A Charming Day

   There was a definite feeling of spring in the weather today and yesterday. Bright sunshine although it was a frost overnight. I loaded Degsy with provisions and compost container from home and took my self off the lottie with the intention of lifting the last four rows of spuds. I remembered the tyre pump and the spanners. I was surprised to find I was the only one at the plots. Tyre tracks showed I was the first down on the old plots but not the first to have visited today on the new plots. I parked Degsy up as usual and got the first job out of the way which was dump the contents of the home compost bin in my big compost bin. It surprises my just how fast the compost bin works even in the winter. I will be needing to empty it before too long. Got to do weeding on the beds first. Next up was to check the wheelbarrow tyre. The pumped it up and hoped it would stay up. It did and it was still fine when I went home.

   So digging spuds...Well no. The lottie has been looking untidy and not just the beds. I got a braiser and started a small fire. I have been collecting bits of wood and saving off cuts from jobs but I decided they were making the place untidy and since I had not used the bits for a year they were of no use. I might come to regret saying that. Anyway I chopped the bigger bits down and fed them in to the fire. It was a pity it was not one of those super sharp winter days as the fire got going it was toasty. I laid the wetter pieces of wood on the rim of the braiser. The heat dried them out to where they would burn. Whilst the fire was going I went round to the back of the big muck bin and shovelled the muck that the worms had kicked out through the slats of the bin back onto the top of the heap. I replaced the chicken wire, badly, back in position. The path at the back of the bins got a sprucing up. The rolls of checking wire were stacked as where the planks. I picked any wood or combustible materials and placed them near the fire for feeding into the brasier as required. I took a walk round the plot and picked up any and all dried material including the cutting from the vines. They all took a turn to feed the fire. Over the course of the day the pile of wood disappeared into the brasier. The wind was perfect blowing gently from the south west which blew the smoke straight off the plots and across the open farmland. It also was just right to fan the flames. I took my super sharp pruning saw with me down the hedge line. I trimmed out the branches of the hedge that where encroaching on my plot. They also went on the fire.

    So digging spuds. I could not think of a reason not to so started a brew going whilst I got the tools set out for digging. I had a brew and chocy biscuit whilst I watched the fire. Jonny, one of the plot holders dropped by the contemplate his plot but left after a short chat. Jonny was required for his Sunday lunch. It 12.30 after all. I fed the fire some more of the diminishing pile of timber and went down to make a start on the digging. The digging was easy. The soil was in lovely condition for digging. The soil was really cold to the touch but it did not seem to be holding the Dock back. They were starting to sprout. The barrow was just the job. It was fully by the end of the third row. The spuds had not started to sprout but were small and had quite a out of worm holes in them. No wonder the worms were so fat the juicy. There were loads of worms in every spadeful of soil. A good indicator to the condition of the soil. I just plodded along, weeding and harvesting. I was getting weary but I was determined to get all the spuds up. This was the last of what pitiful harvest I had in the last season. Once the spuds were out I would make quicker progress on the weeding as I would not need to search for spuds or dig so deep. When the barrow was nearly full I put the kettle on the for another brew. I had finished the row and filled the barrow by the time the kettle was boiling.

   When the brew was ready the brasier had burnt everything down of a few inches of cinders. It tipped the ash out onto the patio and set the brasier to one side to cool down. I made a neat pile of the ash. There were plenty of cinders in the ash that had not quite burnt out. I got the deck chair out and with my back to the sun and facing the ash pile a had my brew whilst being toasted from both sides. I shut my eyes, felt the heat on me and just listened to the birds for a while. It was as much rest and peace of mind I have had in an age.

   Brew done it was back to the digging to push on to finish the row. I managed it finally. I just had to rake the soil into the uniform surface. I estimated the depth of the bed is 16inch but it will settle back to 12 or 14 inches.

 I had to be careful whilst digging because this bed is plagued with roots from the trees in the hedge. The champion root today was almost as thick as the handle of my shovel. 



  
 

   Whilst I was having a brew I saw that a couple of Great Tits were busy round the bee hive and I could see one or two bees on unsteady wings buzzing round the doorway of the hive. I took a few minutes to visit the bees and have a look in the hive. This hive has a glass "quilt" on the top so you can look in without exposing yourself to the bees. I could not see any bees so I lifted the candy covering the escape hole in the quilt. There were a couple of bees licking the candy so as of today I have a colony of bees but the winter is not over yet. However it is grounds for optimism.

   The last job was the shovel the cooled ash into the big compo bin.With sun still well above the horizon and main main task completed as well as a bunch of other valuable tasks, still having my back intact and having had a very charming day at the lottie I loaded Degsy up and trundled home.   

