Ding dong merrily on high!

     Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

     Christmas is all but here! Still lots to do in the garden but other stuff has taken priority! More stones moved, still more to move! Man! It has been raining heavily again this last week although i did manage to trim the grass a little (I like zapping about on the ride on if the truth be known!). I did get round to uncovering my swede patch and weeding it. I should get a few on the small side swedes but hey one is better than none! I checked the sprouts and yes I going to have home grown sprouts and hopefully a couple of parsnips for Christmas dinner! Other than that chicken coops were cleaned out and a few soft eggs have been laid. Hens coming to point of lay or just lacking calcium? I will make sure there is oyster shell in their feed and see what happens.

    So it is quite possible that there will not be a blog next Sunday as I do not see anything being done in the garden at all this next week. Ho! Ho! Ho! Oh, there is snow forecast for Christmas day! 

   Take care and be safe all of you!

Taken from my front door step 0827hrs 191220

And so it continues...

    The wet and cold weather continue. Nothing has been done in the garden this week. Too wet by far. Next week does not look good either but maybe between showers?? Hopefully they will not been long or heavy. Some play time on the ride on mower gather up leaves and also spreading chicken dirty chicken bedding on next years brassica patch.

 

Heavy rain overnight filled the ponds

Broad beans

Cold and wet

 

Moss curled parsly patch

   It always seems the weather is a matter for discussion amongst gardeners. Come drought, flood or pestilence. Meteorological winter started on the 1st December and the shortest day is, what, some three weeks away (21st December). Christmas is on ones mind and so Christmas trees and carols, turkey and ham start to become more prevelent in ones thoughts! LOL!

  In the garden? Well, not a lot. Forked and weeded the other half of the bed that has sprouting broad beans and sowed with broad beans. More stones moved for the path at the bottom of the bulb bank but by golly there is a lot to move to somewhere!

  Oh yes there is plenty to do but cold and dank conditions outside and a warm fire inside? Umm. Sometimes warmth inside overcomes the desire to get stuff done outside. Hot chocolate....umm. Must be getting old. No, to be fair, the soil is too wet to do anything with to be honest.

  Chickens are being chickens and the rivilary between the cockerals have been facing up to each other. The eldest, Mr. Chick is holding his own and the middle Maran cockeral keeps trying his luck. At one time he had succeeded in getting the newest hens away from Mr. Chick but they decided they preferred Mr. Chick. The youngest cockeral, another Maran, dashes in and chases a hen whenever he can! Egg laying is still on the low side, two to three eggs a day. Enough to keep us going for now.

And the result is.....

 The last week has been spent getting the bulb bank bed prepared and bulbs planted. Yes, the bulbs arrived on the 24th November! I marked out the bed and set to! At the end of planting the three hundred and fifty bulbs (Dutchmaster,bottom left, Fortune, bottom right and mixed spicies narcissi) I was left with a big pile of stones of various sizes and no edge to the bottom of my bulb bank bed. I decided to raise a one stone wall and created a broken stone path at the bottom (see photo). The allowed me to edge the bulb bank bed and give me another foot width along the bottom of the bank to put bulbs in that I had dug up while clearing the space.(see photo). So, it is now pretty much done. Some tidying up to do and what the heck do I do with a pile of stones? Oh, I did do a bit of vegetable gardening. In my poly tunnel I have been transplanting Sanquine beetroot plants. I am hoping that the seedlings will be ok for next spring.

Path taking shape

Stone pile shrinks a litte...

Creating the bulb bed

     Should I have started doing this I wonder to myself? The bank I cleared of brambles is now being turned into an area to allow me to plant bulbs. Nice idea. Outside the front of the house will look very pretty come spring, however, (always a however) once I started work I did begin to think ths is a silly idea! I uncovered a fallen wall and have been removing stones ever since! Been at it for four days (well, no whole days) and still probably two days (four to six hours) still to go! Man!

