Let the New Year Begin!

Happy New Year and all that jazz to you all. Welcome to Mal and Is the Wiz. Congratulations to Hazel, she started laying her eggs just before Christmas. You can see from the egg count on the right that we now have three hens laying and they are being very productive for me, I’m getting 2-3 eggs a day at the moment. I’m a little worried about Chestnut though as she doesn’t seem to have started to lay yet, I’ve had them 11 weeks now and they were bought at ‘point of lay’ so I would have thought she’d have had her first egg before now. Knowing my luck, she will turn out to be a he!!! Then we will be in trouble and so will he, it’s the neck chop if she is a he, we’re not allowed cockerels at the allotment and I’m sure my neighbours won’t put up with him singing a dawn chorus.

So work has started in preparation for this New Year. I’ve started to clear the back yard which had 3 raised beds in it (a 4 x 4, 5 x 4 and 3 x 4 ft). This is so I can erect my greenhouse; which is 6ft x 6ft. This is where I will raise my seedlings ready for sending them off to the allotment. I will also be fixing my existing shed (6 x 4ft) as the floor is rotten and the roof leaks and re-locating it elsewhere in the yard, final position yet to be decided. I also aim to build an ‘outhouse’ storage area at the back of my extension. Here I will store some of my harvest, because at the moment, I really don’t have anywhere for winter storage of my crops.

I spent a couple of hours at the allotment on Sunday also. It was lovely to get back into it, although I didn’t do any digging (whey too wet and cloggy still), I did start on the area which is where I have been storing my bricks and pallets. This area is were I anticipate putting my two apple trees, so my couple of hours was filled moving some of these pallets and bricks to the hard gravel area which I gained back in May last year.

I’ve placed my potato order• First Earlies: Pentland Javlin (again as they were so good the first and second time) Swift and Arran Pilot• Second Earlies: Kestrel and Lady Christl• Early Maincrop: Maris Piper, Sante and King Edward• Late Maincrop: Druid
• Salad: Charlotte

I’ve also sent off for some Rocket and Pink Fir Apple from magazine offers. With all these I think that I should have enough to keep me going.

More work hopefully over the weekend.

Chickens - At Last!

We’re finally going to collect the chickens, though not till next weekend, as this weekend I’ll need to give the old ferret house/run a clean out and scrub down as it has been vacant since we lost Stitch in July. I’ve decided that for now, and over the winter months, we will have the chickens in the run in our back yard, it’ll need a few adoptions making to it, for example a nest box installing and a perch inside the house and some sort of scratching pit for them outside as it is sited on concrete, but other than a good clean it’s good to go. When the summer months come, we’ll take them to the allotment and leave them there in the run that I’ll have finished building by then (hopefully!).

We are having 4 different hybrid varieties, a ‘Blue Haze’, a ‘Rhode Rock’, a ‘Columbine’ and a ‘Coral Nick’. One grey, one black, one ginger and one white, so we shouldn’t get them mixed up and will definitely (I’d hope) know who is who, and the good thing is that they’ll lay different coloured eggs, well 2 will lay brown eggs but the other two lay either a cream or a blue/green. Again this will help us in identifying who has layed, how many eggs and when. All are supposed to be hardy, docile and friendly, all excellent layers, and all are happy in a run or free range. With credentials like these, what can go wrong, lol.

Other plans for the weekend include digging up the remaining potatoes before the first frosts arrive, here in Middlesbrough they can come anytime from the middle of October, so the sooner the potatoes are up and stored the better. Clearing the sweetcorn, I’ve got a recipe for some chowder, so I’m going to utilise my crop and make some soup and freeze it. Also there will be more winter digging, you have to get it done whilst the weather permits. Oh and there’ll be holes needed to be dug for the fruit trees. So with a bit of luck, I’ll have the entire weekend to devote to my allotment chores, it’s all good fun.

TWO Posts and My Shed!

Well the holiday weekend was mixed weather wise, there was sun, rain and on occasion hail! I bought the fence posts on Thursday evening, 4 @ 3”x3” x 8ft and 2 @ 4”x4” x 8ft. The wood man asked what I was doing with them as he was loading them into my car for me, his face said it all when I tried to explain, probably thought I was another eco-warrior, environmentally friendly loony.

Friday/Saturday I managed to plant up all my 1st earlies - Pentland Javelin into patio potato tubs, the 1st earlies - Rocket which I’ve had stood in the greenhouse over the last couple of weeks are coming along very nicely. I’m hoping a couple of nice days over this coming weekend will allow me to get the 2nd earlies in the ground at the allotment, a few will have to go in the remaining tubs, this will be a good test on whether soil or tubs are better for 2nd’s. I’ve put in some parsnips and radishes in one of the back yard beds. Carrots are coming through nicely. Plenty of tomatoes, kohl rabi, cauliflower, and lettuce seedlings are geminating. Cabbages and peppers are just beginning to peek through. I’ve been given a load of strawberry plants so these will be planted up in the fruit area ASAP.