Who's Idea Was That?!?

  What a vile day. The rain is relentless. It is not quite cold enough to sleet so the rain is cold and blown on a bitter wind. No allotmenting for today you would think. The manure trailer needs collecting and emptying. Horses don't stop pooping because the weather is rubbish in fact they produce more as they eat more to stay warm. I trundled of in Degsy, window wiper doing their best to keep up with the rain and water thrown up from the deep puddles. When I got to the stables the ponies where standing in the stable block keeping out of the rain. I put them in their loose boxes before opening all the gates to get a trailer hooked up and pulled out into the car park. I secured the gates and let the ponies out. They stayed put. They obviously did not fancy being outside today.

   I trundled up the the lottie. The trailer was made extra heavy by all the water soaked up in the muck. I had been thinking of what to do with the hedge that borders my plot. The hedge is the border tot he allotment site so keeping it growing and full serves several purposes; shelter from the wind, habitat for the birds and beasties and security/privacy for the plot. The Willow we felled last year have grown back from the stool. In coppicing parlance the stool is top of the stump from which the new growth springs. The stools have thrown out dozens of new sprouting leaders. Each one has made 10 feet [3m] of growth. It is impressive in less than a year. The Willow obviously enjoyed the wet conditions during the summer of 2012. I drove Degsy round to the access path on the outside of the hedge boundary. There I dropped the tailgate on the trailer and shovelled the manure onto the base of the hedge. The soil in which the boundary hedge grows is utter rubbish. When the allottments were laid out a good job was made of the fencing and planting of the perimeter however nothing was done to improve the soil into which the hedge was planted. The "soil" was just blue clay from the landscaping of the ex-coal mine the allotment sit on. Over years I have put a mulch of manure under the boundary hedge. Ten years on the hedge is pretty well filled out and has many stout bushes and small trees. The hedge is mainly Hazel, Hawthorne, Willow [who's idea was that?!?], Dog Rose and Field Maple. This called an English mix. The Hazel tassels are out and the Hawthorne is beginning to bud. It was hot work shovelling the heavy wet manure and being dressed up to keep the rain out. H calls it "boil in the bag" work. A trailer load of muck does not go far on the hedge. 

  I skipped through the hedge with seeds to fill the bird feeder. I checked in on the bees. Although there was no movement I could feel the heat and smell the bees when I took the roof off. I saw that they had been at the candy. So room for cautious optimism that the bees have weathered the winter so far.        

Life Beyond the Winter and Weeds

   The weather has been very benign this past week, even spring like. I had business to take care of in Birmingham on Saturday morning so resolved to go the the lottie in the afternoon. I figured the few extra hours of sun and wind to dry off the soil would do no harm. It got the lottie about 14.30. The sun was heading for the horizon and I knew I had until about 17.00 before it was dusk. I filled the bird feeders and replaced the fat balls. I got the wheelbarrow out and thought it heavy to push even thought it was empty. It only took a second to confirm the tyre was punctured. There is another job to do. I did not have tools to take the wheel off so I had to work without the barrow.

   I had only one task on my mind and that was to dig up more spuds. I got the spade and the basket for the spuds from Degsy. As usual got got distracted. This time by some Dock sprouts pushing through the soil that I had dug over in Bed1 back end of last year. I spot weeded them and found they where just sprigs of root that had been left behind. Even through this cold snap the weeds are growing. It is depressing. I went back to main task in hand having restored the tilled Bed1 to it's weed free glory. I stepped into the potato trench where I left off last time. I started carefully digging and immediately cut a few spuds in half. Not a good start. Having gauged where the spuds where I continued easing the soil apart and dropping the spuds in to the basket and making a pile out of the weeds. The basket and weed pile where about neck and neck. Although the spuds I was harvesting were my main crop, Cara, the tubers where the size of my earlies, about Hen's eggs size. There were not many of them either. Cara usually crop well. However all the time these spuds were growing last year it was raining. I was pleased not to find any blight in the crop. I plodded up and down the rows. The main crop rows are set further apart than the rows for the earlies and with the reduced crop there was a lots of empty soil to move. Well...empty except for the Dock, although it was not too bad. The Robins must have been hungry. They usually sit on the grape vines and wait until I leave to get into the freshly turned soil. This time they were in and around my feet whenever I stopped to collect a stray spuds that missed the basket or just for a rest. I have no idea what they see to eat but they nearly always find something almost instantly. The wind was very keen but there was a hedge between me and it and I was bent over in the trench digging so I did not feel it's effects. The Sun, though low and weak, had warmed the soil and despite all the wet weather we have had the soil was not waterlogged even at the bottom of the trenches. I managed a couple of rows before the sun got too low and took the temperature down with it. I raked the spoil out to create a seed bed.