After Day 4

After Day 1

    So what else has been going on? In my enthusiasm and having discovered under the brambles a forgotten cut down tree (smallish one I hasten to add) I have created another Huglekultur bed. Photos below. The over winder broad beans are now showing so thats good! Chickens are being chickens and it looks like they are starting to lay a little better. Getting four eggs almost every other day now. I do not expect things to get better until the days get longer.

Huglekultur bed being filled

Completed Huglekultur bed

CONTINUING TO RECLAIM

     The weather continues to be kind. Mild, bit of sun, no rain. Ideal for working out in the garden. So I have undertaken to reclaim the bank that is just outside the front of my house. Over the last couple of years it has been left to do its own thing that being growing brambles! One or two reasonable pickings of black berries ensued but really why did I let them get out of control? Anyway the last week has been spent making good use of a pair of secateurs, a heavy duty hoe, fork and barrow! 

The START

Almost the END!

   The last of the outdoor lettuce has been pulled. Once again I planted out plants with the hope that they might do something and again I have been surprised that the chance I took paid off. The weather has been mild to date with only one or two frosts and those not severe. Anyway all spring/summer vegetables are now picked or pulled and cleared. Only winter stuff in the ground now...leeks, sprouts, purple sprouting, swede. 

   The chickens are being chickens at this time of year and are not laying well. They do not like short days of daylight. Of course it also did not help that most went into moult too! Hopefully in the not too distant future I will be saying that I have too many eggs!

BED RECOVERY

       For some time I have been considering digging up my lavender bed. The bushes are old and unkempt to be kind to them. They have served their purpose in proving lavender for my son in laws business (now defunct) and are just taking up space and looking very untidy. So I have set too and recovered the bed. My plan is to plant sweet peppers in it next year. At the moment there are some late sowing Touchen carrots at one end but they will be gone soon. As always I have a two legged feathered helper....

Top end of old lavender bed

Bottom end of old lavender bed

   I have discovered a few onions that were missed when I harvested them and have put up some good growth. I have moved those and added to the new onion bed some separated Egyptian (walking) onions. My intention is to do away with the old Egyptian onion bed as it has been in situ for a number of years and the adult plants are in need of being split up. All these onions should be ok over the winter but hey nothing ventured nothing gained. A couple of lettuce pulled this week. There are a few left and to be honest they need to be eaten!

  Chickens are being chickens and the newbies on the block, a couple of Brahma crosses, have started to lay. Still only two or three eggs a day but that is enough for us for now.

Blue gray eggs are the new Brahma cross hen eggs

Slow, quick quick slow....

     My local argricultural merchant who usually has garlic bulbs left over has this year sold out! I am hoping with fingers crossed they they get some more in. Still a couple of weeks left to get some planted so I will wait but will plant some of last years just in case. I have found that previouis years bulbs do not do as well but hey at the end of the day beggers cannot be choosers!

    So that have I been upto this last week? Pulled a couple of Batavia Blonde lettuce which despite all have done well. I still have a few in the ground but they need eating up really! Lettuce soup? I have decided that my lavender bushes are no longer fit for purpose and I have cut them down with the intend of digging up the bushes and reverting the bed back to vegetable growing, probably pototoes next year. As always some forking and weeding which allowed me to remove "rogue" onions from another bed. These were ones from last winters experiment of growing onions over winter which I decided was not a particular success. They must have been small ones that I missed when harvesting the others! Oh well half a dozen onions to over winter. Why not? In the poly tunnel my bed of Champeau Sanquine beetroot (Champeau because they are seed gathered in my garden and not bought) has decided to germinate! Man! So I am transplanting them within the poly tunnel which is currently pretty much empty. They will tolerate low temperatures and given a bit of protection from the elements I should get a decent crop of beetroot next spring. My small no dig bed of strawberries is looking good and I even picked one strawberry! Ha! I had feared that my moss curled parsley bed would not be any good this year but I have been proven wrong. The plants have survived and are thriving. On the 31st October  I am still mowing the grass! Out and about on the ride on mowing away. Will it be the last cut of the year? Probably not if it stays mild.

