tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38034316345793114212024-03-05T07:24:44.739+00:00Tales from Swallow FarmFollow the adventures of John, Sue, Boris, Arthur & Geronimo (Gerry) the cat as they attempt to live the dream on Swallow Farm.John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.comBlogger1026125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-69087113971759286972023-02-05T18:58:00.000+00:002023-02-05T18:58:46.657+00:00Whips and butts - My basket willow holt<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRdJ5v22Y1Ao35mYgRBpf80gzEBGi7Ca3ZiNyZjhUXCJQIo1ZHMLu425JeVtaYo65g473ZW3U-cIAvW_UEdT-2C10v_q0Oa3oWiCEg5z_GFp87hKCLyAQ2VLA3RnNuSTxdWxl-_xWrrkeHNOk3CI_wnAv6d1j7KQFV9G2h9GPovKDhUjAof0U475U/s1600/IMG-20230122-WA0003.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="1600" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRdJ5v22Y1Ao35mYgRBpf80gzEBGi7Ca3ZiNyZjhUXCJQIo1ZHMLu425JeVtaYo65g473ZW3U-cIAvW_UEdT-2C10v_q0Oa3oWiCEg5z_GFp87hKCLyAQ2VLA3RnNuSTxdWxl-_xWrrkeHNOk3CI_wnAv6d1j7KQFV9G2h9GPovKDhUjAof0U475U/w640-h310/IMG-20230122-WA0003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Winter is the time to work on the trees on the smallholding. Deciduous trees are dormant which means they can be moved, planted, cut back and most of them can be pruned.</div><div>Coppicing and pollarding are ancient ways to manage trees. Coppicing just means cutting the tree right back to the base. How often you do this depends on the species of tree and what you want to use the coppiced wood for. It works because a developed root system puts all its energy into producing multiple fresh shoots from the coppiced stump. These grow straight up and uniform and are easy to harvest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pollarding is basically the same, but a trunk is left on the tree and the cutting back performed a few feet up. This is particularly useful where the young shoots might come under grazing pressure from rodents, anything from voles to rabbits.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LZDgIytNqYmcnqaknPHkW8K420Huemg5WfuMvQCa2zQERHDxZXVkVrMy78OTM_ABIxmhTcv9ASYTn8LEM1t1XWfL-htaVXaFyptancqZolQLDahj5qCecCnTut4RYVisAc057HOeZx8M3MwA7H_CnNGv4aBVNnM3h8_-lONVrkfjoGQjWbxvdRuc/s4032/20230129_134503.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LZDgIytNqYmcnqaknPHkW8K420Huemg5WfuMvQCa2zQERHDxZXVkVrMy78OTM_ABIxmhTcv9ASYTn8LEM1t1XWfL-htaVXaFyptancqZolQLDahj5qCecCnTut4RYVisAc057HOeZx8M3MwA7H_CnNGv4aBVNnM3h8_-lONVrkfjoGQjWbxvdRuc/w249-h552/20230129_134503.jpg" width="249" /></a>One type of tree which grows back particularly well is willow. Today I want to talk about my basket willows. These are species and varieties of willow chosen specifically for the colours of their stems and for producing multiple stems suitable for basket weaving.</div><div>Basket willows are cut back every year. Gradually a decent stump develops from which spring multiple stems every year. Growing them close together encourages the stems to reach for the sky. If not cut, the stems will branch in their second year, which is not what is needed for weaving.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_APyre7C43qwy2BhUU4gFDVEOyHCKjgI-HJwOmf71hJuLJq9bs7CuSrYEDHyOkIAH-BC7H5eb64BRv9Cbw1xs5c7u_XAM-664edNf0OYX0p-Uc3s1jd0wB0_Vb8-NEfdLfHZzZvJS9OQEE-vZqQiXElKqgELsFx_pUN2QeLH6N79cSGfJJDrcTAh/s4032/20230129_134920.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3_APyre7C43qwy2BhUU4gFDVEOyHCKjgI-HJwOmf71hJuLJq9bs7CuSrYEDHyOkIAH-BC7H5eb64BRv9Cbw1xs5c7u_XAM-664edNf0OYX0p-Uc3s1jd0wB0_Vb8-NEfdLfHZzZvJS9OQEE-vZqQiXElKqgELsFx_pUN2QeLH6N79cSGfJJDrcTAh/w382-h171/20230129_134920.jpg" width="382" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Several years ago I purchased quite a few varieties of willow. These are purchased as pencil thick cuttings about 10 inches long. All you do is poke them into the ground and they should root. </div><div><br /></div><div>A little extra care helps them settle in and grow stronger. They need protection from grass growth and may need some watering until they develop their root system. I underestimated the importance of this extra care so, in my weedy and windswept site, establishment has been slower than I would have liked. Most people plant through weed control fabric, but I have come to hate this stuff. It just deposits hundreds of long thin strands of plastic into the environment, eminently dangerous to wildlife. Instead I purchased some cheap fleece-like fabric, but it just didn't do the job and the weeds took over. I hoped that the chickens scratching about under the trees would help with this too, but they rarely go there and prefer to make a beeline for the veg patch whenever I accidentally leave the gate open.</div><div>As for watering, that's not going to happen. They are far too far from any convenient source of water.</div><div><br /></div><div>I started with between 5 and 100 of each variety. Some did really well, others really struggled or even died out. Every year I cut them back and use what I've cut to make more cuttings, with the aim of multiplying the originals into long lines of maybe a hundred or so of each variety.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVB1SpKiK4q8iH0C0ukQBEV3vtmYroBcw7isEh8fN-i_Slz-WTcq7JdzzL4EQwp3Fg86bLUiVS48f3HSUq1zmxdmrE1Ep2wAMn1CcT4111BChyjIqMubGrm5XIz7dNCbouhkZirllop_R3FpCCZBKy9Bf0f0pl1MOlnTDUdMGXS0E9rqzZC_azn3TX/s4032/20230129_141855.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVB1SpKiK4q8iH0C0ukQBEV3vtmYroBcw7isEh8fN-i_Slz-WTcq7JdzzL4EQwp3Fg86bLUiVS48f3HSUq1zmxdmrE1Ep2wAMn1CcT4111BChyjIqMubGrm5XIz7dNCbouhkZirllop_R3FpCCZBKy9Bf0f0pl1MOlnTDUdMGXS0E9rqzZC_azn3TX/w640-h288/20230129_141855.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuttings taken from this year's growth are used to multiply the willows many fold.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Over a few years the successful ones have grown stronger and stronger and now give excellent material for new cuttings. However, the drought of 2022 meant that almost without exception the cuttings from 2021 failed. </div><div>Anyhow, I feel that I am now getting somewhere.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UXNrEqXJHhkKFGQ0m09Gqk23QFucdakI-hRqJ2g9YjBPB7HMgB72tvn82pr1vF6cV1bdm_KzKSS2vy78aTleGhDAq_E8DDOGJJ7FljvIIMQYz980rXafDy_CSh0VJY03dyJrSw8Pnvc_McGJVg_uKokfQDZ1cG63ne2V4QuiJtBj9IPYFsghc-2D/s4032/20230129_134708.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_UXNrEqXJHhkKFGQ0m09Gqk23QFucdakI-hRqJ2g9YjBPB7HMgB72tvn82pr1vF6cV1bdm_KzKSS2vy78aTleGhDAq_E8DDOGJJ7FljvIIMQYz980rXafDy_CSh0VJY03dyJrSw8Pnvc_McGJVg_uKokfQDZ1cG63ne2V4QuiJtBj9IPYFsghc-2D/w640-h288/20230129_134708.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The arrival of lorry loads of woodchip has helped. This is excellent as a weed-suppressant mulch and holds the moisture in the soil too.</div><div>So this last week I have been extending my basket willow holt. I have simply spread woodchip over the existing grass and then planted my cuttings straight into it.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYME0QxT7PipQpZ6cl6SPT05Ja3sg8OMz402zKN547Z5C4_EKvzAqGNf2UHG7Z9DbHSmlUJk0CtyXq74VEPzp_OmNKR9aQ5QtCH4FjXTC6F76r3MIi9687ir3S4rhYSw2hOMSTQtFfA0ASroTZklLkkBxEbJDM0Zr64SFy3Tx6J-rdQ5K9-JuzSKV/s4032/20230129_143612.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYME0QxT7PipQpZ6cl6SPT05Ja3sg8OMz402zKN547Z5C4_EKvzAqGNf2UHG7Z9DbHSmlUJk0CtyXq74VEPzp_OmNKR9aQ5QtCH4FjXTC6F76r3MIi9687ir3S4rhYSw2hOMSTQtFfA0ASroTZklLkkBxEbJDM0Zr64SFy3Tx6J-rdQ5K9-JuzSKV/w288-h640/20230129_143612.jpg" width="288" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlkr4WYLCcq8nfO0ywHXGV47E_yGTMwTxMLMibqwEft4YwTM17Wx2_BrQYs_ANyBSleSw73JbyYy-3DH5XfRKZSCmRL5e203CGPPSA0VKTf6nqNNtXW3HElEq0o8rSP8pnQ5FmttL_Tua-Tx-WUWUhIMw_rW1STm_xLc2Oh46HNDAsNtxDG524nZZ/s4032/20230129_144918.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlkr4WYLCcq8nfO0ywHXGV47E_yGTMwTxMLMibqwEft4YwTM17Wx2_BrQYs_ANyBSleSw73JbyYy-3DH5XfRKZSCmRL5e203CGPPSA0VKTf6nqNNtXW3HElEq0o8rSP8pnQ5FmttL_Tua-Tx-WUWUhIMw_rW1STm_xLc2Oh46HNDAsNtxDG524nZZ/w288-h640/20230129_144918.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>I simply poke the cuttings (the right way round) into the ground, leaving them protruding so I can see where they are going. I then have the laborious and painful task of pushing them all down into the soil. Gardening gloves help, but it's still sore on the palm of the hand.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've purchased several new varieties as well as replacing a couple of varieties that I had completely lost.</div><div>I have managed to harvest enough of some types to be useful for basket making, but for the moment I will still be reliant on using bought in willow for this. By next year I would very much hope to be producing enough for my own use.</div><div>I also intend to start selling cuttings of named varieties. I now have over twenty different varieties.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1aPWH05VxNiBFbGcn4WL9HCGHpUZ9jPOIbZM9Na7nDPG6MquCAFnPizxGZa6SN9yn65UpUIu5LwFdMBf5QuKHhGIqpel0NVJ_wZv1rpIc4kGplaawdslZLLCg6vOi9oJhgzSNQJVsYV3GK3ImG0JTjNr4WrsmXxm9zGnynacojTPIyT0kHwAjWFD/s4032/20230129_165653.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1aPWH05VxNiBFbGcn4WL9HCGHpUZ9jPOIbZM9Na7nDPG6MquCAFnPizxGZa6SN9yn65UpUIu5LwFdMBf5QuKHhGIqpel0NVJ_wZv1rpIc4kGplaawdslZLLCg6vOi9oJhgzSNQJVsYV3GK3ImG0JTjNr4WrsmXxm9zGnynacojTPIyT0kHwAjWFD/w640-h288/20230129_165653.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-7989910201687803632023-01-23T03:45:00.003+00:002023-01-23T09:32:37.979+00:00A Frost Sets In as thoughts turn to Spring Growth<p>We're in the middle of another cold snap. Days and nights have been crisp for almost a week now and the ground has remained solid.</p><p>I'm well aware that there may be people around the world reading this who would barely raise an eyebrow at this, but temperatures have been down to 5 and 6 below at night (Centigrade, not Fahrenheit). And today, for the first time in this spell, the temperature never actually rose above freezing point even during the day.</p><p>Amazingly we've not had a flake of snow yet this winter, but the seasonal chill is on the whole welcome. We don't always get seasonal weather any more, or at least it comes in the wrong season.</p><p>Unfortunately I am now of the age where the cold very quickly gets into my bones, though I'm OK if I wear five or six layers of increasing thickness. My fingers suffer though and I find it difficult to do any gardening chores with more than one pair of gloves on. I have however discovered that I get A LOT fewer cuts and grazes on my hands when I wear a pair of work gloves.</p><p>Jobs on the list for this week were (with the emphasis on <i>were</i>) pruning orchard trees, coppicing willows and planting new cuttings, shifting more woodchip and digging up some of the tuber crops such as Chinese artichoke (crosnes) and yacon. Unfortunately none of that is very feasible when the air is icy, the ground is rock hard and there's a good couple of inches of ice on all water surfaces.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULQAXCgWAUGsk7iMqA7tKTosGEMq2obFdEOq3Skr9jQE6TUAuTL6xcoRbUyi9Bac0nuBK32ypBdPuYo6fnJP0bm8hC0zb-2WrAAn2adUhliiumyYVYfsE-yb4bh3tZsXHToZTxeBn1wycb3VVKKUKXyc6IxQW1Vw3TTRP8aE3aY8CZEvnLF53A3ld/s4032/20230122_094315.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULQAXCgWAUGsk7iMqA7tKTosGEMq2obFdEOq3Skr9jQE6TUAuTL6xcoRbUyi9Bac0nuBK32ypBdPuYo6fnJP0bm8hC0zb-2WrAAn2adUhliiumyYVYfsE-yb4bh3tZsXHToZTxeBn1wycb3VVKKUKXyc6IxQW1Vw3TTRP8aE3aY8CZEvnLF53A3ld/w206-h459/20230122_094315.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QPBpQIvz3pffgLxEaW_CRSFKHM4YV81Mcs5JTY8kIjca5rh4v-vyhPZj6bSduzzUhxrPOEHFR2OlFbw3fXUz65Vjh4OlfAInvuI1e2qMZ3z6tI5-lAzFASFZMkFf3eJR6uGHR_GXmKqSGB_3B2W6JjbGuA5NXZobIhUYAGoW1P49NErFOO_KaS0I/s4032/20230122_094403.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QPBpQIvz3pffgLxEaW_CRSFKHM4YV81Mcs5JTY8kIjca5rh4v-vyhPZj6bSduzzUhxrPOEHFR2OlFbw3fXUz65Vjh4OlfAInvuI1e2qMZ3z6tI5-lAzFASFZMkFf3eJR6uGHR_GXmKqSGB_3B2W6JjbGuA5NXZobIhUYAGoW1P49NErFOO_KaS0I/w208-h460/20230122_094403.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAL3g422aZI6Bng_1bcNWqlm65p711nVOIiKlREAdp5b11SyuvMPhTZXc_p5gTlGcdpMCXBoo4HXXTVPdrft3BNs5Qf9iRm6YpGZm8DCQoaA_btsTaZSyn1mAFzwRtkBZoDNR3kE4da0geDK0J5pDCnSbyoyXZj6mKOEdnEN9UNfQiiWRoFnBtrLb/s4000/20230122_095321.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpAL3g422aZI6Bng_1bcNWqlm65p711nVOIiKlREAdp5b11SyuvMPhTZXc_p5gTlGcdpMCXBoo4HXXTVPdrft3BNs5Qf9iRm6YpGZm8DCQoaA_btsTaZSyn1mAFzwRtkBZoDNR3kE4da0geDK0J5pDCnSbyoyXZj6mKOEdnEN9UNfQiiWRoFnBtrLb/w209-h464/20230122_095321.jpg" width="209" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNghVmy70By1qI5VSAVXeiMZwnrlxUwZ82UTEtr-QyBpnZNdVevExb0A1ftWf4wm-QS0Prtg4xk2_p8_Eqg2Ti-NJj3Y4dB9-QvpHHlnfLjG97hO9uSOvAq-TmR60ZQY50FbRfsIkJhTvbnLOPCtTRc1l7kma5giAzKwTEcVn-yPRZAZdEL9rNz2r/s4032/20230122_094300.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRNghVmy70By1qI5VSAVXeiMZwnrlxUwZ82UTEtr-QyBpnZNdVevExb0A1ftWf4wm-QS0Prtg4xk2_p8_Eqg2Ti-NJj3Y4dB9-QvpHHlnfLjG97hO9uSOvAq-TmR60ZQY50FbRfsIkJhTvbnLOPCtTRc1l7kma5giAzKwTEcVn-yPRZAZdEL9rNz2r/w209-h465/20230122_094300.jpg" width="209" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>So instead I've turned my hand to seed sowing. Last year I played it patient, went late on everything in the knowledge that it would catch up and overtake and that seedlings wouldn't end up leggy. As it turned out, we didn't have a single frost past the end of April and hardly even any during that month. Then there followed an extended period of drought culminating in a summer where the thermometer tipped the scales at 40 degrees (Centigrade again!). This, for Britain, was a record.</p><p>I wished some of those seedlings had been further down the road. Many perished in the heat and the dry conditions and it was too late to start again.</p><p>So this year I am displaying a massive over-reaction and going super early with everything. I've got a huge choice of set ups to regulate seedling growth (all improvised, no fancy grow-lights or anything like that, just different rooms, different temperatures, different light levels, different protection). And if we get failures, at least there'll be time for another attempt.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFinBTbf7Ic6HqA9IbbZFwvh_8lA_6c3RP7fWCeO4gTtNQbXx9gPZmAE1ocFj1sDi-HWZSLSqC5dkjawxToDUhcktk7ThQvlTGXbPjjwCrWnozYfiYk7xEOS76NUGH6eJv3PEU-D0eYGa8DJrfbijzIECWTBxRAM1B3tYwjx057SjofB80hRaDe80r/s4032/20230119_140636.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFinBTbf7Ic6HqA9IbbZFwvh_8lA_6c3RP7fWCeO4gTtNQbXx9gPZmAE1ocFj1sDi-HWZSLSqC5dkjawxToDUhcktk7ThQvlTGXbPjjwCrWnozYfiYk7xEOS76NUGH6eJv3PEU-D0eYGa8DJrfbijzIECWTBxRAM1B3tYwjx057SjofB80hRaDe80r/w180-h400/20230119_140636.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>I have already sown 12 types of onions. They are on heat mats until they germinate, then they can move somewhere a tad cooler. I've sown quite a few perennials too - in general they appreciate a period of cold before the germinate as the soil warms up. Next it will be aubergines which require a long growing seasons but will need to be mollycoddled through to May like the tender little things they are.<p></p><p>Meanwhile I am trying to think of an easy way to transfer some of the heat from the woodchip piles to the polytunnel. In one place I've got 50 degrees centigrade of smoking heat. Not far away I've got temperatures hovering around zero. </p><p>There must be an easy way.</p><br /><p><br /></p><p>This year I am going to be super organised (I've never said that before!)</p><p>Anyway, I'll leave you with another picture of today's hoar frost.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aJhI65vz5zj9JLmxgTAOsXNw8sf_WOamQPO39ntG9zkZoYVSuYSznfPbDD_GCHnyNHy7a3xQmPNmYhwBRGDN-3_xdfeMy2OMKFJmlCJKeoXM7b4Z5StcLyMkfTyblhx4jGzhgUl3mBtr04556aBbE68JfCjuVylsksFkH4jfvF2XnGRIIhbqKGKy/s4032/20230122_094619.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5aJhI65vz5zj9JLmxgTAOsXNw8sf_WOamQPO39ntG9zkZoYVSuYSznfPbDD_GCHnyNHy7a3xQmPNmYhwBRGDN-3_xdfeMy2OMKFJmlCJKeoXM7b4Z5StcLyMkfTyblhx4jGzhgUl3mBtr04556aBbE68JfCjuVylsksFkH4jfvF2XnGRIIhbqKGKy/w619-h278/20230122_094619.jpg" width="619" /></a></div><p></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-6027631828896772032023-01-10T19:29:00.003+00:002023-01-11T18:22:25.516+00:00Getting the plot ready for a new growing season<p>Winter is a time to catch up and to get everything ready for next year. </p><p>Last year's failures and disappointments can be left in the past as we optimistically plan for the year ahead, a year of bountiful sunshine and rain in perfect proportion, a year where we finally keep up with sowing schedules, remember to keep seedlings watered but don't drown them, keep on top of the weeds, keep up with harvesting and even keep on top of succession sowing and planting.</p><p>And that will all start with getting the beds prepared in plenty of time for spring. For some that will mean digging over so the frost can (allegedly) break the soil down or rotavating to start the year with lovely, clear beds. The conscientious will work in manure or ample compost. <br /><br /></p><p>None of that for me though. I want to keep the soil covered to protect it from being beaten down by the worst of the winter weather. It won't be turned, but protected from the elements it will emerge from the winter with a crumbly surface. Most of my annual beds are currently covered with homemade compost or, when there wasn't enough of that, for there never is, a deep layer of straw. This was a choice which was made for me thanks to the cheapness of straw in this area - we should always aim to use whatever is locally available. If it's not sufficiently rotted down by sowing time, I'll rake it off the surface and add it in to the compost piles. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMGBV3nMMMLZAY8bPFete4pIe7mG7ClbmWsLNUKgREcMgVA6MoVASuw37zhQi6S_qtN3vDgk4iNNQbVlnSwYnWcEDToAnhNoMk3eRk88zaDUi9HoTYLGTtXfnMYaiuazV9UlPBVvJktKAo1dBSZHP6sN0dtw003NyHP23Pe6WpzH8zPGOaIBPIRdK/s4000/20230108_140646.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMGBV3nMMMLZAY8bPFete4pIe7mG7ClbmWsLNUKgREcMgVA6MoVASuw37zhQi6S_qtN3vDgk4iNNQbVlnSwYnWcEDToAnhNoMk3eRk88zaDUi9HoTYLGTtXfnMYaiuazV9UlPBVvJktKAo1dBSZHP6sN0dtw003NyHP23Pe6WpzH8zPGOaIBPIRdK/w288-h640/20230108_140646.