Post-Frost Sowing and Growing.

Hello everybody, how are you all doing? It is ok not to be ok so hopefully help is there for when you might have a bit of a wobble; I know all about that but managing ok just now.

We are about to enter week eight of lockdown and here in Wales we are keeping to the #stayhomesavelives rule. Our lockdown will be reviewed in a weeks time. We're allowed to exercise outside for more than one hour a day and some garden centres are re-opening but not the one we use. All that is just fine by us; to be honest the only thing I had been lacking for outside was compost for the poly tunnel but we had a delivery plus our click and collect with feed for the chickens; could still do with a bit more for sowing and potting on but using some I put in a tyre for planting out which, in the meantime, I've decided not to do.

Talking of the poly tunnel I've got lots of jobs done since my last post; I've been sharing some progress on Instagram and Twitter but I like it when I can see before and after photos here; I hope you enjoy them along with my ramblings. Before my photos this is the cover of a book very kindly sent to me by the wonderful Rural and Rustic which is Maryline.

I do hope my tunnel looks close to something like this in the future. Maryline writes some beautifully insightful posts about nature, the seasons and all manner of lovely stuff on her social media accounts.

There was an incident where one of the lambs got in the tunnel as I'd failed to shut the door properly so..... I went charging down to the bottom of the garden howling like a banshee when I saw it just inside telling it to get out! When I apologised if he had heard my slightly blue language, my neighbour said he was quite impressed at my level of reserve! The damage could have been a lot worse and to guard against this happening again Jon has put up this cargo netting and it works a treat as I can comfortably have my back to the door without worry about intruders.

Something else new in the tunnel is my digital thermometer. Very excited to have this handy little tool; this was taken about 11am today, Sunday.

So from inside the tunnel I've made a little video; silent as a) I'm not keen on my voice when it is recorded and b) I don't know how to do it easily and for free. You can find that Tracy over at Our Smallholding Adventure has a great new YouTube channel so do try and find the time to take a look. Maybe I should ask her for some help - chic? 

Here goes.

A quick guide to go with it from left to right. We have Perpetual Spinach which I love in stir fry and salads, Rainbow Chard, a sorrel plant - a minor casualty of the sheep,

spring onions, beetroot then I've sown Snowball turnips followed by Wild Rocket. There is a gap, not sure what for yet, maybe an aubergine plant then you see the tomatoes; various varieties including Black Russian, Gardener's Delight, a yellow plum, Marmande and Maskotka; a couple of the plants were given to be by a friend. 

The dwarf beans in the corner are one of our most used things I grow so I have a good number of those before you get to the strawberry plants which are looking quite healthy 

- I moved a couple from a crate outside to fill the space. In the far corner I have two squash plants - one grown by me which is Butterbush meant for a container so thought it would be good space wise for indoors along with a Vegetable Spaghetti from the same tomato friend. 

Down the right hand side we have dwarf peas; I love dwarf varieties as I find them easier to take care of than towering wigwams, call me lazy but... I've planted three cucumbers - maybe a bit close but I'm just going with the flow in the tunnel being my first year; same thing could be said for the dwarf beans and tomatoes but what the heck! Another space just now followed by red and green lettuce which is something I manage to grow sooooo easily, inside or out, and there are a couple of rows of sown Mazur lettuce for another variety of salad leaves. 

There are leeks in trays not ready to go out yet-

never been successful with leeks so fingers crossed.

Kale is something I failed with last year but these plants I think will go in the bed of the poly house/gazebo when ready; love Kale, nobody else does really so that will be a freezer item.

Another of the minor casualties of the sheep incident was a couple of broccoli plants. These are not ready to plant out but will go in bed number 2, far left of the growing area, when they are a bigger.

Now to outside. During last week we had a couple of cold nights leading to some slight frost damage on my first early spuds.

I used some old hessian, coffee sacks to cover over and it was quite surprising the warmth I could feel underneath when I removed them. Growers of their own are breathing a sigh of relief, hopefully, that the colder weather is now over and I know lots of us are itching to get planting, inside and out.

I mentioned the red and green lettuce before and I have it growing in my old sink along with spring onions. 

Again, I haven't had lots of luck with onions before but some of those sown as done as here using the Charles Dowding multi-sow method.

Blueberry plants, mediterranean herbs and more dwarf peas coming along nicely; the first lot hopefully for a good FIRST fruiting and harvest!

You can see to the left of this planter that I've put down cardboard and some mulch to keep the weeds at bay. Seems to be working and I'm trying to do this in as many areas of the garden as I can.