  Chickens are being chickens and at this time of year the number of eggs I am getting every day is low. Some are in moult and others I think have decided that the short amount of daylight is enough to put them off! Of course some are still youngsters and I have found with the hens that are more of a pure breed they do not come into lay until quite a bit later than what one would expect (usually around sixteen weeks). Oh well next spring I will be writing that I have so many eggs I will not know what to do with them!

Moss curled parsly patch

Full moon on Halloween 311020

Almost but not quite

   Yes! I have managed to clear the tomatoes and pepare and sow half a bed of broad beans (variety De Seville a longue cosse). The plan is to sow the other half of the bed probably in the middle of November the idea being to get some sort of succession come the spring. All the best laid plans of mice and men come to mind.

Broad bean bed

    A local english friend has given me some Elephant garlic and I have planted the bulbs. I have not yet been able to source my usual garlic, Violet, yet but there is still plenty of time. 

  With a little sadness but not before time I have cut down my lavander plants with a mind to remove them. They were well past their best and the oringinal purpose of planting them has now gone. So, another veg bed? Umm! Do I have ago at growing sweet peppers again? Maybe.

On the weather front there has been a frost! First one in my patch of the woods and that did for the tomatoes. Shame really as a few more days would have seen a lot of tomatoes getting to the point where I could have put them in brown paper bags to ripen. 

  On the chicken front nothing new. Coops cleaned out and the removed bedding added to that already spread on what will be next years brassica bed.

   Suddenly the trees have turned golden. I guess that was the frost that finally convinced the trees autumn had arrived. They are a very pretty site.

All the signs

    Well all the signs that autumn is firmly here in la Creuse are now showing. Mushrooms in the field, the Grue (common crane) are flying over on their way to their winter migration sites, leaves falling, shorter days.

   In the garden not much has been achieved. Seems to be the usual statement over the last few weeks. Drizzle and short, on the cold side, days do not make one feel like getting into the garden. Oh yes there is lots to do. The weather forecast for the coming week is very promising and I have in mind (I do not say tplanned!) to sow broad beans and plant garlic. Watch out for next weeks report!! The last summer cabbage has been cut and I managed to pick a few more tomatoes and pull some carrots. The tomatoes are now all but done and I do not think I will get anymore ripe ones although I will leave them for another week as the weather is going to be sunny and warm.

Autumn marches on

   Autumn is getting itself established! The wood burner has been lit several times now and the weather is settling down to periods of showers and colder average temperatures. There is the odd day of warmth, one day this week it went up to 18 degrees centigrade, but mostly the day time temperatures are around 10 to 12 degress. The lower temperatures and damper conditions do please the winter crops. The Brussels sprouts, the early purple sprouting, the swedes and leeks are all now looking good much to my pleasure and delight after a period of heat and drought that made me think I was going to loose the lot! Also the cooler weather over the last couple of weeks has allowed more tomatoes to ripen and I have harvested more than I thought I would. Also much to my surpise I have been able to pull some outdoor lettuce that has survived the drought. They are small but are edible. So as always lots of jobs to do which probably will not get done and it is getting close to the time to consider planting out the garlic. Chickens are mostly in moult so egg laying is down but enough are being laid for my consumtion. 

