Autumn School Days and Homestead Harvesting

Good morning everybody.

Well here we are in September with the nights certainly getting chillier and darker quite a lot earlier; I love the colours of the seasons changing, too.

Autumn and Winter are my very favourite seasons and I can't WAIT to get the Rayburn and wood burner lit. The first I think we'll light in the middle of this month. Sooo helps to cut down on winter outgoings as we do as much cooking on and in it as we can, it heats the water and keeps some of upstairs warm, or we put on an extra sweater! The boys love coming home to hot chocolate and cake in the warmth of the living room, curtains shut and I love sitting in there with Jon at night time chatting or listening to music. Even though the TV is only up two steps in a room off the living room it's a lovely quiet space if the boys want to do something else.

I have to admit to loving the winding down of the year and this year is one that surely needs to come to an end so we can look forward to a better, though I suspect still very different, 2021.

My usual question at the start of proceedings is how are you all getting on? I know a lot of people are describing our situation as lockdown having been lifted, but here on our little homestead we are pretty much behaving the same way, still living the dream in our own way here on my little patch of paradise.

(Apologies for the cement mixer but work in progress!)

We're only going to the shops for things we need, no browsing for fun; August Bank Holiday has just passed and we drove into Aber on the Sunday and it was extremely busy so we got what was needed and, as we say, got the hell out of dodge!

Just now shopping involves getting school supplies for our boys. With one who is 14 the week they go back and currently 5ft 4 it's proving a little tricky getting regulation school clothes as we're on the brink of the age range seeing as he's already in 15 - 16 yrs shirts, and don't get me started on trousers! Things will be very different for them, I think I mentioned I'll be driving them to school but I'm still waiting to hear that we can transfer Alfie to join Harry at his school in Aber.🤞 They will be in school next week for two or three days but we have no dates for attendance confirmed beyond that as yet. We expect there'll be some blended learning ie. home as well as in school but again this information has not come to us yet.

Here on the homestead Jon is continuing work on the new Airbnb listing. It's coming on very well indeed and we are just planning the colours, layout and style and as we plan on having some much missed family to stay with us over Christmas, no not apologising for saying it, we're looking forward to it being very welcoming and cosy for them.

Harvests have really not been too bad this year. Still have lots of carrots to come along with the Maris Piper maincrop spuds which seem to be really good already. I was a little concerned about the spuds due to the little tomato things growing on them again this year but was confident it wasn't blight although they also seemed to be dying back a bit early - my diary said they shouldn't be ready before Sept 19 about. Aaaaanyhow, I decided to cut them down to soil level and when I harvested two plants yesterday I came in with 4lbs of quality produce which I thought was a good amount. 

(The bags in the background are the 2nd cropping ones.)

Of course, I have the second cropping ones planted which will be going into the poly tunnel at some point; the growing bags will probably take the place of the butternut squash that took over the corner for so long.

I've been out foraging for blackberries, too, haven't really had to go very far for them,10 minutes from home at the most, and there have been sooo many that we now have a good couple of lbs in the freezer. Great for breakfast with yoghurt - hope to go out again this week and see if they are still in such abundance before the season ends.

I FINALLY have quite a few tomatoes ripening, from different varieties, too; they seem to have taken an absolute age so hope to pick those in the next couple of days; not enough to process into anything but never mind another year maybe.

I took up my beetroot last week; not loads this year but hope to have a late entry of some I have planted outside. I used the fresh along with some from the freezer which I grew last year. I had enough to make a couple of jars of relish, plus some for tasting, from a recipe by Thane Prince, and it was yummy; this will be perfect to go with cold meats at Christmas, oops there it is again! Not much preserving going on but some.

The outside beds and areas are beginning to look a little bit naked. The empty tyres where I grew my early spuds will be for onions and garlic I think, should be enough space. 

One of my great successes this year is definitely the kale. Constantly picking, rinsing and popping it into a bag for the fridge.

Maryline and I from Rural and Rustic were just saying that an eye needs to be kept on poly tunnel temperatures just now to ensure the more delicate things are still happy. I'll be popping out shortly to  feed the toms and few other things when I do the rounds; we're having some rain here today so the outdoor plants should be ok.