The onion and garlic bed, considering we had a bit of shaky start regarding the planting (the rain kept bringing the sets to the top), is doing well. However, the onion bulbs don't look that big just now but plenty of time for both them and the garlic.

I've been asking for help on Twitter this morning as I've had problems identifying if my parsnips are growing; I'm now certain which greenery were interlopers and which are the plants so may re-sow, thanks for the advice.

The two courgettes I've planted outside in bed two are one Tondo di Piacenza and a Goldena, seen here already with a couple of budding fruit!

I thought I'd share my not-too-often-flowering lilac bush as it was blowing beautifully in the breeze as I was walking around the garden this morning.

Right, I think I've rambled on enough and hope you've enjoyed my little tour.

I really hope my first year with the poly tunnel is somewhat of a success, but know I'll be learning along and just giving stuff a go! With the current situation the garden is such a wonderful place to escape to, in all weathers. I really hope in the future that I'll be able to provide more food for our family, leading to us not being so reliant on supermarkets as people have found themselves during the lockdown.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx

CHANGE, NOW AND IN THE FUTURE - A positive post.

When I look out of my top kitchen window over our little homestead and beyond, where we live, I am eternally grateful for many reasons  However I am even more thankful because, to be honest, just now I can forget about what it going on elsewhere for a little while. 

This doesn't mean I am not considering those wonderful people doing amazing things for us all, but it does my health good just to stop and enjoy what me and mine have now and then. Since my last post, which was just 10 days ago, many things have changed a great deal and we are all dealing with and experiencing a very different way of life. 

The boys have now been off school for 2 weeks, I am coping quite well with their home schooling as the eldest just gets on with stuff but the youngest needs a little more encouragement when it comes to focus. However they have also been making the best of the good weather, as I tell them at any time when we get sun, by going on their bikes but they are careful and keep a VERY good distance because social isolation is not top of everyone's list! Plus they are doing outside chores in between school work like collecting the eggs, feeding the hens and orphan lambs - the three amigos - which we now have in the garden, and they've fixed my wonky main veg bed ready for the growing season. 

Jon is still going to work but practising social distancing which is quite easy when he works in an outside sawmill. Apparently he is classed as a key worker because the company provides important help regarding animal/stock management through timber products. He feels they may close at some point because of the number of deliveries/orders they have coming in and out at times but we will see.

I was very flattered the other day when Tracy of Our Smallholding Adventure suggested I write a post about how I organise my kitchen. (By the way she has a fab new post there; we are two peas in a pod when it comes to this sort of thing.) Some people are comparing life now to how it was in the war years and I agree, but at the same time not trying to tell people who did live through WW1 or WW2 how it was for them. However, I was going to write something a little different but right now I think we're all having to be more adaptable in these challenging times, but I think it CAN be character building, so my post has been adapted, too. When you have to change your life it gives you the chance to realise what you REALLY can do without, how you can substitute items for things you are used to and that in the end it just doesn't matter most of the time. This doesn't just apply to what goes on in the kitchen, I think people will decide what really matters to them once things begin getting back to normal and I frankly can't wait! We can already see pollution has been affected by people not travelling so much, water in the canals of Venice is clearer and maybe the thinking of people will not be so tainted when we come out the other side. 

Back to the kitchen. I'm constantly checking the things we've made and put in the freezer or the supplies of things we have in stock that are fresh or in cupboards etc. Variety in our meals is something we are still achieving; we don't have to eat boring meals as long as we concentrate on flavour and the way we use the ingredients we have.

So, I've mentioned in a previous post that we were lucky enough to get to our local wholesalers before things became really serious regarding #stayhomestaysafe. We stocked up on some great staples which has been a total bonus and along side these as I said before, there are things we haven't/can't get for love nor money, namely plain/bread flour so the self raising flour we bought - 16kg of it..

is being used for everything from bread without yeast, pizza bases, sweet bakes, cakes and makes. I've now used up any bread or plain flour I did have and this loaf was made yesterday with the last of it, half and half of plain and SR - came out well, just with there was more!

Bread products in general are a real issue so I am resigned to making fresh Piadina, which I've been harping on about on social media a bit, but it is fantastic and so easy. 
It comes from one of Jamie Oliver's books which I love and is well used; it is a great book to use at this time showing us how to Shop Smart Cook Clever and Waste Less - full of use it up ideas!

This can be used for both savoury and sweet meals. I'm also going to dig out a recipe I have for biscuits instead of buying more cream crackers when the current supply runs out to go with soups and for snacks. I used to make soda bread a lot but SR flour doesn't come out as well as even regular plain flour... But, if you have curry you can make simple flat bread and those can also be used for sandwiches or with meat fillings for main meals.