Brussels Sprout plant

Winter brassica bed

Tomato report

   Well I guess I need to be grateful to have got a reasonable crop of tomatoes this year. My Champeau Jens Orange have done well, followed by Champeau Gardeners Delight, followed by Champeau Noire Crimee and then my Champeau french heritage varities (Champeau Andine Cornue, Champeau Poitron). The Champeau Noire Crimee were a little small but plenty of them. All prefixed "Champeau" because the seed was gathered from plants grown in my garden. I am still hopefull for a few more large ripe toms but it will depend on whether or not the weather stays on the warm side a for week or two yet. So far 12.5kgs of mixed tomatoes. Once more I have gathered tomato seed for next year. I have to say the tomatoes are tasting good! The last Black Mountain water melon has been picked and it is a big one! The weather has turned cold, wet and windy! It looks like I will get two butternut sqashes where I had thought I would get none due to late planting. It will soon be time to get the Giant Pacific pumpkin in but as the plant has not died yet I am leaving it. Some plants have enjoyed the cooler and wetter conditions. The swede have picked up and I am hopeful of getting something. The winter brassicas are looking good. I have even had to light the wood burner in my front room which over the last couple of years has not been lit at all! The woodman has turned up an delivered his 12 cubic metres of cut wood which I managed to move and stack this lot off my drive in record time this year. So, that means a load of wood ash next spring for the garden.

One extreme to another

    What can I say? The weather, always a big factor in the garden, has gone from heat and drought to cold, heavy rain, hail, thunder and well, just very wet! The rain is welcome and will help to rescue my winter veg I am sure, particularly the swede which was really looking like it was on its last legs. The poly tunnel has been a disappointmen this year I can only think that it really needs a good clear out, clean and as it were resetting. Oh well another job to do before next spring. I have decided to return to planting strawberries. To that end I am experimenting with "no dig". This a bed made on top off soil that has not been dug in any way. The photo shows the start of my no dig bed. Layer of cardboard, layer of nettles, layer of horse manure topped off with old potting compost. Into this I will plant Mara des Bois strawberries. I am sure I grew these a few years ago and I remember as being a very nice strawberry. 

First no dig bed 

  
  Looking back at the log this week there does not seem to have been much done! I have picked mixed tomatoes and the tomato crop is proving to be reasonable although not the best I have ever had. I gathered moss curled parsley and coriander seed from the poly tunnel and I am now well set up for those varities. The squash crop has been harvested again reasonable but not massive. I am sure they will do us just fine. The Giant Pacific pumpkin is still out there and will remain so until the plant dies completely. It is destined for the grand children to carve for holloween.

New kids on the block

  On the chicken front it looks like egg production is picking up! The photo shows the three new hens that have joined Mr. Chicks flock. They are now over sixteen weeks old and should start laying soon. No more losses to Mr. Fox thank goodness. There are four more chicks to reach maturity, one is a cockerel and will more than likely head for the freezer The other hens will join the current flocks.

Return to warmth and drought!

    I have returned from just over two weeks in the UK. The weather here in my patch of France has been very different to what I have experienced in the north of England (wind, clould, cool, rain)! The weather here in la Creuse has remained very much hot and sunny and the garden continues to suffer. I fear for my winter vegetables (sprouts, early purple sprouting, leeks) that had had a respite just before I left of a bit of rain. They now look very sad indeed. Coming bck to publish this blog I have to report that it has rained! Not a lot but some and it has gone cooler. 

    On a brighter front my Black Mountain water melons have again provided a number of good sized fruit and they are delicious! I am now waiting for the squash plants to finally die off before harvesting a reasonable crop. The tomatoes are still giving a reasonable number of ripe fruit and some are only starting to look like they are suffering from lack of water. Finally gave up on the summer cabbage patch. I cut those that might be edible and pulled the rest and put them on the compost heap. At the end of the day I managed to get something out of them despite the weather. 

  Chickens are being chickens and a good number are in moult and egg production is well down.

Black Mountain Water Melon

Potato report 2020 and the rest too...

   Herebe the potato report for 2020 (figures are rounded up to the nearest whole kilogram):

1st Earlies AGATA: 22kgs (1.5kg seed potatoes)

2nd Earlies DOLWEEN: 14kgs (1kg seed potatoes)

MAIN CROP DESIREE: 60kgs (5kg seed potatoes)

   So is it a good year? Bad year? Indefferent year? I think a good year but not in anyway spectactular! Looking back at last year the yield is about the same though this year my weighing has been more accurate! Lol! The Desiree potatoes having been in the ground the longest suffered from beetle grub attack and I guess a good seven or eight kilograms were spoiled by the grubs or my skewing them with my fork when lifting. Anyway just as many into storage as last year so I am not complaining.

