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Monday 27 March 2017

The Lie of the Land

As the sowing, planting and growing season gets into full swing it seemed like a good time to give you a better view of our little smallholding. They say a picture paints a thousand words so hopefully this will help you to understand what I'm talking about. M has spent some time drawing (and colouring) to produce an almost to scale plan.


It's a work in progress and will be continually evolving so I'll try to keep it up to date with any major changes.

Orchard 






This is a rough guide to our orchard although it's not quite to scale. The trees we have 
planted have been named but the original trees which we have yet to identify are labelled U. We have planted bare root trees last year and this year so they are all quite young so we are looking forward to seeing how it develops in the future.

Wednesday 15 March 2017

While the sun shines

Well, after weeks of rain and drizzle combined with cold days and nights we are being blessed with the occasional day of mild weather and a smattering of sunshine, the delights of spring sunshine. Our outside projects were beckoning and although we weren't planning on making any hay we had plenty of other things to get on with.

A few weeks ago I started to prepare the veg baths and noticed that one was full of old roots which I suspected were left over from peas and sweet peas grown by the previous owners. I thought I'd empty the bath, try to remove the roots while aerating and fertilising the compost at the same time. I did about half of it last month (turns out that removing the compost using a little trowel is really time consuming) and decided it was time to get back to it. This was not a quick task, it took me half a day and nearly finished off my back. Still, it was worthwhile as onion planting could commence.

Our onion sets arrived last month and we have been waiting patiently for the best conditions for planting. A total of 3 packets of onions and one of shallots. We have been planting onions for years with varying degrees of success. One of the problems is that I can never remember from one year to the next what process produced the best harvest. Another issue is the conflicting information on planting; the onion packets say 5' apart but the leaflet from the company say 2'-4' apart. Sounds like a bit of guess work to me!!

 
So, combining all the advice given I planted Centurion and Sturon 3' apart and Hercules 4' apart. The shallot bulbs were a lot bigger than the onion ones (strange because I always thought that shallots were small) so they were planted at 4' apart and I managed to fit them in between the 2 rows of garlic. M came up with the bright idea of planting a couple of zigzag rows which meant I could fit more into the baths and so in all I planted 166 onions. I have loads left over too so I'm going to put them in cells in the greenhouse for planting out later. I still have some onions grown from seed in the autumn and overwintered in the greenhouse. If they all grow it looks like we be able to assist if there is a national onion shortage!

M made me some chicken wire covers for the baths to keep the birds from pulling the onions out. They aren't particularly pleasing to the eye but they are functional at least they only need to be on until the bulbs are established. A couple of the baths are still empty as I wanted to keep them for carrots and salad, they were really successful last year, some of the best carrots and radish we have ever tasted.

It looks like this little chappie has been living under the Wendy house and decided to venture out into the yard. After an initial inquisitive sniff Jess and Finn left him alone to enjoy the sunshine.

We think our woods are quite young in tree terms, they are now only about 12 years old and they cover about 10 acres, planted on old farmland. The trees themselves are well established but we have always marvelled at the lack of saplings ie none. That is until we spotted this tiny tree, now all we have to do is avoid stamping on it until it's a bit bigger and easier to see.

We've always loved proper woodlands with wild flowers and naturalising plants, like the ones we have enjoyed exploring with Jess and Finn over the past 10 years. Last year I spent a lot of time (3 days and 2 full wheelbarrows) lifting and dividing snowdrops which was a great success and provided a lovely show of white flowers. Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to photograph them at their best so I'll have to wait until next year for that. Thankfully M managed to get this snap of some of the last blooms.

I also planted lots of bluebells, there is something wonderful about a bluebell wood at the end of spring and start of summer. The bluebells were planted 'in the green' last year, too late for flowers but hopefully they will bloom this year. After lots of searching I spotted these tiny little bluebell shoots, I'm so glad they survived the winter and look forward to seeing them flower.

I just couldn't resist this cute piggy plant pot although M did have to dissuade me from buying a chicken and sheep too. I planted it up the very same day with some bluebell bulbs and pansies.

 
While I was pottering about playing with compost and planting things M was doing proper man work. The bridge across the far side of the midden had rotted and become particularly precarious to cross. Just a couple of hours later we had a new bridge with (thankfully) a handrail.

When we first arrived we tried to name different areas of the woods so we could understand each other when discussing plants and trees. This grass path runs through the woods, lined by conifers and deciduous trees it had been planted with lots of daffodils and so is now known as Daffodil Walk. We have added some perennials down the middle which we have had to protect from the rabbits and deer. They are still really small but as they haven't yet had a full season to establish, I think they will start to flourish this year. The daffodils are just beginning to open but there are lots of buds which is promising.

The Woodland Trust are on a mission to plant 64 million trees in 10 years and as part of their campaign they were giving away free tree seeds.

Ours arrived this week and as usual I had no patience and I just couldn't wait to get them planted. It looks like we have a selection of Rowan, Holly, Dog Rose and Alder Buckthorn although it was difficult to tell which seeds were which.

So I guess we'll have to wait and see what grows (if anything) and then try to identify them later.

We finally got the chance to plant our fruit trees in the orchard. The original trees were somewhat haphazardly planted and so we have been attempting to plant our trees in lines. This serves 2 purposes, 1: it accommodates my need for symmetry and slight OCD tendencies and 2: M says it's easier to mow around!! Yesterday we successfully planted 5 apple trees ( Braeburn, Crawley Beauty, Court Pendu Plat, Spartan and Grenadier), a Cherry (Cherokee), a Damson (Farleigh) and my lone Walnut. We made the decision to remove 4 very poorly looking (and out of line) specimens and relocated them to the woods.

