Fair or Fowl?

Okay, okay it was a poor joke, but the excitement cannot be contained any longer. The Growing Things household will be increasing by 3 in the very near future.

Preparations are afoot to welcome chickens to our modest back yard. Hooray for Pop who is a master at reclaiming old wood and turning it into something useful. As I type the Henhouse is finished and awaiting a roof covering, the garden is going to need some rearranging to accommodate the run, we don’t have enough space or grass to allow them the run of the whole garden, not all of the time at least. But we are, on the most part, very nearly ready.

Here are the girls themselves, as yet un-named by us. Awaiting their new Des Res of course! There is one (Dark?!) Sussex, and two Light Sussex, those chicken fanciers out there (I’m assuming that you ‘fancy’ a chicken in the same way as you ‘fancy’ a pigeon!) Will already know this from one glance, when I was told what they were I had to look them up in a book, and have since read that they are a good all rounder, and have good temperaments, ideal for first timers and families.

As ‘The Ladies’ will have to be in a permanent run for most of their day, I have been reading up on keeping them entertained. Hubby has already selected a good branchy bit of tree to be fixed into the ground, I have cut up an old barrel for a dust bath, and have been informed that hanging up cabbages and the like (and even old CD’s)to be pecked at are also useful boredom busters.

Any hints or tips, for a, reasonably well read, novice? I would be most grateful.

Gushing, lovey post coming soon to coincide with their arrival…

Preparations for the seasons change

The last of this years tomatoes were pulled off the vine today in anticipation of cleaning down the greenhouse and ‘putting it to bed’ for the winter. This is my first year of growing tomatoes in an actual greenhouse of my own, and I have been astonished by the amount we have harvested from just 10 plants. I, of course, have recorded the said amount and the varieties that they came from (please detect the hint of sarcasm there). I do know one at least was the old classic Gardener’s Delight, and in all honesty whatever they were I’m just happy to of had them growing in there regardless. The sweet soft skins of home grown tomatoes are going to be sorely missed in this household who have enjoyed weeks, even months of having a basket of these warm succulent treats to snack on throughout the day. The question is, can we manage a whole winter without a tomato?

The unseasonably warm weather has also made the whole business of winter preparations down the allotment a rather more enjoyable occupation that it’s usual September offerings. As the raised beds were new in this year, I have supplemented the plants with feed and plenty of organic mulch where it is wanted. Some things have been more successful than others. The beds that are being ‘shut down’ for the winter are soon to receive a generous top dressing of organic matter (Poo!), and covered in a thick black fabric membrane, to allow the worms to do their work in the peace and quiet. Some are full of winter crops – Leeks, Kohl Rabi, Swede, Cabbages, Brussel Sprouts and Broccoli. One, is going to assist me in a completely new venture over the winter months…

This bed, and the frame which Hubby and I originally constructed to support netting, will be converted into our very own miniature polytunnel. We have several metres of thick reenforced sheeting, so the plan is to sew together a cover, with sides that can be either zipped or velcroed and plant something to over winter in them…the trouble is what?

So far all the literature that I have come across is geared towards a conventional polytunnel, does it matter that ours will only be 10ft x 5ft? Only time will tell, and if not, next years carrots will have the best protection they could ever possibly need against the Carrot Fly.

Another ‘First Ever’

The Tallest started at ‘Big School’ today, she attended a whole 6 1/2 hours of school, and from all accounts loved it. She’s shattered after only one day, I hesitate to think how she will feel after one week, but she’s raring to go again tomorrow and that is what really counts.

The Smallest and I had to settle into a more sedate routine than the one of late, and it was simple pleasures that filled our day, for her feeding and changing her doll, for me making jam and peeling onions for pickling, but all done strangely to the almost silence of the day, no tears and tantrums, no arguments, she is so much less needy than her sister, and today it really showed. I look forward to having some alone time with my youngest daughter, something that has happened so rarely since her arrival into this family over 2 years ago now.

I haven’t been managing to get much preserving done before now, life has been getting in the way some what, it felt so very good to be pouring this hot sticky sweetness into jars for consumption over the winter months.

When I checked the brambles again today, they are heavy again with ripe fruit, but this time I feel that a bit of Blackberry Vinegar is more than overdue.

What of the summer are you ‘preserving’ for the coming winter months?

Sprouting despite the recent snowfall

:: I realised that over the last few months the posts have leaned very heavily on the crafting and kitchen side of life here in the Growing things household, so firstly I wanted to share with you ::

:: The snow is falling but the tender bright green shoots are pushing their way up through the darkness to show their heads to the slowly lengthening days, for us, down here at least, the first signs of  Spring are showing, and it makes me soooo glad, its a promise of lots of work ahead, but the work will be welcome as fingers and toes won’t be quite as cold as they have been in the last couple of months! ::

:: The kitchen windowsill has been put into employment too…these Broad Beans being the first of many seeds to be sown and set in the coming weeks, i just hope this snow doesn’t hang around for too long, as the allotment is well overdue its winter tidy ::

:: Don’t they look odd this close up? lol! ::

Last of the Pumpkins

A quick visit down the allotment resulted in a whole wheelbarrows worth of produce.  I KNOW the pumpkins fill most of the space, but that was the intention, the Tallest had specifically requested some that were of carvable proportions, and this year we have finally delivered.

Sweetcorn is a favourite in our household (minus Mr GT) and these are the absolute last of the cobs, the girls will be tucking into the for dinner tonight and I shall blanch the rest as half or whole cobs, and freeze them. They survive surprisingly well and make for not bad eating considering.

