Trouble afoot in the chicken shed

   Our luck with our chickens is not good at the moment. After the loosing five chickens to the dog attack another two have gone missing. One of them a Limousin which had been bought as a replacement. They may yet turn up. In the mean time three more hens have be purchased, a Sussex and two others that lay chocolate brown eggs. We look forward to them starting to lay in a couple of weeks. Happier news. Another lamb has been born, a ewe lamb. We are expecting there to be two more to come.
   In the poly tunnel the first of the Louvier cabbage has been cut and eaten. Very nice too! Two more spurs of asparagus have been cut and I have now spotted a lot more growing in the outside asparagus bed. I have resisted so far in digging up the potatoes but I am going to have to  have a look soon! I have sown coriander, basil (lemon, mammoth, Genovese), Chou Rouge and another row of french breakfast radish. Evesham special sprouts have been transplanted to pots along with Stupice, Galina, Millfleur, Latah, Cour de Boeuf tomatoes and Parsley. The parsley will be used to put in between the tomatoes when they have been put outside. A slug ate a lot of my first sowing of lettuce leaf basil. As it happens the seedlings were not that big and some survived. There has been a small slug problem in the poly tunnel this spring. Not surprising given the amount of rain, I guess.
  I have populated the Tomb (is a construct that the french often use to cover graves) beds with lettuce - Little Gem, Salad Bowl and Jack Ice.
 

Shallots and Red onion sets

In the outside garden its all go. Over winter leeks are still being pulled but they are rapidly coming to the end. Four varities of potatoes have been planted (Belle de Fontenay, Franceline, Desiree and Rosebelle). A row of Nante 4 carrot, an early variety has also been sown. More onion seedlings transplanted this time a variety call Sturon.  I prepared a bed for cabbages and transplanted Louvier and Golden Acre primo. These will form the core of the summer cabbage.