Poly Tunnel Pleasure and other stuff!

Hello all.

How is everybody doing? I hope you are coping but if not it's ok to have a wobble now and then, take it from one who knows!

I have to be honest that, in general, we're just keeping on trucking here on our little homestead. Jon is at work for now and I am still stay at home mum. Chatting to somebody on Twitter the other day I explained how I don't have the connections which are normally provided by our Canolfan close to the house. The activities, like the regular coffee mornings and lunches I normally attend, have been put on hold but right now but I'm more than happy to shut the door behind me and stay home after any necessary visits.

I read a blog post here about home by the wonderful Rebecca at Fforest Hill, that is well worth a read when you have a moment, which most of us do at some point just now. It talks about where and what home means to you.

Obviously things are different in a way for the boys; they are coping with the school work really well in general and when that's over for the day they still have their jobs to do around the place; they still want their pocket money so it has to be earned by things like fixing fences, storing logs for winter and helping tidy the garden.

In another admission we are loving actual lockdown. Tracy at Our Smallholding Adventure and I have talked about this a lot over the weeks. Although she is a total super woman, as in a lot of households, where she is having to work from home, manage her animals, keep up with home schooling whilst looking after the children and Steve, she is enjoying the way we have been forced to live just now, too. However using the word 'forced' implies it is a chore and I have to be honest, again, I (we) don't see it that way.

We're still using shops closer to home, more so than travelling to major supermarkets, including the butcher and fruit n veg cabin both just eight miles away. We've plans to continue making a monthly visit to the wholesalers for dried goods but we're baking and making in the kitchen and getting on with growing our own as well as we can, which brings me on to the big even of recent weeks...

We've lived here in Wales for just over 4 and a half years, crikey are those numbers right? Ever since being settled I've wanted a poly tunnel (PT); I was very lucky to have Jon build me a wonderful poly house not long after we moved here. It's been fantastic and will continue to be once it is re-covered because at the moment it's masquerading as a gazebo!

Anyhow, the PT arrived last Tuesday so after tea with the help of the boys we had the frame put together without too much trouble.

I did help but was also chief photographer, obvs!

On the Wednesday night the whole gang were outside again - soooo thankful for good weather at that time, we measured out and made up the lengths of wood for the beds.

We, do you like the royal we, put in the steaks REALLY far down so the frame could be drilled and attached to them; this sucker is going NOWHERE!

On Thursday we put the cover on and that was, surprisingly, not that difficult.

I've ordered a massive bag of compost which will be here on Thursday, squuueal, and this will mean we can put a really thick layer on top of the manure; hope it comes in the morning then me and the boys can get it done. In the meantime I'm getting used to the space so have moved all my sowings and growings in there; still trying to figure out where planting out will go but sowing like a mad woman at the same time, Maryline at Rural and Rustic shares this way of thinking with me, so when the time comes I will be raring to go! 

I made this little video the other day showing of the seedlings etc that I have in there just now. As ever, I apologise for my voice as I sooo dislike it.

In the last few days we have, thankfully, had a bit of rain after some wonderful sun and the first early spuds are really coming on. The first photo here was April 20th...

and here is the same tyre on the 29th.

I was too impatient the other day and, seeing as I had to go out for chicken feed, I decided I couldn't wait for the compost delivery to finish a little project. This bed is in the far right corner of the growing area. I have trouble as things are in the habit of popping up in the middle of it. I properly took the Charles Dowding approach with it and covered it with cardboard and then a really good layer of compost. 

I suppose I was a bit silly planting the raspberry canes where I did but there you go. I'll be planting through the cardboard at the left hand end with butternut squash and dwarf beans at the right hand end. The seeds sown for the squash were those that can grow in a container but it can't hurt to plant them outside.

Back to the 2020 spud campaign, always a source of worry for me like most things in the garden! I began by planting some of the maincrop in our two massive tyres and the rest are going in the top end of the main veg bed, see photo, where the onions were last year. I always forget just how much space they need so have to be careful how far up the bed this year.

Well, today is Friday and the weekend is upon us. Weather is set to be a bit wet but we hope for some sun in between as Jon and the boys have fencing to do and I'd like to get some work done outside. 

Late edit I've been working on a craft project for ages and finally finished it. My 13yr old son put the music on the background for me, I know! 

So take a look at my Vintage Junk Journal Reveal here. 

Best wishes for a lovely weekend, under the circumstances, stay safe and well and we'll see what the next week brings us.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

Steadily Sowing And Gradually Growing.

Good morning.

I do hope you have some good weather you can be grateful for and enjoy if you are able to get outside. We have been very lucky recently and the forecast is good for the rest of the week so much so that our boys are camping out in the garden tonight.

How is everybody? Well I hope and staying safe under the circumstances; we're ok with the odd wobble here and there. We were back in home-school mode yesterday so at times I needed to help the youngest with the writing of a theoretical business plan and then an imaginary diary of a sheep drover from the 1880's - in Welsh, suffice to say I was helping before translation. Today it is French, Science and Maths but the last one is Jon's domain if help's needed!

The chooks are laying well at the moment. We gave a box of eggs to each of our neighbours at the weekend and yesterday made use of a few more. It was a bit of a kitchen day so I managed to make chicken and tops-of-the-leeks soup, over-ripe fruit crumble, apple and cinnamon oat cookies with some shamefully slightly past best eating apples and two cakes - almond pound cake and chocolate.

In other kitchen news I was able to get some yeast from the catering company my sister uses so I am good to go with the bread making now!

I took a turn around the garden after tea last night and did the watering; some of the chickens were free ranging and quite happily shared the garden with the lambs. 

The red and green lettuce in the shallow sink is doing really well; hope it results in as good a crop as last year!

Arran Pilot first early spuds are coming along in all three of the tyres.

Even the lilac, which only flowers once every couple of years, made me smile.

The strawberry pots outside are looking very healthy after over wintering...

and they will, along with those from the large crate, VERY soon be transferred to the poly tunnel (PT) because I'm expecting it to be delivered TODAY or tomorrow.👏👏 Soooo excited. The plan is to get the frame up at the weekend and Jon is going to build beds each side with a middle walkway. We hope to have compost delivered at the end of the month when we share a big order with our neighbours so the supplier makes just one journey. We'll be looking at putting a good eight inches or so over the manure we have already laid on the area and then let the planting commence!

One slight nuisance I have in the large bed are the rogue spuds left over from last year; they have popped up here and there so I think I'll have to take them out so they don't bother the new planting out I'll be doing.

I checked the conservatory last night, too; things have been coming on gradually in there over the last few days, too. I did my first potting on the other day and that was the squash, Butterbush variety, which are suggested as a container plant but I'm actually putting them in the ground.

I've sown aubergine Black Beauty this year, again, and they are showing, not huge yet but...; really want to be able to have these in the PT.

This is the first year I have tried multi-sowing,  a la Charles Dowding, and these are my leeks!

Tomatoes are not very big yet but looking healthy.

One crop which will be ready to plant out soon, allowing for the last frost, are my dwarf beans; it should be safe to put these out by the end of the month.

Well, I'd better get a brew so I'm ready to start with the boys. 

I hope you are all managing, coping and maybe enjoying or at least making the best of this forced situation we've found ourselves in; we need to stick to the rules to protect everybody. I know it seems like it will never end but it will and when we come out the other side life will be different for sure, but we'll be able to reconnect with people again without the use of a screen and hopefully appreciate so much more who and what we are lucky enough to have in our lives.

Take care and stay safe.

Lou.xx