2017 Easter holidays in LOTS of photos

I have been lucky enough to have a week off work over Good Friday and Easter Monday.  I spent this at home with the kids and Ste managed to get a couple of days off too.  We got though a tonne of "work".  Work being things we enjoy doing to get our smallholding up and running, something we love!  It's not the usual feelings people associate with hearing they have had work to do. 

I thought the easiest ways to capture everything was to go photo heavy today and do the next few posts on specifics for those who have detailed interests. 

Happy photos!

Grace getting her vitamin D smallholder style!

We had time to spend with the pigs, who ALWAYS want more food.

I stood to gaze at the neighbour'scows who had gone down to the river for a drink in the April heat

I literally stood admiring my lettuce - now that's something I never thought I would say when I was younger!

We had time to watch the poultry.  It's mating/breeding season and their antics are hilarious!

Of course there is always time for another brew

It wasn't just us humans keeping a close eye on things

Some of us had more time to rest than others

Rhubarb cordial was the order of the day with the seasons amazing offerings - 7kg we have harvested already over the last month

Baa-bara was just checking her hair looked ok

We did some back breaking weeding but are pleased with the results and used membrane to help keep the weeds down in the future

Looking tidy I think?

The new blueberry spot.... which was filled with special compost where the blueberries are planted

The dog's had a bath (she didn't realise they didn't want bathing!  Poor Rodney)

The ducklings went in to their new home and loved it.  They've been accepted by the flock so that's excellent.

Grace got back on Jake after losing some of her confidence and was happy

Dotty the chicken kept an eye on the ducklings...from the duck house of all places!

We hatched and lost a gosling.  Very sad times but no doubt for a reason.

We planted out, only to discover their is a frost planned for most of this week!

We did battle with the chickens on who's potatoes they are...we are winning so far

We studied the veg plot plan....

and checked on our livestock daily as normal

some of us even sat down and enjoyed a beer whilst we checked.....see where Grace gets it from? ;)

We planted 2 hazelnut and 1 Victoria plum tree

The kids played in the river's side line and got on!

We discovered eggs in places there should be no eggs

This is an embankment - we planted blackberry bushes along the fence line on our boundaries

We got drunk and laughed at silly things

 

The best part of the holidays...we did all of this together as a family. We had family and friends over and we laughed, cried and made memories and plans. 

My kind of perfect :)

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Herbs and tomato flowers

I have made some progress with starting our little kerb garden, but of course nothing like what I originally thought.  I ordered the following herbs from Victoriana Nurseries and instead of planting them into the ground, I've potted them on into larger pots until we decide where we want to put them permanently. 

# 1 x Angelica Plant
# 1 x Bay Plant
# 1 x Chamomile Plant
# 1 x Chive Plant
# 1 x Curry Plant
# 1 x Feverfew Plant
# 1 x Lemon Balm Plant
# 1 x Mint Plant - Moroccan Mint
# 1 x Oregano Plant
# 1 x Rosemary Plant - Common Rosemary
# 1 x Thyme Plant - Common Thyme

# 1 x Horseradish Plant Available from approximately late April 2017
# 1 x Hyssop Plant - Blue  Available from approximately May 2017
# 1 x Lovage Plant  Available from approximately late April 2017
# 1 x Marjoram Plant Available from approximately May 2017
# 1 x Lemon Grass 'East Indian' Plant Available from approximately May 2017

This is the bay plant which I've taken one branch from to see if I can grow it on into a tree.  I have plenty of time to offer.

This is the tea plant which is coming on well now it is in a bigger pot.

 

I think it was Dawn who introduced me to this website, so thank you.

A lot of the herbs double up as medicinal and not just culinary.  That's what I love about the VN as on their website they give you ideas as to what to use the herbs for.  For example Angelica grows best along riverbanks, which is perfect for me as I'm beginning a new project to transform our riverbank.  This herb is supposed to be good "As a 'bath oil' for aching muscles and rheumatism" which is what drew me to it.  Working and running the smallholding, both Ste and I have plenty of aching muscles!!  Also it can be used in pot pourri which I'm hoping to make as part of the Christmas hampers.

Image from google

As I use them, I'll be sure to do posts to show if they are worthwhile or not.