I had to fetch a prescription on Wednesday so went to our local farmers co-op and the fruit and veg shop along side which I have used in the past. This was before I had a panic attack at another shop, just getting to my car before I fell into floods of tears after an old man wanted to hold the door open for me. I then broke down again at the fruit and veg shop about which the people were lovely. It was a surreal experience as I'd not been into Aber since March 12 or to anywhere else beyond the village shop and things outside the house had changed a lot at that point. I feel the anxiety came on as it was a shock to me, even though we live within village life that doesn't have lots of hustle and bustle, that things were so eerily quiet. I'm very happy that we must not go out unless absolutely necessary because when I DO need to go out I know I'll feel safe because I don't have to go to a big town and I know the set up of the shops. We're also getting a weekly delivery of fantastic, local meat from the butcher in the same place so very pleased with that, too, for example these chops. It is great to support local businesses just now.

Therefore from my recent shopping trip I bought items to go along side frozen items and dried goods we already have. For example I can always make crumbles and cakes so have bought lemons for a bit of flavour when I don't have fruit to include in a recipe and apples to make a big pudding which will last a couple of days. Shortbread is interesting when made with SR flour as turns out slightly cakey but very tasty topped with jam!

Nothing is going to waste in the kitchen. Veg odds and ends go into a pot to be made into soup; the huge leek I bought had the tops removed to go with potato, some carrots of which we have tonnes! as this is another thing be bought at the wholesalers, a couple of spuds and some seasoning and voila, lunch today was said soup with some additions from the fridge.

Jon is chief pie maker and this beauty was a mince monster he made last week. Due to the meat, veg and spuds in it, a slice doesn't need too much extra veg on the side - a slice each and four in the freezer.

Now to sowing and growing, are you still with me? I've started as normal, no panic here as we have to watch out for that last cold snap of the year but the conservatory is doing a great job helping things germinate - tomatoes, peppers, dwarf beans, annual flowers, marigolds, 2 varieties of beetroot. In the garden the first early spuds are in along with some hardy red and green lettuce and spring onions. The exciting news is that I have today ordered a poly tunnel from feel good uk; this is just fab as I've always wanted one. Jon and I have come to the conclusion, perhaps as a big number of people, that should anything else happen as we are currently experiencing we want to be able to take care of ourselves as MUCH as possible. So I am busy making sure I know what will go inside and out of the tunnel to maximise what we have and what we can produce. The other thing we have had plans for, forever, is pigs; we're lucky enough to have a field which is just over three acres in size and only ten minutes down the road. With getting the Airbnb listings off the ground effort and funds have not been available but we think next year is the perfect time to have them.

So that is where we are up to right now and our ideas to get through the next few months. Then how our plans will hopefully pan out later. It is a difficult time but we WILL come out the other side with renewed vigour, hope and a future changed for many of us.

Take care, stay safe and I would love to hear about how you are living through now and your plans for then.

Bye for now,

Lou.xx

Progress, Plants and People

Hello.

It has been over two weeks since my last post - sounds like I'm at confession!! so settle down with a brew as this may take a while!

Things have been pretty busy recently in all aspects here on our little homestead.

You may see in my left side bar the latest of our Airbnb listings. We are so very excited to finally have this available. The progress of the project was great fun when putting it together because of the theme and we absolutely love it. It isn't like the other two rooms we have as people book those last minute for a night away or a couple of days when the weather is good. Because this new listing is a self-catering unit I think we have to be a little more patient for bookings; we expect people to come and stay with us for a few days which obviously needs a little more planning on their part but are optimistic for a good season once we get some reviews in.

Talking of reviews, we've had fab great reviews from all the guests over the last two weeks; we were busy in the run up to and over the Bank Holiday of the year which was fantastic.

Now, the garden. My little patch of paradise is coming along very nicely thanks very much. Due to the wet and warm weather we've been having recently it seems all the plans are getting what they need.

This is the main patch with the maincrop spuds; (they're actually a bit bigger than this now)

obviously I'm having a bit of a potato panic due to there being so much foliage - praying (back to the confession theme) the spuds themselves come out ok especially after last year's dis-ar-ster dhaling!!

I have to admit that these seem to be doing better than the early ones...

In the background you may have seen the onions..

which I'm chuffed with; they are looking so healthy and I'll be keeping an eye on the tops dying back in the coming weeks ready to take them up, hopefully when they can dry out in the sunshine.