On Sunday I drove to the allotment, Caleb in tow. I’d asked him to give me a hand building the bottle house, “I like building things” he says, good I thought I’m going to need your help. First job was to cut down some growth from the bushes hanging over from the neighbouring plot, and clear away some of the leaves and overgrown grass from the ground. Caleb watched. Then I started to measure, AGAIN, just to be safe, no point in getting it wrong and being unhappy once the posts have gone in. Again, Caleb watched. When I started to measure out I changed my mind where the house was going to be sited AGAIN. I wasn’t happy with the amount of growth (from next plots bushes) at one end so now its going to run 10ft flower bed, 10ft fruit (raspberry & strawberry) bed, then the bottle house (16ft), then another 10ft fruit bed and then what’s left (approx 12ft I think) I’ll decide what to do with later, possibly plant some fruit trees (apple, plum or pear). I also changed my mind on its dimensions, its now going to be 5ft wide instead of 4ft; I don’t do things by half!

I started to dig my first hole, Caleb watched, I turned my back for one minute, Caleb had gone, I found him chatting to Sid who has the plot opposite mine “he’s ok with me” Sid said, so back to the digging, ALONE. Next thing I know Brian (from further down the lane) had come over to have a chat with Sid and so Caleb then decided he wanted to go to see Brian’s hens and ducks, so that was it Caleb was off. So back to the digging of holes, ALONE, I sawed the bottom off the posts, making sure they stood in the holes straight and were both at a level height, all done and two posts in the ground, nice and secure. What a happy chappie I was with myself. I went back to check on them last night and to my amazement they were still standing, I must have done something right! I’m hoping to get another post in tomorrow night, and maybe the rest all in by Sunday, then I can start to work on the frames and creating the sides (this is where the bottles come into play).

Yesterday I received a phone call from the DIY store saying that they had mistakenly sold my shed and that the only one they had left was the store display model, so with some haggling (another 15% off the price), and them agreeing to dismantle it for me, I’m off to collect the shed for the chicken coop on Friday night. More building, ALONE no doubt!

Rain Rain Go Away

....come back again when i'm on holiday in August so that i need not worry if my veggies are getting watered whilst i'm away, lol. Seriously though, when will this rain ease, my plot was flooded again after the heavy rain that came toward the back end of last week, luckly though it's only seems to be flooding in one area, though this will cause a problem shortly as this is where the bottle house and fruit area will be. It's not stopped raining for long either yesterday or today and it’s been really heavy at times, so probably more flooding at the allotment. Got a few bits done over the weekend, planted up the rest of the Rocket potatoes, I’ll be doing the Pentland Javelin during this week as and when. There’s no more space for them in the mini greenhouse so these will have to fair the weather. I started to weed the ‘Root’ patch; I’ll be planting some Sweetcorn - Mini Pop in the little area I got done. Try and get some more of that weeded over the weekend. My Comfrey plant is starting to grow again, the first cut will go in with the potatoes, and then I’ll start to make some Comfrey tea for the Tomatoes and Potatoes for when they need a feed later.

I’ve sown some more Leeks (Autumn Giant and Lyon), Cauliflower (AYR), Kohl Rabi, and various Lettuces. The carrots are finally starting to show under the little grow house on the 4ft x 4ft bed in the back yard. The parsnip seeds are now sprouting shoots; does this mean I can just plant them in the soil now?

I cleared away some of the area where the chicken coop and wildlife garden is going to go. I had some roof slates which I was going to use on Samson’s kennel but as I didn’t have enough I felted the roof, but lucky for me, when you lay them all together they measure 3ft x 4ft, just the right size of the chicken house (shed), so these are going to be a base for the shed to sit on, rather than it standing straight on top of the soil.

I’ve re-allocated the space down the side of the plot where the bottle house and fruit and flower beds are going to be. Hopefully if the weather gets better over the weekend I’ll be able to begin the digging for putting in the fencing posts which will be the start of the frame for the bottle house. I’m not sure if I’ll cement these posts in or just find some other way of securing them, just in case I decide to move the bottle house in the future.

We (Caleb & me) popped to Pets at Home over the weekend, and to my joy I discovered that they sell chicken bits n pieces. This will be a great benefit for us, somewhere local I’ll be able to buy food from etc. So anyway in anticipation of the little feathered friends joining us sometime soon, we bought a chicken feeder and water supply. I’m dead chuffed with them; it’s great what little things make us happy.