One final photo of our most recent arrivals - the frogs have returned. M thinks he counted about 20 so far but they've only been here for about 4 days so we think there will be loads more. They are making a racket and have already produced lots of frog spawn, hopefully some will survive to become tadpoles and frogs.

We've had such a wonderful time outside soaking up the fresh air and sunshine. There is something really satisfying about having spent a day doing physical work in the garden, having showers and dinner, some tv (it's the final instalment of The Replacement tonight- very exciting) in front of the fire and then falling into bed exhausted. I hope you are enjoying the changing seasons wherever you are.

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Meterological Spring

It is often around this time of year when I am reminded of how incredibly impatient I can be. I can't wait for the snowdrops to arrive and then I'm scouring the flowerbeds (and woods) for signs of daffodils, bluebells, tulips and so on. It is just such a wonderful time when the promises of flowers and fruit and veg are all so tantalisingly close.

So as we say goodbye to February, including the dark days of winter, and hello to spring we are trying to enjoy each day as it comes and I'm trying my best not to get too focused on wishing the days and weeks away towards summer. We have been enjoying some gorgeous early morning walks along the beach; no matter the weather this is the one place we can enjoy on sunny days and similarly in wet and windy conditions.

Apologies but I think I'm slightly obsessed with the weather and length of days but I guess that's partly due to my previous life as an air traffic controller and partly due to having a weather app which has hourly weather forecasts and sunrise and sunset times. The days are getting longer and we are being teased with the occasional sunny and warm(er) day and then bang, it snows. At least that was in February, now it is March the balance is shifting and the days are warming.

   
Still, despite the odd snow flurry and rainy days we have had some beautiful crocus displays, the first flourish of daffodils and even the winter pots aren't looking too bad in the sunshine.

At the end of February we were allowed to let the chickens out of the byre and back into their yard. They were pleased to be able to scratch in the grass and enjoy the sunshine but they didn't seem too keen on the restricted amount of space. The rules surrounding avian flu prevention permits them being out as long as we have strict biosecurity measures in place and keep their water and food away from wild birds. So M cut a little door in the end of the chicken wire to let them out and they are so happy having regained their freedom.

 
Last year we planted 2 areas of edible hedging and we were pleased that on the whole (excluding the 3 which suffered due to some over enthusiastic strimming!) they were all doing really well. Until that is a wild rabbit decided that the hedging was much tastier than the fruit and started to eat the branches. You may remember the video we managed to get of the rabbit last November.

 
The rabbits seem to have been busy with the hedging plants, almost all of them look like the pictures above.

   
I can barely look at them, it makes me so sad that they were getting taller, with lots of lower branches and buds appearing, and now they just look like sticks. I'm even struggling to identify some of them.

So we had a rummage around in the byre and managed to find some old tree guards for the worst affected ones. Here's hoping we can salvage something as the growing season begins.

The old bath next to the greenhouse was so useful last year for our willow cuttings that we decided we'd use the space again but for some red and yellow dogwood cuttings. I've also stuck in some of the branches from the hedging plants in case I need to fill some gaps, although I'm not sure that it's the best form of propagation. 

 
Our garden and yard is full of lots and lots of pots, most of which contain bulbs and plants which I instantly forget about from year to year. It is always a pleasant surprise to see flowers appearing and brightening up the garden. We bought a little pot of winter aconites and found a corner for them in the woods; they are delightful, lovely bright yellow flowers amidst all the greenery. We also finally got around to planting the fritillaria and anemones which we got very cheap in the sales last year. Hopefully we'll have lots of flowers in the months ahead.

Once the heavy frosts have gone this is the perfect time of year for planting bulbs in the green and trees. We successfully planted our fruit trees around this time last year so we ordered some more apple trees, another damson, a cherry and some (100) more winter aconites. The people at Ashridge Trees have been wonderful and our delivery arrived this week. I also bought a (small) walnut tree, not sure why, but I fancied one, despite M's jokes about the fact that we will have to wait 10-15 years before we see any walnuts!!

M also wanted some Poplars, fast growing trees which love wet, windy exposed conditions and can be used as hedging or as a windbreak. Perfect. So, we had a few dryish days and decided to plant the poplars and the winter aconites. The poplars (a mixture of setts and bare-root) are all planted in a nice straight line and thankfully we also got some tree guards on to help protect them from the deer and rabbits until they are established.

We had another delivery last week, this is M's next project; it's a poly tunnel. Although we will still be growing a lot of veg outside we are aiming to extend our growing season a bit by also planting under cover. All we need now is a few days of dry and calm days so we can get it assembled.

Well, now that spring has sprung it's time to get on with planting our onion sets and planning the seed sowing; carrots, peas and broad beans to start with. I started sowing tomato seeds on 7 Mar last year which I think was too early so I'm going to hold off on those for a couple of weeks. More on that later, along with my first foray into planting a cut flower bed. Oh so much to do and I can't wait, must take a deep breath, breathe calmly and remember spring has only just started....

One last update on the hedgehogs; as predicted, after we opened the doors to let them out they disappeared and we haven't seen them since. Hopefully they are having a great time exploring the woods and all the woodpiles we've left for them. I think we'll probably be back to the rescue centre for some more in the next few weeks.