Rainbow over Champeau

   I hear you ask "What has a rainbow to do with gardening?" "Nothing I reply. It just pretty and I was there when it happened!

   So what has happened in the past week or so? Not a lot. My main energy effort has gone into lifting the Desiree main crop potatoes, sorting and packing into hessian sacks. That task is now complete. Dug up a few carrots and the back end of the haricot verte. On the chicken front another chick has been lost this time from the middle group. Cause unknown. Mrs. Buffycross has three chicks left from six. We suspect that one of the dogs killed the other three. All five hens from the first group have now been removed to the main group with Mr. Chick. He will exhaust himself I suspect!! Lol! That leaves three cockerels which are destined for the freezer come next Tuesday. Egg production is low, two to three a day but the hens are heading into a molt.

   It is unlikely I will produce a blog over the next three weeks as I am going to the UK to visit my youngest daugter and give her a helping hand as her baby is due anytime now!

Relief!

    Some relief in the hot weather. Rain has arrived. Not a massive emount but at least it is cooler. There is cloud cover and since the down pour some showers. Every drop helps. Certainly it is noticable that plants have perked up. Will it be too little too late? Time will tell.

Blacktail Mountain water melon

    So what has been going on over the last week. Looking back at the log not a lot it would seem. Gathered some beetroot seed, cut a very sorry looking cabbage and finished digging up the Dolween potatoes. Big job to do now is to harvest the Desiree potatoes for winter storage. Desiree potatoes in the poly tunnel dug up. A very good crop of large and clean potatoes. I will certainly be planting some in the poly tunnel next year. Cucumbers have stopped for now but hopefully there will be few more. Onions are now all out of the ground and are hanging up drying off before being put into winter storage. The tomatoes are doing ok, Gardeners Delight and Jens Orange are doing very well this year. Champeau Sanquine beetroot sown in the poly tunnel in an effort to get some beetroot. The chickens destroyed the ones I have planted and sown outside the poly tunnel. The chickens have really taken a fancy to the Noire Crimee which is a shame because they are the nicest! The chickens seem to get confused by the orange colour of the tomatoes and leave them alone. More haricot vert sown in the effort to get a late autumn crop.

   On the chicken front all is good. Getting close to the time to cull some and put them in the freezer. Mrs Buffycross and her six chicks continue to survive!! Spoke too soon. Three killed by I believe Barny dog. Egg production is poor, generally two or three a day. I put it down to the hot weather.

   So as always plenty to do!

Disappointment, surprise and some joy!

    I have been disappointed by my Red Sun shallot crop which is on the small size this year. Probably did not help that the chickens destroyed half a dozen sets soon after planting. Also I have had to harvest them early due to the drought. Oh well not so many pickled onions this year! Also I have been disappointed by my summer brassica crop. From looking very good in the spring they have now turned into virtually crispy cabbage with the lack of rain and the high temperatures. I may get some but I have my doubts.

   The surprise has been my cucumbers, variety Tamra and Marketmore. They have done really well outside of the poly tunnel. I was not expecting to get such a good result with them. I guess the weather has helped. Hot! Hot! Hot! Just got to keep watering!!

  The joy is with my Black Mountain water melons. They are coming along nicely and as long as I can continue to water them they should turn out well. The other joy is my Giant Pacific pumpkin and giant it is! Hopefully it will survive the drought and ripen.

  So what has been down in the heat of the day? Not a lot! I am watering the water melons, cucumbers, Giant Pacific pumpkins, lettuce and courgettes. Everything else has to take its chance and I am afraid that I will loose my winter brassicas (Early Purple sprouting, sprouts).

