Family moments - Grace's 10th birthday plus veg plot and seed updates

Grace, our daughter, will be 10 this week.  As her birthday falls on a Tuesday we offered to throw a birthday party for her on Sunday.  She invited a couple of her friends and family joined us to celebrate.
Having your birthday right after Christmas means usually you have everything you want, however there's always something you can buy a 10 year old girl isn't there?  She will open her gifts from us on the actual day.  She received some lovely gifts that were very thoughtful from friends and family.
So with a collection of people coming over, all with different tastes and likes, I set about thinking what I could offer food wise that was a) delicious and b) not going to break the bank.  Also I was bearing in mind that anything that wasn't used, would be used for packed lunches the coming week.
I decided to put the following together:
Roast pork and stuffing sandwiches.
Roasties and gravy.
Pulled pork, flat bread and salad
Veg soup with wholemeal bread
Chicken korma with rice, naan, mango chutney and mint yoghurt.

I didn't photo the hot food but it was in the 3 slow cookers on the bench behind me.

I also had on display my good friends platter that she made for the day as she's starting a new business and wanted honest feedback on the products.  They have a Facebook page if you would care to take a look and support small UK businesses.  Their signature dipping oil was delicious so I made a bread to use as to dip.  I highly recommend it!

I made a cake for Grace:

She had a lovely time and looked very grown up.

Finally but by no means least, I have a recipe for Louise's chocolate brownies which I am making tonight for Grace's after school surprise tomorrow and may have to sample a few myself :)

What I have learnt from this weekend is that I love putting on a spread for people and making my family happy.  I've also learnt that no matter how well you plan, things won't always go to plan.  No matter how well I know how to make this and that, I still need it all written down to the letter.  I got in a bit of a fluster when I realised I hadn't put the slow cooker pork on the day before ready to heat up separately on the Sunday.  I still managed to get it done thanks to Caroline's husband!  Otherwise, most things went ok, though I think I would like to work out what I can cook in advance, so that next time I can do more the day before.

In the veg garden this weekend:

I've decided to tackle one thing at a time and see it through from start to finish.  Sounds obvious but sometimes I have so many things to do that I flit between them and don't feel like I have completed anything!  If I'm going to supply my family with all year round food, then I need to be organised and on the ball. 

Therefore after riding out on Saturday and getting the animals seen to, I set about in the veg plot.  It was a delightful day and when I looked up I saw blue sky and thought to myself, this is what it's all about. 

I decided to work on the bed which has fruit in it.  We have 3 currants, 3 rhubarbs, 2 (3?) gooseberries, strawberries and some unruly but highly productive raspberries in here.  Now I'd like to train the raspberries to just grow along their intended path which you can see marked out with rope.  They don't, they try to take over everyone elses patch.  The strawberries don't like being contained either.

Firstly I put wood ash around the currant bushes. 

Then I used my new (Christmas gift) rotavator to turn over everywhere else as this is the bed I'd put the paper on to last year to suppress all of the weeds.  I know they will come back this year so I needed to prevent that.

I had invested in some membrane for another project but dashed off to get it.  I'd had an idea.

I covered the soil with more rotted muck (it really was in a sorry state when we moved in).

Then I used the membrane to cover the 2m width where the currant bushes are, leaving just enough space at the side for the rhubarb - perfect.

I'm really pleased with the end result.  In fact, I'm considering building up the edges and covering it with bark as the membrane can stay down.  I'm not sure about this yet.  It doesn't matter too much for this year as long as the weeds don't come through. 

Along with the blue skies we have snowdrops coming through.

 

This wheelbarrow was left by the previous owner and when the hens were out they liked to take dust baths in it, so I was pleasantly surprised to see the bulbs had survived!

Seeds update

The Brandywine tomatoes that I re-sowed (31st Jan) after the first lot were too leggy (expected) popped up yesterday so a week to germinate.  They're on the South windowsill now, I made sure I caught these in time.

I'm going to replant some of the other leggy ones, which I did last year successfully and hope for the same result.

