The first goose egg of 2018

Monday 5th March 2018
An authentic Lincolnshire myrobalan hedge
When they still had proper orchards in Lincolnshire, myrobalan hedges were very much a local feature. Myrobalan is another word for Cherry Plums which produce small red or yellow plums, perfect for jams and country wine. The hedges would act as a windshield for the orchard and provide an alternative crop.
The cuttings which I took last year have done very well indeed, but now needed moving. I had about two dozen flowering currants to find a home for. I also needed to move the bird cherry hedge which I put in last year, due to a lack of foresight on my part and a change of plans.

My cuttings bed last week in the snow.

This area will be making way for a small new paddock soon.

So I had the idea of a mixed Myrobalan, flowering currant and bird cherry hedge. It will provide wind protection, food for us, food for the birds and it should look pretty for at least  part of the year. To add even more colour, I dotted in a few red dogwoods, again from cuttings.
The only missing feature is the Cherry Plums, on order from the interweb. They should arrive just in time, for bare root plants need to go in before Spring really kicks in.

Mid-job

I was relieved to finally sort out the blackberry support frame too. The weight of the plants and the effects of the wind snapped off one of the posts last year. It was all too heavy to lift back up, but today I managed to cut out all of last year's fruiting canes and to disentangle this year's from the cross wires. The new structure is much more substantial so hopefully it will stand for a lot more than a year. It won't take long for the blackberry harvest to repay the cost.

Tuesday 6th March 2018
Time for seedlings to look after themselves.
A big day for some of the seedlings. Broad beans, leeks, tomatoes, peppers, all have got off to an early start in the conservatory. But they prefer the polytunnel, where there is even more light and better air circulation. Now that the temperatures have lifted and Spring may finally be here, with a little overnight protection they should survive and harden off nicely.

Broad beans coming up strong.

Leeks and coriander looking

a bit straggly but should grow on

stronger in the polytunnel.

As soon as the soil is workable, 

the broad beans will go out.

If the weather holds good,

they should quickly harden off.

Tender young tomato plants and peppers.

The mini greenhouse within the polytunnel

should give them enough protection.

The polytunnel mangetout seedlings.

These should give one of the first harvests of the year.

More cuttings
Today it was the turn of the dogwood cuttings to be planted out. A few went into the new hedge yesterday, but I had about thirty to place. The first batch went beside the new pond and I took some time out to start naturalising the edges. It is starting to look really good.

With the cuttings bed cleared and rotavated, I trimmed back the buddleias and took fresh cuttings. Again I got distracted and ended up digging out a sizeable patch of nettles.

Spring was really in the air today. Skylarks sang high in the sky and Sue's honeybees were out in force. The geese and the turkeys were mating - actually the first time I have ever seen the stag turkey 'on the job'.

A quaint place for a meeting
I had to stop slightly early since Sue and I were off to the Smallholders Club committee meeting. Gerry did his best to ruin our plans by disappearing under the killing bush with his first rabbit of the year. It's about time, as the rabbits are already causing a lot of damage in the garden this year.
We had a new venue for the meeting. The committee room the club used to use was being refurbished, which did us a big favour. For it forced us to look elsewhere and we came to The Bridge Coffee Shop in a place called Three Holes (wonderfully descriptive). The owner was happy to open especially for us. We only expected a room and tables, but she was happy to serve us the menu. I must say, a meeting with pizza and herbal tea was much more civilised and comfortable than a stale meeting room. At the end there was a decisive vote to hold our next meeting back at the coffee shop.

Wednesday 7th March 2018
The first goose egg of the year!
I did a bit of general tidying up today, trimming back bushes and tidying beds in readiness for new growth. I started collecting up all the bits of ash tree which have fallen over the winter. The lawn is littered with sticks and twigs right up to small branches. They don't take long to dry out and make excellent wood for getting the fire going.
Sue appeared with a big smile on her face, clutching the first goose egg of the year. Not quite the latest date for this annual event, but last year the first one plopped out on 16th February. That was the last I saw of the egg as it was quickly poached and gobbled up!