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhubarb is already coming up, though it may get nipped back if we get anouther cold spell</td></tr></tbody></table><p>In the forest garden, most of the herbaceous plants have retreated under the surface for the winter. But as the rays of spring sunshine hit the ground strong, fresh shoots will appear. For the moment I am keeping the perennial beds well mulched. For this I use woodchip, which I now have in more than plentiful supply. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aUQWL7MGSI7LvUQ5t6r4c_qj99SEO0bTEgD2j3V-MQQuEDUlNfDKsnPK25btIf2y7JjLnk5f79vp42JCToWbJFjbLVweBO7OMIm1_86lfZefeffmp2VawVRpBV3CBjaV3cu5C2GpzRrw2RyYJbMRlSSEdXymRlpIcrBG1zahM9V4xdtXmaaAoAsS/s4032/20230108_135518.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2aUQWL7MGSI7LvUQ5t6r4c_qj99SEO0bTEgD2j3V-MQQuEDUlNfDKsnPK25btIf2y7JjLnk5f79vp42JCToWbJFjbLVweBO7OMIm1_86lfZefeffmp2VawVRpBV3CBjaV3cu5C2GpzRrw2RyYJbMRlSSEdXymRlpIcrBG1zahM9V4xdtXmaaAoAsS/w640-h288/20230108_135518.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plenty of woodchip and logs to be getting on with!<br />Can you spot the robin?</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Under the fruit bushes I am actually using freshly shredded leylandii. It's still producing a lot of heat, but this will quickly dissipate once it's spread out over the ground. The primary purpose of this is to suffocate the weeds, starving them of light and stealing their nitrogen as the decomposition bacteria get going. Keeping on top of weeds, especially grass growing up through thorny gooseberry bushes would be a nightmare without mulching. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhVqyRr4eiZb7p2drobSqX0CU62uet3mBk9Z_bazCNczRerr_RtxrBsXyzS8r12PKWfDDTLoWsr5P-Owhh8T_MKOZHV8w8uLXzVjzt5i4Mm8_NTjD5SR3yhy5Owq2BDtL280FK6cBkTWAlG61ZZ1Q4wdu4ARxGCyfjRWOd8_4Qj04ttmdLAw6ymRM/s4000/20230108_140614.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhVqyRr4eiZb7p2drobSqX0CU62uet3mBk9Z_bazCNczRerr_RtxrBsXyzS8r12PKWfDDTLoWsr5P-Owhh8T_MKOZHV8w8uLXzVjzt5i4Mm8_NTjD5SR3yhy5Owq2BDtL280FK6cBkTWAlG61ZZ1Q4wdu4ARxGCyfjRWOd8_4Qj04ttmdLAw6ymRM/w640-h288/20230108_140614.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9L_9PR70niOL9oS1ERVaNVakQmpdYaXcoI-9BRMY-5EkIt0t6GzdqL284Tvtc1j_bolSLGSWyIcFRJi4wu7VgVFV0k9cX0-gPrXdQbHnqO2o9gbrODiL3dJBYY5z4nDtNAN_3SDY7zKNqEHZFvSLi0l7GgPTw7KUIGHsy4JuReVHED0yqt0_omC3/s4000/20230108_140601.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9L_9PR70niOL9oS1ERVaNVakQmpdYaXcoI-9BRMY-5EkIt0t6GzdqL284Tvtc1j_bolSLGSWyIcFRJi4wu7VgVFV0k9cX0-gPrXdQbHnqO2o9gbrODiL3dJBYY5z4nDtNAN_3SDY7zKNqEHZFvSLi0l7GgPTw7KUIGHsy4JuReVHED0yqt0_omC3/w640-h288/20230108_140601.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woodchip makes an excellent mulch for the raspberry beds.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>It will decompose quite quickly and put its goodness back into the ground. I won't need to dig it in, for the worms will do that and its nutrients will be made available to all my plants by the magical processes which are allowed to go on in the soil when it is not repeatedly turned and disturbed by constant upheaval. I'm talking not just worms and minibeasts, but fungal mycelia and bacteria. For the cycle of nutrients, with a little encouragement from us, is much more efficiently handled by nature. No need for simplistic additions of fertiliser backed up with liberal dowses of herbicide and pesticide to eliminate all 'competition'. Nature achieves all of this in a much more complex way. I don't even need to completely understand everything that goes on, in the same way that I don't have a clue how my car or this computer actually work.</p><p>Logs and woodchip are now being delivered to the smallholding with alarming regularity! I don't want to turn it away and have plenty of use for it, especially the woodchip, but it is keeping me busy redistributing it around the whole smallholding. It might help me with my resolution to shed a few pounds.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeP9HRZj4KIuvrUTFYcvS0kOfMiLWk7pJCNeOhwcx5OVCDUSbunWQH9qO2Qgj5UsVTQ-tMj9yPAzP-mhcMn_4TYEEr4oOUHFFlevAN9eL0eWt5CvcGzB72cnTpNIwuuYbb836d9q9y6PdJ89kwiWUVoSTOVD0GTTZTj5iHL2TXT549u45MhNRrU8oD/s4032/20230108_141457.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeP9HRZj4KIuvrUTFYcvS0kOfMiLWk7pJCNeOhwcx5OVCDUSbunWQH9qO2Qgj5UsVTQ-tMj9yPAzP-mhcMn_4TYEEr4oOUHFFlevAN9eL0eWt5CvcGzB72cnTpNIwuuYbb836d9q9y6PdJ89kwiWUVoSTOVD0GTTZTj5iHL2TXT549u45MhNRrU8oD/w288-h640/20230108_141457.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>The logs will of course be handy for heating the house, but some are just too big to handle so they will be left for wildlife. Much of the wood needs to season too and I am not keen to use the leylandii in the woodburner. It needs at least a couple of years of seasoning otherwise it's guaranteed chimney fire! Given the amount of wood now coming in, I won't need it for this, so we have multiple woodpiles appearing all over the smallholding. The wildlife will love it. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BPUKUx2y-_gqiYaFv6QaCoOGQIgtDbBiMtss4if4eJSkdS4-0MkLMaM4v4mdil62AG926S7iDNny3bsfRsCFnD3B3xUCbOU7l-c8RibskH8jc5sE4mdAejMuSes4vMDOZrFcRfKdw0AEFiCbe1TwwPl51_yBjHa1L6wwoCnMtJvOUBBAX7vYBCJm/s4000/20230108_141644.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BPUKUx2y-_gqiYaFv6QaCoOGQIgtDbBiMtss4if4eJSkdS4-0MkLMaM4v4mdil62AG926S7iDNny3bsfRsCFnD3B3xUCbOU7l-c8RibskH8jc5sE4mdAejMuSes4vMDOZrFcRfKdw0AEFiCbe1TwwPl51_yBjHa1L6wwoCnMtJvOUBBAX7vYBCJm/w180-h400/20230108_141644.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6YBsXxO5BIyD5eNw5RWiyAWNs_cwjMMDmzNvO-nTn8jINHlfVVdwMWlJ-1-2WgOafn6au4wnZmvh4-6K6bs1QiCrBPtDy1nDEVDrrami87xAgx8RgpGNAoJVwTDHN6qqC7gUDFVSUO7kdKYqHZ1gzW0k50KqvM0tT3-njNQOyPhqPYbGWZRpdGhC/s4000/20230108_141519.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6YBsXxO5BIyD5eNw5RWiyAWNs_cwjMMDmzNvO-nTn8jINHlfVVdwMWlJ-1-2WgOafn6au4wnZmvh4-6K6bs1QiCrBPtDy1nDEVDrrami87xAgx8RgpGNAoJVwTDHN6qqC7gUDFVSUO7kdKYqHZ1gzW0k50KqvM0tT3-njNQOyPhqPYbGWZRpdGhC/w400-h180/20230108_141519.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><p>I've found another great use for the leylandii logs though. It makes a great edging for perennial beds. It's not too formal but does just enough to define the areas so they don't seem too messy amd random. I don't really do formal, but a degree of organisation and layout is necessary to aid tending plants and harvesting. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4k4-pDuwyg98-lhzLEMkN8Df6aa7xtJoTj2IQuS6FbUHTmKDSn2LlnA36A5SuuwLxIuDi8CiMb33TqA0FnO1w8Dc_an1fz1y5Q-1h8y2NgaVvDfSEZvFRtLwsYFjAd5yV19ma_AhWEJkZsQYiLFeyBn7SP_0U82zl5W5m5Z4fCHQoAGMQWJCIA_v/s4000/20230108_141422.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4k4-pDuwyg98-lhzLEMkN8Df6aa7xtJoTj2IQuS6FbUHTmKDSn2LlnA36A5SuuwLxIuDi8CiMb33TqA0FnO1w8Dc_an1fz1y5Q-1h8y2NgaVvDfSEZvFRtLwsYFjAd5yV19ma_AhWEJkZsQYiLFeyBn7SP_0U82zl5W5m5Z4fCHQoAGMQWJCIA_v/w416-h187/20230108_141422.jpg" width="416" /></a></p><p>I have decided to create some beds which come somewhere between annual veg beds and forest garden. These are my beds for perennial veg. Here will live Jerusalem artichoke, Turkish rocket, herbs, perennial kales, 9-star perennial broccoli, Chinese artichoke (crosnes). Many of these don't need the intensive input of labour demanded by annual crops, but they don't really fit into the randomness of the forest garden, especially as the canopy closes over and sunny edges become more limited.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlg5BoECXJYIxlCpMeNuNnoXQFsYT4PPmm1KmoMdseVfqDOD2vGy9GsHspJgzeu7kk_MPaDltpQq82NKjuSOeL1Ds7cPZKDIvhvIL1IWTdY_INl1I7cOBKvOx4kqgpS-9tOd5g9VPxQSZbrpqeLSGJlFyy_byI11mBx1SxoqhRcGcbp5jcNNrBm8g/s4000/20230108_141352.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTlg5BoECXJYIxlCpMeNuNnoXQFsYT4PPmm1KmoMdseVfqDOD2vGy9GsHspJgzeu7kk_MPaDltpQq82NKjuSOeL1Ds7cPZKDIvhvIL1IWTdY_INl1I7cOBKvOx4kqgpS-9tOd5g9VPxQSZbrpqeLSGJlFyy_byI11mBx1SxoqhRcGcbp5jcNNrBm8g/w640-h288/20230108_141352.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PGLpx5k9j8lUyPO3cN52LPF0stiFM3cMqy3cJtwTLSWz5s-mkEe4MzoZHEWYZG5FBRhmls-SQeotnzx3nB1KuI4byDqOdcL7ob36m8q3n5gqLk-YQ4phsIoaa-eD4F9nM8Td3snKX8Jvy_U5e1hSZH_VRw2KDfZSGJEiJOmsZl6HyFzG1sHzdPgl/s4032/20230108_141342.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PGLpx5k9j8lUyPO3cN52LPF0stiFM3cMqy3cJtwTLSWz5s-mkEe4MzoZHEWYZG5FBRhmls-SQeotnzx3nB1KuI4byDqOdcL7ob36m8q3n5gqLk-YQ4phsIoaa-eD4F9nM8Td3snKX8Jvy_U5e1hSZH_VRw2KDfZSGJEiJOmsZl6HyFzG1sHzdPgl/w288-h640/20230108_141342.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtBMA2Eik3jS69q11CW-zIs9Q3LQB5wscZAlesiFbqnt3x3AQHGCaT6EInzMeUVgouSPMVJpXdsBpC3NeUsRAHSTa5lHRcXCruQBq1EbK_3M2gpl8Hcwy3KSamj2SqnsOAOE7fReSbotAZoeFy1it-nyZqw3A59B8yaTgSjJzea0nnukJ-MvoKDhz/s4000/20230108_141408.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXtBMA2Eik3jS69q11CW-zIs9Q3LQB5wscZAlesiFbqnt3x3AQHGCaT6EInzMeUVgouSPMVJpXdsBpC3NeUsRAHSTa5lHRcXCruQBq1EbK_3M2gpl8Hcwy3KSamj2SqnsOAOE7fReSbotAZoeFy1it-nyZqw3A59B8yaTgSjJzea0nnukJ-MvoKDhz/w640-h288/20230108_141408.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>The only things that stop me getting more done during the winter are the limitations of my ageing body and the frustratingly short days. </p><p>But as you can see, I've been a bit busy. Before I know it though, the sowing schedule will be ramping up. At the moment it is mainly perennial seeds which are stratifying, the process by which they are sown early enough to experience a protracted cold period. In nature, they need this before they germinate. It is nature's way of making sure that seeds shed in the summer and autumn don't germinate too quickly before spring arrives.</p><p>My seed potatoes are arriving this week, which is a sure sign that the main sowing and planting<msreadoutspan class="msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight"> season approaches. <msreadoutspan class="msreadout-word-highlight">Fortunately</msreadoutspan> hours of light increase roughly in line with the amount of work which </msreadoutspan>needs doing... thinking about it, it's probably the other way round, it's the increasing light which heralds the need to prepare beds and get sowing seeds.</p><p>And so 2023 is under way!</p><p>Good luck everyone.</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-75484107316692795762022-09-20T15:26:00.003+01:002022-09-20T15:26:57.718+01:00All A Bit Late In The Veg Garden<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-N26APSEJh0iBmxpwPlNX64vOV6JQ8kRzpO2OmPESZ3rH6xjdsky4EOyF8xgpZvc-OpvKy6aZCNgkA0PfHyNX7WSStVjFqQsUUjtaLlX3dSO969kpaOxM8Pvjfz1dF6UHP6vHa76t6rD-xGBy3laocWe3FODObYsRNjFi-V16Lg2bwc5XEBpHtFo/s4000/20220919_105440.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE-N26APSEJh0iBmxpwPlNX64vOV6JQ8kRzpO2OmPESZ3rH6xjdsky4EOyF8xgpZvc-OpvKy6aZCNgkA0PfHyNX7WSStVjFqQsUUjtaLlX3dSO969kpaOxM8Pvjfz1dF6UHP6vHa76t6rD-xGBy3laocWe3FODObYsRNjFi-V16Lg2bwc5XEBpHtFo/w288-h640/20220919_105440.jpg" width="288" /></a>Here's what the veg beds were supposed to look like back in early summer. Unfortunately, it is now too late for many of them to produce a harvest. The courgettes and beans are finally putting on some growth but we'll run out of daylight hours and sunshine before they can produce any sort of crop.</p><p>Some of the leafy veg will provide a late harvest.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Et8p-I7YuqP__w3cFR0FlbwE3ZhyuCFkGxBeZCNkU--flJJSB-0Kb2P4JTdOrfCFDceDtd5LWLYKeudfAuNjX_OlWJzZwswmSqO5nkYyRguz5mk8bimZDJcTQ9otl4dcXKYh6lKD5Ml9ShCtK-lO4XydH3Q-Ak-Tg1kl4SYMBj4GfYgByUlraUDs/s4000/20220919_105535.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Et8p-I7YuqP__w3cFR0FlbwE3ZhyuCFkGxBeZCNkU--flJJSB-0Kb2P4JTdOrfCFDceDtd5LWLYKeudfAuNjX_OlWJzZwswmSqO5nkYyRguz5mk8bimZDJcTQ9otl4dcXKYh6lKD5Ml9ShCtK-lO4XydH3Q-Ak-Tg1kl4SYMBj4GfYgByUlraUDs/w288-h640/20220919_105535.jpg" width="288" /></a>The ground is finally workable enough to harvest some potatoes. I have left them in the ground for as long as possible to absorb as much moisture as they could find, but any longer and the voles and slugs will find them. The harvest is pretty meagre but it's better than nothing. <br /><br />This year, I am covering cleared beds with straw. There was not much prospect of getting succession or cover crops in and I obtained a stack of old straw cheaply early in the year. The soil will stay protected from beatings of rain. In the spring, when I pull the straw back, the soil surface will be moist and crumbly. Any straw that has not been incorporated into the soil will be raked off and transported to the compost heap so it does not provide an irresistible home to slugs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-8917103769004988712022-09-19T14:02:00.000+01:002022-09-19T14:02:59.201+01:00Our mini rainforest<p>Strange as it may sound, the key to a forest garden is the network of paths which provide access. These can have a habit of disappearing into the emerging vegetation. They not only provide access, but they invite people to explore. </p><p>Originally I edged the paths with any spare branches I had from work around the smallholding, but now that we have an almost endless supply of logs and chip, I decided to refresh everything. Leylandii logs are not ideal for burning in the log burners as they contain a lot of sap, but they are ideal for substantial path edging. While I was lugging logs Sue was barrowing woodchip, topping up the beds with leafy woodchip from a poplar tree. I filled the pathway with coniferous chip.</p><p>This is not just to make everything look neat and tidy, but it is protecting and feeding the soil as well as depriving grasses and weeds of light.</p><p>When I reviewed the photos I took, it is all rather reminiscent of trekking through a rainforest - although maybe not on such a grand scale!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHlW-w_LvB-ww28YqQM93Lgub4d_1wbhWAzBR_OWdkCezPdXDXy6cQ39YFHsL8OXz9ZsTuFwHZ0tYeqRWW2ckvYH9FHh4VahicdxwTq1C4KWunMGOCTSnpcxYXSGwNkkW7hp7UoGpQVl6_dD_xL6FIcYcAk6Jsd2S3VgFl2gFD_iwxuN0-7v8GXXz/s4000/20220918_141457.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHlW-w_LvB-ww28YqQM93Lgub4d_1wbhWAzBR_OWdkCezPdXDXy6cQ39YFHsL8OXz9ZsTuFwHZ0tYeqRWW2ckvYH9FHh4VahicdxwTq1C4KWunMGOCTSnpcxYXSGwNkkW7hp7UoGpQVl6_dD_xL6FIcYcAk6Jsd2S3VgFl2gFD_iwxuN0-7v8GXXz/w640-h288/20220918_141457.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagGOple_JGcoaN6n0SSSFuhpSnrGb7sfmZpopKp7gCkA4TrC0OxPeiRxUsyQ6S2RX89BSAlru5xVF4cxMkazk9Jj8dyXufrNBVj8RLoTXtLevvkOW7kYZ0uz0JmrLqP0rxlQXxao1_B7PUPXqY323THHeloeSJduTPOa6RrsEO9gGuT0E_mRxsh5V/s4000/20220918_141439.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagGOple_JGcoaN6n0SSSFuhpSnrGb7sfmZpopKp7gCkA4TrC0OxPeiRxUsyQ6S2RX89BSAlru5xVF4cxMkazk9Jj8dyXufrNBVj8RLoTXtLevvkOW7kYZ0uz0JmrLqP0rxlQXxao1_B7PUPXqY323THHeloeSJduTPOa6RrsEO9gGuT0E_mRxsh5V/w288-h640/20220918_141439.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZAIC8fZvd5mJmoSGtQ2MkuO8PRi1w8kQ2M5fSShEozNUsX91XkW5OZEkeEhvPCwBxEyhWhwXOL_fizBjAZklItsg3-r9wNb0PW9EGCZMGdOQswYL-LZ8YMtSz14S-btu12GLr_zPLoKCYUypKJgoN371UZcAXt9oa72UjzheDhiY0t3cPfExLmMk/s4000/20220918_141420.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZAIC8fZvd5mJmoSGtQ2MkuO8PRi1w8kQ2M5fSShEozNUsX91XkW5OZEkeEhvPCwBxEyhWhwXOL_fizBjAZklItsg3-r9wNb0PW9EGCZMGdOQswYL-LZ8YMtSz14S-btu12GLr_zPLoKCYUypKJgoN371UZcAXt9oa72UjzheDhiY0t3cPfExLmMk/w288-h640/20220918_141420.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_tT3vPNT_D35YVEo-UrPSmUsFA1hQkGmIkNY6SsRJ4NO7YajKfXa7iiAVKSOEvrP0tzk2NpIntlORNZmtygHI4JR8Ck-yFtiwBjzsdZcI3_59Xt03_DXhM3ciKEOjXyfBTiGxdb6JDuGlHI6SuVkYcGyTidt617ia7wapt56-9HIWLpcBz8HYJK-/s4000/20220918_141356.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_tT3vPNT_D35YVEo-UrPSmUsFA1hQkGmIkNY6SsRJ4NO7YajKfXa7iiAVKSOEvrP0tzk2NpIntlORNZmtygHI4JR8Ck-yFtiwBjzsdZcI3_59Xt03_DXhM3ciKEOjXyfBTiGxdb6JDuGlHI6SuVkYcGyTidt617ia7wapt56-9HIWLpcBz8HYJK-/w640-h288/20220918_141356.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While Sue and I were busy doing this, the dogs were being helpful by digging up the grass path by the compost beds tracking the underground journeys of moles or voles. Here's Monty with a chicken overseeing operations.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKOPpqGFE-GjbJ3Jzw_J3cMf6R4UIpBnCaLuioHANhBNEmeAIn8dVcyXXwKPeW69BAdlX0LGyeRqjyCkctebTU-jmqp5f_o1HNOKplN019vGv4n_HTDFrltl--PLi1PA95afTNkCcvXcERDGcgsBolJjCvP0mnIV9VMo3zD-J5zjVxxva-LHmZ9mD/s4032/20220918_141320.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKOPpqGFE-GjbJ3Jzw_J3cMf6R4UIpBnCaLuioHANhBNEmeAIn8dVcyXXwKPeW69BAdlX0LGyeRqjyCkctebTU-jmqp5f_o1HNOKplN019vGv4n_HTDFrltl--PLi1PA95afTNkCcvXcERDGcgsBolJjCvP0mnIV9VMo3zD-J5zjVxxva-LHmZ9mD/w288-h640/20220918_141320.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-61214036216068291272022-09-16T09:31:00.000+01:002022-09-16T09:31:32.035+01:00Wonderful woodchip and lovely logs<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTXtcSPFBYnjywuI_-GA5TmqpUuHtji7FRmM9x58MEAexTy8NA-jOCVooQiZgw2kzAtekUy9zWcg8XFfGZZ3eBm1BbqSjeC2_X3yW7CwOv2rcoqpKUaOWiQlbSewOvpcVZ096pQBVEeZvI2xG3kVELi0HAt9Qz3BraRhmSKkZq_GVOi3OuQhBQ1gP/s4032/20220916_084331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTXtcSPFBYnjywuI_-GA5TmqpUuHtji7FRmM9x58MEAexTy8NA-jOCVooQiZgw2kzAtekUy9zWcg8XFfGZZ3eBm1BbqSjeC2_X3yW7CwOv2rcoqpKUaOWiQlbSewOvpcVZ096pQBVEeZvI2xG3kVELi0HAt9Qz3BraRhmSKkZq_GVOi3OuQhBQ1gP/w654-h295/20220916_084331.jpg" width="654" /></a></p><p>I have spent many an hour on my hands and knees weeding. At times it's a pleasant mindful exercise. At times it is a back-breaking, soul-destroying chore.</p><p>If you believed all the no-dig hype, you would be wondering why I need to do weeding. After all, you just cover the soil with an inch or so of compost every now and again and hey presto! no more weeds.</p><br />This works in theory, if you can possibly get enough compost and if your compost has heated up enough to be weed-free.<br />But unless you have a close relative rich enough to keep cattle and donate a constant supply of cow manure, producing enough compost to keep your garden covered is a Herculean task. Make no mistake, I make a LOT of compost. Nothing goes to waste and we have plenty of poultry bedding to keep it active and topped up, but still it shrinks down and by the time I have covered a third of my beds the weeds are coming through again and I have run out of the precious compost I so lovingly accumulated and tended over the previous few months.<p></p><p>So what's the solution?