wonderful SUN...

   Finally a good number of days without rain. The ground is drying out slowly. Downside of having clear sunny days is early morning ground frost. So far not severe. The other down side is the grass! Its growing as you look at it. I have started mowing. Seems like only yesterday that I was mowing grass. My red onion sets and shallots have leaves and my narcissi bank is looking a picture of bright yellow. A real delight. 

Narcissi bank bed

No flowers yet on the field beans! In the poly tunnel my peas have flowers and pea pods forming! Shame that there are not that many. 

Garden view from the Narcissi bed

   I have finally got round to sorting out the grape vine growing up the back of the barn reattaching vine and pruning the dead wood. The two peach trees that are there now have open blossom. 
   In the poly tunnel I have sowed a small row of radish and in modules some Brussels sprouts. Here we go again! Once more I am trying to grow sprouts. I have sowed Latvian pea soup peas in modules and a dwarf variety called Oskar in a full size seed tray. This is to try to beat the mice and birds by germinating the peas in the relative safety of the poly tunnel! This worked quite well last year for the early peas.  I have made the first sowing of carrots outside putting them under a cloche to try to aid germination as really the soil is still a little cold for seed. I have started to tidy up the perennial beds at least by re-establishing the edges. These plants are amazing at how much they grow every year.
   I am continuing to split wood down by the river but there is not a lot left to do. There are a few piles of split logs to bring up to the wood hanger usually one barrow full a day. It is a fair ole haul from the river bank to the wood hanger.

Darn grass!

   It is only a matter of days now and I will start mowing the grass once more. It is looking very green and it is most definitely growing. Pooh!
   I have spent a lot of time over the last week down at the river bank splitting  logs. Our wood pile is all but depleted and we have at least six to eight weeks before once can stop lighting the wood burners. As it is I am  going to have to buy another three chords. Whatever is left will be a start for this autumn.

Growing split wood pile

   In the poly tunnel I have transplanted 100 Roma tomato seedlings to pots and placed them in a fleece cloche. Other germinated seedlings in the poly tunnel are Moss Curled parsley, early Louvier and Golden Primo cabbage. I have transplanted some Little Gem lettuce and there a few peas in flower! The coriander is still looking good as are the winter leaves. The Kohl Rabi is now past its best. My early potatoes are hanging in there!
   Up at the  house I have Ethel Watkins Best tomato's up, both my own gathered seed which is very pleasing and bought seed. I also have cauliflowers, aubergines, tree onions, a few Spanish onions and  celeriac all growing away.
   In the vegetable plots I have just planted Jerusalem artichokes. I have once again started to fork the beds but in all honesty in parts the soil is just too wet. I have spring onions germinated under a cloche and every day you can see the rhubarb increasing in size.
  Here in la Creuse we have hit a sunny period and it looks good for a few days. Hopefully that will be enough time to dry out and warm up the soil. I now need to look to see what to sow next in modules, seed trays or pots.