Smell of freshly cut grass

    This blog is being published on the first day of spring! 20th March 2022. Yes, spring has most certainly sprung along with narcissi out in full bloom, cherry tree buds swelling and apple tree leaf buds splitting to mention a few signs. Of course the old foe, the grass and weeds, are also putting in a effort and the first major mow has been done. 

    The autumn over winter compost heap has been dismantled and the contents spread in the poly tunnel and on the new seed beds. A new compost heap has been started. More forking and weeding done still more to do! Some carrots dug up but they are rapidly coming to their end!

    Chickens are being chickens being a right pain scratching any piece of loose soil they can find. One hen is still sat tight on eight eggs. In theory the eggs should start to hatch in another eight days (27th March). Average of 5.8 eggs a day this last week, up by one egg a day!

    Next blog will be in two weeks as I am off to see my youngest daughter and my three grand children in the UK.

Rhubarb patch

FROSTS

     Frosts. Four out of seven days there has been a morning frost. That has delayed getting out into the garden and getting on with stuff (ok it is an excuse, lol). 

    The ongoing task of forking and weeding beds continued this week with some good progress being made on two larger beds. I even managed to clear my small round flower plot! Pulled up all but one swede which is a reasonable sized one and hopefully has not been attacked by slugs etc or has some form of internal fault! Never know with swedes! The overall crop has been poor but I am happy that I at least got to make some swede and mash. As with it would seem all brassicas and derivatives of brassicas the chickens love the leaves and completely eat the them leaving just the ribs and will make every effort to get at them no matter there is netting over the plants. No doubt I will try again this year. Continue to dig up/pull carrots that were sown last year and they are an edible size. Always good for this time of year, however, they need to be eaten up as they are starting to produce tops and that means they are going to seed. Dug up a few leeks, again, a disappointing over winter crop. In my opinion they have not stood the frosts well despite being a winter leek variety. Thinned out some more self seeded parsnip just because they were there in the bed. Long row of peas sown. Always worth sowing peas early.

   The main chicken coop cleaned out and we have a broody hen! She is sat on eight eggs and who knows if they are fertilized or not. Time will tell. Daily egg production down this week with 4.8 eggs per day.

Bulb bank narcissi starting to flower

Broody hen

FIRST LETTUCE IN!

     Quite a bit done this last week. Only one morning of frost and a little drizzle but nothing serious. Mikador shallots planted out. Not my usual variety but that is all there was! My favourite onion set, Sturon, planted out. Some parsnips dug up and some self seeded parsnip seedling transplanted. Tomato seeds sown in seed trays and modules and placed in the poly tunnel fleece cloche. Probably still a little on the cool side but it does not take much to get the temperature up in the poly tunnel with a little sun. A few miserable swedes pulled to make up a Champeau mixed veg roast. Swedes seem to be one of those plants that is a little hit and miss. Still one or two that are edible is a result! In the poly tunnel the small beds were cleared, forked, watered and fertilizer added. I bought the first lot of lettuce from the local market and transplanted them into the small poly tunnel beds. Variety Batavia Doree de Printemps. Not my usual variety but the guy I usually buy from was not at the market this week and I wanted to get some lettuce planted. A little forking and weeding of an outside bed done but in reality the soil was a little sticky.

  My bulb bank is starting to come into flower and with a bit of luck it will look a picture. This is its second year so the bulbs are now well established. 

    Chickens are being chickens and a daily average of 6.8 slightly down on last week.

Poly tunnel small beds with transplanted lettuce.

Visit to the BRICO!

     Preparation for planting continues. A trip to the BRICO (large shop that sells a range of hardware, building materials etc and gardening stuff) to buy my favourite shallots, RED SUN, and favourite onion sets, STURON. Seed potatoes bought (Desiree, Alouette and Agata (later two new ones for me) and set up for chitting. Some garden lime for the brassica bed and some general fertilizer for the poly tunnel.

2022 seed potatoes chitting

      I decided to thin out and transplant thirty five self seeded parsnip seedlings. I do not think I will be sowing seed this year and fingers crossed the seedlings do something. More forking and weeding done and thoughts turn to sowing Touchon carrots next week. 

    Last years sown carrots are still being pulled and I guess they will be ok for a few more weeks yet. They are showing signs of growing. 