</p><p>Well I may be moving closer to having one. I have steadily increased the number of growing beds which are perennial and the new forest garden area has rapidly expanded this. The perennial beds can take a mulch of woodchip rather than compost. As time goes on the canopy in the forest garden will close over, the young shrubs will grow and there will be fewer and fewer weeds to conquer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><b>A Word about 'Weeds'</b></p><p>At this point I should acknowledge that many plants referred to by others as 'weeds' are not considered weeds by me, but I won't deny that some plants are most definitely not welcome in certain places. Dandelions are a classic. Welcome throughout the smallholding EXCEPT in my veg beds. The only reason for this is that my observations tell me that every dandelion root harbours a slug. If it weren't for this, they could happily co-exist next to my other crops. I'm sure <msreadoutspan class="msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight">somebody will tell me that dandelions can be a useful crop </msreadoutspan>too but the reality is that I probably will never get round to<msreadoutspan class="msreadout-line-highlight msreadout-inactive-highlight"> <msreadoutspan class="msreadout-word-highlight">harvesting</msreadoutspan> the roots on a regular basis.</msreadoutspan></p><p>My worst weeds are grasses and creeping buttercup which invade the veg beds relentlessly. Next come nettles, welcome in many corners of the smallholding but too painful to accidentally meet on a regular basis, dock, just because it self seeds so readily, though it does unfailingly grow alongside nettles and provides a welcome soothing relief to the stings, then creeping thistle which is remarkably tenacious. These weeds I do try to eradicate from the veg beds, but it is an ongoing fight which neither of us ever wins!<br />Lesser weeds are dandelion, plantain, willowherb, cleavers, feverfew, fennel, chickweed. These are all tolerated, even encouraged in moderation, but need taming as all self-seed with abundant enthusiasm.</p><p>Besides the basics of pulling and hoeing, covering the ground in the veg beds with compost is definitely the best option.</p><p><b>Wonderful Woodchip</b></p><p>So why have I chosen this moment to write about woodchip?<br />Well if I can use woodchip as a mulch in some areas of the garden, then I can save the valuable compost for the annual veg beds and I might just have enough to go around.</p><p>After ten years trying to find a reliable source, I am finally getting regular loads of both woodchip and logs dropped off at my smallholding. It does a favour to the landscape guys and it is very useful to me. I just hope it continues. At the moment I am getting a couple of van loads a week!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF72y7Zw4bFVani-tI-G3vL1mOTWYDNEG5oJE6tn8YUMDlp6PbbkhF-wHtZE3OyLz4cFfzyuTCzIX7a6cnLEiEllT9Jd0smK2_isGEgwLiC6e9eQHiThuPZxYrMBMLwbY1wyUmedeXebFq-w5yiWUDzLQvlPLparIn7trGvDGpZtTX4ltdfZIGv8Dm/s4032/20220916_084349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF72y7Zw4bFVani-tI-G3vL1mOTWYDNEG5oJE6tn8YUMDlp6PbbkhF-wHtZE3OyLz4cFfzyuTCzIX7a6cnLEiEllT9Jd0smK2_isGEgwLiC6e9eQHiThuPZxYrMBMLwbY1wyUmedeXebFq-w5yiWUDzLQvlPLparIn7trGvDGpZtTX4ltdfZIGv8Dm/w652-h294/20220916_084349.jpg" width="652" /></a></div><p></p><p>What am I going to do with all this woodchip? </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5046qSy2Xzn7u4hYIuEm6P8BLZH5jAlH0HxbnKL0Hel9EVAMwDpZoaRgdXXerKMEKfdQr4ChixppNMIXLqbDTpXAEJRv868cm9FIgq1PJ5-7UCUFMFeyFjJ0XS_BIjKDWcn0bHmcvxDEIHNG0bYsYdTlR9814d_cHrjqpgXWT3csKxl5lMhvgD4M/s4032/20220808_144516.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="447" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI5046qSy2Xzn7u4hYIuEm6P8BLZH5jAlH0HxbnKL0Hel9EVAMwDpZoaRgdXXerKMEKfdQr4ChixppNMIXLqbDTpXAEJRv868cm9FIgq1PJ5-7UCUFMFeyFjJ0XS_BIjKDWcn0bHmcvxDEIHNG0bYsYdTlR9814d_cHrjqpgXWT3csKxl5lMhvgD4M/w201-h447/20220808_144516.jpg" width="201" /></a>Firstly, woodchip can be added to the compost pile, especially if it is chipped thin branches, known as ramial chip. This is why I have willow coppice and elephant grass growing. Leafy chippings also add good volume and body to the compost. Woodchip heats up incredibly quickly, to the point of being almost too hot to touch, so it is a good accelerator on the compost, the heat produced by bacteria in turn hopefully treating the compost by killing weed seeds and pathogens.</p><p>If the regular supply continues, I will give one load to the sheep for the winter. Although they are incredibly hardy and can easily take a thick layer of frost on their wool, they aren't averse to a heated bed either!</p><p>I can use the heat generated to give background heat in the polytunnel too or to create a hotbed early in the growing year.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFWBIgMcipfOAgfDG02KkI5S88kP2tCGTFDHmqQjoaWNvJAQn18pphoI9FPGZdwcadM3Toa_bU5F1g9ToEzt040000CYXeUFlw2NkwE_W7L43Dy7sGWAEkDQQ_6-jDBeG0o1_ZZ9GB-uncZfqdmqoInJMvm8WUYRIFlUTG-qoovnqK9w4Cx5rmqjc/s4032/20220808_144511.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFWBIgMcipfOAgfDG02KkI5S88kP2tCGTFDHmqQjoaWNvJAQn18pphoI9FPGZdwcadM3Toa_bU5F1g9ToEzt040000CYXeUFlw2NkwE_W7L43Dy7sGWAEkDQQ_6-jDBeG0o1_ZZ9GB-uncZfqdmqoInJMvm8WUYRIFlUTG-qoovnqK9w4Cx5rmqjc/w364-h164/20220808_144511.jpg" width="364" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woodchip makes a wonderful ground cover for the fruit bushes<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>My main reason for wanting a regular supply of woodchip is that it is great on the perennial beds. The insects and worms slowly take it into the soil and create a rich top layer which is full of life, insects, fungi, worms and plenty of smaller stuff going on which improves the health of the soil no end.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9bT11_UvwRuR47JD34eW9P32wit4Q_MLYDZIIQc__19HLtaSw6-mS3NRBJFRScGCetu9ATQbNPXBz7PBk-2hQBspqrPt68dHjhZKLpen7e10tZp6fx6YSD2_g1vP33oBNJifhrcH0qr7EsjxWGehSm-In1jScSc5GeM8oQRzi5lxe29tArR_tgo2G/s4032/20220915_104838.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="469" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9bT11_UvwRuR47JD34eW9P32wit4Q_MLYDZIIQc__19HLtaSw6-mS3NRBJFRScGCetu9ATQbNPXBz7PBk-2hQBspqrPt68dHjhZKLpen7e10tZp6fx6YSD2_g1vP33oBNJifhrcH0qr7EsjxWGehSm-In1jScSc5GeM8oQRzi5lxe29tArR_tgo2G/w211-h469/20220915_104838.jpg" width="211" /></a>I am also using it as a mulch in my willow holt, where I have struggled to stop the grasses competing with the willows without resorting to landscape fabric, which I hate using. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW0uHC46xA8fvbTrwldkLsEAtm_Rq2tsBDzusIdKFUx_scIeWdPsURo_2mkAcSmlWIokPHIY2MwF0X7ltxiu-mdKh5ssq2mBCFejTOIaKuXnQs12_WFk_xVc4B74Qi-15qrLq7hwTSh260ga8pdNT_duxDJQCNTRToimj3UEJqLCnCL-GImzfwayo/s4032/20220915_104830.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinW0uHC46xA8fvbTrwldkLsEAtm_Rq2tsBDzusIdKFUx_scIeWdPsURo_2mkAcSmlWIokPHIY2MwF0X7ltxiu-mdKh5ssq2mBCFejTOIaKuXnQs12_WFk_xVc4B74Qi-15qrLq7hwTSh260ga8pdNT_duxDJQCNTRToimj3UEJqLCnCL-GImzfwayo/w197-h438/20220915_104830.jpg" width="197" /></a></p><p>And if the flow of woodchip still keeps coming, I can fit lorry loads of woodchip into the chicken pens. They will love scratching around in it and it will stop the pen getting muddy in the winter.</p><p>With the woodchip comes loads of logs. These will be most welcome to use in the wood burners and should save us a fair bit on the oil bill. The pines aren't so suitable for this, but they will make excellent edging for paths, rotting down to provide habitats too. </p><p>There'll be plenty left, so a stumpery is in my plans, plus a giant log pile somewhere just for the wildlife.</p><p>And when just the right logs come along I'll order in some mushroom spawn and get that going.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, shifting barrowloads of woodchip and logs around is keeping me very fit!</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-87922242091298682472022-09-10T21:02:00.000+01:002022-09-10T21:02:26.565+01:00The Joy Of Sausages<p>It's hard to believe that we've never in 12 years of smallholding made our own sausages. You need a certain amount of equipment for mincing, mixing and stuffing. This can get very expensive for industrial scale equipment, or you can go to the other end of the scale and sausage-making will be a nightmare if you're making more than half a dozen.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfy2Y920delQ4q2LnXXKePdZkSo9Knf53rKFJXaPlNbshAqZkn7VORKkgrFKT2jOChZxm63wEO3FhtA2kmvV5OhuUYMTm3OYGV-9siJYAdjuLEPHZ23ZX0ARCNff3h1OOKt_4WufIJvbSfOwO3APOQZ-nFBSfyFltBUbIbptAateJ7_arTwLiP_aP/s1077/300498699_5543820615674865_1214750109068237889_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="760" height="463" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfy2Y920delQ4q2LnXXKePdZkSo9Knf53rKFJXaPlNbshAqZkn7VORKkgrFKT2jOChZxm63wEO3FhtA2kmvV5OhuUYMTm3OYGV-9siJYAdjuLEPHZ23ZX0ARCNff3h1OOKt_4WufIJvbSfOwO3APOQZ-nFBSfyFltBUbIbptAateJ7_arTwLiP_aP/w328-h463/300498699_5543820615674865_1214750109068237889_n.jpg" width="328" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweS_ff7jNslvvIbYaslXFxaNxUT6SU-UYVLtyyY6dFryM5eRRzL8TjVHHt4tU0IrwRE5_9wSGPH2PBqtbQ7lTZLryxa1BDkfA2-S2_zLFjNokcAhDPFhM2dIrOehfutsFZZA1HS8o_bAGHaUwG37ex9sHsahaBI4vUyZ4R-D43DVwy00B7f3MhFTu/s4032/20220827_100652.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgweS_ff7jNslvvIbYaslXFxaNxUT6SU-UYVLtyyY6dFryM5eRRzL8TjVHHt4tU0IrwRE5_9wSGPH2PBqtbQ7lTZLryxa1BDkfA2-S2_zLFjNokcAhDPFhM2dIrOehfutsFZZA1HS8o_bAGHaUwG37ex9sHsahaBI4vUyZ4R-D43DVwy00B7f3MhFTu/w191-h430/20220827_100652.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeqnMJ__Qh7EHKvKXxWWFv9BVKYzFYy0bk8CnDB1hMxh39Uorji7EQaaylsYBH7lVmbOo_Exmp4k9cJbO4FsOj2xjWN24G0jxh1s2Ia1YII0TzJJPEf-ZPs9_lRjsdqcow4IXiaR9zBn46-AzEDoWrDZEOxtmPWbDqtkESu9LPpUqk1y0GuChBrf0/s4032/20220827_102702.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeqnMJ__Qh7EHKvKXxWWFv9BVKYzFYy0bk8CnDB1hMxh39Uorji7EQaaylsYBH7lVmbOo_Exmp4k9cJbO4FsOj2xjWN24G0jxh1s2Ia1YII0TzJJPEf-ZPs9_lRjsdqcow4IXiaR9zBn46-AzEDoWrDZEOxtmPWbDqtkESu9LPpUqk1y0GuChBrf0/s320/20220827_102702.jpg" width="144" /></a>Then there's all the bother with mixing in rusk and choosing the correct skins. And that's before the somewhat suggestive but risky procedure of getting the stuffing into the skins. Anybody remember The Generation Game..!<br /><br />We've not kept pigs for quite a few years now. They cost a lot to feed and you get a lot (and I mean a lot) of meat.</p><p>But for a while we'd been wondering about turning some of the older sheep into sausages and burgers. Shetland sheep are a native breed and are best kept through one winter to go for meat in their second year. This is known as hogget and has a stronger taste than commercial lamb. It is much sought after.</p><p>Sending off intact males can be problematic with some species. Goats and pigs especially can come back with a strong taint to the meat which personally I don't find very palatable. But we've never had a problem with intact Shetland rams. We keep them away from the females before their final journey and try to make sure they go in late summer, when they have had the opportunity to fatten up on the pasture and before their hormones get going in the autumn.</p><p>Rambutan had to go off as he was related to too many of the ewes. And three of the older ewes need to go off soon. Rambutan is about four. The older ewes about nine, so they will definitely be classified as mutton, a rarely sold meat these days as it's not economical to keep livestock that long.</p><p>So Rambutan went with a younger castrated ram and we got both of them minced with lamb and mint burgers and merguez sausages in mind. In the end there really was no discernible difference between the mince we got back from the two sheep.</p><p>Kill weight for Rambutan was 25.0kg and for the other 17.5kg which is about right for a native breed sheep. Commercials are bigger, but natives are tastier and have longer lives.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh945z8jOYF0uqs0UDn_9A_wr3fbrUKDwHPuQhtCYd4Rh-hzO-FVwk4iZ_jHhM_2nkb5rpmbrk4pgjbZUC8uv9YTlUqUr-GZ87jVM-ymKVzjjG-0RcJAvG4jetKt1Vif3T4DhFVziP9F-dKMMZqW3PsQPn6rUkf9PBIJVvOyH89SsJapztgNSxgH5vw/s4000/20220825_185057.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="1800" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh945z8jOYF0uqs0UDn_9A_wr3fbrUKDwHPuQhtCYd4Rh-hzO-FVwk4iZ_jHhM_2nkb5rpmbrk4pgjbZUC8uv9YTlUqUr-GZ87jVM-ymKVzjjG-0RcJAvG4jetKt1Vif3T4DhFVziP9F-dKMMZqW3PsQPn6rUkf9PBIJVvOyH89SsJapztgNSxgH5vw/w196-h436/20220825_185057.jpg" width="196" /></a>We got nearly 17kg of mince from Rambutan and over 12kg from the other, giving us plenty of mince to play with. We weren't sure about the fat content of the mince. Most recipes call for minced shoulder and belly. I reckoned that the whole sheep minced would come back about right and it certainly looked about right.</p><p>I did a fair bit of research into recipes for lamb sausages and lamb burgers, tallied up the ingredients we needed and made a visit to the ethnic stores of Peterborough to stock up on spices. Some of the mince we kept back for other recipes.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEBK521OEAWTgC2_UXeKTnwDaiDg8PYziGximPIDLss553wCbaj8Iq-kIfxfzbwm_XptGpcZJ2bNVPwVg8f0NRCFzPA_CMtSMKZe-mlvZQFEhlycteg-HsIiGt48s3e8XHdYgmEKH715CeRLYZhzwScxligUtjVfZvhqg53kXNKAD-UkXyjeaWM9B/s1600/301315579_5543820429008217_2329664815438425330_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="777" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsEBK521OEAWTgC2_UXeKTnwDaiDg8PYziGximPIDLss553wCbaj8Iq-kIfxfzbwm_XptGpcZJ2bNVPwVg8f0NRCFzPA_CMtSMKZe-mlvZQFEhlycteg-HsIiGt48s3e8XHdYgmEKH715CeRLYZhzwScxligUtjVfZvhqg53kXNKAD-UkXyjeaWM9B/s320/301315579_5543820429008217_2329664815438425330_n.jpg" width="155" /></a>Day 1 - Mixing the ingredients</p><p>We spent an evening mixing up ELEVEN different flavours!</p><p>These were: </p><p>BURGERS: Greek, Middle-eastern, Spicy Indian, Thai, Minted and Basic with rosemary and thyme. We mixed up each batch by hand, working the spices and other ingredients in thoroughly, then put them in the fridge overnight for the flavours to blend and the meat to chill.</p><p>These were the SAUSAGES: Minted, Lamb Massala, Rosemary & Red Wine, Merguez 1 and Merguez 2.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMWZlqfjPaSwnmh4FWpeqoLJ_t16kegkbJA3lWtPnayWwQtcR6JHlWUPHpwmHeVpJ3XHvOFh9YtpW4Z4WWbyVDOiut5jHRQq2RdNRQDkXG3Lgw6hZXehboEXsM-0TZ_j-IH8NL67U7qvgILqhwluv3gVqmnnpA843fuNrFYHVnNoQS_-BH27t2PJ8/s4032/20220826_152859.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMWZlqfjPaSwnmh4FWpeqoLJ_t16kegkbJA3lWtPnayWwQtcR6JHlWUPHpwmHeVpJ3XHvOFh9YtpW4Z4WWbyVDOiut5jHRQq2RdNRQDkXG3Lgw6hZXehboEXsM-0TZ_j-IH8NL67U7qvgILqhwluv3gVqmnnpA843fuNrFYHVnNoQS_-BH27t2PJ8/w171-h380/20220826_152859.jpg" width="171" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6m-cJnnJ-Jgpy0AzCb92wKtEu7O_SWo7x37cepyaIQAJmEjDul1kASamz2qJ3j-VLsb_FHu4Vo9d9MsJhYLYLDWG0koo2tAtPvFl2kTF_xh7SH9afnk_dLrEeAUs4rsIwr_ugjO7IoCpYj85Xqzth8kU4XYTK76umS3JP3JAC30ItojU3gAHW2c5/s1600/300776589_5543820799008180_5355569965867875928_n.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="777" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC6m-cJnnJ-Jgpy0AzCb92wKtEu7O_SWo7x37cepyaIQAJmEjDul1kASamz2qJ3j-VLsb_FHu4Vo9d9MsJhYLYLDWG0koo2tAtPvFl2kTF_xh7SH9afnk_dLrEeAUs4rsIwr_ugjO7IoCpYj85Xqzth8kU4XYTK76umS3JP3JAC30ItojU3gAHW2c5/w184-h380/300776589_5543820799008180_5355569965867875928_n.jpg" width="184" /></a></p><p>Day 2 - Burgers and Meatballs</p><p>We have a burger press so it didn't take too long to make about 120 burgers. A quick try of a couple of the mixes and we were absolutely delighted with the juiciness and the flavours. We used some of the various mixtures to make meatballs too.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDAOP149mo5nZbcYHiq5aHLgj4524cs7EvWJZ4pgxeN7oe8RVBzoMUYwpDlr1BqnOJ1WVM9mX7ZTOJgcbzdrgbe_1x-jmjsnB0kCpv2ZzRE_iMH938fGDuiZFVMxDlTjaQ0-a1aaow8ERFX10Qgud2iOib2ZfN2tPLXown0GCOSEcFC9rFzu0klqt/s2039/20220826_181026.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1439" data-original-width="2039" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDAOP149mo5nZbcYHiq5aHLgj4524cs7EvWJZ4pgxeN7oe8RVBzoMUYwpDlr1BqnOJ1WVM9mX7ZTOJgcbzdrgbe_1x-jmjsnB0kCpv2ZzRE_iMH938fGDuiZFVMxDlTjaQ0-a1aaow8ERFX10Qgud2iOib2ZfN2tPLXown0GCOSEcFC9rFzu0klqt/s320/20220826_181026.jpg" width="320" /></a>Day 2 - Sausage Making Attempt 1</p><p>There is a mysterious aura surrounding the dark art of sausage making. Secret recipes, do it like this, don't do that... It was an art we had thus far never dabbled in.</p><p>A while back we had purchased a grinder and sausage stuffer attachment to go on our stand mixer. Even if the sausage making went badly, the mincer is a happy medium between something hefty and commercial and something clamped to the side of the kitchen worktop and cranked by hand. We ordered some sheep casings for the sausages. I had ordered two sizes as I really wasn't sure what we actually needed, what would fit the three sizes of sausage stuffer tube we had and what would work best. The casings come in brine and need rinsing and soaking. They are a bit slippery to handle so we paid a tiny bit extra to get the ones which come on a spool. This makes it easier to load them onto the stuffing tube.</p><p>We started with the Rosemary and Red Wine mixture. It went incredibly well. To our amazement the sausages came out almost perfectly. But it turns out this was beginner's luck! When we switched to a smaller diameter skin and tube things started to go wrong. The meat mix was backing up and just wouldn't go into the skins. We tried all sorts with no luck. We even went back to the wider skins and tube but our problems continued. A brilliant start had somehow come to a stuttering and very frustrating halt.</p><p>Day 3 - The Joy Of Sausage making</p><p>We figured that our problem had been when the meat mixture warmed up. So we kept it nice and cold and put the metal grinder parts into the freezer for 10 minutes before each batch. Hey presto! Back to successful and easy sausages. </p><p>We tried switching back to the thinner tube. It was better than the previous evening, but still not easy so we settled on the 24/26mm casings.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxUmVYq20YnBf-FOCC5CNQ9feFDog5jySPerG0rTpCZfE3T18JCyLofUroWN0AMhROkQRrJn9q-4b90twyyTjyNwO6QLqindo4omOxJdOfadRVtURMuLrNJItfWSV36t3pGp8fll5CrA6ugCXC5nYHmDz2vuMzoUdm_BD64oxRDvdHhbxcsBiIU1g/s4032/20220827_112741.