My Girls!

Meet my girls, I’ve managed to capture all four together, but Hazel (Grey) is hiding behind the others so you don’t see her lovely features. Four eggs to date, so in one week and with only one bird laying so far I’m well on track to keeping myself well stocked up over the winter, when they are all laying I’m going to have ample, then I can start to think about letting friends and family have some.

So back in October I told you about going on a course regarding how the best way to plant the fruit trees were and that this would be followed up with a course on winter care and pruning. Well this weekend is the pruning course, so I’ll be learning how to keep my trees (and those of the community allotment) in tip top condition so that the harvests are bountiful.

Saturday, weather permitting will be some of the winter jobs that need doing.

Quick Update

Well the ‘girls’ have settled in lovely, no eggs yet, I keep threatening them with a boiling pot but so far it hasn’t worked. They all seem to get to themselves to bed ok just as the night is drawing in, all are feeding well and there doesn’t seem to be any bullying, though I think Mrs Pepperpot is the boss, well she seems to be at the moment…

Most of the potatoes have been lifted, the only problem I have now is storing them, my shed at the plot is not solid, i.e. small animals etc can get in to it as there is a gap around the very bottom of it, and the shed at home is not waterproof, the roof is leaking, the floor has rotted and the window is broken so I have some work to do. I’m thinking of building a larder type storage building at the back of my extension, something similar to an out-house. I don’t have a large kitchen so there really isn’t anywhere to store surplus winter produce at the moment. I’ll just have to do my best this winter and hopefully have something in place for the harvests of next season.

Pete, one of the other community plot holders has made a start on digging holes for our trees. My own four trees have arrived and as per normal I’m not anywhere near ready for them to go in the ground, so I’ve had to ‘heal’ them in the small raised beds I have in my back yard until they be planted properly. I hope I’m not doing them too much damage; they are in their dormant stage so hopefully everything will work out ok. But the quicker they are in the ground the better, especially the Plum tree, apparently these need to be planted by the end of November, the Apples and Pears can be planted up till February.

Hope your winter jobs are coming along nicely.

We have the Girls!

Yes, the day has finally arrived, well actually it's been and passed. Yesterday we travelled up to Durham and collected our four hens. We have a Rhode Rock, who has been christened "Mrs Pepperpot", a Coral Nick, named "Daisy", a Blue Haze, aptly known as "Hazel" and a Columbine who now goes by the name of "Chestnut". They all seem to have settled in well at their Winter home, though I did have to persuade Chestnut to go to bed last night, she was sitting in the pop hole doorway and at 10.30 I went out and forcefully 'persuaded' her to go inside the house so that I could close the hole. I knew there was a frost due and I wasn't sure how much 'cold' she would be able to stand. One thing that I have noticed today is that one of them seems to have very loose droppings, i'm going to have to keep an eye on this and if it prolongs then find out which one it is, I hope that none of them have anything wrong with them.

I have still to dig up the maincrop potatoes, the weather has been quite lousy over the past couple of weekends and with the nights drawing in, i'm not able to get to the plot on an evening anymore. I've got to make time one way or another.