Right, today is the last no-screen day for the boys and Wednesday is also Monopoly Day; we normally have lunch then start and play until about 3 or 3.30pm.

Enjoy your day and I hope you enjoyed more of my ramblings.

#stayhomeandstaysafe where you can.

Bye for now

Lou,xx

John Lennon Had It Right.

Ok, usual opening.

(Sorry about typeface issues.)

Good morning, I hope you're safe and well? Things regarding the pandemic seem to be changing quite rapidly here in Wales. We've now been instructed to wear masks on all public transport and if we collect food from a takeaway establishment. My delivery of facemasks came this week so I'm now wearing at all times when I go shopping; I intend to keep them by both doors to ensure I always have one with me.

As more people are out and about I feel they are not always observing social distancing. I now feel safer when I have on a mask whilst still taking care myself to stick to the 2 meter rule. This applies especially in the supermarkets as this is really the only one place I go to. I find it quite difficult at times, though, when customers appear to be browsing in the stores and not concentrating on getting their shopping done and getting home again; the masks do help to cut down on my anxiety.

Stay safe, and stay home, where you can.

********************

Right, onto sowing and growing.

I checked back in my diary for this time last year and was rather pleased to read that progress wasn't much further forward in 2019 than just now.

JUST WANTED TO POIINT OUT THAT THIS POST FAILRY ACCURATELY ILLUSTRATES HOW LIFE GETS IN THE WAY OF EVERYTHING AT TIMES - AS JOHN LENNON SAID - 

"LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHILE YOU ARE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS" 

I started this post about a week ago so better get to it!

Today is Tuesday, as I type this the time is 9.15am, but obvs I'm not getting it done quickly!😂Chooks have been fed, there's no washing or bed changing to do today and I've taken a chocolate brownie out of the oven. The weather is a little overcast and chilly, compared to the last couple of which was very pleasant - need to close the poly tunnel door a little. This means we've got some jobs done outside but I'm having an indoor day today - need those now and again.

Yesterday Jon finished refurbishing his trailer so it is better equipped for fetching feed for the sheep in Winter;

he has treated himself to a new Milwaukee impact drill so was giving that a proper outing with the boys dying to have a go, too. In the good weather he's also mended the large lime spreader so that job could be done on the farm.

**I feel at this point I should clarify that we do not ourselves own a farm. However, our sheep farming neighbour is 81, fairly agile but age has its limits, obvs, so Jon is basically the one taking care of the sheep, helping along with our boys at lambing and shearing time and making sure all the maintenance is done around the place. He works full time at the moment, is currently in his second week of two weeks off though, and in the future may become the caretaker of the farm. Right now he is more than happy to be there to help and our neighbour is very appreciative. **

In line with this we have a new member to the household...

Belle arrived a week ago last Sunday and was eight weeks old yesterday. She is already getting to enjoy the garden and the big outdoors.

He will shortly begin the tiling of the bathroom in the last Airbnb listing after making the shelves for the walk in wardrobe yesterday. We have out listings 'snoozed' at the moment so people are unable to contact us until we are ready after refurbishments, new photos and obviously Christmas. I'm more than happy not to have guests staying with us just now; we were looking forward to welcoming old and new guests for the Eisteddfod but that will come again next year and well worth the wait for participants and visitors alike.

Ok, lets get onto other things.

I have some flowers growing in the garden; not my usual thing but I love Nigella so very pleased these are now out.

I planted dahlias for the first time last year outside the Studio but this year only one has come back, still lovely though.

I took delivery yesterday of this hydrangea, the variety which I saw on Gardeners' World when the lovely Adam Frost was hosting - hope he gets to do that a bit more.

A member of our Facebook Community page which was set up at the beginning of lockdown swapped a fairly big bag of brown rice for a couple of different dahlias and one of them is flowering. I love the colour and can see it from the top kitchen window.....

... along with these.

I just nipped out to take a few photos of the veg beds and a video of the poly tunnel. Sorry there is no sound but I really don't like speaking so do hope the visual is sufficient.