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaxUmVYq20YnBf-FOCC5CNQ9feFDog5jySPerG0rTpCZfE3T18JCyLofUroWN0AMhROkQRrJn9q-4b90twyyTjyNwO6QLqindo4omOxJdOfadRVtURMuLrNJItfWSV36t3pGp8fll5CrA6ugCXC5nYHmDz2vuMzoUdm_BD64oxRDvdHhbxcsBiIU1g/w481-h216/20220827_112741.jpg" width="481" /></a></div><p></p><p>It really didn't take long to finish making the last three batches of sausages. When I say sausages, I mean 2m long sausages! We still had to figure how to twist and tied them into strings.</p><p>This is where YouTube really came into itself. Scott Rea Productions is a fantastic channel. We had used it to solve our initial sausage problems and the slo-mo sausage stringing video was perfect. It wasn't quite as easy as he made it look and we adapted the method a little, but it wasn't long before we were both enjoying great success... to our surprise.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyTj1XKiF6752pCzy0I_NJqQ3gomtg5GBmi0svqt0yrqMaRsEfPcE08DJfZkOI72eGB3UNPZwMDXE49pHv_zgAlanE_dyToPcmY9CSQX2r81BGHANY5-aMbrg6XrsUq0L8iJJMvBWgOMTGIyQZynD05OZECWkbGjHa4YCtTy-tWhlpAZ6tvFeACtS/s4032/20220827_130124.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyTj1XKiF6752pCzy0I_NJqQ3gomtg5GBmi0svqt0yrqMaRsEfPcE08DJfZkOI72eGB3UNPZwMDXE49pHv_zgAlanE_dyToPcmY9CSQX2r81BGHANY5-aMbrg6XrsUq0L8iJJMvBWgOMTGIyQZynD05OZECWkbGjHa4YCtTy-tWhlpAZ6tvFeACtS/w425-h191/20220827_130124.jpg" width="425" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcauCM-BSuak6AGnoEvAogus06BzNcqCCH-_3QmmSzjiaommvbomQk1zq--tjUrKrY7IKIAdfEYRTQy76V_Etwt6FRgFLnEtb_66Fg0Qbfm60p4oWoI12t70DorzO1lzzOUFIsEB1pUiiNICUHkU6YdJVl7D43i3meLU8q4fThkWa-NQVdArdTyEv/s4032/20220827_122228.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcauCM-BSuak6AGnoEvAogus06BzNcqCCH-_3QmmSzjiaommvbomQk1zq--tjUrKrY7IKIAdfEYRTQy76V_Etwt6FRgFLnEtb_66Fg0Qbfm60p4oWoI12t70DorzO1lzzOUFIsEB1pUiiNICUHkU6YdJVl7D43i3meLU8q4fThkWa-NQVdArdTyEv/w179-h398/20220827_122228.jpg" width="179" /></a></p><p>This certainly won't be the last of our sausage-making and I am very happy using sheep instead of pork as the basis for sausages and burgers. In the end we didn't use the rusk we had bought in. It really wasn't necessary.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, my five pieces of advice:</p><p>Sausages don't have to be pork (in fact lamb makes excellent meatballs and burgers too)</p><p>Do a bit of research and get everything ready</p><p>Give yourself time</p><p>It helps to have two people</p><p>KEEP EVERYTHING REALLY COLD</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-15340990813805717632022-09-07T21:54:00.002+01:002022-09-07T21:54:55.349+01:00Bee-themed paving<p>There used to be about 20 square paving slabs behind Sue's beehives... until they got pilfered for other projects around the smallholding!</p><p>Getting hold of paving slabs is easy if you have the means to transport them and they can be had for free or very cheap on Facebook Marketplace.</p><p>But I had the bright idea of bee-themed paving! That's right. Hexagonal slabs. Luckily it only took a week or so to find some locally and a few weeks to find some more to extend the scheme.</p><p>There's no fancy patio-laying going on here. They are simply placed on the ground and have to take responsibility for settling themselves down into something approximating a flattish surface!</p><p>Sue and I are very happy with the result.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHt919NF2TfD3zRWq2ki3u8M0AEcHMSzoL8bOAxvGSqnhC7hkUn-QtUpGqh24os8AJByWxGrnbw2KoRuEpfcGspVQNZQLDoJ_iPg_VmmaQgT6c7Nap_qMLVFYPmsMDk0wA8OQwd5v1QtFgq6Hg1IKpMnaTrhfPhkj_y-US2ok3ipVuC8_03zM3ED6q/s3249/20220824_171606.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1720" data-original-width="3249" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHt919NF2TfD3zRWq2ki3u8M0AEcHMSzoL8bOAxvGSqnhC7hkUn-QtUpGqh24os8AJByWxGrnbw2KoRuEpfcGspVQNZQLDoJ_iPg_VmmaQgT6c7Nap_qMLVFYPmsMDk0wA8OQwd5v1QtFgq6Hg1IKpMnaTrhfPhkj_y-US2ok3ipVuC8_03zM3ED6q/w480-h254/20220824_171606.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLDfC_NbYhoc_juWUenr0CGBwl9JLnaSNh7hBQO1fYlQ8rExWaqA970RTSBOZ6yGzcU9NAF0GYLgAGq4yA9VKXJVVJEMyuk1_a4KolHE85m7OTS48qtUM1fB_QAriaPCJG6Oe3mXQan86Vu93cJWfsLAwR2xsE-cFrsuSAHDxi_ems3btRfuSZ9fW/s3244/20220824_171536.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3244" data-original-width="1724" height="687" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLDfC_NbYhoc_juWUenr0CGBwl9JLnaSNh7hBQO1fYlQ8rExWaqA970RTSBOZ6yGzcU9NAF0GYLgAGq4yA9VKXJVVJEMyuk1_a4KolHE85m7OTS48qtUM1fB_QAriaPCJG6Oe3mXQan86Vu93cJWfsLAwR2xsE-cFrsuSAHDxi_ems3btRfuSZ9fW/w365-h687/20220824_171536.jpg" width="365" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-69500129055707873882022-08-29T12:57:00.001+01:002022-08-29T12:57:21.261+01:00Sheepskins<p>Someone noticed that alongside the two boxes which came back from the abattoir were two sheep skins.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYsrFK386xSU7rY1K-Ge4GlrOHMFQCMBUh7-bVGOJWWIzxOO2MFCA5hdsZT9F1NinuIF2Bwa-XGGQPewHztzZ31bhP6gX4ttgG-lqgXZVi3I8aLKc7kXrnKaFkISSsHq4Kg6hET6jlW6tWfbH1vbToJikyIJ1D8m08VJ7FM5RM_BtWDqSHZP4eF8h/s4032/20220825_120040.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYsrFK386xSU7rY1K-Ge4GlrOHMFQCMBUh7-bVGOJWWIzxOO2MFCA5hdsZT9F1NinuIF2Bwa-XGGQPewHztzZ31bhP6gX4ttgG-lqgXZVi3I8aLKc7kXrnKaFkISSsHq4Kg6hET6jlW6tWfbH1vbToJikyIJ1D8m08VJ7FM5RM_BtWDqSHZP4eF8h/w632-h284/20220825_120040.jpg" width="632" /></a></div><p><br /></p>It is fairly easy to get the sheepskins back and to process them. You need a special licence from Defra to collect Category 3 animal by-products, but this is a simple process and only needs doing once. <p></p><p>Then there are two options. The first is to return to the abattoir on kill day (as you usually take your animals in the day before) to pick up the fresh skin, then get it home and salt it immediately to prevent any rot setting in. Alternatively our abattoir were happy to salt the skin for us for a very small fee (£3 per skin) which meant we could pick them up at the same time as picking up the processed meat. This was nine days after we dropped off the live animals.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUp15GpOoPfYBf4i-DGJFxsn65pbpCkLfG6mXYBFOECfGOWChFrvT-aPRJyimWpchvdQEEryGXrsE80avFwKPJfAxKE1acBpdisl-jOoMUFWUZ3tIcwcY_JieDIA9TNWa_HDLArOrZtMoZqkhtHi-TPR9yr5cPcuERpztuhND4vu7ys76maqsXbCG/s4032/20220825_124137.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUp15GpOoPfYBf4i-DGJFxsn65pbpCkLfG6mXYBFOECfGOWChFrvT-aPRJyimWpchvdQEEryGXrsE80avFwKPJfAxKE1acBpdisl-jOoMUFWUZ3tIcwcY_JieDIA9TNWa_HDLArOrZtMoZqkhtHi-TPR9yr5cPcuERpztuhND4vu7ys76maqsXbCG/w263-h584/20220825_124137.jpg" width="263" /></a>We then topped them up with fresh salt, getting right to every edge but not onto the wool side. The skins just need laying out on a surface. They don't need any special stretching or anything.</p><p>This is all Sue's department. When she is ready she will scrape any surplus fat off the skin - we have a special scraper but a knife will do. There shouldn't be much scraping to do if your abattoir have done a good job. Then apply a tanning mix which is purchased off the internet. There are three different stages to this, the last of which is an opportunity to soften the back or stretch the skin if you wish, but this is not vital. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwQb0w0ocC6BQDlfveNkyjYCDRTVlBlVDvnC10lkb6PFPAjRGEOiyNPz4tIwynF8jZITFv6rGD7TBoJINkKBLC7nL0gY2wVjGedJWwYr0eZc2mdPWnym4YfH0C3CAgBD7yN9v7jUVBko-kFsCt5tTpMpSU1UaXeQEmaMJHtZHsbJGxdZVk7z1QNPP/s4000/20220829_113057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgwQb0w0ocC6BQDlfveNkyjYCDRTVlBlVDvnC10lkb6PFPAjRGEOiyNPz4tIwynF8jZITFv6rGD7TBoJINkKBLC7nL0gY2wVjGedJWwYr0eZc2mdPWnym4YfH0C3CAgBD7yN9v7jUVBko-kFsCt5tTpMpSU1UaXeQEmaMJHtZHsbJGxdZVk7z1QNPP/w349-h157/20220829_113057.jpg" width="349" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scraping the skins.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>You can send the skin off to a tannery to be processed but the cost is fairly high, especially if you need to pay return postage. You will get a really good result, but the homemade version is quite acceptable.<p>I'll add to this when Sue does the next stages.</p></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-16717669186830307492022-08-28T09:07:00.003+01:002022-08-28T12:40:22.953+01:00Respect your Elders<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFSP-wQ1nhYVD0m6VDq2B596fKbxfAjnXP4OmZLDrdI3l-09_elgozA12OdVeTMVuSoBBd3nuDkZ4uD2EevtFcQ4cTCVzw1PqsxNgLGxThs9gxXZdOJ3ac3Apl5HAp6lXAcqw6b3YYr1fK-MBjJlLOl1T7GxBbRU3ChCvOdEyan1ScT7k8umM03U2/s4032/20220827_204921.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="667" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFSP-wQ1nhYVD0m6VDq2B596fKbxfAjnXP4OmZLDrdI3l-09_elgozA12OdVeTMVuSoBBd3nuDkZ4uD2EevtFcQ4cTCVzw1PqsxNgLGxThs9gxXZdOJ3ac3Apl5HAp6lXAcqw6b3YYr1fK-MBjJlLOl1T7GxBbRU3ChCvOdEyan1ScT7k8umM03U2/w300-h667/20220827_204921.jpg" width="300" /></a>Elder is one of my favourite trees. It has beautiful creamy flower umbels early in the summer which are a magnet for insects followed by deep purple berries, plates of juicy jewels which wild birds love, especially blackcaps. Maybe it's how the males top up the colour of their shiny caps.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1j5NF90rD5EBgIq3QqiNGlJQ6BaV3yedrqOAWRAcZrVZ-BwH-vXWW-uGEEIdzXWAKizBVT-EnY_SGvqBQquR1e2zpkVl2OBK5cH8hgyUUTAIQXUuYmdEuKYtmNieE4lOkoLtgomvLFrNofndzsmrQLx2mC_HaWT214akq0pnirmq463FaS-JO-LY/s4032/20220828_104128.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1j5NF90rD5EBgIq3QqiNGlJQ6BaV3yedrqOAWRAcZrVZ-BwH-vXWW-uGEEIdzXWAKizBVT-EnY_SGvqBQquR1e2zpkVl2OBK5cH8hgyUUTAIQXUuYmdEuKYtmNieE4lOkoLtgomvLFrNofndzsmrQLx2mC_HaWT214akq0pnirmq463FaS-JO-LY/w245-h544/20220828_104128.jpg" width="245" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">When cut back, elder grows a multitude of dead-straight vertical new shoots which are perfect for lopping off and poking into the ground to become new bushes. Elder wood and leaves have a unique, indescribable smell which I love too. I don't know what the chemical is, but it's said if you poke a stem into a mole run it will drive the mole away - not that I'd want to do that. Elder twigs can be hung in fruit trees to deter insects and the leaves have long been used to keep flies away.</span></div><p style="text-align: left;">Elder is intertwined in folklore too, with strong links to witches.</p><p>But practically, the elder makes a great addition to the hedgerow, woodland or the forest garden. Where it is not quite so welcome is growing in the small space between my sheds and stable block. One has grown up and reached high above, up to about 20 feet tall. I left it as it was still doing more good than harm, but it has grown so much that the trunk is obstructing necessary repairs to the shed rooves.</p><p>So I was going to chop it right back and maybe even take it out completely until the turkeys had other ideas. They roost on the stable and elderberries have become their breakfast of choice.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJRZ6omTRqT_EFPztxImTgRHix7vlItekNpiJE0G7VoxJpcUgB9CwfD40peXn2zJ05ME4JG1vgQhGBGMOBBLaYxBDCnDyalSYLrSAwG93iCADK7C1KsnJdMgE6K_1xZDxRCA-GrRb1ArH5NB3PdltofilV9ongWQay7w_XgwH7XJ0jY3ELol9uw6P/s4000/20220828_092711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJRZ6omTRqT_EFPztxImTgRHix7vlItekNpiJE0G7VoxJpcUgB9CwfD40peXn2zJ05ME4JG1vgQhGBGMOBBLaYxBDCnDyalSYLrSAwG93iCADK7C1KsnJdMgE6K_1xZDxRCA-GrRb1ArH5NB3PdltofilV9ongWQay7w_XgwH7XJ0jY3ELol9uw6P/w404-h182/20220828_092711.jpg" width="404" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWSBB5IHabnjmTz0_zg08nXeCsEDLTzZVDzJQETuzTieARNz8Z5p4syLvKJkV-aP6DFqBAtM6cu3A8ua_0saXzmwkkRCEul5Pp1kzott18opimBDEg51Mb1klDrKybD8qXqMidmZLcZGj-uADDTd23gYMHVtxoSSrT-OrkB4SD7YtCKgnsH3-ptqo/s4032/20220827_173750.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDWSBB5IHabnjmTz0_zg08nXeCsEDLTzZVDzJQETuzTieARNz8Z5p4syLvKJkV-aP6DFqBAtM6cu3A8ua_0saXzmwkkRCEul5Pp1kzott18opimBDEg51Mb1klDrKybD8qXqMidmZLcZGj-uADDTd23gYMHVtxoSSrT-OrkB4SD7YtCKgnsH3-ptqo/w244-h542/20220827_173750.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from on top of the shed. <br />They are chopped elder branches on the ground below.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>But with the berries finally ripe the easiest way to harvest them was to climb onto the shed rooves and dismantle the tree. Sorry turkeys!</p><p>In the early summer we use the flower umbels to make elderflower cordial and elderflower champagne, an excellent drink which tastes fantastic and packs a punch. The flowers are popular for fritters too, though we've always prioritised the alcohol.</p><p>We have plenty of elders splashed around the smallholding so every few years we harvest ripe berries too. These can be used for many things, though not eaten raw, but for us there is one product which is unique and trumps all others - pontack sauce.</p><p>Pontack sauce is a rich, aromatic sauce full of umami. It's like a fruity Worcestershire sauce and adds a wonderful depth of flavour to stews and slow-cook recipes. Like a good wine, it develops with age. The batch we made in 2017 is just coming to its best.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWASxGcAP6emQdcqFkP86lYcrvPohczOj0cbdGh0Tn19y9LJL_3eYz9JHqz4Xtko5l8rMJ4rrBkGd7hwXZbNZwq10nxDXSWRhx_CXzyN_PbqEvkummqwb6Iv7dTSc-sLvtle0knbAPxU8HYtT6JbAgo58POsJHh8SUuyCB-7o85WSME_VSn3EK4nl7/s4000/20220828_092657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWASxGcAP6emQdcqFkP86lYcrvPohczOj0cbdGh0Tn19y9LJL_3eYz9JHqz4Xtko5l8rMJ4rrBkGd7hwXZbNZwq10nxDXSWRhx_CXzyN_PbqEvkummqwb6Iv7dTSc-sLvtle0knbAPxU8HYtT6JbAgo58POsJHh8SUuyCB-7o85WSME_VSn3EK4nl7/w498-h224/20220828_092657.jpg" width="498" /></a></div><p></p><p>The downside to all this is that I now have no reason not to get on with fixing the two shed rooves. I also have a mountain of elder branches to process. They don't make great fire wood so most will be chipped and either spread on the perennial beds or added into the compost.</p><p>Nothing goes to waste.</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-52992817576281530122022-08-24T23:27:00.003+01:002022-08-24T23:27:46.601+01:00A moth named after not one but two birds<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="577" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J-tRdacJGxQ" width="694" youtube-src-id="J-tRdacJGxQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The Hummingbird Hawk-Moth. I've only seen these twice before, but the same day that I read they are popping up in many a garden this year and what should happen?<div><br /></div><div>I first noticed it hovering around a verbena bonariensis plant in the forest garden, but ti quickly turned its attention to a flowering buddleia. In fact I had plenty of time to phone Sue and drag in the house to come and see it. Occasionally it darted off, presumably to another feed plant, but it kept coming back to these same few flowers.</div><div>It was impossible to get a picture with my phone. The things never stop moving and even if it did pause long enough, the wings just make the whole thing a blur. So I decided to pick one flower and wait to see if I could shoot a bit of video. Actual views were much better, but hopefully the video I've attached: 1 - works and 2 - gives a good general impression of our visit.</div><div><br /></div><div>So if you've any suitable flowers in your garden, workplace, local park, wherever, then do keep an eye open and you might just be lucky enough to meet one of these little fellas.</div><div> <p></p></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-13681036850470779142022-08-22T22:17:00.002+01:002022-08-22T22:17:42.995+01:00Locking horns<p>Warning, this blog post does contain an account of sending sheep off to the abattoir. I don't go into any shocking detail, but if you think of livestock in a cute, woolly way then you may not want to read this. However, this is all part of the process of keeping livestock with the aim of eventually turning them into meat. </p><p>Lots of smallholders have taken the decision to sell their sheep flocks this summer, the drought and consequent lack of grazing undoubtedly acting as a catalyst for this decision. We've not lambed for a couple of years and have not been sending any to the great freezer in the sky either. </p><p>But Rambutan our ram can't service the females any more as he is related to most of them. The older females need to go off for meat too as I wouldn't want to lamb from them any more and they will become unproductive. I don't mean that in a heartless way but it makes no sense to keep them until they get old and sick or die. I'm excited to see what the mutton will taste like.</p><p><br /></p><p>Our decision to send some of our sheep off was delayed as both our local small-scale abattoirs closed down. It is increasingly difficult for any small local services to exist as the burden of regulation makes their survival impossible. So instead we have been asking around fellow smallholders to find out where they have been using, both for the kill and the cut.</p><p>Our two intact rams get along pretty well together. We keep a large wether (castrated ram) in with them and where male sheep are concerned three is the magic number for peace. But Rambutan and our new ram, Arnie, still like to test each other out sometimes.</p><div>A couple of weeks back something happened to hasten our decision to wave goodbye to Rambutan. Occasionally in smallholding something completely left field happens. </div><p>Early one morning my sleep was abruptly interrupted by Sue informing me that the two rams were locked together. That woke me up sharp! When I went to investigate, they had somehow managed to literally lock horns. It was like one of those interlocking metal puzzles, but imagine trying to complete one of those with a grumpy sheep on the end of each one.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOrunwqwHvb5zQhCtOhNbW4PCXeve6wBZCuE340Vk-3HLIgxLjhiYuKmPFMjaU-K6wMdCLPAdLNmZKHr9xC91gXKT0QKw68_Ewe-wu098-yUCZrNjMQeeoZ_lVzap84Dcd08VjjxYhm7gGWJby2EuMjDMNOVYyhrcp1eBe2DKapavs135snc81NZF/s3316/20220806_070249.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1603" data-original-width="3316" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBOrunwqwHvb5zQhCtOhNbW4PCXeve6wBZCuE340Vk-3HLIgxLjhiYuKmPFMjaU-K6wMdCLPAdLNmZKHr9xC91gXKT0QKw68_Ewe-wu098-yUCZrNjMQeeoZ_lVzap84Dcd08VjjxYhm7gGWJby2EuMjDMNOVYyhrcp1eBe2DKapavs135snc81NZF/w640-h310/20220806_070249.