Spring has Sprung

Spring has sprung

This is what happens if you 
sprout an eddoe root.
They'll get a lot bigger.

Wahayyyyyyy! It's the Easter hols.

Not only that, but we've had some gorgeous weather, with temperatures in the polytunnel rising into the 40s when the sun came out.

The polytunnel is already filling up with early crops which will be harvested and out of the way before the main polytunnel crops need the space. Growing in there at the moment are lettuces, rocket, miner's lettuce (claytonia), new potatoes, fennel, carrots and coriander.
In the house there's a burgeoning list of tender plants awaiting reliably warmer conditions to take their place, for these temperatures won't continue and cold nights are sure to make a comeback before we are frost free.

The really big news is that Covid lockdown is partially over. We can now meet in small groups outside. I can't pretend this has had any impact whatsoever on my life this week.

The poultry lockdown is over too. The chickens were overjoyed to get out of their pens and free-range again. They instantly got to pecking at anything green and scratching around in the soil. Egg production rocketed almost instantly, which speaks volumes for the welfare implications of locking chickens up every time bird flu comes around. 

We are finding turkey eggs everywhere too, in the straw stack, in an old disused shed, on the the compost heap... and they're only the ones we've found.

At this time of year, with the first butterflies appearing on warm days, it really does feel as if the smallholding is coming back to life after the winter. There were plenty of small tortoiseshells on the wing this week, spending much of their time on red dead-nettles. I saw my first peacock butterfly of the year and the first lemon-yellow brimstone bouncing through the garden.

On the veg plot I've planted my Second early potatoes - Charlottes, Bonnies and Kestrels. I prefer to go early on the early potatoes even though it takes more effort to protect the leaves from late frosts. The reason for this is because the are the potatoes capable of cropping well before blight usually hits. They are some of the tastiest potatoes too.

Getting ahead of thing, I've spent some time erecting bean poles too. This year I am using all willow coppiced here on the smallholding. To stop it taking root and growing I strip the bark off. Until now I've always let the sheep do this job, but never again. Stripping the bark off was a most satisfying job.

I've been wiling away some time weaving cloches to protect
my perennial kales from the wintertime attention of ducks and turkeys.

I'm still collecting plants for the forest garden. Plants, tubers and bulbs keep arriving in the post and there are a fair few unusual seeds on their way to the farm. This is a long-term project which I am very excited by. Unfortunately there's not a lot to show at the moment.

The food forest is being built up from existing beds, so the asparagus which pops its head up this week will have lots of company as it gets older. 

This annual appearance is one of those events which marks the passing of the seasons. Next up, the swallows arrive.

Meanwhile, next week the cold weather is forecast to be back with us.