I sowed Mint, Basil and Chives on Saturday (4th Jan) along with 3 broad beans (Jubille Hysor).

I've also got Spring onions sown and the leeks are starting to show.

The peas that I planted in the drain pipes?  Remember them, well their indoor counterpart are coming through already.  Impatient little things :)

None of my peppers or chillis are through but I'll wait - the aubergines too over 2 weeks, so there's time. 

Next up is early carrots and more broad beans - can you believe I ran out? If anyone would like to seed swap some - I'd be happy to take a packet off you and send something over :)

 

Rhubarb, peas, kale, spinach, PSB, onions & garlic

I had a little mooch around the veg plot mid week.  Something I haven't been able to do through November and December as it's been dark by the time I get home and have rode the horses.  I love that it is lighter for longer, each day we're getting a minute or two in our favour.  Spring will be here before we know it so let's not waste a moment.
I covered some rhubarb up with a bin to try and force it through but I only did this mid January.  It's slowly making it's way quicker than the other plants of the same variety but the difference is minimal and to be fair, you struggle to see it in the centre of this photo.

However the 2 early varieties that I bought last year are flying up, and they haven't been covered by anything.  So maybe I cover those two next year instead.

Early variety of rhubarb flying up

Showing both early plants.

I had wanted to move these 2 early varieties as I was planning on using the bed they are in as a full strawberry bed.  Does anyone know if I can still move them, now they are growing?  Do they need to move when dormant?

My Purple Sprouting Broccoli is not doing much.  Looks like slugs have been having a feed on it already.  Presumable with the mild winter they are coming out of dormancy?

Onions and garlic are showing.  There's red and white onions here.  I have more onion seeds that I didn't plant left over.  I wonder if I can put them in.  Garlic too actually.  I don't suppose it'd hurt to find out.

Last night I sowed some peas in drain pipes.  These are twinkle variety, to be sown February onwards.  I am using a method that I saw on notjustgreenfingers blog when she was still posting.  Incidentally, I hope she picks up the posting again soon.  You grow the peas on in the drainpipe and then when they are ready for their final plot, you dig a trench and slide them in with minimal disturbance.  Then I will put bamboo canes along the trench for them to grip and grow up.

I covered half with vermiculite then realised I had no idea how much to use.  So I guessed.  Half is compost so I can see which works best.  They are covered with a fleece in an unheated greenhouse.  I also sowed some peas in modules which are in the house to compare to the unheated greenhouse.

All experimenting giving my results to learn from for next year.

I also sowed some spinach and All Season Kale which are in the house uncovered.  Should I cover them?

It's Grace's party weekend, so we will be focusing on making it fun and enjoyable for her.  She will be 10 and Ste and I are acutely aware of how quickly that time has passed, so we intend to make the most of it all. 

Have a lovely weekend, I hope you all get time to stop & smell the roses.

Avian Flu Silver lining and odds and sods

Like all poultry keepers, I'm sick of this avian flu for one reason or another.  I do not want to get into politics as we all have our own views on it.  However, one thing I think most of us smallholders, self sufficient and self reliant folks have in common, is the ability to make the best from a bad situation.
Although the poultry is stuck inside, they do have light, food, water and warm beds so their lives could be worse.  However for us, the food bill to feed them seems high.  Now I don't have last year's costs to compare this too, however my gut feeling is that it's high and although the wild birds are no longer taking their share, I reckon the barn mice and rats are! 
We've known for a while about hanging your poultry feeders off the ground to deter rats and other critters, but we've never got round to it.  So Steven has designed a hanging feeder which we are trialling in the barn.  We have put the same amount of food in on day 1 and then day 2.  Day 1 seeing the feeder on the floor and day 2 hanging up. 