As usual I've planted quite a few courgette plants! This is the first of two outside which are currently flowering very nicely.

Yesterday I took the peas up out of the poly house ready to plant two cucumber and a squash plant. I harvested the last few peas - the plants I had in there gave me almost 1.5 lb of peas which are in the freezer. I have more plants in bed three and the one outside the poly house so hope to get another couple of lbs. I had a nice little harvest to take indoors.

The sweet peas are growing really well, I'm cutting them regularly and I just love the fragrance, 

here are some with one of the front door roses, eeek I love them!

Salad leaves are having their best year yet; I think I've finally got the successional sowing of these figured out. Yay, go me!

The turnips are one things that didn't do well with the wet and warm weather; they had all pretty much gone to seed so I picked one and gave the chooks a treat of the leaves. I've already sown some more in with the cabbages and will probably re-sow the bed.

The cabbages have been a real revelation. These were overwintered in the deceased greenhouse and planted out in about February. These were only about five and some were sold or eaten as Spring greens, some given away and we are still eating them now - just two left. Nothing nibbled them, they have grown really healthily so I think I'll go for them again.

I was given some begonias and trailing plants so I bought hanging baskets to make up for the rooms. I'm quite pleased withe them for my first effort.

Something else not quite so welcome but here due to the wet and warm weather were the weeds. This is the far end of the growing area where the weeds had consumed everything...

and then Jon strimmed it for me...

and NOW you can see the planter I'll be using for the outside tomatoes - I love a before and after photo!

I have two fruit trees and two blackcurrant bushes towards the back as well as the raspberry buses which run alongside veg patch 3 (2nd early spuds on the very right). I'm very grateful the ground elder hasn't spread from near the poly house and if we do our best to keep on top of the weeds and grass it should be ok. Because the far right hand side of patch 3 is stony with lots of tree roots I'd love to see if I can use the area to grow borage.

Ok, I've rambled on enough I think and anyway its lunch time.

Bye for now.

Lou.x

Here Comes The Sun!

The weather the last couple of days, as in most places, has been glorious, absolutely gorgeous. My boys' had a school football tournament yesterday so were pleased with the weather and I put out some washing to dry and got into the garden. Today my youngest is taking part in a cross country event in Aberaeron so he has gone with a hat and strict instructions to stay in the shade where possible. 

I'm just going to share a few photos; this is so I can see where things are progressing and to let you see how things are coming along.

In the fruit patch the blackcurrants and raspberries are leafing up really well. as are my baby blueberry bushes. A couple of the fruit trees are starting to blossom especially this one.

I've been sowing turnip and beetroot - a cylindrical variety - in the cold frame bed. In the lettuce sink I've added American Cress; I like that this one could be ready in as little as five weeks - saw Monty sowing it this week and happened to have some so spurred me on.

I was going to plant the three Charlotte tubers I have but only put in two, using the growing bags provided, as one hadn't chitted as much as I'd like; I'll leave it a little while yet.

Talking of spuds, I've the beginnings of my first earlies peeping through already!

The onions are progressing nicely but the garlic is doing really well.

Since moving the strawberry plants to the conservatory they are thriving, but no flowers yet.

The first lot of climbing peas I sowed 10 days ago are already sprouting; have moved them from the propagator into the conservatory to make room for other things getting a head start.

I sowed another lot yesterday; I hoped to get the frame for these put in place as I thought I had enough tall bamboo canes... and I did! Woop woop! A before and after of course.

Need netting at the weekend but chuffed with it, even though a little wonky at the top but very pleased with myself. Its one of those things I always dreamt of having when I thought about ever having a proper veg plot.

Today, before I put up the frame, I skimmed off the remainder of the chicken poo I laid on top of the patch before covering over for winter. Although the poo had, the straw/hay had not rotted down completely and I didn't want to leave it all on the patch. 

I came up with a great idea, I think. I'm definitely leaving the fruit area to go a bit wild, it does IN the wild so why not, but I thought to keep the weeds down from around the blackcurrants and raspberries I would take up a few of them then mulch with what came off the main plot. 

Very happy with the result but I didn't let it touch directly to the bushes as not sure that it a good thing to do - whatever!

Right, I've eaten my lunch whilst doing this in between the work outside, making bread, checking on the lambs (we are not bottle feeding anymore but just keeping an eye on now and then) and putting the washing out. Need to go move the last of the bought compost out of my car boot then I'll see what else I can do.

Looking forward to seeing what everybody is getting up to in the good weather and how your sowing and growing is coming on.

Bye for now.

Lou.xx