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrjoHt14qDPfhSDv2wIoY4WuXR1MZrl6yqPO9SQbvqgyUSTUyvRmHXHCuzKsXlfipEJjCIcQ6MgNQc1okEGIRebg7oUuYrv0m7h0M1kZ8Jyn3P1Y14LfXtLtLht7IDxEX2-c6sEisGmQgVB__-uTxNzhWaBF6Vxx4_P6Eoax99rETXqgWB8aWgCwA/s4032/20220806_070556.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrjoHt14qDPfhSDv2wIoY4WuXR1MZrl6yqPO9SQbvqgyUSTUyvRmHXHCuzKsXlfipEJjCIcQ6MgNQc1okEGIRebg7oUuYrv0m7h0M1kZ8Jyn3P1Y14LfXtLtLht7IDxEX2-c6sEisGmQgVB__-uTxNzhWaBF6Vxx4_P6Eoax99rETXqgWB8aWgCwA/w640-h288/20220806_070556.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKiGEaxk0ivMSgWKKv3xSLhQqp64-qkhck0mQRrqx_bjwXH2i9JG0HiSi8tahwIdJBhwA8OAQIvNZ0C1abSC46UUCeLIP4UKdf2S92h3g_c_r0FEUPTpetn0PFzg5cTs7qqW-6Og6XiQuOwgQwZKixd8A3qnS_mDSWVbO6M_0IXf-baxtoMV11rBk/s4032/20220806_071140.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKiGEaxk0ivMSgWKKv3xSLhQqp64-qkhck0mQRrqx_bjwXH2i9JG0HiSi8tahwIdJBhwA8OAQIvNZ0C1abSC46UUCeLIP4UKdf2S92h3g_c_r0FEUPTpetn0PFzg5cTs7qqW-6Og6XiQuOwgQwZKixd8A3qnS_mDSWVbO6M_0IXf-baxtoMV11rBk/w640-h288/20220806_071140.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>An hour of trying to separate them was to no avail. However I pushed and twisted their heads, I could not unlock their horns. We were seriously beginning to wonder what the outcome of this situation was going to be.</p><p>Wrestling with rams is a bit tiring too, to put it mildly.</p><p>But there is a happy ending. Eventually out of desperation and needing to try a different tack, I oiled their horns and wrestled one to the ground. Of course, the other had to come too as they were in the sheep horns equivalent of a three-legged race.</p><p>As I virtually lay on one sheep and pulled the other round to be in line, suddenly they separated! No harm was done and both wandered off to munch on some dry grass. Both looked a bit sheepish! </p><p><br /></p><p>This incident hastened our decision to reduce our flock. We duly booked five sheep in with the butchers in the second week of September, the earliest they could process them for us, We then booked them in with the abattoir.</p><p>The way it works is that you either get them killed at the abattoir then transfer the carcasses to a local butcher for cutting or you get the abattoir to do the whole lot. The trouble with the latter is that, especially with a larger commercial abattoir, it's hard to be sure that you are actually getting all of your own sheep back.</p><p>Our plan was to get two sheep completely minced, to include the intact ram as he was likely to taste stronger than usual. We also wanted the fleece back from the ram to make a sheepskin. The problem with this plan would be ensuring that the correct sheep was minced. Also, Rambutan would be spending time in close confinement with the girls which might cause his hormones to start rising and potentially affect the taste. </p><p>So after a little thought we rang up the abattoir to enquire if they could take two sheep sooner and mince them for us too. They were busy, but then said that they could take them in the next morning! Sue was due to go away that afternoon, but if I could take the two sheep in the morning this would make everything a lot easier.</p><p>So very early morning I loaded Rambutan and one younger wether into the livestock trailer for their last journey. On my own this was no easy task. Sheep have more speed and stamina than me, but I am more stubborn and have the ability to change my tactics in light of previous failures!!!</p><p>Once in, we drove the half hour to the abattoir. It is always a bit stressful towing a trailer, especially when you don't know what sort of space you will be asked to reverse it into at the end or how friendly the staff will be. The abattoir was much more commercial than those I had previously used. Lorries were already loading up with meat to take away and everybody seemed busy. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9NW0uC10GpQSr0AYjojMs1dzP2UXHDZb3ZyhR40Jnd526I_VV34M_BIv31bCtREUuF0fDQQCwQFFmV_g3jdEa8_OXxK6Vqi4GXbyS1pYp-WkuuysTwwxVhFQKMHBTydStfujwDqchyaCUKmttwDf6IBypOhHqV4t7a_DFNiSd-RsaaJgoHFzt0LK/s4032/20220816_191902.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9NW0uC10GpQSr0AYjojMs1dzP2UXHDZb3ZyhR40Jnd526I_VV34M_BIv31bCtREUuF0fDQQCwQFFmV_g3jdEa8_OXxK6Vqi4GXbyS1pYp-WkuuysTwwxVhFQKMHBTydStfujwDqchyaCUKmttwDf6IBypOhHqV4t7a_DFNiSd-RsaaJgoHFzt0LK/w640-h288/20220816_191902.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rambutan and nameless other loaded into the trailer.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVYQBfABf68pg0ysgtE-V4HOcXDeBkmj1U9Sdugmn7mBRaIRyLhQYnvXuxTk6Nc0WxiXFfO-vmNM-dyvGd174w7zEYHrxv3gVcGzSU59ydZykffoY5YuV_0UOl1OpT0gDZdEdJplL6JFiWSsmHONpAEU0piP_JSTu8o9nUMFKJlV2QOQ7EZU3f87Q/s4032/20220817_063620.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPVYQBfABf68pg0ysgtE-V4HOcXDeBkmj1U9Sdugmn7mBRaIRyLhQYnvXuxTk6Nc0WxiXFfO-vmNM-dyvGd174w7zEYHrxv3gVcGzSU59ydZykffoY5YuV_0UOl1OpT0gDZdEdJplL6JFiWSsmHONpAEU0piP_JSTu8o9nUMFKJlV2QOQ7EZU3f87Q/w464-h209/20220817_063620.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peek inside the holding pens.</td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuxYIXJZB7RbzNAB-pY4AQo7xgy1SnxrPokiElr0zf9WQ36PILdSIG8v5Iu3GETsq0wUL71xp8yv6alrZ5IGD4YspOHN_94SilLXjHZdZPJtVe3mOLhh41Hd0ApZ0q1a4I5gfjeTWCFmnjGV5dad_nP5h90ieYT70iaXQGuu4S1e4ZjkYctLoZDC0/s4032/20220817_063549.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuxYIXJZB7RbzNAB-pY4AQo7xgy1SnxrPokiElr0zf9WQ36PILdSIG8v5Iu3GETsq0wUL71xp8yv6alrZ5IGD4YspOHN_94SilLXjHZdZPJtVe3mOLhh41Hd0ApZ0q1a4I5gfjeTWCFmnjGV5dad_nP5h90ieYT70iaXQGuu4S1e4ZjkYctLoZDC0/w151-h336/20220817_063549.jpg" width="151" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>To cut a long story short, I dropped off the two sheep successfully and didn't really even watch as they followed each other into their holding pen. Rambutan had been a bottle fed lamb and was a nice friendly boy, though his desire to 'play' could be a bit challenging when he put his head down and charged. I was a but sad to drop him off, but that is part of keeping livestock.</p><p>We pick the two boys up (in boxes) in a week's time, then we have our first go at sausage-making. That should be fun.</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-35465163870632530852022-08-17T13:52:00.009+01:002022-08-18T09:36:09.617+01:00The Drought Is Over<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3F89n6wezYwjthcAr60n6QagfQwVN9OddzC3yWfUMKsAM4GoGlxJb72B8HsZ8IIp5N_lqkzGbDoHv83FE1aeBhhJLx7tqD8LuHT8boLJ3hgOclOzMf-4oTtMGPZNx_FhpgXfrmMqAfDSqizKWxuzBoRlMIdAy3vzxIFEs9req9_hs8S68WMsxbNe/s2400/Screenshot_20220818-075853_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1080" height="571" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm3F89n6wezYwjthcAr60n6QagfQwVN9OddzC3yWfUMKsAM4GoGlxJb72B8HsZ8IIp5N_lqkzGbDoHv83FE1aeBhhJLx7tqD8LuHT8boLJ3hgOclOzMf-4oTtMGPZNx_FhpgXfrmMqAfDSqizKWxuzBoRlMIdAy3vzxIFEs9req9_hs8S68WMsxbNe/w257-h571/Screenshot_20220818-075853_Chrome.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">138.8mm of rain for Holbeach - that's us!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Last night it rained. Proper rain. More rain than we've accumulated in the last 4 months.</p><p>It's the first we've had for a long, long time. In fact I think it's only rained a few times since the beginning of April. and only once this summer.</p><p>[ed. I knew it rained a lot and the fields were full of standing water, but it turns out that on a wet day countrywide, Holbeach was the wettest with a staggering 138.8mm of rain!!!] </p><p>Unfortunately there is an obvious pattern in recent years of all our rain saving itself up for the occasional deluge which surrounds uncomfortably long periods of aridity.</p><p>It's made for a difficult growing season (to put it mildly) and we've had to think about how much feed we need to bring in for sheep to overwinter.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p>In the veg plot, crop after crop has failed. Beans, sweetcorn, potatoes, onions, cabbage.... the list goes on. Those planted earlier in the year have mostly come to nothing and it hasn't even been possible to plant out any young plants sown in late April and May. For the most part the rain has come too late for another attempt at things. At least it's a good opportunity to empty the freezers and in reality we never go short of food.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_yWqCUw0pZSZVqZ3oEGKO_EJ897Fcj1c2I8wJYIWsoZnCQbBP3vUFzKW-Syp31osz7IgNtNfCmyIBqzW4vuaAQjzubzka2ZASCxzB7MW0c8o_dLHcYxen1fYIfcsqQs8YvSS1lEklMvcBk_pvRJL2wioK_AmLVT9A0mwZlWRMnkP_WJIAzpLYsmG/s4000/20220811_150033.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_yWqCUw0pZSZVqZ3oEGKO_EJ897Fcj1c2I8wJYIWsoZnCQbBP3vUFzKW-Syp31osz7IgNtNfCmyIBqzW4vuaAQjzubzka2ZASCxzB7MW0c8o_dLHcYxen1fYIfcsqQs8YvSS1lEklMvcBk_pvRJL2wioK_AmLVT9A0mwZlWRMnkP_WJIAzpLYsmG/w576-h259/20220811_150033.jpg" width="576" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The barley crop next door has been baled. Just look how dry everything is.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>If temperatures of 40C and prolonged dry periods are to be a feature of our lives then I can only guess that plums are going to take over the world! Every single plum tree is literally dripping with fruit. Thank goodness we have several varieties which don't all ripen at once.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2DQspbiWfBZa1R1hpIiipeEXQVmwyQrO5bHmTo_U7YihCPcH-UqNeDKjvOT0zMuU9wHXNrG1YExPUIINAo_oF748mLelLEZnEPuKyjNKOYINWdvZvekTi-Tv106nYkzh_yDmyXGGwJeRXsgZsdcGWPvtLQkLp8ZMW8VZu4-OXaE05qFYM-4XA_P0/s4032/20220814_105517.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj2DQspbiWfBZa1R1hpIiipeEXQVmwyQrO5bHmTo_U7YihCPcH-UqNeDKjvOT0zMuU9wHXNrG1YExPUIINAo_oF748mLelLEZnEPuKyjNKOYINWdvZvekTi-Tv106nYkzh_yDmyXGGwJeRXsgZsdcGWPvtLQkLp8ZMW8VZu4-OXaE05qFYM-4XA_P0/s320/20220814_105517.jpg" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBDxsG5dfZaYAnWncThKHVgiAeB8OJA_tNqnvMa9q7DhO4KkXrRKODwQD98OfDz4A7zf6O0tgh5jboFiQfzkhubh8_bX6QTg0X-wGAJ3hDNDKBzrH2qC7MUupy6kv7LU5vHPUMRkxSas3O-3V-drcpnd5ZzkrTK8LzXk8VBcI4DFuPAVWlIfTqCuM/s4000/20220817_092903.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWBDxsG5dfZaYAnWncThKHVgiAeB8OJA_tNqnvMa9q7DhO4KkXrRKODwQD98OfDz4A7zf6O0tgh5jboFiQfzkhubh8_bX6QTg0X-wGAJ3hDNDKBzrH2qC7MUupy6kv7LU5vHPUMRkxSas3O-3V-drcpnd5ZzkrTK8LzXk8VBcI4DFuPAVWlIfTqCuM/w419-h189/20220817_092903.jpg" width="419" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMGLces8c5aFqFymHjv1PGtUazDCoLhkxm9V33-pJ903wcGUz6ivqsi6XH4olKY7kezP8kQ2fJyeZLaXhUQzFhiNB4y9wC7iGlMF0GCKn2DwrDVdXtJ7cqMmzQTwC4TXgu_OZv_H5VQaS1mEY7hsTBaTDuOPe9bI53KF3ttqIDZ3RoaabkUHc5WNV/s4032/20220814_110338.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMGLces8c5aFqFymHjv1PGtUazDCoLhkxm9V33-pJ903wcGUz6ivqsi6XH4olKY7kezP8kQ2fJyeZLaXhUQzFhiNB4y9wC7iGlMF0GCKn2DwrDVdXtJ7cqMmzQTwC4TXgu_OZv_H5VQaS1mEY7hsTBaTDuOPe9bI53KF3ttqIDZ3RoaabkUHc5WNV/w443-h199/20220814_110338.jpg" width="443" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9itYdgLcA-GX9IwraL7w6vm21sDnAsqzjKrPndLQ5NNzTpktfU7yR9dX5lIcpuTCsw5XEqa21tiS5pq75917UtFQvSEI8m65VsaAj8_NbJbF4IcmEO_1Go2hlMPNyORgxfsg8zqt3SdhV9HpwREVw43dJlO7ORrdGKo2nsmEJYuoXEJj8WHk21Bi/s4032/20220814_111638.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="413" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ9itYdgLcA-GX9IwraL7w6vm21sDnAsqzjKrPndLQ5NNzTpktfU7yR9dX5lIcpuTCsw5XEqa21tiS5pq75917UtFQvSEI8m65VsaAj8_NbJbF4IcmEO_1Go2hlMPNyORgxfsg8zqt3SdhV9HpwREVw43dJlO7ORrdGKo2nsmEJYuoXEJj8WHk21Bi/w186-h413/20220814_111638.jpg" width="186" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzZdzlUX5dRo94mQ8de6yPxOM4xd9CQkB8VUxPOsnV7B8k4iRTP-SjcMxlq4Vt6Sgdz0D9wBbyxl6lLYxVcWO8AQzkx9vfN2K7mrWDnINj5kz5Xfj5HVH9bb9hS2Zm4jlvHqEAV8HJUiX8Nyg2eJ1CZHAUGX0GJtLlJfwdW3-HFFJO-Rlfw_8sE3i/s4032/20220814_103811.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlzZdzlUX5dRo94mQ8de6yPxOM4xd9CQkB8VUxPOsnV7B8k4iRTP-SjcMxlq4Vt6Sgdz0D9wBbyxl6lLYxVcWO8AQzkx9vfN2K7mrWDnINj5kz5Xfj5HVH9bb9hS2Zm4jlvHqEAV8HJUiX8Nyg2eJ1CZHAUGX0GJtLlJfwdW3-HFFJO-Rlfw_8sE3i/w441-h198/20220814_103811.jpg" width="441" /></a></p><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6X4o58sRZpUxGw2vNjr_BkgyLasg-roICuHgxRgtpY5rsLzMhmp6CcCQxp4wR8aGwVkUne_EKW1yv-rPu6CbThoNyPBXmJ2TcGb_k2opWL1pteWWLEQckRMBKFOTwV_nmXMSbaGVp50s8oZNNeDwj-fzYUaKHYrOYCGG2AgmWEQEHVU8T2Tadb68/s4032/20220817_093731.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6X4o58sRZpUxGw2vNjr_BkgyLasg-roICuHgxRgtpY5rsLzMhmp6CcCQxp4wR8aGwVkUne_EKW1yv-rPu6CbThoNyPBXmJ2TcGb_k2opWL1pteWWLEQckRMBKFOTwV_nmXMSbaGVp50s8oZNNeDwj-fzYUaKHYrOYCGG2AgmWEQEHVU8T2Tadb68/w220-h489/20220817_093731.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>The forest garden has fared better as that is designed to be a sustainable system which can deal with weather extremes, though I've lost a few young perennials which were tricky to source in the first place.<p></p><p>The controlled climate of the polytunnel will give us some crops this year and I've a couple of new greenhouses too. We'll be living on squashes, peppers, aubergines and tomatoes.</p><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I mentioned winter feed for the sheep. That's because we've already had to start dipping into it.<div><br /></div><div>We are careful with our stocking levels and try to leave some paddocks long to prevent the worst excesses of drying out. But months of dry weather and a couple of intense heatwaves have left the paddocks looking a touch bare and scorched. We bought in our winter hay from a fellow smallholder a few weeks back - the first hay harvest was incredibly early this year, but we've already had to start topping up the sheep's diet, in particular the rams.<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8z0MSSAtYHyfDq8NqmLfJxIvZlhHi3F_AmEvGYIPCSvDG-4YgowU13X5DhvWx6JB4ls5CHPhPgU6xh2B-rqjldnQw8jeLDALnEmTPelQglbdA-Usv1_Yps8h9rbMZzQamDJijZQS0SI44OfHXRU0_QaSl4fHsoidoutguDFIT5_zc6ssKq5ClDEvW/s4032/20220816_075312.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8z0MSSAtYHyfDq8NqmLfJxIvZlhHi3F_AmEvGYIPCSvDG-4YgowU13X5DhvWx6JB4ls5CHPhPgU6xh2B-rqjldnQw8jeLDALnEmTPelQglbdA-Usv1_Yps8h9rbMZzQamDJijZQS0SI44OfHXRU0_QaSl4fHsoidoutguDFIT5_zc6ssKq5ClDEvW/w190-h422/20220816_075312.jpg" width="190" /></a>So it was fortunate that one of our local smallholders was having a clear-out and we were able to purchase a whole load of old hay and straw. Shetland sheep are not bothered about the quality of their hay so it doesn't matter that it's not this year's.</p><p>I've got more straw than I need for animal bedding so I decided to lay some of it onto all the veg beds which I've abandoned for the year. Sometimes it's best to cut your losses and start preparing for next year. The straw will protect the surface, keep in moisture and gradually rot down and be incorporated into the soil by the worms. Over the winter the ducks will sort out any slugs which try to use it as cover and will further fertilise the beds.</p><p>I might have a go at some straw bale gardening too, then let the straw bales rot down into the beds. I'm thinking especially about some of the potatoes.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnK8vtHXTsKUPa3z0Jx5eY8ThTBncjDpA1ybjweX5GTtsfbscrFqp6HOhhokHPqKSo_6Y_blieFj-gelwmF0QdTgmBJxA1gh3oes34f4h2uQG-bM0j4fRie-JyDLgCdrMRJewHh93oNuQnBu52-RnRatev-fybGS6F5cse1CmH6dcy5Lgzqsy7PtJ/s4032/20220816_130310.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBnK8vtHXTsKUPa3z0Jx5eY8ThTBncjDpA1ybjweX5GTtsfbscrFqp6HOhhokHPqKSo_6Y_blieFj-gelwmF0QdTgmBJxA1gh3oes34f4h2uQG-bM0j4fRie-JyDLgCdrMRJewHh93oNuQnBu52-RnRatev-fybGS6F5cse1CmH6dcy5Lgzqsy7PtJ/w417-h188/20220816_130310.jpg" width="417" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-71508044120368687762022-04-28T11:41:00.004+01:002022-04-28T11:41:33.236+01:00Garlic and 'snips<p>Just a quick update on a couple of bits 'n' pieces.</p><p><b>Garlic and Parsnips</b><br />Firstly, as you can see. my garlic is doing pretty well this year. It will be out of the ground in early summer though, so in between I've sown rows of parsnip seed. I don't find a need to do this as early as some advise. Mid to late April is fine and I've always had sizeable parsnip tubers by the winter.</p><p>Until recently I allowed plenty of parsnip plants to go into a second year and flower. They are wonderfully statuesque plants and beneficial insects make a beeline for their flowers. The seed I collect from them produces next year's plants.</p><p>I will confess to having parsnips springing up everywhere! But I am having to put a curb on my parsnips. They are high up the suspect list for causing some rather nasty blisters which react badly for several years when exposed to sunlight. </p><p>I can still grow them, but will only allow one or two plants, away from paths, to flower.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9ZNzkQ2ei2_Q40XZcbF0-C3fDXOx3EJfuO0HEkKxVBI5nPezBgugJFfMXDf3KOi6935eroByaVVLhF8GLiSIZOAjRU4kgbFkktXgGssFbxibF_juOBMX93vK5bhRXsKT98Teucp0t47NuxxT8XRfNsUqMB7R7rcU_v-uZIGmLsvw4IqMU1xiSJWW/s4032/20220414_113033.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9ZNzkQ2ei2_Q40XZcbF0-C3fDXOx3EJfuO0HEkKxVBI5nPezBgugJFfMXDf3KOi6935eroByaVVLhF8GLiSIZOAjRU4kgbFkktXgGssFbxibF_juOBMX93vK5bhRXsKT98Teucp0t47NuxxT8XRfNsUqMB7R7rcU_v-uZIGmLsvw4IqMU1xiSJWW/w440-h198/20220414_113033.heic" width="440" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Adapting to a changing climate</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We've had our third very dry April in a row. I'm beginning to adapt to this clear pattern of climate change by raising my seedlings slightly later as it's difficult to get them planted and established in dry conditions. Frosts have been few and far between this winter too and none have been harsh. My Chilean Glory Vine bears witness to this. It's not supposed to be hardy in this region, but mine has happily survived the winter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2jBYOipLldL3bghn_IhT2T-mD7JLrg6NdR6RJeXCnPVsFWonRIyM3CExh2LHJTJD9qeezE3RS9bEY6dapTffb8IFtDkH5nNe1pXGsT2be0k3qbLPOP_bVQiM9emhfrz-OEHk24Bh23QdnuqvuoNB7i3SWuGLXIyV1NIIlZ3VU18NuezG5wdkhqfF/s4032/20220414_113545.