There might just be enough beetroot to pickle along with some I still have in the freezer. I still have trays and pots of seedlings - salad leaves, parlsey, khol rabi, dwarf beans. Highlights are all the flowers on the tomatoes but none ripening yet.... The dwarf beans have all but finished, in part due to some aphids which I seem to have under control now with a spray of diluted washing up liquid. The one huge squash continues to grow. Finally have some small cucumbers, kale is amazing. More seedlings of cauli, basil, a few spring onions plus wallflowers and broccoli pricked out and potted on yesterday. Runner beans? more kale? I moved the blueberries into the tunnel as seem to have lost some ripening ones to the birds for the first time. Still lots of salad Mazur and herbs including coriander, lemon balm and oregano.

Outside the courgettes are doing really quite well, both varieties here and I also have Goldena and Zucchini, not the dodgy ones, in containers, too.

The broccoli is doing really well, so happy that I netted it. Need to keep an eye on this as I don't want it to blot whilst I'm hoping it will get bigger as happened with my cauli last year.

(Talking of netting, I have lost almost all of my cabbages because I DIDN'T net them but plan in sowing Spring cabbage shortly.)

The carrot patch is looking very healthy and we plan on using some of those really soon.

I have dwarf peas in the poly tunnel but it seems, as with last year, for me they do better outside.

The Charlotte spuds are really very good this year; dying back so pulling those up every couple of days and eating pretty much daily.

Oooh, nearly forgot, on Saturday I planted all of my Christmas spuds, 12 tubers.

Well, I think that's it for me just now. In between starting and finishing life stuff has happened again, I've washed up, we've had lunch together and now it's time to get on with my other jobs then I can go and do my crafting, which DOES involve the festive season, soooooory!😂

Hope you enjoyed my latest ramblings.

Take care

Bye for now, Lou.xx

Projects, plants and progress.

Hello!

Before I start I hope everybody is still staying safe. Thing seem to be changing quite rapidly in the outside world just now - not really affecting us to the point that I sometimes don't know what the new rules are as I don't intend to do anything much changed since lockdown began. However, thinking of everybody as people start to get used to the new normal in whatever part of the country you find yourself and in whatever form it is found.

                                                              *****************

Today is Sunday. It's blowing a bit of a hooley out there just now but this is the view that greeted me at the cellar back door this morning.

I have a list of things to do but a lot of them are outside jobs and that is why I'm ducking out of most of them today, to do with what I'm posting about just now. I have however planted out the two dahlias which came as my fab swap for a bag of unwanted brown rice and my first time multi-sown leeks a la Charles Dowding but I am done with the wind now.

First thing yesterday I took a look in the veg beds and came inside with some Arran Pilot first early spuds which we had for lunch with mint from the garden, some herbs, salad leaves and radish, Pinks flowers and a couple of eggs. As it was Saturday I fetched one of my loaves up from the cellar freezer; we tend to use my bread as the family prefer sliced bread in the week with mine delish with our own eggs and butties for brekky on the weekend!

My handy hubby completed a job we've been talking about for a while. It got done because he'd already started an improvement job on our septic tank soakaway and, because he needed materials for that, he brought home what was needed for the other job more close to my heart. Have to say chuffed with our two boys as they have helped with the job by doing some digging of the trench during the week - not fun for them but definitely went towards some well earned pocket money.

Job number two was finishing the path in the poly tunnel and making the outside a little more presentable, along with stopping it getting swamped due to being at the bottom of the garden on an ever so slight slope!

I won't provide you with photos of the septic tank job😁... but here is the poly tunnel before and after.

I can't WAIT to pitch my pink and blue stool outside and enjoy my little patch of paradise, check on jobs to be done, feel chuffed with myself when things go well or commiserate with when they don't quite come off as I had expected! - pretty much a reflection of life in general. I do hope gardening is still helping you keep mentally healthy and giving you the chance to get outside in the fresh air, between the rain showers.