Mid April and I have flowers on my tomatoes (Garden Pearl) variety and also the Brandywine.  These were sown at the end of January and brought on in the house.  I'll be doing the same next year too.

I'll start feeding them with tomato feed as I think that's what you need to do once the flowers form, or is that just when the fruit starts?  I'll have to check.

New trailer and dehydrating

Thank you to everyone who left Grace a comment, I've been reading them out to her and she will reply tomorrow as she's one busy little girl!


Steven's Dad has had a trailer kicking about where he works for years.  It's been at the back of a mechanic's garage, being used as a skip for longer than he can remember.  It was used when Ste was a kid, so that's a long time since.... ;)

Before, covered in oil and years of neglect

When we said we need a tow bar and trailer, Ste's Dad offered to fit a tow bar and give us the trailer.  So we (Ste) have been meticulously transforming the tired old heap into a new, shiny, useful trailer.  I am ridiculously pleased with it.  We can use it for a multitude of reasons for the smallholding.  So now it's been restored, hopefully it'll be around for another 30 off years!

After....total cost of wood, paint, bolts was £60 but a worthwhile investment and we have wood left over (to make a nest box with)

We've also bought a mid range dehydrator.  I love it.  We've been busy trying different things and today's session was apples, pears, bananas and mushrooms.  The plan is to have some fruit to use on breakfast cereals and have vegetables for the winter or when we're low on things, to throw into the slow cooker.  If we don't have it in fresh, I'd like to have it in stores.  Also, you never know what life might throw at you making it hard for you to get out, or sometimes you just can't be bothered after a day of working on the smallholding.

Ste bought a banana slicer which I was laughing at as a silly gadget but do you know, it saved time and kept everything the same width so I take it back, it is worth the couple of quid it cost!

I love how it looks.  What a great way to spend Easter Sunday morning.

I made Easter lunch for my family and Ste's Mam and partner.  We had roast chicken and it was lovely.  I followed it with rhubarb crumble using 1kg of rhubarb.  I really do think it is my favourite food of the season. 

I didn't get an after photo, it didn't last long enough!

I hope everyone is enjoying the Easter holidays?  We're hoping to get back into the veg plot and growing areas tomorrow as there is work to be done.  It's due to rain on the afternoon, so maybe on the morning then in the greenhouse when it rains! 

Guest post!

Hi my name is Grace. I am 10 years old and

I love living at the farm house with all of my animals.

I am so lucky to  live here with my wonderful family.

Here is a picture of the pigs.

They have grown lots since we first bought them.

My mam was getting the ducklings food when she got this picture of them.

because if there is any food in sight of the pigs then they

will squeal until you give them the food or if they're hungry they will also squeal about that.

they are going outside soon and in August we will hopefully be getting goats.

Today, when we were opening the goose shed we found some

 baby gosling's under the mams wing and she will soon be hatching some more.

The other mam is sat on some eggs as well ,so hopefully she is going to hatch some goslings too.

We also have some goose eggs in the incubator which might hatch ,as well as what the mams are hatching.

I am so excited that we have baby goslings. We had some goslings last 

year and they were all off the same mam and it all went really well last

year , so hopefully it will all go well this year.  

Here are the chickens all having a big feed.

The dark brown hen is my favourite chicken

and her name is Jess. She is 11 years old and she survived

when the fox came in the night ,but that was in the old house.

The brown chicken in front of her is called big bertha also survived

when the fox came.

They all enjoy a big feast.

And here is a chicken hiding in my pony's hay.

I think she making a nest to lay a egg for us to eat.

Yum yum... 

That is it for now ,so thank you for reading my little blog post

and I just can't wait to see if I have got any comments on my blog and I am sure

I will get some amazing comments.

Speak to you soon...

...Bye for now...Grace xx

Thank you and harvests have started!

Thank you to everyone who commented on Buddy.   I really did take comfort from your words. 

Here's the puppies happily sharing a bed in front of the Aga which is there new sleeping place.

So far this year, we've had 2 pickings of rhubarb.  One lot was froze for the freezer and dehydrated.  Another lot was used to make rhubarb Bellini (cocktail) per The River Cottage Yearbook which is my bible at the moment.