I promised myself that one year I would follow John Seymours directions for drying them, but once again the modern convenience of the freezer wins over – that and the fact that the Tallest can’t join in as it involves boiling water, and is then managed in half the time. I LOVE love love the fact that she is feeling useful it just tends to come at the most inconvenient of times!

Potato Blight

When it finally got to my main crop potatoes. I have dome really well this year, the earlies even managed to get to the point where they died back rather than getting the blight.

So this morning is off to the allotment armed with shears to cut back all the top growth and put it on a crate so that I can dry it out enough to burn it, and this should then prevent the spores from having done too much damage to the tubers.

We already seem to get quite a lot of scab, even with all the precautions that we take every year, so blight on what appears to be a really healthy and pretty bumper  crop of taters this year.

Not quite sure how I am going to negotiate with the two over tired children that I am in charge of this morning!

Back to normal again

The distinct lack of posts has been due to actually having a social life!

And having finally returned from what will be the last engagement for a few weeks things may return to their normal pace.

Prior to going away for our first ever weekend without the children, the allotment was given some serious attention, and was completely hoed, and french beans, carrots, swede, chard, spinach, ‘leeks, broccoli and squashes were all sow or planted so that there wouldn’t be anything suffering in small pots over the four days we were away.

I am today about to sow my last attempts at sweetcorn all three other attempts have seen the seeds rotting away in the compost, and another pack of borlotti beans which did the same as the sweetcorn a few weeks previous.

I am currently picking good flushes of broad beans and digging new potatoes and cutting salad and pulling radishes the peas won’t be long so things are beginning to look up for the larder department, which will cut down on the groceries bill in the coming weeks.

The Allotment awaits

Off to get the Smalls up after this post, and as the weather is dry and fortunately not too windy a la yesterday when we had gusts strong enough to blow the Smallest off her feet!

There is much to be done sown the plot as Hubby and I are off for a well deserved weekend away, our first ever without the children. And even though I’m not down there every day, I tend to find that if I’ve gone away for a couple of days, its like someone has moved in down the plot and been planting weeds for me, whereas they don’t seem to grow quite so quickly when I’m around to keep an eye on them!

So today I SHOULD be planting out Broccoli seedlings (and hopefully setting some more when I get home)

Sowing more parsnips now the first rows have come through

Sowing, Chard, Spinach beet, Carrots, French beans and Swedes.

The Borlotti and French beans that I sowed earlier have been an absolute disaster and discussing it with a neighbour he has also had terrible germination this year too, well I live in hope for this lot.

Oh, nearly forgot I have a couple of Pumpkin and Courgette Plants to go out too, I reckon that the allotment should be well on its way to full by now…

Globe Artichokes

On the odd occasion I do get to stray away from only planting the things that we eat as a family and get to have a ‘splurge’ on a packet of seeds. This years little treat was a packet of Globe Artichoke seeds.

Something I have fallen in love with ever since an exchange trip to France when I was 13, but I have always objected to paying a pound + for one head.

The germination rate on this packet has been 100%, so I may have to trade some of the plants off later as I don’t think I’ll have room for them all.

Globe Artichokes are a perrenial plant (but you can grow them as annuals if you wish) and I won’t be harvesting good edible heads off them until nexy year, but as the saying goes all good things come to those who wait…

I’ve never seen any growing let alone grown any myself, so although my rather informative book tells me how far apart I should place them once they are in their bed, I have no idea how large the plants will grow to, thus influencing which part of the plot they go into…answers on a postcard anybody?

Peas in

Tallest seen here posing with the row of peas that she helped plant up and stake in.

We’ll go back to the allotment tomorrow to have a recce to see how many succumed to the bloody pigeons that seem to wait undetected while us foolish gardeners plant the fruits of our labours into the ground, only to turn our backs on the plot and find the remenants of a rave the next day after we’ve left. I’m sure they taunt me whenever I’m down there…anyway that’s besides the point.

My Cut and Come Again lettuces have been rather more successful than I thought they would be, so rather than have them all in pots I think that either I’ll put them towards a swopsies, or I’ll put a row into the allotment and let them grow into full plants rather than cut the leaves.

In the turmoil that was bulldozing the garden, our beautifully well established Rosemary was done for, and given that Rosemarys are not known for their love of moving, I got the knife out and finally ventured into the unknown world of taking cuttings. I await with baited breath the outcome of my endevours (I hope they root, I think that I’ll be addicted if they do, I found it extremely satifying trimming and cutting the pieces).

My Borlotti beans, are showing very little signs of coming up, out of the five trays that I sowed I can only see two plants shooting, its the same story with the sweetcorn. Last year I sprouted these in a jar first and then planted them out when they had germinated, this year I have sowed direct into modules and it doesn’t take a genius to see whats happened.

The cucumer plants have finally began to show their heads, I am hoping to grow these on in the garden, Hubby is particularly fond of pickled gerkins, and that is one thing that I have never managed to do for him in all the seasons that we have been growing, so we’ll wait and see, although at this rate he’ll be lucky if he gets but one jar.

So late second sowings of my favourite staples seem to be the order of the weekend. We’ll see how much we get done, as the Smallest is currently on a one baby mission to deprive the whole family of sleep, and combined with all the effort that has been going into getting the garden right, we are all beginning to show obvious signs of running out of steam.

Enough for now, time for some sleep while its all quiet up there…