The lottie came into full production on 06 as the last portion was double dug and planted. The over wintering onions where planted a week ago in the boxes in the green house. They are up already. A bit late but they should be ready in the summer before the Sturon and Red Barons in the autumn.
I have to clean, sterilise and fumigate the greenhouse ready for Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers as well as all the seed trays of vegetables. I have to sort out another shelf and a staging and tackle the accumulation of pots and trays under the staging from last year. I am under strict instruction from "she who must be obeyed" that I am not to evict any Frogs, Toads or Newts. So I get a feeling the cleaning will have to wait until the Spring proper.
I have promised myself that I will get the continuity going so that I can have something growing and cropping through the winter. Onions, Sprouts, Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli and Swedes are all candidates as well as getting such things as Broad Beans. Beans tend to over wintered for a head start in the spring . I also need to address storage. I have the space in the shed but the method is the issue. I think I need to read some books from Victoria times on storage. The jams, chutneys and pickles I made went down well so More the same next year. The Sloe gin was and is still fantastic. I might do Damson gin as well.
My seed order from Kings Seeds arrived on Friday afternoon. I had to go away for the weekend. When I got back on Sunday evening I had a pleasant hour with a glass of Sole gin reviewing my seed order and my existing seed packets. I have an idea of what to plant and where everything is going. It will be a question of whether the weather and Rabbits will allow.
Monday, January 22, 2007
First blog of 07
Nearly two months have gone by since I last blogged. When I sat down to blog thought and had nothing to record. However quite a few things have occurred since November.
Christmas was most notable this year for having the whole holiday off from work. Ten straight days. Fortunately or unfortunate depending on whether I am feeling grumpy we had people run each day. That put paid to doing anything on the lottie. However it did not stop making the excuse of going a walk and dragging along the wined and dined relatives over the sticky fields to view the lottie. The walk is only one and a half miles across the field, over the stiles, ford a stream and clamber a fence before I could sit on the bench and have a nip from the hip flask.
Carrots have been my Nemesis again this year. Most everything else has gone well. I sent a lot of time on the house this year so the plot is not what it could be but I still did a creditable job. 07 should be better. I have less big jobs this which leave this to fettle the lottie. I did manage to get the green manure in so that is making a quarter of the plot look very neat.
I had a very good Sunday before Christmas where was able to spend the daylight hours at the lottie. The weather was "dreek" as the Scot would say. Cold, wet and windy with showers for good measure. Even so I was warm and busy. I have taken down the courgette bed and knocked up a raised bed about 8 x 6 foot and a foot deep in its place. I put drains in the bottom and half filled it with manure. This going to be my Asparagus bed! The weed heap has been covered up for a month or so which allowed it all to dry out. I got a good fire going and burned off 80% of the pile. I put up some feeders and fat balls for the birds. Then on whim I thought I would have a look at the neighbours plot at the top of the site.
I am the Secretary of the society and a few weeks ago I was discussing with my neighbour the puddling and water logging problem on his plot. We talked about solutions and left it at that. Mt idle hands decided that a trench at the side of his plot would act as a temporary drain. I got stuck in and after several stops for a lean on the spade and mattock. I found I had a trench about thirty feet long from six inches at one end to a foot deep at the other. I then deepened a gully which let the water run off from the pond that had developed on the his plot. His plot is not dry by any means but the standing water has disappeared.
I came back to my plot and laid the remaining flags on my "Patio". All the plots have a strip about ten feet wide adjacent to the path that is so poor even the week will not grow. I use this bit for raised beds and compost bins. The remaining are I have flagged so it is easy to work on. One day I might be able to get a chair out and have a sit down! Whilst I was on a roll I pulled out my compost bin, turned the contents over and as I re-stacked it threw shovel fulls of the cooled ash from the bonfire into the mix. With it all back in the bins the lid was rearranged and secured against the gale that must be due.
I collect all my rabbit snares. I learned how to set snares in the back end of last year. we are starting the have a problem with rabbits helping themselves to our larder. My response has to snare them. I can not send the time waiting to shot them. Snaring, although not everyones cup of tea, is starting to deal with them. It is a small start. I know we will never get rid of them but at least they can be reduced and as will their impact. I check the snares every evening. The fox has sussed out the trapping as well. I am not concerned about the foxes. They will help keep the rabbits in check. Where the fox has beaten me to the kill I bury the remains. I was think about leaving the remains for the buzzards and other carrion birds. I thought I might do this to see the birds through the winter and bury them in the summer to reduce the flies.
Christmas was most notable this year for having the whole holiday off from work. Ten straight days. Fortunately or unfortunate depending on whether I am feeling grumpy we had people run each day. That put paid to doing anything on the lottie. However it did not stop making the excuse of going a walk and dragging along the wined and dined relatives over the sticky fields to view the lottie. The walk is only one and a half miles across the field, over the stiles, ford a stream and clamber a fence before I could sit on the bench and have a nip from the hip flask.
Carrots have been my Nemesis again this year. Most everything else has gone well. I sent a lot of time on the house this year so the plot is not what it could be but I still did a creditable job. 07 should be better. I have less big jobs this which leave this to fettle the lottie. I did manage to get the green manure in so that is making a quarter of the plot look very neat.
I had a very good Sunday before Christmas where was able to spend the daylight hours at the lottie. The weather was "dreek" as the Scot would say. Cold, wet and windy with showers for good measure. Even so I was warm and busy. I have taken down the courgette bed and knocked up a raised bed about 8 x 6 foot and a foot deep in its place. I put drains in the bottom and half filled it with manure. This going to be my Asparagus bed! The weed heap has been covered up for a month or so which allowed it all to dry out. I got a good fire going and burned off 80% of the pile. I put up some feeders and fat balls for the birds. Then on whim I thought I would have a look at the neighbours plot at the top of the site.
I am the Secretary of the society and a few weeks ago I was discussing with my neighbour the puddling and water logging problem on his plot. We talked about solutions and left it at that. Mt idle hands decided that a trench at the side of his plot would act as a temporary drain. I got stuck in and after several stops for a lean on the spade and mattock. I found I had a trench about thirty feet long from six inches at one end to a foot deep at the other. I then deepened a gully which let the water run off from the pond that had developed on the his plot. His plot is not dry by any means but the standing water has disappeared.
I came back to my plot and laid the remaining flags on my "Patio". All the plots have a strip about ten feet wide adjacent to the path that is so poor even the week will not grow. I use this bit for raised beds and compost bins. The remaining are I have flagged so it is easy to work on. One day I might be able to get a chair out and have a sit down! Whilst I was on a roll I pulled out my compost bin, turned the contents over and as I re-stacked it threw shovel fulls of the cooled ash from the bonfire into the mix. With it all back in the bins the lid was rearranged and secured against the gale that must be due.
I collect all my rabbit snares. I learned how to set snares in the back end of last year. we are starting the have a problem with rabbits helping themselves to our larder. My response has to snare them. I can not send the time waiting to shot them. Snaring, although not everyones cup of tea, is starting to deal with them. It is a small start. I know we will never get rid of them but at least they can be reduced and as will their impact. I check the snares every evening. The fox has sussed out the trapping as well. I am not concerned about the foxes. They will help keep the rabbits in check. Where the fox has beaten me to the kill I bury the remains. I was think about leaving the remains for the buzzards and other carrion birds. I thought I might do this to see the birds through the winter and bury them in the summer to reduce the flies.
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