I'll report back on how well they have done.
Once we move them back outside, we'll hang the feeders from the trees.  Now where the birds will go when they're outside is another discussion.  Having the over winter in the barn has opened our minds to where we will house them in 2017 as other animals come along.  I'll do more on that another day too.
So the silver linings being that we're trialling a new way of feeding them that we've not done before and we're giving thought to the best place for the hens in 2017. 
I've also been making mango chutney which Dawn posted about a week or 2 ago and I've wanted to do it since.  It's a lovely recipe which you can find here.  I am really pleased that the food year is already off and running.  Who says preserving is only for the summer?

I'll be using it in a sausage recipe on Sunday when I put a spread on for my daughters 10th birthday.
The seeds are making their way up into the daylight.  It always amazes me that these dormant seeds suddenly sprout life.  The first ones of the year are extra special.

I couldn't finish without showing you this.  On a morning, the youngest dogs come with me to the barn to run off their energy.  So when they were quiet, my senses went on high alert and I found them both happily chewing on undesirable things!  Nothing poisonous, but I'll spare you the details.  No wonder they were quiet.

Eggs is eggs - January round up

We had a good egg month considering it's January.  Our girls have supplied us with slightly over 400 eggs through January which is amazing considering it's one of the quieter months normally.  I don't have the exact number as I started recording on 7th January. 
Of course, they're all stuck inside so not free ranging due to the avian flu restrictions so this may be affecting the numbers in the sense of them producing more than normal.  They have nothing else to do except lay eggs and eat the greens we put in to supplement their food.  Bitter sweet!
We sold pretty much all of these eggs this month.  The money from these sales goes straight to their feed along with the money from the horse muck.  We stocked up on corn from the farmer and bought 4 bags of layers pellets on 22nd January.  We started using them both the same day as we were out of corn and only had half a barrel of layers left.
The geese are laying more now, so we're taking her eggs away and using them.  I'll see if there's an interest in people buying them, though folk sometimes have strange ideas and think a goose egg isn't a real egg you can eat 😎.

Polytunnel success

This weekend we were very busy with family joining us on Saturday evening and friends on Sunday.  We had to fit in all of the usual jobs plus put the polytunnel up too.  So Saturday we set to work.  I did the usual horses and house jobs then joined Ste with the polytunnel.  He started putting the frame together in the barn.  The weather wasn't very kind on Saturday but he soldiered on.  I was asked to hold this, lift that and straighten the other.  In no time at all we had the frame up.

 

 

Buddy helped out where he could making sure he checked the bucket's didn't have anything worth eating in them and having the odd drink or 2.

Ryan supervised the whole situation.

Day 2 saw the cover go on.  This is where it started to get tricky.  It was very tight and I can see the zips ripping in no time.  We managed it though and as it has a 12 month guarantee I'll be sure to keep that in case I need to get a new one.

Then being amazing, Ste knocked up a couple of raised beds and attached them to the frame that's there (this is how we put the PT up, this is not what's in the manual).  The weight of that wood will not let that frame go anywhere.  We also dug a trench around the polytunnel and buried the cover in it. 

He then laid the slabs we had stored and they dictated the width of the path.  Lots of rotted muck went in and it was finished. 

All in all I am really pleased.  I think it looks great and it's ready to provide us some food in the coming year.


In between holding and lifting, I sowed some seeds, clipped off some of the strawberries that I'd taken from runners and forgotten about and gave some of the veg plot a tidy up, giving the chickens their treats too.

I also finally got my potatoes chitting. 

Egg production down

We have finally started to see a decline in egg production. We've gone from a corker of a day last week with a record 23 down to today's low of 8.
The middle hens have eaten one of their own as I saw them at it when I went in. Therefore we've no idea how many there could have been.
This cold snap we have had will be affecting them too. The weather has a lot to do with the amount they produce.
It's not got above freezing all day.

Polytunnel layout

Exciting news, the polytunnel has been dispatched.  It's winging its way to our house as we speak and will hopefully arrive no later than tomorrow.  It is 6m by 3m wide (2m high).  I have never grown in one before and will more than likely get a lot wrong however I have decided to try a bit of everything in there.  We're going to put long beds along each side and I need to fit a couple of trees in there (tiny things) too.
So the most obvious solution is to divide the beds into 1 metre lengths.  They will be filled with muck and turned in to the ground that's already there.  They will be 1 scaffolding board high from the ground (this also means we can use some of our muck which is always on the list of things to do).  The carrot bed won't have any in.
So I plan on growing in there the following - the list is subject to change!