Here you go Cottontail Farm - as requested :)

We harvested our first salad leaves.  Ste said it looks a sparse harvest, but salad leaves I shall just take enough for that meal, as they are at their best when just picked.  These are oriental ones and were lovely, as far as salad leaves go!

 We had them with some radish which I seem to have arranged in size order for the photo!

Remember the big green thing in the rhubarb?  Well thanks to Amy and DC who commented and told me it was a rhubarb flower, this mammoth thing has now been removed.  There was also one on another rhubarb too. 

 

 Guess what?  The PSB is coming through too.  Literally appeared over a couple of days.  This was sown in August 2016 and takes up to a year to mature according to Monty Don but these are a quicker cropping if I recall, so hopefully we'll be having some soon with a melted blue vinny sauce....yum.

The asparagus is also starting to show so in a few days we will harvest this too!  Things are really starting to take off. 

The elderberry flowers are showing, next month we will be making Jack's favourite cordial with the flowers.

 I'm also going to make some rhubarb cordial and vodka with my next pickings.  The vodka is the start of the Christmas hampers, which I'll do more on nearer the time ;)

RIP Buddy 2003 - 2017

It was time for Buddy to leave us last night.

He will never, ever be forgotten.  Not in the least that he could tell if the dishwasher was open when he was in the other room (Labradors and leftover food anyone?), he was loving and loyal, he would make time for a cuddle no matter what else was going on, he was our protector and a part of our lives for the last 14 years.

It hurts like hell, but he is at peace now and has left us with memories that would overflow any memory jar.

Tomato update

Early in January I sowed some beefsteak tomato seeds.  The first lot failed which was my fault, they shot up before I realised.  Some I saved by replanting to their first leaves and some I started fresh.  Both have done fine.  Here's the beefsteak one (Brandywine) which needs potting on again.  It's also starting to produce side shoots which I am nipping out.  I've planted the other one which is as big as this one directly in the polytunnel bed to compare which one does best so I can just do that in 2018.

The tomatoes below were all getting far too big for their pots, so instead of a pot bigger, I potted them on into their final resting pots so to speak.

It took the best part of an hour but now I have 18 tomato plants ready.

The tomatoes are the big pots, the smaller ones are caulis, cabbage and calabrese.

 

 These little things are Gardeners Delight, sown after the first tomatoes in the hope of extending the season as long as possible.  I have some that have just germinated too and will keep sowing for a little while yet.

I also have a variety called outdoor girl which, as the name suggests, will be going outside when they can.

This weekend I will pot on everything that needs it and plant out the PSB for next year.  It's too big for its pot now and I don't want to have to pot it on again. 

I think I am going to need more growing space !

Have a lovely weekend all, it's due to be sunny here so I plan to get in the greenhouse and polytunnel before they get too hot, then in the veg plot to get some much needed vitamin D.  I think Sunday afternoon may be a day of rest and enjoying some rhubarb cocktails.....

My little family and our new ways

Since we moved to the smallholding, life has changed.  We had a vision of the lifestyle we thought it would be.  A lot of that has come true which is simply amazing.  What we didn't realise, is how we would change as people, nurturing our new way or life, our values, what's truly important and what really just doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.  We've been through some ups and downs as we figure this out, but it's always worked out.  We have a strong family bond and the smallholding is developing that even further. 

So I thought I would share a couple of things that made me smile recently.

Ste made crispy cakes with rolo chocolates to finish them off.  I'm told the kids helped too ;)  They've been taken each day as packed lunch treats.

He's also started making Sunday lunch for us.  I'm seriously jealous of how well these Yorkshire puddings turned out!!  He's got a job for life there.

Ste and I collected nettles from the paddock recently and I made nettle soup!  This too is a first and despite my brain thinking otherwise, it was actually ok.  True, I wouldn't choose it over butternut squash soup, but given its health benefits, I'll happily eat it seasonally. 

It had a slight tinge of leek and potato - the recipe was from River Cottage website.

I moved on to nettle tea as I've read some excellent things about it's medicinal values.  Only a small batch to start with.  I washed the nettles, boiled then simmered them for a few minutes and strained through a muslin cloth to get rid of the residue.

 It was very palatable!  I was shocked actually.  This is something I will turn back to, maybe drying nettles to allow for all year round availability.  Or can you use nettles any time of the year for tea? 