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2jBYOipLldL3bghn_IhT2T-mD7JLrg6NdR6RJeXCnPVsFWonRIyM3CExh2LHJTJD9qeezE3RS9bEY6dapTffb8IFtDkH5nNe1pXGsT2be0k3qbLPOP_bVQiM9emhfrz-OEHk24Bh23QdnuqvuoNB7i3SWuGLXIyV1NIIlZ3VU18NuezG5wdkhqfF/w180-h400/20220414_113545.heic" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpZlZ7Y9mgpUwliiAvpJI0JvL7LLP2JhPW280sJRsfsu4wep23c-FR3jz9IGEeC21nFTzTU_hSxryUSgH9PtxHWlK6Ggtkj0UMNfOB9OlR82f7S92ao25BobxxfrtG75LQQCuNo5uSLt9Z5NCoo76A98rp0lpDgoRwTkkJo4H4vdf0ko6v4PC0T02/s4032/20220414_113535.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMpZlZ7Y9mgpUwliiAvpJI0JvL7LLP2JhPW280sJRsfsu4wep23c-FR3jz9IGEeC21nFTzTU_hSxryUSgH9PtxHWlK6Ggtkj0UMNfOB9OlR82f7S92ao25BobxxfrtG75LQQCuNo5uSLt9Z5NCoo76A98rp0lpDgoRwTkkJo4H4vdf0ko6v4PC0T02/w180-h400/20220414_113535.heic" width="180" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>As we head towards frost-freedom, the garden is springing to life. Below is my Snowy Mespilus hedge which always looks beautiful for a few short weeks in the springtime. <div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjif7B4g0sodQv7ZLzevGnWIvD_4nQ45t7LgnxqlH4w3ctaBgYeTCmv6Kd4_QmfFG9IWiHvQZ5FGN4VGCDRl0TkZ7VPCoP7KdB0FRNJWOjAdiu2Lf0CK4Co6VF6ipgB89ngaLMgi-TUo7mgEuLU5kh0EyIUuMFvEkkoFVRglwSiPtqy4OlJrzVp3rE2/s4032/20220414_111012.heic" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjif7B4g0sodQv7ZLzevGnWIvD_4nQ45t7LgnxqlH4w3ctaBgYeTCmv6Kd4_QmfFG9IWiHvQZ5FGN4VGCDRl0TkZ7VPCoP7KdB0FRNJWOjAdiu2Lf0CK4Co6VF6ipgB89ngaLMgi-TUo7mgEuLU5kh0EyIUuMFvEkkoFVRglwSiPtqy4OlJrzVp3rE2/w398-h179/20220414_111012.heic" width="398" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTLfg-Ef68jRTL9jERjiBXfeclnYYu_xicwgD1LpAfcX2iH1F4GF1W6bfeyfFbs7NMm4cVGhWmMEDNcsxwYlbdMJCZkIhcLVXOkKWJOgC5L0X9FGFOpQkzkEb4Ny-JMqS_z3rrlrs1-zn7mmMfci_jsmfkHylfLy6ExYNxCbF_pr1wc1ms_rOZsC5/s4032/20220415_102918.heic" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTLfg-Ef68jRTL9jERjiBXfeclnYYu_xicwgD1LpAfcX2iH1F4GF1W6bfeyfFbs7NMm4cVGhWmMEDNcsxwYlbdMJCZkIhcLVXOkKWJOgC5L0X9FGFOpQkzkEb4Ny-JMqS_z3rrlrs1-zn7mmMfci_jsmfkHylfLy6ExYNxCbF_pr1wc1ms_rOZsC5/w200-h444/20220415_102918.heic" width="200" /></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">And can you spot who photobombed this photo of red dead-nettle. One of my favourite wild plants alongside one of my favourite insects, the bee-fly.</div></div></div></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-41064115566796923002022-04-24T10:23:00.001+01:002022-04-24T10:23:29.090+01:00Avian delights<p>Every year we look forward to the swallows returning to the farm. As April progresses the anticipation rises, until one day, usually while I've got my head down in the veg plot, the chattering song of a swallow interrupts the sounds I am used to.</p><p>This year the first one returned on 18th April. And here it is.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gFUMkUdAKoba8KZqcJ7osvVf2nkW3IU9pmnOzjrXvi_cxoiK31iJMrw04GaEPJXM4qdvog_YIcxsuphB80dKhSlDW_2Ksiu0y7SJhrQvw_A2ql9M8VKNUxNYZNFKAKUdKSjOH7ZcblprcuAYNCyGjUzo5rqaJSan71FaHoCZjWDwd2NYpDj6JjkW/s4032/20220418_185920.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gFUMkUdAKoba8KZqcJ7osvVf2nkW3IU9pmnOzjrXvi_cxoiK31iJMrw04GaEPJXM4qdvog_YIcxsuphB80dKhSlDW_2Ksiu0y7SJhrQvw_A2ql9M8VKNUxNYZNFKAKUdKSjOH7ZcblprcuAYNCyGjUzo5rqaJSan71FaHoCZjWDwd2NYpDj6JjkW/w278-h618/20220418_185920.heic" width="278" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlkLO32iK6mTlyh13VU1O8VAaIVNtntKFX9hr9b0DZ5NJ0TSIB2h7TOLABNBSFeJFjzfcFLwPLjOQo4H0TcfQkiGUu5gjzHwvqsCWOVqCl5u69dhyOA1hf7ZCcpcrMcv_yG7ln1GU3CZyj5u6vTlNnrKAZEPZ0jzVtpBYGwnPeiK2mdFpmM1saVCk/s4032/20220418_185912(0).heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="614" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJlkLO32iK6mTlyh13VU1O8VAaIVNtntKFX9hr9b0DZ5NJ0TSIB2h7TOLABNBSFeJFjzfcFLwPLjOQo4H0TcfQkiGUu5gjzHwvqsCWOVqCl5u69dhyOA1hf7ZCcpcrMcv_yG7ln1GU3CZyj5u6vTlNnrKAZEPZ0jzVtpBYGwnPeiK2mdFpmM1saVCk/w276-h614/20220418_185912(0).heic" width="276" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Over the next few weeks the number of swallows on the farm will increase and they will start to construct their nests in the stables. But they are not the only birds nesting on the farm. In fact, that I know of, nearly forty species have bred on the farm. I don't actively search for the nests but this past week I've had a couple of close encounters. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Whilst undertaking a major overhaul of my shed space, including replacement rooves to stop the rain accumulating and pouring through the roof, I came across a nest on a shelf. As surprised as me, a robin darted out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdo5G37muILsMmhLeHIS4iw8C5mR2Xe9a9lzV9bJ3Vea93ND5VX70YkTHa1h4feSE_qyBWuOJRY50VZ-4WvD_xgo8DsXl453RZGqrTIx-MZlpyeUurGXM8p9w7aMOC2ogpr8yjZ7GjbCBW8CKa7PuM1AMmeSWqmLeT64VVuwoORSPlUP7fA2Cj1fW/s4032/20220414_121001.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdo5G37muILsMmhLeHIS4iw8C5mR2Xe9a9lzV9bJ3Vea93ND5VX70YkTHa1h4feSE_qyBWuOJRY50VZ-4WvD_xgo8DsXl453RZGqrTIx-MZlpyeUurGXM8p9w7aMOC2ogpr8yjZ7GjbCBW8CKa7PuM1AMmeSWqmLeT64VVuwoORSPlUP7fA2Cj1fW/w473-h213/20220414_121001.heic" width="473" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQytpBpHupUUT8C_-tIdBweiwjJ_x8UoLj2kY49nxnAXfed6oVBbOXzWMfeg9UxCkujNz0pyYKs8Sad6RjOvbBlqtsztaYLT3mrjQMY9zXWdJtSz-Ej6mPiYuhOcuTFa0TRs9Zms61vPhe44YJyZjoaPqoAyo75SwKMN14bPUV02v84LgxMTcGHp1/s4032/20220415_134436.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQytpBpHupUUT8C_-tIdBweiwjJ_x8UoLj2kY49nxnAXfed6oVBbOXzWMfeg9UxCkujNz0pyYKs8Sad6RjOvbBlqtsztaYLT3mrjQMY9zXWdJtSz-Ej6mPiYuhOcuTFa0TRs9Zms61vPhe44YJyZjoaPqoAyo75SwKMN14bPUV02v84LgxMTcGHp1/w472-h212/20220415_134436.heic" width="472" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fortunately I was able to continue clearing out the shed, making as few visits as possible. It surprised me how long the babies, quite probably only a day old, were left alone. If they thought I was a robin bringing food, they opened their beaks in anticipation. If they cottoned on that I wasn't a robin, they sat tight, resembling an insignificant ball of fur. I look forward to the day the fledge.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5WRH9XptXEPSCZ6Ed-b_muXRxUqESsVsxZoVJ-NGEppEINudGc6Wg9HMZ-tNdgk7E2h4C63qKHJYdUCV4osmMDALWmW_YaUFgMy8TRkZk8MBXfxBlrWYHTSegsO7LCQ9l8rd7S5rbP3xafudsiWXhDKpXZB4yS_x94KcUOl89MQEVnpkEk8AwAl_/s4032/20220422_100337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="531" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5WRH9XptXEPSCZ6Ed-b_muXRxUqESsVsxZoVJ-NGEppEINudGc6Wg9HMZ-tNdgk7E2h4C63qKHJYdUCV4osmMDALWmW_YaUFgMy8TRkZk8MBXfxBlrWYHTSegsO7LCQ9l8rd7S5rbP3xafudsiWXhDKpXZB4yS_x94KcUOl89MQEVnpkEk8AwAl_/w239-h531/20220422_100337.jpg" width="239" /></a>And in another shed I came across another nest, this one less surprising as the same bird has nested there for the last three year, thanks to a slipped pane of glass allowing access through the window. <br />This one is a blackbird's nest. We seem to have a lot of blackbirds this year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-24315307685618322502022-04-17T09:12:00.002+01:002022-04-17T09:12:52.093+01:00Magic Oca Tubers<p>At the back end of 2020 I purchased some oca tubers.</p><p>Oca is a South American tuber crop. They look a bit like small potatoes, but they are in a totally different family. Whereas potatoes are in the same family as tomatoes (hence the susceptibility of both to blight), oca grow like an oxalis.</p><p>I'm not going to pretend oca is a perfect crop to grow. Firstly the tubers are stupidly overpriced, often around £1 each for tubers an inch round if you're lucky. Who is going to eat something worth that much? No, I'd rather grow them on and sell them for 50p each! But come the day when I end up with too many to sell and everybody else has had the same idea, then I will start to treat them more as a crop to be eaten.</p><p>Those first tubers I purchased could not have been more of a disappointment. They had been either harvested too late or not stored frost-free after harvesting, causing at least half of them to just wither and rot away. The rest I tried to store over winter but by the spring they were just empty shells of decomposing skins.</p><p>And therein lies one problem with oca. It doesn't form tubers until late in the year but they do not survive a heavy frost, so it's a tuber on the edge of its range. But as with wild birds, insects and plants, that range is creeping ever further north as our climate changes.<br />In fact it is this climate change which drives the need to rethink some of our crops. It's an unusual year now when my potatoes aren't hit by blight due to our warm, wet summers.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26aPPBTZIR_1PCRpDiIJPcG3B4cjxBrSEYwwKHY_3WUtcp7laBO6ZtmkNZoAAXfqsRFz84fWKfkfJbbA5OvVm_YgK4zz35e9BzPo9nuU44EapsowMopsxl85CwWjbtZU0jvHU6wWMUrMAHpgqAL8dGRb6ZZBxWnbqLG65I4pS_M8WVWq9sgdAfP88/s4032/20211203_125527.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1960" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26aPPBTZIR_1PCRpDiIJPcG3B4cjxBrSEYwwKHY_3WUtcp7laBO6ZtmkNZoAAXfqsRFz84fWKfkfJbbA5OvVm_YgK4zz35e9BzPo9nuU44EapsowMopsxl85CwWjbtZU0jvHU6wWMUrMAHpgqAL8dGRb6ZZBxWnbqLG65I4pS_M8WVWq9sgdAfP88/w170-h349/20211203_125527.jpg" width="170" /></a>Anyway, back to the point. Not to be put off, I found some reasonably priced oca tubers on ebay. I am still experimenting with how to store such tubers overwinter. Since oca are so small, I don't want them drying out. My standard storage for potatoes is in a wardrobe in the garage. This keeps them cool and dark without exposing them to frost. The wardrobe offers protection from rodents too. I just store my potatoes in thick paper bags. I decided to store the oca in a mix of coir, perlite and sharp sand. For an insurance policy, I also stored some in a tub of peat-free compost in the fridge. I occasionally had a rummage around during the winter just to check their progress - all was fine.</p><p>I don't want to wait till May, when we are frost-free, to start my oca tubers growing, so instead my plan was to pot them up indoors to give them a head start. Besides, it would be difficult to stop them sprouting of their own accord if I waited too long into the spring.</p><p>So in mid-March I released my stored tubers from their hibernation. They had all stored really well. No softening of the tubers and no rot. The ones in the fridge were more ready to go, probably because there is more humidity in there, even if the temperature is more controlled.</p><p>What amazes me about tubers is how such a tiny, insignificant ball of plant material can throw up so much growth and replicate itself so efficiently over a year. Just take a look at the emergent growth from these tiny little tubers!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRUOJ5rrAu9ZkHAeM-Bd4lWMPmnB8lGz7jlyQse3XzYDBQmkbdyf-RjnojWJMkV-2g-SzOwe13f8pMRIE8kGfLdpq7mQ85PP9JmwTIAHVsh4KyYTpcfIIPAURi12JUdEtViBiwv9kTvdIR-ZZPpZ7TY7M5ehnj8-FsdOqKb9GDhrrUp9NRKy4tl0N/s4032/20220313_111218.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRUOJ5rrAu9ZkHAeM-Bd4lWMPmnB8lGz7jlyQse3XzYDBQmkbdyf-RjnojWJMkV-2g-SzOwe13f8pMRIE8kGfLdpq7mQ85PP9JmwTIAHVsh4KyYTpcfIIPAURi12JUdEtViBiwv9kTvdIR-ZZPpZ7TY7M5ehnj8-FsdOqKb9GDhrrUp9NRKy4tl0N/s320/20220313_111218.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVwWCX6BGmgwhE_D1610DCZ97AoPzp2Aw8Ekoe6JsLLc-IU3oZ_tg61uQAxq40E63dYDHK0xHR4-MhGcxJGSQA7DBebK_1hDOBLbzCJkMH9kf6uCAbAVf8zkllhXHzQxapSnmqXQJJFmhbCcan96FGwL0K5WjZnJHRmgrvlenmMCAOnbQ5wSaANKD/s4032/20220405_085101.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfVwWCX6BGmgwhE_D1610DCZ97AoPzp2Aw8Ekoe6JsLLc-IU3oZ_tg61uQAxq40E63dYDHK0xHR4-MhGcxJGSQA7DBebK_1hDOBLbzCJkMH9kf6uCAbAVf8zkllhXHzQxapSnmqXQJJFmhbCcan96FGwL0K5WjZnJHRmgrvlenmMCAOnbQ5wSaANKD/s320/20220405_085101.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RFXcUNQzJ2hxhWWzR5kwwP1yAlrrRtHvpnTZLUK5beG18InF8Rntxf-ebvVAAQYwe4iZQ-40rnu2nUTJ9neIZVBOzdURxmWUhr3p_CTc-ARxUPZKu_vaLE3kWQUlzQMPdN_F8ioXyEvGFQlZmpObHkyLUuJCJ7UKlieHKvlncFZgxhfdzVMnPJkv/s4032/20220405_085019.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RFXcUNQzJ2hxhWWzR5kwwP1yAlrrRtHvpnTZLUK5beG18InF8Rntxf-ebvVAAQYwe4iZQ-40rnu2nUTJ9neIZVBOzdURxmWUhr3p_CTc-ARxUPZKu_vaLE3kWQUlzQMPdN_F8ioXyEvGFQlZmpObHkyLUuJCJ7UKlieHKvlncFZgxhfdzVMnPJkv/s320/20220405_085019.heic" width="144" /></a></div><p></p><p>Coming up for mid-April now and oca plants seem really strong. A couple have shot away but most are throwing up really strong young shoots. They are in an unheated conservatory so that I can check their growth until they can go into the ground outside. That way we get sturdy plants.</p><p>The original plan was to grow the oca in with the perennials on the edge of the forest garden. However, the soil is still a bit too clayey in there which makes for difficult harvesting. So instead they are going into some of the conventional vegetable beds - these are more and more becoming a mix of annual crops and perennials anyway. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCcs_cxzh7qUajKKLO6jCsTbeqDc8jZETVkzUB6L-z55cNn6yVxuOlVQDbo9Wuf7KZvwduzto0xr2b5g9Gd9tkNQDV1vL0cIKNAcLOG37d4huKo_j7H2VKYbCaCbxnIyPoGupIJoBe-i6A2gBMDovvI1DeClXTFIb54N1J4vbNNx-b50hnVhmWHK-/s4032/20220210_123539.heic" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdCcs_cxzh7qUajKKLO6jCsTbeqDc8jZETVkzUB6L-z55cNn6yVxuOlVQDbo9Wuf7KZvwduzto0xr2b5g9Gd9tkNQDV1vL0cIKNAcLOG37d4huKo_j7H2VKYbCaCbxnIyPoGupIJoBe-i6A2gBMDovvI1DeClXTFIb54N1J4vbNNx-b50hnVhmWHK-/w488-h219/20220210_123539.heic" width="488" /></a></p>Hopefully by November I'll be pulling handfuls out of the ground a bit like this hill farmer I witnessed harvesting his Oca recently in Mexico.<p></p><p>Maybe I'll even have enough to eat a small plate full.</p><p>I'll keep you updated.</p><p><br /></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-91232229697383746452022-04-06T13:30:00.001+01:002022-04-06T13:30:00.228+01:00Good King Henry<p>A ground cover plant which grows in the shade, is edible and perennial. It's a forest gardener's dream.</p><p>What about one whose local name is Lincolnshire Spinach, though I've never knowingly seen it being cultivated here. It's more commonly known as Good King Henry. What it tastes like I'm yet to discover. I've read that the stems are a bit like asparagus - how often have I read that! The leaves are unsurprisingly supposed to be like spinach, though some people report bitterness. It has obviously gone out of fashion, but so often that is because crops don't fit in with modern mechanised farming practices or easy one-pick harvesting and storage requirements.</p><p>Good King Henry can be tricky to grow from seed, though one problem seems to be that there is no consistent advice. I had a few false starts and tried various approaches. It seems to do best sown into modules or trays outside. In fact, the best results I had were from a packet of asparagus! Goodness knows how but I must have somehow mixed up the seed packets. I think the asparagus got discarded in the belief that it was unviable Good King Henry. </p><p>The asparagus was slow to germinate but turned into Good King Henry! I must have had close to 100% germination!</p><p>The seedlings were very, very slow to grow. Eventually I took the plunge and planted them in the big wide world of the forest garden. They continued to grow extremely slowly until, one day in late autumn, I couldn't find them any more.</p><p>I clung to the hope that, as they are perennials, they would be strong enough to survive the winter in a dormant state, but I really was not sure they would.</p><p>But look what I found today. The photo does not quite betray how small they are, but look how healthy and strong they look, nothing like the spindly weedlings I last saw. Hopefully it won't be too long till I get to do a taste test.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUd9iWW5VI_MPd1UHhX_9VLWF9gmmt4F3acmCPc4oPjQpn9GuPZVdvzYEnphOsCGweP1nyFApDbUDDn7r3tMnwu7m_3pGBqyLeAqAe8YzNJH_u5Cx822EqZZIcRbNNG5EzDPPnU5H3A9I3_3WMVtTy_Lb8T9XrzY9uFdcYSi4yyp4X6vZiRw0QKCs/s4032/20220403_153337.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUd9iWW5VI_MPd1UHhX_9VLWF9gmmt4F3acmCPc4oPjQpn9GuPZVdvzYEnphOsCGweP1nyFApDbUDDn7r3tMnwu7m_3pGBqyLeAqAe8YzNJH_u5Cx822EqZZIcRbNNG5EzDPPnU5H3A9I3_3WMVtTy_Lb8T9XrzY9uFdcYSi4yyp4X6vZiRw0QKCs/w213-h473/20220403_153337.heic" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0v3lOiRAqTt-i4reACW0zBJpO6j_1iJpFBJztqAMBjG1tEKX-hZFh75vEfHDoa0-J53-4pZDg7aBozq_sDmk0uNMIuwxre2i_v2EyTKxIkygSREfH9sYZ7E-jKqrhUl-u0h41goYixZpgfFC5yxKYXVPH4WWjLV2p09mNe0bF_eEyOccQEtgOtYpD/s4032/20220403_153345.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0v3lOiRAqTt-i4reACW0zBJpO6j_1iJpFBJztqAMBjG1tEKX-hZFh75vEfHDoa0-J53-4pZDg7aBozq_sDmk0uNMIuwxre2i_v2EyTKxIkygSREfH9sYZ7E-jKqrhUl-u0h41goYixZpgfFC5yxKYXVPH4WWjLV2p09mNe0bF_eEyOccQEtgOtYpD/w213-h473/20220403_153345.heic" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-15207398474794390752022-04-04T20:40:00.001+01:002022-04-04T20:40:28.537+01:00Let there be light<p>One fairly small action has made a huge difference to our smallholding. Out in the middle of the Fens life can be a little breezy at times. You learn to live with it and even to quite like it, but it's only sensible to afford yourself a little protection.</p><p>But why live on The Fens if you can't admire the 360 degree horizon, the sweeping views and the huge skies.</p><p>So over the years I've planted a small network of sort native hedgerows designed to break up the wind while still keeping the views. Of course, they are of enormous value to wildlife, particularly ince the farmers round here seem so keen on pulling out every bit of vegetation which dares even look at their featureless fields designed for huge machinery.</p><p>The main rooms of the house look out over one such field, but over the years a young laurel hedge had slowly blocked out the view and the light. These things happen almost imperceptibly.</p><p>But in early March I got stuck in and cut it back from maybe 15 feet tall to 4 foot stumps, which will resprout with softer material.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsL0KIipF8iDwHAdEZNWCKdjfhZAOb7VEM0v_fRgujOyODgtbZbZuX1G-Q84XRaqdCrVqIKaCD11kOwuYudpTPHhXhOhJQPUPPlQ1rb-Sv-gzX9wHHqZqp9wm7AJ51hBC8HSsAC_b1_rsXeZC7gAI12CRA8sv0Kx4Bc6KuI47o1naHwjf6XjwuGQcz/s4000/20220314_112430.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsL0KIipF8iDwHAdEZNWCKdjfhZAOb7VEM0v_fRgujOyODgtbZbZuX1G-Q84XRaqdCrVqIKaCD11kOwuYudpTPHhXhOhJQPUPPlQ1rb-Sv-gzX9wHHqZqp9wm7AJ51hBC8HSsAC_b1_rsXeZC7gAI12CRA8sv0Kx4Bc6KuI47o1naHwjf6XjwuGQcz/w611-h274/20220314_112430.heic" width="611" /></a></p><p>The difference is amazing. We have a view again! We have light in abundance. And the pond is very, very happy. The water has cleared, no blanket weed, no duckweed. I can watch newts and Giant Diving Beetles rising to the surface for air, pond skaters, water boatmen and whirligig beetles demonstrate various means of transportation in water.