Bed 1 Cauliflower and cabbage
Bed 2 Calabrese and PSB
Bed 3 Peas and beans
Bed 4 Courgettes and salad leaves
Bed 5 Early strawberries
Bed 6 Mangetout and other peas/beans (I have lots)
Bed 7 Tomatoes and cucumbers (not sure if this is "allowed")
Bed 8 Early potatoes and pots of mint
Bed 9 Squash and corn
Bed 10 Carrots and radish (no manure in this part of the bed)


The remaining 2 spaces will be for the trees and herbs.
I'm hoping the above growings will be ready a bit before the outside space, to extend the growing season.  Once the first earlies are done in the polytunnel then something else will go back in their spot.  I'll make sure that the space is filled and keep records for next year. 
We've also got the greenhouse which I will be growing tomatoes, chillis, sweet peppers and cucumbers in as well as using that to bring the seeds on ready to go into the cold frame and planting out.  We had loads of tomatoes last year but even that wasn't enough so I'll be trying some outside in the south facing garden too.
Are you growing anything different?  I feel like I am growing a typical veg garden which I love the thought of, but all ideas welcome.
Oh and in other news, the 3 main geese have started hanging around with Ryan now.  Maybe they will accept her (we named her Ryan before we knew she is a she!)?  I

Just Buddy

My name's Buddy and I've just got back from the vets with my Mum.  I have to go every 6 months to have a check up.  This time it was a new practice at a vets near our new house.  I hate going to the vet.  Mum knows this and puts a muzzle on me to stop me nipping anyone if I get too annoyed or anxious.  She makes sure she spends as little time as possible in there with me as she knows I worry.

Tonight was a new vet, he was really kind.  He called me handsome and gave me a cuddle.  I didn't growl at him, so I think Mum was pleased.

He told her I was borrowing time off someone.  I haven't borrowed anything so I don't know what he's talking about.  They started talking so I got bored and just waited by the door. 

He did say that I was looking a bit stiff.  I'm pleased he said this as he's told Mum to increase my tablets.  I hate taking them, but they do make me feel better.  She started tonight as soon as we walked through the door.  She doesn't have much patience when something like that has to be done, she likes to get started straight away.

The 2 puppies are pestering me at the minute as I have a little cut on my back which they are trying to lick better.  So Mum's made them stay away whilst it heals, to stop any infection getting in.  I hope it clears up soon, the vet wasn't worried though, so I am not.  I have my family around me who love me loads, so that's enough to make anything feel better,

I'm going to try and find out who's time I am borrowing as the vet didn't tell me.  Mum seemed to know though.

Thanks for reading.

Love, Buddy xx

Where there's muck there's money...

This is our rotted muck all bagged up.  Generally people come to us to collect it for their veg plots and allotments.  We've had trailers, pick ups cars and some questionable vehicles coming through ours gates for it.  However, I thought I'd try my luck at selling it for £1 a bag.  We have access to a van, so I offered delivery included for the £1 a bag to the local allotments.  I'm pleased to say we sold 15 bags at the weekend meaning we are off the starting blocks for "where there's muck there's money".....literally.

Of course, the fact that the muck helps to grow many of our crops is money in itself, just a different type. 

Spring is around the corner

Over the weekend we managed to fill a 3^rd bed with rotted muck thanks to the horses.  That’s 3 large beds ready for top soil at the end Feb.

I am super excited to tell you about my hot bed.  It’s not an outdoor Victorian one, it’s an internal greenhouse one.  A hot bench I think is the correct terminology.  I knew there was something there last year but we didn’t know what it was and didn’t use it, we just used the space for something else.  This year however, I’ve found out how to use it and am in the middle of preparing it for seeds.  This is what it looks like now, I’ll share it with you again when it’s ready for use.