As we looked around the garden yesterday we talked about other projects and plans we have. We don't plan on having any Airbnb guests staying with us until 2021 so will take the time to get stuff done! Our calendar is blocked off and we don't anticipate welcoming any new guests before next February. I recieved this from a previous guest just this week in the form of a post card via Airbnb - 

Hi Louise,

I was really looking forward to coming back to Ystrad Meurig to stay with you again (during the Eisteddfod) but hopefully we can do so next year. I spent the wet winter recalling my daily cycle rides during the hottest week of July. Fantastic! I hope you’ve all be managing during the lockdown and have stayed well. Let’s hope some kind of normality returns soon! Best wishes, Neil.

So very, very kind. Apparently guests have asked for ways to send support to their favourite hosts.

Now please don't be offended by the next photo. This is the frame of my beloved poly house built by my husband not long after we moved here. It has been through two covering projects but the last one we decided was THE last one as far as polythene goes. So here is the poly house as is now....😒

We have a separate job to be done first, this summer with all things crossed for its completion, which will allow us to do this one pretty much for free - always good! That job is a new roof on the conservatory. I am not a fan of conservatories in general, however on wet days I can dry clothes, dry herbs, garlic as I am just now, there is a pool table in there, it works as a boot room and we have the door we use to come into the house - anybody else not use their front door apart from for some guests, the post and other deliveries?

This is the conservatory, taken from the garden.

So, the process will be to clad up the sides of the poly house to a total of about three feet then take the Perspex - like material off the roof of the conservatory to add to the roof and sides. This will be fantastic as right now I don't have a potting shed/ building in the garden to do bits and pieces in and have to wait for good weather to use my outside bench.

Regarding the conservatory, once the Perspex roof is off it will have boarding and waterproofing etc topped off with some FREE tiles we have had "in stock" for a good while; the sides will also be clad with room left for a window on each side, too; this will make the room more usable all year round.

As we wandered around the garden yesterday I took a look at a few things and some photos. The sweetcorn is now just over 2ft tall. It's doing better than a couple of years ago because of me planting it in the same spot as the very first year I grew it - outside the poly house where it gets great sunshine.

I did a plant swap a while ago and one thing I was given was a pumpkin; not sure of the variety but I do know it is white! I've been thinking where I can plant it so it has enough space. I've decided to put it toward the back left as you look at the poly tunnel. 

I took a quick look in one of my compost bins and I hate the sight which greeted me. Rather stupidly I put some rogue spuds out of the veg beds in there and look what happened?!! I could really kick myself as I am going to have to pull them all out when I give the bin a turning over.😖 REALLY mad with myself.

Whilst meandering we talked about the trees in the garden. The previous owners planted a LOT of trees during their time at the house, but as we've gone on to do different things with the outside space they need taking back and even removing.

This tree is just enormous and will need some work as it worries us at time when we have had some really windy weather that it made head toward the house!

Then this collection, including a couple on the left of the photo, over shadow the poly tunnel a little so will need some work.

So onto today, I went to feed the chooks and had a look at any wind damage from over night - not too bad; I had to re-stake the broccoli netting and saw that the maincrop spuds in the tyres had taken a bit of a battering but I'm sure they'll survive. 

These next photos show one of my cucumber plants, teeny tiny cucumber just now?! plus some I've sown to grow outside which I might need if the ones in the poly tunnel don't buck up their ideas!

Here are the PSB which I've potted on until their final resting place is ready. The caulis in the bed behind the poly house are looking very healthy. Keeping an eye on them in case they need to be netted.

These are a very welcome sight, my dwarf beans in the poly tunnel. Earlier in the week I was having a bit of a panic as some of the beans seemed to be going mouldy; this I am certain was due to me not ventilating the poly tunnel enough - rookie mistake with being a first time poly tunnel owner. Things seem to be improving which is great.

These two photos are of opposite sides of the poly tunnel, gaps which I really need to do something about. On the left is a solitary aubergine, next to the fig tree, which I think is really struggling. On the right to the right of the planter housing a butternut squash Butterbush are three pepper plants which, again, are struggling. I did use the plastic bottles as mini greenhouses and they seemed to help a bit; I think we need a bit more warm weather to help these plants along a bit. 

So, I think that covers everything for now. Please do accept my apologies for the ever changing colours and typeface, just getting used to a faitly new laptop... 😒

#Staysafe, look after yoursleves and bye for now.

Lou.xx