SUN, more SUN, yet more SUN

     When it rains one wants sun, when its sunny one wants rain! Such is the desires of a gardener! Lol!  Lots of sun in la Creuse at the moment. There was a thunder and lightening storm with hail stones this last week but it missed us and there was just a few patters of rain. Not enough to make any difference or fill up the water butts!

    

Alouette 1st early potatoes

Italian herb Stridolo Sculpit Silene Inflata

First pick of Aquadulce broad beans

   It has been a busy week! Dug up some BF-15 and Desiree "volunteer" potatoes which means that I have not bought potatoes for over a year! First time ever! Finally got round to weeding the poly tunnel and transplanted some beetroot that had self seeded. Lots of weeding done this week in an effort to overtake the rapid growth of stuff! Hopefully weeds and grass will now slow down with the onset of the sunnier weather. Gone to seed lettuce pulled and given to the chickens. The first broad beans picked. Some Hopi cabbage grown from seed transplanted to the brassica bed. Butternut squash seedlings translanted but I fear that the sun will kill them off. We will see. Picked around three quarters of a kilo of Mari de Bois strawberries and transplanted some Suyo Long cucumbers to an outside the poly tunnel bed.

   Two hens have gone broody which means my daily egg production has dropped by fifty per cent! No point in them trying to hatch eggs as I no longer have a cockeral! Daily average of 2.85 eggs a day.

FORK AND WEEK FORK AND WEED

     Lots of forking and weeding this last week. Trying to get ground ready for transplanting butternut squash and cucumbers. Maybe wishing for sunshine was not a good idea as daily temperatures have been on the high side. Of course the usual mowing of grass! Produce has started to be picked and pulled. Lettuce, first lot of broad beans and some "volunteer" potatoes (Desiree and BF-15). These are potatoes grown from ones I failed to dig up last year. Not unusual to get a few but I must have missed quite a few from what I can see coming up in the previous years potato plots!

    Chickens are being chickens. Unfortunately I have lost my cockerel and a hen to probably a fox. The remaining hens are being kept shut up for now. They are not impressed. Average daily lay of 5.4, slightly down on last week.

Flowering onions with bees

First pick of broad beans

Somtimes one wishes come true

     Yep, my blog title last week was "Give me sunshine" and sure enough the sun has shone all week and the temperature has crepted up as the week as progressed.

    

Broad beans coming along

Weeded and remulched strawberry bed

   So it has been a busy week getting the outside garden looking at least tidy. With my house now on the market I need to try to make it look attractive! So, clearing weeds etc at the front of the house and around my well, mowing grass (never ends this time of year!) and clearing brambles and mowing a path to get access to the river done. One major job done which was to weed and remulch the strawberry bed. Lots of flowers so I am hopeful for some strawberries at some point. I did pull a couple of lettuces from the poly tunnel!  The radish sown in the poly tunnel look very poor unfortunately. I am not starting to get concerned over the lack of rain and the forecast does not look good. Still, plenty of work to do particularly getting the plot ready for the butternut squash plants.

   Chickens are doing well and I guess they are enjoying the sun and of course the longer day light hours. An average of six eggs a day this last week, up on last week. I have 10 laying hens so most days I am getting 7 eggs.

Give me sunshine

       The sun has been out a lot this last week. Very pleasent temperatures and quite nice riding around mowing grass!!

   Despite spending a lot ot time mowing grass a number of other jobs have been completed. Golden Bantam sweet corn sown in an outside the poly tunnel plot but they could do with some rain. Tomato plants transplanted and to be honest they are not up to much at the moment but hey given time, given time. Given the rise in temperature and that shinning thing in the sky making a daily appearance I have sowed Blacktail Mountain water melon and 5 Dessert melon seeds in pots and placed in the poly tunnel fleece cloche. Hopefully the temperature will remain high enough in the poly tunnel to germinate them. Also sown in pots two new varities of cucumber, Suyo Long and Tamra (a rare heritage variety so I am going to take good care of these and try to make sure I get some seed) and the good old stand by Marketmore. First lettuce of the season pulled and asparagus spurs cut. Early and second early spuds are up but no sign of beans on the broad bean plants yet. Plenty of work to do!!

   Chickens are being chickens being throughly spoilt with handfuls of black sunflower seeds. Average daily egg production is up, 4.6 per day and a couple of days of seven per day (I have ten laying hens). 

   

First asparagus spurs with toast and boiled egg.

    

Yes you know

     Yes more grass mowing. Seems to never end. Hey ho! More seeds sown in pots and put into the poly tunnel - Giant Pacific Pumpkin and Champ Waltham butternut squash. Some 2021 carrots pulled and they are still quite edible. Large Hugelkultur bed weeded and restored after the chickens decided they wanted to try to flatten it! Outside the poly tunnel lettuce plants look established and there are lots of flowers on the strawberries. Bought some Chou Cabus Pointu Poet (a pointy headed cabbage) to try to get some early summer cabbage and planted those out in the brassica bed. I have removed the cloches from my early sown carrots and have been surprised and please with the results.

Touchon carrots 

    The chickens have been gathered together in the main coop more for their own safety than anything and kept in for a few days to reset their little brains! Got to the point where the cockeral and a couple hens decided the garden looked a better bet and started to escape so I had to let them all out. Fortunately it was a few days after they had been shut in. Dailyu average of 3.9 eggs this week down on last.

    1st May Sunday breakfast consisted of freshly cut asparagus, first of the season, brown buttered toast cut into fingers and a cup of tea! Was rather good.