Picked mixed tomatoes, dug up potatoes, cut cucumbers and picked haricot vert. Need to start digging up the Desiree potatoes and dry off and store. That is going to be a labour of love! LOL!

  On the chicken front all continue to survive and the chicks (there are three lots!) are doing well. It will not be long before some head for the freezer.

   The weather continues to be hot, hot, hot with no sign of rain until next weekend if we are lucky.

Giant Pacific pumkin

Squash

Mrs Buffycross and her chicks

Gasp!

    The sun continues to shine, the ground gets drier and harder, the vegetables suffer! It has been a hot week. Temperatures reached the upper thirty degree celcius. Short term these temperatures are not so bad but the average over the last two or three weeks has been in the thirties and is not good. In my department, la Creue, a code red, a drought situation, has been declared. Great care to be taken with the use of water. My water butts are all but empty and I am now only watering the water melons, cucumbers, lettuce and Giant Pacific pumpkins. Everything else has to take its chance. My brassicas are suffering!

    Winter leeks have been planted but they will not like the dry weather thats for sure. Cucumbers and courgettes being picked and I have started to harvest the Sturon onions as the leaves die back. The onion crop is good with good sized bulbs but nothing to big or too small. I am very pleased with the onion crop. Haricot vert being picked. Not as much as I would have liked to see but it was a struggle to get them to germinate in the first place! I have started to pick tomatoes mostly Champeau Gardeners Delight (grape variety) which are doing well compared to the Champeau heritage varieties. Cucumbers are good but the chickens have found them! My Giant Pacific pumpking continues to grow and it looks like it is going to be a monster.

    The chickens are on strike. Only two eggs a day rather than fiver or six. I do not blame them Too hot! Chicks are growing well and it will not be long before some end up in the freezer.

    There is no sign of any rain in the forecast. A dip to low 20's and then back up into the mid 30's. Need to make sure there is beer in the fridge. It is going to be a scorcher.

Courgettes and cucumbers 

Black Mountain Water Melon

Haricot vert and Sturon onions

Gardeners are good at nurturing, and they have a great quality of patience, they're tender. They have to be persistent.

    The title for this weeks blog is a quote from Ralph Fiennes. Seems appropriate.

The sun has got his hat on! Hip! Hip! Hip! Horray! Well that was fine a couple of weeks ago but now not so. Water restrictions are in place and the river that runs along my property boundary is low although looking back a couple of years not was low as it was then. Still a couple of years of not enough rainfall, drying winds give cause for a water shortage. I still have water in my water butts and in my one thousand litre water container but it is getting low.

   Cutting, pulling, picking, gathering, digging all being done this week. Carrots, courgettes, cucumbers, potatoes, the odd tomato, onions and lettuce. Coriander, parsnip and moss curled parsly seeds all gathered and put into little labelled bags for next year. Not only harvesting but also planting done. Plants bought from the local market, leeks and Batavia Blonde lettuce, have been planted out. A few beetroot seedlings transplanted in the poly tunnel and some moss curled parsly also spaced out in the poly tunnel. Beetroot has been a disappointment this year with very few plants managing to avoid the chickens to be planted out. The first Blacktail Mountain water melons have appeared. That is good. They have four to eight weeks to grow. I grew bush courgettes this year not really knowing what they would be like. They are producing small but very nice tasting courgettes and being a non hybrid variety a number are strange shapes! 

    So there we go. A busy week but hey ho as always plenty to do and the sun keeps beating on. Beer, pass the beer....

1st Tamra cucumber

Blacktail Mountain water melon

Sun, sun and a little rain

Giant Pacific pumpking 130720

      The week has started well. Sun is shinning and its not too hot. Looks like a little rain to come mid week. The Giant Pacific pumpking is swelling up nicely and I will publish regular updates on its progress. Last measurement made it 25cm long and 25cm diameter (bigger that the picture!). I am expecting to see ripe tomatoes any day now. There does not seem to be many at this point in time but they are mostly heritage varities and home gathered seed too.