Oh yes, I’ve received a kind donation from a friend at work (well her father to be precise) two rhubarb plants, so I’ll have to decide where they will live. Probably somewhere within the fruit bits I think. Somebody told me that rhubarb leaves make a good fertilizer, does anybody know if this is true?

Small Steps in the Right Direction

Progress is being made, slowly but steadily, I was hampered by a day of rain on Saturday so not all that was planned happened. I managed to build the final (planned) raised bed in the back yard plot. So now I have three beds, one which measures 7ft x 4ft, one at 4ft x 4ft and one at 4ft x 3ft. These are primarily going to be for growing the carrots, parsnips and quick salad items in. I got some Anya seed potatoes planted in a potato barrel, I’m going to have to knuckle down and get the remaining Rocket and the Pentland Javlin sorted out this weekend. I managed to also recycle some pallets and made a start on the wood for the henservatory.

Over to the allotment, I’ve pre-marked the side of the plot where I’m planning to put some flowers, the bottle house and the soft fruit area; the flowers will sit directly in front of the shed (see picture), giving them a patch measuring 10ft x 5ft, I thought I’d put them there as that will give me something nice to look out onto. I’d then planned on putting the bottle house, next to that in an area I’d earmarked at 16ft long 5ft wide, and then I’d planned to have after that 2 areas of 10ft x 5ft where I had thought about putting my raspberries and strawberries, this would leave me about 15ft of space to ponder with before I got to my gate. These areas and the existing raised beds that are already built will be separated by a gravel path from stones which I’ve been collecting as I’ve dug over the plot. Each of these areas would be split by a small path. My only concern now, after marking this out is that the bottle house will be sited near some bushes/trees from next doors plot, although they won’t block out the sun as the sun moves clockwise around my plot, I will need to be able to get behind the bottle house to chop down growing branches, something I’d not really taken into consideration when allocating space. Saying that, the area where the fruit is planned to go has a bare patch behind it so I think the best thing to do is swap these two areas so that the fruit bit comes before the bottle bit.

I’ve started digging over the potato patch and started to build one end of each of the raised beds, this gives me a starting picture of where each type will be, there are three sections, one for 2nd earlies, and one for early maincrop and another for late maincrop. I can now concentrate on the patch for 2nd earlies as they need to be in the ground by mid April. I can then finish the other two areas off for the maincrops to be planted out by the end of April.

I also managed to pull out the last patch of really overgrown area of weeds (see bottom left of picture). So now all I have to contend with are the rooted weeds like dandelions and other small growing weeds and bits of grass that has decided to grow around my plot when digging over the areas to make the raised beds.

Hoping to get down over the weekend but will have to wait and see, we’re going to visit a local farm on Sunday morning, they are holding an open day to let people see the spring lambs, piglets and calves. I’ve a family commitment on Sunday afternoon, so that only leaves Saturday to play with and we have a fixed commitment every Saturday morning so lets hope Saturday afternoon can be stretched out into a full day.

Weekend of Activity

Well I’m off work tomorrow, my car is going to the garage to be repaired (it currently drives itself about) and fail its MOT, I’m expecting a few things to need replacing like its brakes (due to driving itself, I spend most of my time with my foot on the brake trying to stop it). The other day the back doors locked and now I can’t unlock them to open them and get in and out of the back seat, even when you press the button to lock and then unlock them they stay locked. Poor Samson got stuck in the back of the car after we’d been out for a walk, me and Caleb had drag him through the little gap between the two front seats to get him out, not a pretty sight!

So I thought I’d take advantage of my non-working day and do some more garden activity. I’ll not be able to go to the allotment, it’s an hours walk away so I’ll potter about in the back yard, build another raised bed, pull out all the nails in the wooden posts I’ve ‘claimed’ for the henservatory and cut down some 2x2 ready to make one of the frames for the bottle house. Mrs C has another bag of 2 litre bottles for me so I’ll need to collect them. My spare room is full of black bags which are full of pop bottles, lol

Caleb’s off to cub camp Friday night so weather permitting (its forecast scattered showers - but I can brave them) I’ll spend all Saturday and Sunday at the allotment (presuming I get my car back) as I’ll not have to think about keeping him entertained. Hopefully I’ll be digging over the potato area and making a bed ready to plant out the 2nd earlies. I’ll put some chicken pellets in the onion bed which I made last weekend ready to plant them out probably next weekend and give the other beds a weed so that I’m on top of that before they get too riddled with neglect. I’ll Lime the brassica beds then start to mark out the side of the plot which runs from the shed to the gate where the flower bed will be and the bottle house and the fruit area.

How many hours are there in a day?