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26lcQqzX3hNxri0Vw-Iqvr9Z4Z6N1dXjo_ZNCncdyK0MiiHSA7htqfURRh8gHJAeUV8v9KTkxIcih-XG-orAU707dED1O6R3jypnjGU_g_JQDDhWks15INk2CksUemXllqv4fuGYvDuy8eQ6Wd4nANtw_oce6qquM3E4t9qtdJ6lNpWAABajjUsp2/s4000/20220314_112633.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi26lcQqzX3hNxri0Vw-Iqvr9Z4Z6N1dXjo_ZNCncdyK0MiiHSA7htqfURRh8gHJAeUV8v9KTkxIcih-XG-orAU707dED1O6R3jypnjGU_g_JQDDhWks15INk2CksUemXllqv4fuGYvDuy8eQ6Wd4nANtw_oce6qquM3E4t9qtdJ6lNpWAABajjUsp2/w609-h274/20220314_112633.heic" width="609" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-41784291807563846822022-04-03T10:56:00.000+01:002022-04-03T10:56:05.571+01:00Wake up, but don't smell the coffee<p>Maybe it was having to work in just about every year group because half our teachers were off. Maybe it was the 5 year old who kindly sprayed all over the right side of my face while I built lego with them.</p><p>Whatever it was, I have finally bowed to the inevitable and contracted Covid. It's amazing that Sue and I have avoided it this far. To be fair, it doesn't feel like a life or death threat any more, no more than other possibilities in life.</p><p>I sort of knew it was coming when I had some strange goings on in the preceding week. Standing in the polytunnel tending to my overwintered young plants, like a bolt from the blue I suddenly woke up with the ground falling away from me and the potting bench sliding away.<br />Of course, the one who'd had a wobble was actually me! Weird! I was lucky really, half a second longer and I could have been giving my head an unhealthy crack on the floor.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoNNTkEECLexnAp8bbDF5-NcI_g8eMezzNr70TbdlvXHL1IJ8o7FWfDutGu1aPu8GQuYPk6X4DRLvDnncGmU3rW69l7XCAl2hXGOkAhfqiRiPhca_NaLz3rxItH1W-zRYsF4DFLZAa38U9T2ZIKHnyr1C35JmNrS28QIu1Emd3ozAbZdIpRxikDeV/s2944/20220401_075442.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2944" data-original-width="1324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnoNNTkEECLexnAp8bbDF5-NcI_g8eMezzNr70TbdlvXHL1IJ8o7FWfDutGu1aPu8GQuYPk6X4DRLvDnncGmU3rW69l7XCAl2hXGOkAhfqiRiPhca_NaLz3rxItH1W-zRYsF4DFLZAa38U9T2ZIKHnyr1C35JmNrS28QIu1Emd3ozAbZdIpRxikDeV/s320/20220401_075442.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrCK_8ps5bJfYktA2VZ64nje2rbxxGHyEMvguI6uqVujZPiLkfw5lb2fQfURkj8wQLbzmv9cFyGs_w68-X9upPC36zEvX9tF4FzMDi2F3JISl-a6xCP5mgWSxA8oP3VUtNgo0MppccHCYzQzOc3EwnxCBRxYtFPUMymsG4DyUW4f5SARhW__4Vjwg/s2019/20220401_225217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2019" data-original-width="1306" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrCK_8ps5bJfYktA2VZ64nje2rbxxGHyEMvguI6uqVujZPiLkfw5lb2fQfURkj8wQLbzmv9cFyGs_w68-X9upPC36zEvX9tF4FzMDi2F3JISl-a6xCP5mgWSxA8oP3VUtNgo0MppccHCYzQzOc3EwnxCBRxYtFPUMymsG4DyUW4f5SARhW__4Vjwg/s320/20220401_225217.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Covid me and post Covid<br />(thought he difference has absolutely nothing to do with Covid<br />and the second image is only due to public pressure!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>I don't want to make light of Covid in any way, but the timing was good, taking me straight into a two week Easter holiday.</p><p>I was generous with it too. Sue is about 3 days behind me, so hopefully will be testing negative in a couple of days as I did yesterday.</p><p>So how was it different to any other illness. Well, there were a few strange symptoms. The brief spells of dizziness for one. The complete exhaustion that appeared from nowhere. I spent a week working outside in half hour slots. The complete lack of taste (no cheeky comments!) and absolutely no sense of smell, not even coffee, not even bonfires, not even ... well, no need to go any further. The constant thick head was a pain, though this had been lingering for a week before the positive test confirmation. The back ache and aching body (even more than creeping old age gifts me) was, looking back on it, another sign that a positive test was on its way.</p><p>And on the day of the positive test, I blamed the bouts of sneezing on early tree pollen, at least until my nose started running literally like a tap.</p><p><br /></p><p>We're both relieved to finally have had it. I don't think it will be the last time. With the government having given up on any control measures, it is rampant in school and many children have had multiple infections. I just hope there are no more nasty twists and turns in this story as we seem to have totally dismantled our defences. </p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-74787295046146266172022-03-30T12:08:00.001+01:002022-03-30T12:08:00.218+01:00Springing up<p>On a similar note to the previous post, giants are stirring below the ground and stretching their leafy arms to reach the sky, revelling in the first sunshine of the year.</p><p>These are THE HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS, a remarkable group of plants which basically hibernate. At the end of the year, after flowering and producing seeds, their leaves and stems wilt, dry up, rot down, and they disappear for the winter, dormant just below the surface. But their strong root systems, which increase year on year, are a remarkable store of energy which is unleashed when they sense lengthening days and warming soil. Through the soil poke the most luscious of leaves, nothing like the weedy and vulnerable seedlings produced by annuals. Herbaceous perennials are ready to go. </p><p>So as I walk around the smallholding, particularly the forest garden where young perennials were planted last year, every glimpse of an emerging strong plant brings joy. If they survived that first winter they will be here to stay. Every few years they can be divided to make more plants and in exceptionally cold winters I might mulch them as protection, though most are selected for their hardiness (and my laziness!)</p><p>So here's a quick gallery of what's coming through.</p><p>From top left, Globe Artichoke, Wild Strawberry, Garden Sorrel, Red-berried Elder, Dock (baddy), Caucasian Spinach, Babington Leaks, Lupins, Day Lily, Crocus, Bronze Fennel, Angelica, , </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRb_BdomhRQ1F2CEC9tVUFYkcmUzWt46gc-ngRjaLSWCKz1iDw_h3xg1iaBIKQ9lwMN9HwUsEu5JxAAv5NrYSdLJJGlzZqt9G2iseglau-Hye_UpobcOt3fYn3fz2I9txiylOF8HfhF87sFxYC5E-t5o0a6rZ6Y59TP-9vVhoHTs4pTNXruPlny7y/s4032/20220314_121351.heic" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRb_BdomhRQ1F2CEC9tVUFYkcmUzWt46gc-ngRjaLSWCKz1iDw_h3xg1iaBIKQ9lwMN9HwUsEu5JxAAv5NrYSdLJJGlzZqt9G2iseglau-Hye_UpobcOt3fYn3fz2I9txiylOF8HfhF87sFxYC5E-t5o0a6rZ6Y59TP-9vVhoHTs4pTNXruPlny7y/w227-h504/20220314_121351.heic" width="227" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUYOqguAt4SX9_4qOeN71Bl0PqggzMpr0BlwLFlHrwlJxVkya092cxamBDUMzh2rdQfFzVHb_9HEfcr0-_ILowUFO6remfE_vn-cf_kk5qUPJAgndvhZKqPrk7fTi-_TPo22KtH8BJThd-yAjxysb-oo3ZjWoWQnKyNJKFw0fgzQlfZjuaLXmKU63/s4032/20220314_121211.heic" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiUYOqguAt4SX9_4qOeN71Bl0PqggzMpr0BlwLFlHrwlJxVkya092cxamBDUMzh2rdQfFzVHb_9HEfcr0-_ILowUFO6remfE_vn-cf_kk5qUPJAgndvhZKqPrk7fTi-_TPo22KtH8BJThd-yAjxysb-oo3ZjWoWQnKyNJKFw0fgzQlfZjuaLXmKU63/w376-h169/20220314_121211.heic" width="376" /></a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fMmHVeuY1Kx7kaq8EUNSylQ1nzBeOuVei3VvpshV-hnbreRpLtfJkX91H078lGIrY4b9SseUjdFJIXxZISCkeYU4tw8_hZZTfMuwr-Z4lCTtmz5rNJ2tKlGCAfi7mvGOU4F1LdtRVdkqdE1FPK7KCcboKz2nqTduteSLXdimUh3fH-jdoIiEhwQY/s4032/20220314_121045.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5fMmHVeuY1Kx7kaq8EUNSylQ1nzBeOuVei3VvpshV-hnbreRpLtfJkX91H078lGIrY4b9SseUjdFJIXxZISCkeYU4tw8_hZZTfMuwr-Z4lCTtmz5rNJ2tKlGCAfi7mvGOU4F1LdtRVdkqdE1FPK7KCcboKz2nqTduteSLXdimUh3fH-jdoIiEhwQY/w188-h419/20220314_121045.heic" width="188" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFm4O8k6bkxj4DgVAx8rVPMQ0FZnzMUSScOt65VvA4Z4EKXz9zq3Yek2Shb2_VPHOXxl_vVeVYOaRpQ6puYk2RDS292Qov7KIC-rKDyhmKyDNyP21_jbGEBylH6G28I7Ge2PBgjwa-7YCrIBYBjnAEew3wH9tPRkDbEaYDoy3q2KKSY4-jwKLltI8N/s4032/20220314_121032.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqITRyOO8_se0UHLyfxK0oFNVPHgzztza7jXgimI7QljsHZbH3iK8hS-GrZ62J05erhfyKIMHqkd8FqvnkxuJNU12C6RDgmk36AgBbYALOEw8jwAFbWA0k0w_8y7cLaW7dwAvWnEXq-pWmDq1697U4A--rNBMktqMgO65d1Wle0EMj9Y9F6BrFFHE/w177-h393/20220314_120657.heic" width="177" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LYxeFSh1-a807D44qZ9Q7jDjuem7Y140smNsS01gM0s4JSS6VFHlxdb_KQNiMmao9ildPYkR7wsT4uctx9CYhl5U-wt2S9aqlqEKhEnRPhRj6GbwbQox1ZS8Nk3zQIwtCCDYPcPnJJUj7gxZuegTasYK846Mo4FyTjBtqazWEDlIeHnwi9hyUlBI/s4032/20220314_120608.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9LYxeFSh1-a807D44qZ9Q7jDjuem7Y140smNsS01gM0s4JSS6VFHlxdb_KQNiMmao9ildPYkR7wsT4uctx9CYhl5U-wt2S9aqlqEKhEnRPhRj6GbwbQox1ZS8Nk3zQIwtCCDYPcPnJJUj7gxZuegTasYK846Mo4FyTjBtqazWEDlIeHnwi9hyUlBI/w177-h393/20220314_120608.heic" width="177" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUYrjW6UXQhhSWWIdI7qegjEgmVFOnRGrmQ8pr0MKF3ClhWj95mnpPRh7K5cKlkvY6EbeK-EHlS9RgQNJIXzb_2eQWzQd5klP3upK4lopYGm9GOL_MkiHZiQePSQDJ0-DiQOyqkSdHhdQgrON_iD0QewFXEQ7Ew2Sot0dkMY2m03qygot-YZ0Xh8I/s4032/20220314_120442.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCUYrjW6UXQhhSWWIdI7qegjEgmVFOnRGrmQ8pr0MKF3ClhWj95mnpPRh7K5cKlkvY6EbeK-EHlS9RgQNJIXzb_2eQWzQd5klP3upK4lopYGm9GOL_MkiHZiQePSQDJ0-DiQOyqkSdHhdQgrON_iD0QewFXEQ7Ew2Sot0dkMY2m03qygot-YZ0Xh8I/w177-h393/20220314_120442.heic" width="177" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-51577483582239557532022-03-29T07:41:00.003+01:002022-03-29T07:41:00.232+01:00Bloomin' Lovely!<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSiTjujbk-BK0ozTh0pFmixy_JtDY9B4WVVRmnyGidafH8_Io0w8FoyZGqTv35PUdi_DWg7INGv3CDc0Bv7wvkAcJmLTM_Ju7XEhfwF8X0j6wxffJ2c6dVm8wDpiLnb0UVWueBY5NK_Y2e0X3ECbH2u1bAlf0Bz5oEulXMrWHaicS91BjZh6l0PP0/s4032/20220310_133157.heic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSiTjujbk-BK0ozTh0pFmixy_JtDY9B4WVVRmnyGidafH8_Io0w8FoyZGqTv35PUdi_DWg7INGv3CDc0Bv7wvkAcJmLTM_Ju7XEhfwF8X0j6wxffJ2c6dVm8wDpiLnb0UVWueBY5NK_Y2e0X3ECbH2u1bAlf0Bz5oEulXMrWHaicS91BjZh6l0PP0/s320/20220310_133157.heic" width="144" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For Ukraine.<br />Please provide a home if you can, <br />donate money, boycott those companies who turn a blind eye,<br />do anything you can to oppose barbaric aggression.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spring is here! The daffs are trumpeting symphonies of sunshine. Hellebores are in full bloom, fountains of hyacinth blue bubble from the ground. And I am feeling poetic!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At this time of year the almond tree is a riot of pink profusion. On a sunny day it literally hums with the sound of contented honey bees foraging for pollen. With no hard frosts this year and calm weather while the blossom is out, I am anticipating a bumper crop of almonds this year.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdodDD60WzFtBnY-9jOEjNethR3WZTGqMnlVcP6XeH99JXN_-IYNtEBpmViKB2ri1ZOTikJXXSeMpn10W-K9XhHdZdrW6DySFKwbb2ntuQS2fH38l3N4p1eLxn3v0l5EqKd0NOP6hBmVxcWTEPPhOxaPBtTIqsWnZxKgOYyOO2J45Z7o8TVAeXzOH4/s4032/20220314_120642.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdodDD60WzFtBnY-9jOEjNethR3WZTGqMnlVcP6XeH99JXN_-IYNtEBpmViKB2ri1ZOTikJXXSeMpn10W-K9XhHdZdrW6DySFKwbb2ntuQS2fH38l3N4p1eLxn3v0l5EqKd0NOP6hBmVxcWTEPPhOxaPBtTIqsWnZxKgOYyOO2J45Z7o8TVAeXzOH4/w227-h504/20220314_120642.heic" width="227" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNzACKsuPFnkYGWzNRPxuq3_fYcEHl3L3Zh0TqjSEkxzz9U54rsNYht7eU-BKKTcOSQGVf899jnNhSjmDgZaebrzclZQAUzCDm4T8AkBrJtH4EGNaqdMpEzfik3qiJpbR__Oz34rL7R3Y4M8tZStUtgh0DXCvn5K6TJcKKHs_N_ntVf-GnRqQppF2/s4032/20220314_121815.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNzACKsuPFnkYGWzNRPxuq3_fYcEHl3L3Zh0TqjSEkxzz9U54rsNYht7eU-BKKTcOSQGVf899jnNhSjmDgZaebrzclZQAUzCDm4T8AkBrJtH4EGNaqdMpEzfik3qiJpbR__Oz34rL7R3Y4M8tZStUtgh0DXCvn5K6TJcKKHs_N_ntVf-GnRqQppF2/s320/20220314_121815.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3j1cYJsBiNglapWyQngazM94_m_PBRmw8bFLz5watZsRsa-NAl5y0GLwdb0K6wBBG39SKwI_i2yymyDD6B1KXGWiCXzuR11IkX1TlF-21bPdjZDz7931HPb-hDEWwHZ3TBMKBph3cio-ZvzQtd-Re3m9kIIG1K84cHol6wNL-HN5wL-oTYqFdvuY7/s4032/20220314_121508.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3j1cYJsBiNglapWyQngazM94_m_PBRmw8bFLz5watZsRsa-NAl5y0GLwdb0K6wBBG39SKwI_i2yymyDD6B1KXGWiCXzuR11IkX1TlF-21bPdjZDz7931HPb-hDEWwHZ3TBMKBph3cio-ZvzQtd-Re3m9kIIG1K84cHol6wNL-HN5wL-oTYqFdvuY7/s320/20220314_121508.heic" width="144" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-61094696350868090822022-03-28T09:29:00.000+01:002022-03-28T09:29:07.094+01:00Apple grafting and wax workshop<p>Most weekends I stay on the smallholding but last weekend Sue and I had booked to go along to a beeswax workshop in West Norfolk, courtesy of the brilliant WNKLBA (read as Winklebar, West Norfolk and Kings Lynn Bee-keepers Association).</p><p>But late on Thursday evening I came across a Facebook post on the East Anglian Landworkers Alliance Group to the effect that there were places left on an apple tree grafting day.</p><p>Not only did the timing fit in perfectly but it was in the same direction as the other course. Time is valuable. Petrol is priceless.</p><p>A couple of emails later and everything was sorted.</p><p><b><u>Easy Graft</u></b><br />Apple grafting is something I've not tried before. I've just never really got round to it. It's not only used for apples. The principal is that you put the fruit tree you want onto the rootstock that you want. It means you can control factors such as the size and vigour of the tree. These will be determined by the rootstock. February and March are the time to do it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VUfw2Otmr0Td_R1H_XYRivhd7aitgsBLlzUOv5a0qZh-KjM3TE4-kkmdkziFltOTKC690uR6Ev8QAnx8lgb5alN5r-XgQZICwr_D1OljlkbgQo_HsEc-Hy9osczpUc2zjXtLPfuZHCiy7mBZrw_lRoKKwil8LwyyhET81d9j5extB_-rGKG6KOZB/s4000/20220312_102030.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="4000" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8VUfw2Otmr0Td_R1H_XYRivhd7aitgsBLlzUOv5a0qZh-KjM3TE4-kkmdkziFltOTKC690uR6Ev8QAnx8lgb5alN5r-XgQZICwr_D1OljlkbgQo_HsEc-Hy9osczpUc2zjXtLPfuZHCiy7mBZrw_lRoKKwil8LwyyhET81d9j5extB_-rGKG6KOZB/w379-h171/20220312_102030.heic" width="379" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix5TagiVXdOYuIHT-79nJlKeb2l_pk1ygaKUjfj3P0Zcw07DPz-KAP3XSQ3YcER01_XwunxPR-Z_K12TIgkW1IlfiKUe9nmswV8mOFuGV4Etehb7oPQ3WDLuuT0uoD45ZbAHeouODIknR49fFniUnZrluO34_w4AADfN8DLiviYrX8h2Tih2o8E0T/s4032/20220312_100046.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgix5TagiVXdOYuIHT-79nJlKeb2l_pk1ygaKUjfj3P0Zcw07DPz-KAP3XSQ3YcER01_XwunxPR-Z_K12TIgkW1IlfiKUe9nmswV8mOFuGV4Etehb7oPQ3WDLuuT0uoD45ZbAHeouODIknR49fFniUnZrluO34_w4AADfN8DLiviYrX8h2Tih2o8E0T/w380-h171/20220312_100046.heic" width="380" /></a></div><p></p><p>And so, in a polytunnel on the site of Norfolk Farmshare on the outskirts of Norwich, I first learned the theory and then got to try the art of grafting. First I chose my two apple varieties. You just use what is basically the end of a twig. This is the scion, the cutting which will be joined to the rootstock. I wanted something new, so I went for Queen Cox on a small rootstock so that I can squeeze it into the forest garden. Secondly one which I'd never heard of, Gloucester Underleaf,.. I was attracted to this as it is a Cider Apple. I went for a larger rootstock on this one as we'll want lots for juicing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF07KHd1cI58G-IBTEXC1DFivL5mk-O6qqCESdmRnxkWSpa5XbOf1Y5xcFzcQzeI23SLwKo6WJR0vgZme3j5RWgMoLXROgay-EPgDEglexKTUkTAoYQPMGPH0stmw8N1aVIADG4_oFVe8DWKeMTh4KN7KFbR_K7cW7cyrfY9AZ_ZjA9B0z4DozIOLR/s4032/20220312_120319.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF07KHd1cI58G-IBTEXC1DFivL5mk-O6qqCESdmRnxkWSpa5XbOf1Y5xcFzcQzeI23SLwKo6WJR0vgZme3j5RWgMoLXROgay-EPgDEglexKTUkTAoYQPMGPH0stmw8N1aVIADG4_oFVe8DWKeMTh4KN7KFbR_K7cW7cyrfY9AZ_ZjA9B0z4DozIOLR/s320/20220312_120319.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Y8dAwya8AQEyvUNnANzdOnjlQb70q7ULix1Y7z5qqwZyGAlhDZGSqJ6g8zwT5YIDlJBOH2j97R5TRZJUYWzUIXFsjQQJDAq4oWlW7exkGr7IUSCQcw1ilIOjqk_TAky-XLB5q2BI9nLoj1sK1-FNAmfwgzqhc7_6hknxgPI1uRfuTkWlnrhz1073/s4032/20220312_115848.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Y8dAwya8AQEyvUNnANzdOnjlQb70q7ULix1Y7z5qqwZyGAlhDZGSqJ6g8zwT5YIDlJBOH2j97R5TRZJUYWzUIXFsjQQJDAq4oWlW7exkGr7IUSCQcw1ilIOjqk_TAky-XLB5q2BI9nLoj1sK1-FNAmfwgzqhc7_6hknxgPI1uRfuTkWlnrhz1073/s320/20220312_115848.heic" width="144" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZjrG8jVvS_joxr64mGaVnTUCUOe88revjaqhTxddzYbd6lDyW1v_7muw8Wa2sbxpUuSlcGLVnddCNujk22lMYSq5_irWgyq-7tc58pmcPufIrh02d-pDo0o-3OPz86rO-0rZhJy5NFtRCiKYjAlmtwGMp_gstvzkeB-emPGcNV4xB8qbacO_OQyu/s4032/20220312_122914.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZjrG8jVvS_joxr64mGaVnTUCUOe88revjaqhTxddzYbd6lDyW1v_7muw8Wa2sbxpUuSlcGLVnddCNujk22lMYSq5_irWgyq-7tc58pmcPufIrh02d-pDo0o-3OPz86rO-0rZhJy5NFtRCiKYjAlmtwGMp_gstvzkeB-emPGcNV4xB8qbacO_OQyu/w613-h276/20220312_122914.heic" width="613" /></a></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_uE1Y_pAPN94rPj1cRClLyDYxoYz-vrZEFJ0uDepR2OKoySMw2-d1iuVy4jOFNpjLfL6fZtzpjWhlWpPlMgrcnCpSryvyrk63ndqBDBzXXflJXXJxvFG3yotF2CrlmZFFEN-bkvvY3FaOi1qcQj0wZlScQhMvskHdL4_w-H43G7zil73Mv1JknRW/s4032/20220312_122931.heic" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB_uE1Y_pAPN94rPj1cRClLyDYxoYz-vrZEFJ0uDepR2OKoySMw2-d1iuVy4jOFNpjLfL6fZtzpjWhlWpPlMgrcnCpSryvyrk63ndqBDBzXXflJXXJxvFG3yotF2CrlmZFFEN-bkvvY3FaOi1qcQj0wZlScQhMvskHdL4_w-H43G7zil73Mv1JknRW/w559-h252/20220312_122931.heic" width="559" /></a></p></div><p>I could get into this grafting business. It's a great way of being able to propagate and play with my favourite fruit trees. </p><p><br /></p><p>While I was grafting, Sue was exploring Norwich. Come lunchtime she picked me up and we headed back west to a village hall in West Norfolk. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><u>Waxing Lyrical</u></b><br />West Norfolk and Kings Lynn Beekeepers Association really is a fantastic group. Today's meeting was about using old wax from the bee hives. We joined in with a series of demonstrations, from lip balm to candles, wax wraps to furniture polish. We even got a sample of each to take home with us.