 It’s  amains powered thermostat that heats up wires in the sand and we think we’ve finally found where the mains power runs to, only it’s not attached to anything.  We’re going to get that sorted so I can get sowing in there.  It won’t be long now.

Having said that, I’ve started the sowing season already.  Too early some will say and I know and am prepared to take the risk.
I have got a couple of each of the following in: 
Heat loving germinating seeds:  Tomatoes (different types), aubergine, peppers (hot and sweet),
Cooler germinating seeds:  cauliflower, cabbage, PSB, leeks and red onions.

I was disappointed to find out that my new propagator wouldn’t fit in the airing cupboard!  This is where I planned for the heat loving ones to go, so I need to find them a new home.  When things are ready they will be moving into the part of the greenhouse heated by the paraffin heater.

My corn salad is up, it only took a few days to germinate however the first aubergines aren’t (they went in on 14^th so I won’t give up yet).  It’ll be interesting to see how the salad copes.  It’s in
a propagator in the kitchen next to the window.

I’ve also decided not to get the polytunnel that I was going to get this year.  Instead, as a compromise, I’m getting a smaller, green one.  Now a lot of people don’t like these and say we’re throwing money away as they don’t last etc.  However for us, it’s the right decision.  If and when it breaks, the framework will be used elsewhere.  If it doesn’t break, great.  As long as it sees me through this year and some of next, I’m happy.
I’ll be putting the first early potatoes into bags and also a bed in the polytunnel and then outside when the weather allows.  They aren't chitting yet, a job for tonight maybe.  Again it’ll be interesting to see how it extends the season for us.
Spring is definitely on it's way.  Just temperamental February to get through yet.  I have still not managed to get my hands on to any Seville oranges, despite going to the shops much more than I care to!  What’s everyone else up to in January?

Getting the growing plans in order and on paper

Something I want to do shortly is measure what we have land wise.  I want an accurate overhead, bird’s eye view of our home.  This will allow us to step back and look at the space for the future instead of standing amongst it all and seeing it with today’s intended use.  It’s hard to stand in Chickenville and see it as potential veg plot for example, or to know if the wooded area would be big enough to turn into a pig area if we fenced it off or where the best place to put an outdoor sand arena/horse walker would be.  I’d like to get that done in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I’m putting pen to paper, or finger to keyboard again to update the 2017 growing plan.  I have started sowing some seeds at the risk of losing them.  I’ve only put aubergine and corn salad in.  This weekend I have tomatoes, cauliflower, leeks, red onions, onions, peppers and chillis to put in.  Everything that needs a high heat to germinate will go in the airing cupboard as it’s right next to the Aga chimney.  The things that need 20C and below will go in the kitchen.  Hopefully things will come up together meaning they can be moved together to the south facing windowsill before going to the heated greenhouse at some point, as they will all be in one propagator.

We now have 3 new raised beds and there are 2 more large ones and 4 smaller in the pipeline too.  We’re busy filling them with muck and I’ll be getting a top soil delivery at the end February or early March to top them up.

The plan therefore currently looks like this (I've no idea if the photos will work but you get the idea)

We have 18 beds of different sizes (I know some people prefer uniform, but this works for us) and I'm still deciding what will go in some.  Bed 11 (large) and 15/16 (small) aren't spoken for.  I am growing more potatoes than some would bother with.

I can't decide whether to put anything permanent in my new beds.  Fruit bushes or such like.  This year they will be new soil so I may use it as a tester year. 

The older strawberry patch is taking over and I have no idea how old it is.  It performed well last year, but maybe this year I will dig it out once I've taken the runners as I'm going to line some beds with strawberries.

Also I am super excited to be saying I will be visiting lots of your blogs to search for your tried and tested recipes.  I know there are plenty of you who have them and I’d like them ready to use when harvest comes round.  It’s such a busy time of year that all planning ahead that can be done should, then I can just concentrate on the goodies and recipes.  Also I would like to time table in when to start making the food and drink for Christmas gifts.  I don't want to miss a thing this year!