Grace is also finding her green fingers.  She has a natural curiosity with seeds and plants and enjoys sorting through the seed tray.  She asked me only just this morning if the rhubarb was ok as there's a 'big green thing' growing in it.  I smiled and told her "hopefully"...after all, we're all learning, so only time will tell! She's sown some seeds for me too.

Jack likes to take his bike everywhere he goes on the smallholding.  Here he is, a dab hand at carrying a chicken feeder on his handle bars and taking it to get refilled at the feed station.

 Once the animals are fed, he collects the eggs, using any bucket he can lay his hands on to do so.  This one being an empty horse supplement bucket that Jill uses who keeps her horse with us.  It's a job he can do himself and I like the sense of achievement he gets from it.  Looks like he does too?

So even though some days are hard, most days bring a huge happiness to us all.  Steven and I both work full time as well as run the smallholding, so we like to make sure we step back and smell the roses every now and then, and enjoy what we've built up and how our lives are changing.  It's truly amazing and I welcome every minute of it.

The growing season is well underway.

If you want me, I'll be outside getting on with the growing season!  That's how this last whirlwind of a week has felt.  We are out of the starting blocks and in it for the long run. 
April is the month when even more seeds can be sown and there can be a false sense of security weather wise when we're sat in the baking (ok, warmer) sun, without the need for jackets or gloves. 
I've noticed new growth all around, replacing the snowdrops and early daffs.  However don't be fooled. April has seen snow in the past so those of us growing our own need to be ready to deal with it if it's forecast.  To lose seedlings or plants now after nurturing from seed as far back as January would be devastating.
We've been working hard on the new orchard (mini orchard) and feel it is really getting there.  What do you think?

It's hard to see in the above photo, as I was trying to capture the width of the plot.  The back trellis shows the 10 apple trees we planted on a 45 degree angle and a couple of them are already showing growth.  The conference pear tree (below) is growing ridiculously fast.  These leaves were not there last week!
We have managed to get all but two of the soft fruit bushes in that are going here.  Two are outstanding as they've not been delivered yet.  So far we have 2 varieties of cranberry (mountain and ), a honeyberry, 2 varieties of blueberry (north county and aurora).  We have a pink lemonade blueberry, billberry and goji berries due soon.  There's also another 3 blueberries (Duke) that are going in another part of the veg plot.

The soft fruit has been spaced out around the other fruit trees and planted in large holes filled with ericaceous compost where needed.  For those who don't know, blueberries amongst other fruit bushes don't like "normal" soil.  You can buy the ericaceous  soil at garden centres or some people make their own.  I'm short on time for this planting, but plan to top them up with home made stuff.
Blossom is coming thick and fast on the new fruit trees and I hope it's a good sign of the harvest to come!

 

The greenhouse is well and truly filling up.  My problem now is trying to keep it cool when I am at work.  The doors can be left open but I have to put the mesh door on to stop the chickens going in and eating everything!
My blackcurrant cuttings have rooted but the red and white aren't doing much.  Also a raspberry runner that I severed and rooted to see what would happen.

The PSB, caulis, calabrese, cabbage, corn salad, carrots, leeks, onions and sunflowers are all looking great.  The tomatoes are growing strong and need to be potted on this weekend before they become pot bound.

I've sown more of everything to try and harvest everything at staggered intervals.  Some peas and broadbeans went in directly outside at the weekend, as did a tester row of carrots and beetroot.  Inside the polytunnel I have lettuce, swiss chard, kale, peas, beans, potatoes (earlies) and some marigolds to deter nasty bugs away from my food!  The marigolds are sacrificial plants, no holds barred in this game!

I've also got half of my potatoes in to their new beds and a full bed of red and white onions.  I have underestimated how much space I will need for the potatoes though, so I need to come up with an alternate solution!

Finally here's another addition to the fruit and veg area.  A tea plant (Camellia sinensis).  Steven drinks a lot of green tea for its health benefits and I try to every now and again.  I thought it'd be nice to grow our own.  After all, the idea is to be as self sufficient and self reliant as possible.

 

 

I hope you're all enjoying the sun which we seem to be having in fits and spurts.  I'm not complaining one bit!  It's starting to dry the fields out just in time for the horses to go back on them and it can't come soon enough!