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Smallholding is about using every little bit of what you produce. It's about doing things sustainably. After today, thanks to some people kindly sharing their knowledge, I am a little closer to that.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K_bxRFY-G1vjEp3BdBZmK1jaqpn-uxJakbXrFFlL5fDjDJj6DHcUWZB1Fi-hd9FhrEC018aH6sA1Lhuy7JwIOdko9_im3vvECu660Q0X66rpgVWn_pLZARS5pVdSiHQCxxYYDF2XKnN_oEuQNsbxFsKzaPIVxBBMXDmjfYAsSPtJZL82aNHq1cqb/s4032/20220312_142642.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K_bxRFY-G1vjEp3BdBZmK1jaqpn-uxJakbXrFFlL5fDjDJj6DHcUWZB1Fi-hd9FhrEC018aH6sA1Lhuy7JwIOdko9_im3vvECu660Q0X66rpgVWn_pLZARS5pVdSiHQCxxYYDF2XKnN_oEuQNsbxFsKzaPIVxBBMXDmjfYAsSPtJZL82aNHq1cqb/w457-h205/20220312_142642.heic" width="457" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdw1Y4MPFZ4bHW4x6N_jyBeeE8nkSzpFBT7Q-EqlVAaGcIUOCJb88tM8FVc8ZjZ5Ng4WfV1aMtXMCGL9aRF6qC9_RFbpTKx2Wi0N_LrWEtLh7N2PfAnoNY_sh0ihbvuk3WVeuqHT4s_ytozTE99iKlRcupEdWclHh4dwKY6FNQwscsi5sz8FY78jH/s4032/20220312_145507.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdw1Y4MPFZ4bHW4x6N_jyBeeE8nkSzpFBT7Q-EqlVAaGcIUOCJb88tM8FVc8ZjZ5Ng4WfV1aMtXMCGL9aRF6qC9_RFbpTKx2Wi0N_LrWEtLh7N2PfAnoNY_sh0ihbvuk3WVeuqHT4s_ytozTE99iKlRcupEdWclHh4dwKY6FNQwscsi5sz8FY78jH/s320/20220312_145507.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0vfsQ9TbxQtMRuz03kiGOmEN9DWOP4q8HHWXXVwnfqLXk2KP8c13uaogK44teQ6tu89matfx-McmbJCjHZcZrfs_-S0IUTiA8iVjN1Tamy1koTc-J-gP7XTvkMQ0TIbED7NXRr_JiR8X-G1k0T3vWu9BzgKs_DT_OY180Yj_qtUWJfB2ykEEo_RM/s4032/20220312_151406.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA0vfsQ9TbxQtMRuz03kiGOmEN9DWOP4q8HHWXXVwnfqLXk2KP8c13uaogK44teQ6tu89matfx-McmbJCjHZcZrfs_-S0IUTiA8iVjN1Tamy1koTc-J-gP7XTvkMQ0TIbED7NXRr_JiR8X-G1k0T3vWu9BzgKs_DT_OY180Yj_qtUWJfB2ykEEo_RM/s320/20220312_151406.heic" width="144" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_15TAP5AT-WQnWvSg-X2BGHxk8dIs3F1jfFAQzoRQwbaHR6TjTGw3xNGUZGKpjuXOLKzjlwi5tkqCi2hZlire5GJPy7SIlUzeADKjTQ-IrlZIb4CJLMjEMr3CDf2c2NLKFIQsj8lwvdPMrFIFJ8LGsST_KYcThcCci5r5MHHM9knnZZL1Oh7Miax/s4032/20220312_155041.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH_15TAP5AT-WQnWvSg-X2BGHxk8dIs3F1jfFAQzoRQwbaHR6TjTGw3xNGUZGKpjuXOLKzjlwi5tkqCi2hZlire5GJPy7SIlUzeADKjTQ-IrlZIb4CJLMjEMr3CDf2c2NLKFIQsj8lwvdPMrFIFJ8LGsST_KYcThcCci5r5MHHM9knnZZL1Oh7Miax/s320/20220312_155041.heic" width="144" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-37644590406124333252022-03-13T07:20:00.000+00:002022-03-13T07:20:53.899+00:00Ten years of geese and a (meteorological) Spring clean<p>Ten years ago a friend phoned to say someone had dumped five geese on her front lawn. We had no experience whatsoever of keeping geese, but I proved rather adept at catching them and they came back to ours in the boot of the car.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn4Cf44X-O1UhpBWTPTCCB-OOy4bfbyuX7zpPXdeTR06J0km0VObfik7lSax_oFNQpHikADQ6RF3Ljg5Lu6Q4tIqp92q4fkD4cIj-ew1eu26afIGKDNXPloNAPSAI5sKeXKo5imbDosIDThwjrFR2lT0ZoK8AcA0lK7pn2BkJt2WVIbGIIfPkXA4hj" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="833" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn4Cf44X-O1UhpBWTPTCCB-OOy4bfbyuX7zpPXdeTR06J0km0VObfik7lSax_oFNQpHikADQ6RF3Ljg5Lu6Q4tIqp92q4fkD4cIj-ew1eu26afIGKDNXPloNAPSAI5sKeXKo5imbDosIDThwjrFR2lT0ZoK8AcA0lK7pn2BkJt2WVIbGIIfPkXA4hj=w405-h304" width="405" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><b>First Goose Egg of 2022</b><br />Ten years to the day since then we have the first goose egg of 2022. Valentine's Day is the traditional date for this but it varies from goose to goose and year to year. </p><p>Over the last decade the geese have given us quite a few eggs, a few goslings and they have done a lot of grass cutting for me, as well as spreading a good amount of manure.</p><p><b>Garden Spring Clean (meteorolical refers to The Spring, not the extent of the clearing up!)</b><br />The problem with going on holiday in February (not that I'm complaining) is that I am already a little behind schedule and at the mercy of the weather. We are now officially in meteorological Spring and it began with one of those gorgeous spring days we love so much. </p><p>After finishing taking the breasts off the pigeons we were gifted, I devoted some time to weeding out perennials from the veg beds. The war against grasses, docks, nettles and creeping buttercup is a never-ending one, but it does get easier with persistence and if you pick the right soil conditions to perform the extraction.</p><p>New growth is coming up rapidly now so I have been tidying up the overwintered dead stems. These provide important food and habitats to wildlife during the depths of winter and plants such as teasel, cardoon and fennel give visual interest too. But now it's time they contributed to the compost heap. Before too long they'll be unrecognisable and back on the surface of the veg beds as finished compost.</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-60227776032582052772022-02-26T18:45:00.001+00:002022-02-26T18:45:59.061+00:00From Sombreros to Pigeon and Potatoes<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXh627JSY1ivqKEc9nJe18HOA178zf7QUW6dO5-P-2hp_vlrMyVny2OZPU0vp4LkIg8ZQkl20CxM_CUSHn8YlHCbsDjUuAVSuPVIpct9LA42ZInCZ_EtGdSl3S5e-HEadjRC-zz-TGkTh3vLihb7j2IZx3sF6lHcPe5hLwVwiBZ8nGuvWsL7Wc8zDX=s4032" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1816" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXh627JSY1ivqKEc9nJe18HOA178zf7QUW6dO5-P-2hp_vlrMyVny2OZPU0vp4LkIg8ZQkl20CxM_CUSHn8YlHCbsDjUuAVSuPVIpct9LA42ZInCZ_EtGdSl3S5e-HEadjRC-zz-TGkTh3vLihb7j2IZx3sF6lHcPe5hLwVwiBZ8nGuvWsL7Wc8zDX=w214-h476" width="214" /></a>I've just got back from Mexico! It was a birdwatching trip with friends, well timed to avoid all the storms. The smallholding was left in the capable hands of my wonderful wife.</p><p>The only sombreros I actually saw in Mexico were the cheap ones in the airport. I did however take a great interest in the plants of the volcanic highlands. Many were familiar to me, either as garden flowers or forest garden plants. There were tree lupins, Mexican tagetes, salvias and lobelias.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqHtdEMxBMOMTaG2W4rVCSICldXbaUxmgYCuP33kL99E5eDiriN4VN71VvgtReQ7k0epJU8IquGef1CJZZ2Xqdbtdiz6KjZK_kFQPdXB6xli4TV57ImRFfqN46kH8rI1rJoRs1HE657OWJDBnTyQ4lOA9pdO8PYFICPwVVFPHgQmIPe8tkHWYMX2Vt=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqHtdEMxBMOMTaG2W4rVCSICldXbaUxmgYCuP33kL99E5eDiriN4VN71VvgtReQ7k0epJU8IquGef1CJZZ2Xqdbtdiz6KjZK_kFQPdXB6xli4TV57ImRFfqN46kH8rI1rJoRs1HE657OWJDBnTyQ4lOA9pdO8PYFICPwVVFPHgQmIPe8tkHWYMX2Vt=w382-h171" width="382" /></a></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjB-bEpuyAJOFxV-tea2dqFbfvgU588Sifn4Uz8r2zTrEKx0-pUn_ATxtnJUFF9fLOlY-0NrNw9b2yp3ILY5Nn6n9V-96h_IwKll-nLwAh2ZdgLTN36tT0f5bbEIy21gwSUkfrzTJ8Z4TvHr9nBNtTJaP7wE32Mx2BNcTY6yKN0UZG1ipYFTJ_GGR1k=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjB-bEpuyAJOFxV-tea2dqFbfvgU588Sifn4Uz8r2zTrEKx0-pUn_ATxtnJUFF9fLOlY-0NrNw9b2yp3ILY5Nn6n9V-96h_IwKll-nLwAh2ZdgLTN36tT0f5bbEIy21gwSUkfrzTJ8Z4TvHr9nBNtTJaP7wE32Mx2BNcTY6yKN0UZG1ipYFTJ_GGR1k=w399-h180" width="399" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This gave me a new idea for livestock <br />on the smallholding!</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTlHqivz50aBtnvXYjiID9tkoOslqyi6LntLhYnoYfMRK9kVBekCiMvzMatDwnn4TMOoNXeoHjIm8oxJzvz2I-5OxXZ3vx97t5_uo52YPzbl-a5Nu5kSkdVvUk7dRvSw-YDdt0qi9KfS68CIUd5aA-YGXGGQ5z11eq5y9dDz0H9k7XnHrwJKHwzF_5=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTlHqivz50aBtnvXYjiID9tkoOslqyi6LntLhYnoYfMRK9kVBekCiMvzMatDwnn4TMOoNXeoHjIm8oxJzvz2I-5OxXZ3vx97t5_uo52YPzbl-a5Nu5kSkdVvUk7dRvSw-YDdt0qi9KfS68CIUd5aA-YGXGGQ5z11eq5y9dDz0H9k7XnHrwJKHwzF_5=w488-h219" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Esculenta, Taro, Dasheen, Eddoe, whatever you want to call it,<br />growing wild along a stream</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgL4T5ivsAU8A7TB60nuSu4JxFPLoytwiTJVbpXmQMDLYyTcIcEoj6sI9NPrV4rqdSEaGoZ0P8XPFgs1_0OLX8Ev3WpCP1ixzpldAuzFTgclQ_m34OkUoxGx6j5I3JCtFBx97gOXkp3nKfLIqRjgTKeG1kw9SDkWU7HLZlG1cBB-yD1_neLj1GGGkyT=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgL4T5ivsAU8A7TB60nuSu4JxFPLoytwiTJVbpXmQMDLYyTcIcEoj6sI9NPrV4rqdSEaGoZ0P8XPFgs1_0OLX8Ev3WpCP1ixzpldAuzFTgclQ_m34OkUoxGx6j5I3JCtFBx97gOXkp3nKfLIqRjgTKeG1kw9SDkWU7HLZlG1cBB-yD1_neLj1GGGkyT=w485-h218" width="485" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Of even more interest were what appeared to be yacon plants growing wild - I never got round to digging up the roots to check. There were small-scale farmers growing very much in the style of a forest garden, melons draped over flowering bushes visited by the hummingbirds I was really there to see.</span></div><p>I even got to watch a farmer harvesting his oca, which was obviously unaffected by early morning light frosts in the highlands.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDSxIXQhC_Hj0SaFde7HE7lXfgrh7sKrJ_e3YadGNJYnR0U640W9EpZbJMxaYsR2f8As0ApSw5rq2fwikKCfn8LTdmIb_Be2cnJuoPUq3ZdjQECVvHHJbzQ2_enA62aRF77DUmlPreUwsNzQ4vehtEa_IlyMXtlxnOXuzOAtU7MVNsDSwHZZBimUOv=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgDSxIXQhC_Hj0SaFde7HE7lXfgrh7sKrJ_e3YadGNJYnR0U640W9EpZbJMxaYsR2f8As0ApSw5rq2fwikKCfn8LTdmIb_Be2cnJuoPUq3ZdjQECVvHHJbzQ2_enA62aRF77DUmlPreUwsNzQ4vehtEa_IlyMXtlxnOXuzOAtU7MVNsDSwHZZBimUOv=w658-h296" width="658" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A farmer harvesting his oca<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b><u>Back to Icy Blighty</u></b></p><p>Now I'm back I need to get back into the swing of things PDQ as blossoms are starting to appear, bulbs are shooting up and seeds need to be sown, among many other jobs.</p><p><b>Waste Not Want Not</b><br />Today we headed off to a friend to pick up 50 pigeons shot by a farmer in the morning. We'll prep some for ourselves and the dogs will enjoy them too. Waste not want not.</p><p><b>Spudulicious plans for 2022</b><br />I also went to pick up this year's seed potatoes. 1kg each of ten varieties. I was going to try one new variety this year, Homeguard, but it was not available, so I am sticking with familiar old favourites. These pretty much select themselves. Primarily they need to cope reasonably well with blight (though the resistant varietis I find disappointing in taste). Next, they need to be relatively unattractive to slugs.</p><p>Some do better in wet years, others can cope with drier conditions. That's unpredictable and one reason why I grow so many varieties.</p><p>Going back to blight, this year I plan to grow my spuds in smaller patches as I have sort of abandoned the strict rotation system. Hopefully this might help to control the spread, Secondly, I intend to use a milk-based spray. Even if you wanted to use them, there are no sprays available to the small-scale grower now, so hopefully this harmless solution will help. (Large-scale potato farmers spray up to 30 times during the lifetime of a potato plant. I'm not sure I'd want to eat that! I know they can't risk blight destroying the nation's crop and people don't want scabby potatoes full of bugs and tunnels, but there must be another way.)</p><p>For now I'll be planting a few early potatoes straight into the polytunnel and rest rest will be set to chit on a windowsill, the process whereby you encourage them to form strong young shoots without exposing them to potential frosts and cold, wet soil outside.</p><p>To finish, here's the list of potatoes I'm growing this year.</p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">FIRST EARLY: </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Casablanca, Duke of York, <strike>Home Guard</strike>, Red Duke of York. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">SECOND EARLY: </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Charlotte, Kestrel, Blue Kestrel</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">MAIN CROP: </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Cara, Desiree, Kerrs Pink, King Edward, Pink Fir Apple and Valor.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Actually, that's 12!</div>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3803431634579311421.post-79643458300347683182022-02-03T09:44:00.003+00:002022-02-03T09:44:54.127+00:00Dry January<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKOrpA1Uyeig5HGZkbDAA2cNINQVg7gNElCeQHSYxjRSy1OfBlb97h_FYK5pPzK1KcB2xAuDF-E6JC8ndrB-WDAHxo9zqkFpe0uPwHfiQg-aE2IGNfuLKXuU0y1CqXGsmhqCVGpfzKU0RNfBUM0cuB2IjNpBPqytxOTqAQ7BOUsTRffT7cERtZkL1F=s4032" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgKOrpA1Uyeig5HGZkbDAA2cNINQVg7gNElCeQHSYxjRSy1OfBlb97h_FYK5pPzK1KcB2xAuDF-E6JC8ndrB-WDAHxo9zqkFpe0uPwHfiQg-aE2IGNfuLKXuU0y1CqXGsmhqCVGpfzKU0RNfBUM0cuB2IjNpBPqytxOTqAQ7BOUsTRffT7cERtZkL1F=w638-h287" width="638" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 2022 has brought us some beautiful, crisp weather<br />and hardly a drop of rain.</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>This time in 2021 we were very much waterlogged. The ducks enjoyed it! As did the birdwatcher in me, though not quite so much the smallholder.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEVpUxrHh4foE4iGNZwzwkmLh8EVCig3QlGgMakJOL87qZYSwEpxFrqV7kUGUJ3IO94Lw7akeCoXoYI7apYMTtkzHiP283ZDfX5WY1JvG-wLyVdCwEBkQtyLlE6A_9sU1XiM4Yzg_pfDMuRUzJjNvvfBCrc3zQRc-N2ClpAGgURAlwtzmhN3BTGAkX=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="4032" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjEVpUxrHh4foE4iGNZwzwkmLh8EVCig3QlGgMakJOL87qZYSwEpxFrqV7kUGUJ3IO94Lw7akeCoXoYI7apYMTtkzHiP283ZDfX5WY1JvG-wLyVdCwEBkQtyLlE6A_9sU1XiM4Yzg_pfDMuRUzJjNvvfBCrc3zQRc-N2ClpAGgURAlwtzmhN3BTGAkX=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1py7bFIDHe38jdvr1nN78s8dbnFsyEx4n90ZkuMgw1dScDCTVUXuk3kxsg8ZqM_pueMeOYhMNgqBreDoYds5lxX7u1HoTwBv5pAXCz7chpr_fm-66ByeKGDPHUvstPzGNV4ayLykvJ7q7A6CLj8hfQk4IsJiCTzDUH14dJEFR-UkdkRj9CejeUZyD=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="4032" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1py7bFIDHe38jdvr1nN78s8dbnFsyEx4n90ZkuMgw1dScDCTVUXuk3kxsg8ZqM_pueMeOYhMNgqBreDoYds5lxX7u1HoTwBv5pAXCz7chpr_fm-66ByeKGDPHUvstPzGNV4ayLykvJ7q7A6CLj8hfQk4IsJiCTzDUH14dJEFR-UkdkRj9CejeUZyD=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjedhJcShFPKJyAOJ8nY9CJcodYDdITFz8VUpBG8vHQezi4muUTQt3gL2Yp_LObYesjMP8zkgT8BMuOtP2RsYAMPMw26A2ChEyAMgGhpAbyqPvsKKpOToF0ny1T36-Zv2nWX0XO9DD-Ff6uo-MhQJYKq73xSnyOLDh6_f2m7d2BYcZae4yGr94Ghn_W=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="4032" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjedhJcShFPKJyAOJ8nY9CJcodYDdITFz8VUpBG8vHQezi4muUTQt3gL2Yp_LObYesjMP8zkgT8BMuOtP2RsYAMPMw26A2ChEyAMgGhpAbyqPvsKKpOToF0ny1T36-Zv2nWX0XO9DD-Ff6uo-MhQJYKq73xSnyOLDh6_f2m7d2BYcZae4yGr94Ghn_W=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqM1krEn1QmA6hxvt-e6YeZ7IMX6yOa3CIAseZaYk1N-PjDp3Ncr2512Guig4qw7cpBGpteBYWYUrsB1IPZSKTP8bJnBFHKRk26HvPueOFA8D79x2b2LJhEJVva0iaU7TGQ9KbnPYKlmXpBS2uOtmtWjV1d3Ar4TnkfRUilR93N36PvXNbtd7CbCUH=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1960" data-original-width="4032" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhqM1krEn1QmA6hxvt-e6YeZ7IMX6yOa3CIAseZaYk1N-PjDp3Ncr2512Guig4qw7cpBGpteBYWYUrsB1IPZSKTP8bJnBFHKRk26HvPueOFA8D79x2b2LJhEJVva0iaU7TGQ9KbnPYKlmXpBS2uOtmtWjV1d3Ar4TnkfRUilR93N36PvXNbtd7CbCUH=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This year the contrast couldn't be greater. I can't actually remember a drop of rain in January - if there was, it was very early on. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The ground is delightfully dry. It's so nice not to be squishing, squashing and squelching, slipping and sliding around the smallholding. It's such a treat to be able to work the soil and have it crumble rather than sticking in giant clods to the soul of your gardening shoes. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I've been cutting back on of my wildlife hedges. These are cut on a three year cycle so there is a variety of stages of growth. It also means they give me more hedgerow fruits.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAzz5KUaNAL11uchTMv7BHGShfeR4TCjsqi_MPXIBOTaTAEkpAb4bq6cp7G1C3cwhkndbhE9Mxwh5P9wzOyw4-8LQP9Ni6yhuVrLpY1lxmRoH5ZJG9XgL-WqeJtUrwL7UIp1WOIYL7GdmMPUL5vs_FkJz2yHxLFvXpRHmKevjE5DVc5ew49GlxjVc-=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiAzz5KUaNAL11uchTMv7BHGShfeR4TCjsqi_MPXIBOTaTAEkpAb4bq6cp7G1C3cwhkndbhE9Mxwh5P9wzOyw4-8LQP9Ni6yhuVrLpY1lxmRoH5ZJG9XgL-WqeJtUrwL7UIp1WOIYL7GdmMPUL5vs_FkJz2yHxLFvXpRHmKevjE5DVc5ew49GlxjVc-=w640-h288" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYQdovQlRvBqj0siCM5JsUc2lWMLTWjM_b0MrY2w-s001lMI96rCjwJbdTX3dMvoWOQ2jlxbO8ocDvJz2QrK9GdaDPM61JG6_4Pyv6xycBmd2CwG6IZ0xx4fABzuYnSd-VCaN3KwGhtz9R9f3oun8bYUp0MYTCvL3Tk5pGJXMWWhsw1yH719bXyCFE=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1816" data-original-width="4032" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYQdovQlRvBqj0siCM5JsUc2lWMLTWjM_b0MrY2w-s001lMI96rCjwJbdTX3dMvoWOQ2jlxbO8ocDvJz2QrK9GdaDPM61JG6_4Pyv6xycBmd2CwG6IZ0xx4fABzuYnSd-VCaN3KwGhtz9R9f3oun8bYUp0MYTCvL3Tk5pGJXMWWhsw1yH719bXyCFE=w640-h288" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_jopjs3EhB0Zj3VARRxZKGDcTr6K2oRs3aH08_AVfYEwbbIlxMY0p8BLPePovAogKU2flvmm3uM94twVQYLHv4rQ5TkQAsLWZjeojE1ZAS9h4wYtq2v1KNqRjQvGn1R2FrRGx5gLy-WpGQNlZ9sQ6A080Cn3o53VkJSRPN97arMPBvbrQhWHtjheU=s4032" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="1960" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_jopjs3EhB0Zj3VARRxZKGDcTr6K2oRs3aH08_AVfYEwbbIlxMY0p8BLPePovAogKU2flvmm3uM94twVQYLHv4rQ5TkQAsLWZjeojE1ZAS9h4wYtq2v1KNqRjQvGn1R2FrRGx5gLy-WpGQNlZ9sQ6A080Cn3o53VkJSRPN97arMPBvbrQhWHtjheU=w255-h523" width="255" /><br /></a>When we moved in there was not a hedge in sight. Now they are home to all sorts of wildlife. Nests are buried so deep inside that it is only when the leaves drop and I cut the hedges back that I notice them all. One was even used by some type of mouse as a rose hip storage basket.</p><p>Cutting the hedges back produces a surprising quantity of cut material. Without a chipper, this would be impossible to manage. But I am able to turn it into valuable woodchip which covers the ground in the forest garden. Any spare is used to ease the way over any muddy stretches of path or goes to bulk up the compost pile. Nothing goes to waste here.</p>John Pegdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00541022587857493895noreply@blogger.com0