    Chickens are being chickens with an average of 7 per day this last week. The best of the year so far daily total has been exceeded with a total of nine eggs laid one day last week. 

    With the ground being a little on the damp side my attention has moved to weeding the cobbles outside the front of my house before the ground gets too dry and it would be impossible to weed between them. With the improved weather forecast for next week my attention will once more turn back to the vegetable garden. Onion sets and shallots to sow!

Ok I HAVE STARTED!

     The weather continues to be a dampener on activity in the garden and my reluctance to go outside in the cold! Still, some work done this week. More forking and weeding and I must now have more than two thirds of the beds cleared. Picked some sprouts. Still a few left and I have made the first planting. Champ (meaning that they are not bought ones but grown and harvested at Watermeadows) Red Sun shallots and Champ banana shallots sown. Maybe a week or two early but the sets were there so nothing venture nothing gained. I need a trip out to buy seed potatoes, shallots and onion sets along with some garden lime and fertilizer. I am resisting sowing seeds, even in my propagator. Still a week or so too early methiks. Plenty to do in the garden beside sowing seeds! Umm, maybe some carrots? Have to think about that. Lol!

    Chickens are being chickens as usual and an average of 6.6 eggs per day this last week. Best week so far this year. I am sure another hen has come into lay. Still, what another five or six yet to start! There is a possibility of twelve eggs in one day. Oh my!

BEER IS BEST!

 

      There has been some thirsty work done this week! Repairs made to various beds after the ravages of my feathered chicken friends. Currently I do not mind as they are clearing the soil of things and of course they poop while doing it! One bed completely forked and weeded another finished off. Most beds that I will need to plant in the next few weeks are ready. Just need to keep an eye out for the odd weed or two! Despite the frosts it is very noticeable that the grass is starting to grow. Thoughts of the first cut are in mind and if I get a string of dry days I may start. Continue to lift carrots and there still are more to do. It will soon be a race between digging them up before they start to grow again. Plenty of thinking going into what to plant where and when. The propagator is out and the ex mushroom trays are stacked and waiting for the seed potatoes.

   Chickens are being chickens and causing a little mayhem in the newly forked and neatly edge vegetable beds. Hey ho! Plenty of eggs though. Average this week is 5.4 repeating last weeks efforts. 

Forking and weeding a bed (this one has been completed)

No DIG

WEEK ENDING 05/02/22

   Ooops. I forgot to publish this blog on the 29th Jan so this a two week blog. Mind you the second week has been very quiet. Lots of personal stuff to do and the weather has been damp, drizzly, on the cold side and the ground was really too wet to work on.  So, some leeks dug up and a chicken coop cleaned out. This last week the hens have laid an average of 5.1 eggs per day, an continuing improvement week on week. 

  WEEKING ENDING 28/01/22

   This week any time spent on the vegetable garden has been in the continuing construction of my second "no dig" bed. The first was my strawberry bed and very successful it has been too. Fingers crossed this year will be as good! The second bed is almost done. Another couple of barrows of soil should see the end of it although the chickens will not doubt attempt to flatten it. The "no dig" bed is a layer of cardboard, in attempt to stop weeds coming through, and then in my case chicken manure, raked up leaves, chopped up cabbage leaves topped off with soil. The soil was from my enormous pile of weeds that have rotted down over the last couple of years and were forming a dyke!! With a bit of luck I will use the bed to plant lettuce and what else I am not sure of at this point in time.

Day 1

Day 1

Day 1 with helpers

Day 2 second half

Day 2 second half

Day 2 all but done! With helper!

  The start of the week saw very cold days with some very hard frosts. Lots of hoar frost! 

 Probably the last of the sprouts have been picked. Considering they did not look good they have been ok. Not brilliant but least I got some! Still pulling Touchon carrots and there are a few to go yet. It was a very good year for carrots in my garden. The remains of the cabbages have been removed along with the disappointing cauliflowers. Leaves chopped up and added to the "no dig" bed. More forking and weeding done and the first attempt at sorting out the self seeded parsnip seedlings done. 

   Chickens are being chickens and being a menace on my new "no dig" bed. Coops cleaned out and contents spread in the new "no dig" bed. Average of 4.4 eggs per day this week, an improvement on last week.