     Mowing grass is now too much fun! The ride on is saving me time and energy. Makes me wonder why I did not buy one before now.

   I am starting to harvest the over winter onions. I guess they are about three to four weeks earlier than the spring sown ones but i am not so sure that it is really worth while doing again. Started to gather parsnip and moss curled parsely seed.The beetroot is not yet in flower but is close. Started to dig up variety DOWLEEN potatoes (a spud from Brittany) and they do have a distinctive taste compared to the AGATA variety.

Row of tomatoes

Grasshopper

Grasshopper

   Friend of foe? This large grasshopper was spied on a water butt.

   Ok got some jobs done this last week despite the high temperatures (31C one day!). Dug up the last of the AGATA potatoes. I have been pleased with this variety and now eargerly wait to see what the DOLWEEN Brittany potatoes produce. Tied up tomatoes which are starting to recover from the hail storm the other week. The last of the tomato plants have been planted out. These may be more of a hope than anything and may not have time to reach maturity. One never knows! 

   Having a grand old time with new ride on mower. Lots of grass cutting done and I have even managed to mow a small field! (the proper term is topping). More lettuce transplanted along with the remain three replacement Marketmore cucumbers. Again these might produce something. I have had to cover up my swedes as the chickens have taken a fancy to them and destroyed a row. That bed is one of the chickens favourite dust bath areas. I have harvested the banana shallots as the leaves were pretty much dead and I need the bed for winter leeks. A resonable crop, just about three and a halve kilos of shallots. The Giant Pacific pumpkins are spreading over the garden and there are a number of pumkings set. Hopefully they will grow big!

   On the chicken front Mrs Buffycross is sitting tight despite the hot weather. Her previous brood are growing fast especially the coqs of which there are four. They are over eight weeks old.

Banana shallot crop

Giant Pacific Pumpkin

Where did that week go?

   Ok I have no excuse, not even the weather! Not a lot done this week. Cannot figure out why other that maybe a beer to many one day? Naaw surely not. Anyway little done in the garden and weeds keep growing. So what little did I do? Cut grass. Weeded. Transplanted some moss curled parsly and gathered some ealry purple sprouting seeds. Tomatoes tided up and shoots removed.

    Big event at Watermeadows. The ride on lawn mower arrived! My eldest grandson was a great help in putting it together and after a mis-start (we did not think we had to put the cut grass cutter on but you do!) the machine is up and running and I now have a ride on lawn mower shared with my next door neighbour.

Ride on lawn mower being unpacked

   Another event has been the arrival of chicks. Six hatched out of twelve and are doing well. The chickens are being their destructive self and are having a go at my tomatoes and dust bathing amongst my swedes!! Time to put up some protection.

   I guess I need to get the old nose to the grindstone before the weeds take over. Onwards and upwards!

HARVEST

    It is now the end of June and we have tipped over into now moving towards autumn (summer soltice was the 22nd June the days are starting to get shorter!). Harvest in the garden is well underway. Lots of new potatoes, some beetroot, some peas, some carrots, some lettuce, some radish and the promise of plenty to come. I have sowed some winter cabbage seed (Hope and Gorly of Enkhuisen) with fingers crossed for plants to put out later in the summer for the winter. Of course the usual tasks of weeding and mowing grass!

Bush courgette Verde Di Milano

Garlic crop Violet

   Every had that feeling that you spoke too soon? Well that has happend this week. Everything in the garden has been looking good. So what happens? The weather. A couple of hot and sultry days meant more thunder and lightning with heavy rain. Late night/early morning 26/27th June 2020 the heavens opened! Very heavy rain with lots of thunder, wind and a delightful light show of lightning. The result. Damaged plants. Undoubtedly they will recover but it is very sad to see lovely plants shredded and broken.