   I have only a few rows of spuds to lift. The next visit will clear them then I will be into straight forward digging of weeds. With a bit of luck the weather and time gods will be kind and I should have Bed1 dug over. When the puncture is fixed a should then be able cover the bed with the manure that has been maturing  in the big bin. Even through the worst of the snow the top of the muck bin was snow free.

  I noticed that some of the Rhubarb crowns are starting to bud. So there is life beyond the winter and weeds!     

A Bit Peckish

    Finally the weather has got to the round posts that hold up the netting over the middle of the plot. The two end pole seem fine which is a bit odd. The five pole along the centre line have rotted off just below ground level. It might be something to do with folk leaning on them whilst they chat to me but is alot to do with them sitting in sodden ground all last year. The improvement of the soil since I started the plot has raised the surface level with the effect the netting is closer to my head. I find that I have to stoop when walking round the plot. That is a bit rubbish so the replacement poles are going to be taller, not a lot taller but definitely taller.

   I put a little money by and have purchase steel fence post spikes and the posts to go with them. Since the poles where rotted out it was no trouble to remove them.

I dropped a spike in a short distance from the original pole and used my post rammer as a hammer. The rammer is a steel tube with handles on the side. One end is closed with a two inch [50mm] steel cap. I just turned it upside down using the cap end as the hammer. With soil being deeply cultivated and quite wet the spike which are two feet [600mm] long where fairly easy to hammer in and they went in vertically. I have dug out many, many stones over the years. The tip of the spike did not hit any stones so did not get deflected. after the spike ramming it was just a case of putting the post into the holder at the top of the spike. I had to use the rammer to tap the post into the holder. The holder has flukes which grip the post. The rammer almost meant I did not have to be higher than the post to tap it home. "Tap" suggests the posts just needed slight persuasion but it took a good couple of whacks. The last job was the put the ridge wire over the top of the post and secure it with a galvanised staple. I was worried that there might not be enough slack in the wire to allow the wire to fit over the post heads without creating a lot of tension. My worries were unfounded.

   The final, final job was to fill up the bird feeders and fit the holders on to the ridge wire. I put up a few fat balls as well. Even as I gathered my tools the Robin's were on the fat balls. It had been snowing the previous few days so they must have been a bit peckish

Snowy walk

It has been snowing for a couple of days. Not hard but constantly. We have accumulated about 4inches 100mm. It might have been more if were not for folks obsession with clearing paths and gritting. Anyhoo I took a walk across the fields to the lottie. I had no intention of doing anything. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright and fill up the bird feeders. It was a slog across the fields in the deep snow. The wind was at my back so it was quite hot work. You know the adage "there is not such thing as bad weather just the wrong clothes.". I was well dress for the occasion.

I made some fat balls for the birds. I used the food processor to chop up same left over bread and left over nuts from the parties really fine. Then I mixed up a big handful of bird seed and another of raisins, again left over from Christmas. I usually cut off the rinds of Bacon when I have a Bacon butty. The rind comes off before cooking. I chop up the discarded rinds and fat and put them in a container which then lives in the fridge. Well the save bacon rind and fat went in the mix too. I gave it a mix to combine all the ingredients. I warmed up a a chunk of lard. Whilst that was melting and lined a couple of plastic containers with foil. When the lard was liquid I poured it on top to the dry mix of seeds and bread and gave it a good stir. I packed the pick in the moulds and put them outside in the cold to set. They set really well. Not rock hard but just hard enough to hold together. I laced the fat squares [the moulds were square not round] on the a doubled up string making them ready to hang up. One went in the back garden the other at the lottie.

With a bit of luck the nuts, seeds and fat balls will help sustain the hedgerow birds. The weather must be biting. We have had lots the birds in the back garden. We even had a foreign visitor, a Fieldfare. He sat, fluffed up, in the tree occasionally hopping into the Burberris shrub to scoff the red berries much to the disdain of the Blackbirds. This weekend we have had about a dozen Blackbirds at a time sitting the taller trees of the hedge trying to make a living in the snow. I think my self and the neighbours are keeping the avian diners fed.

There very few tracks in the snow at the lottie. Just a solitary set of Rabbit tracks but they bit not go far. too parky even for rabbits. Having done my duty at the lottie a plodded home. I forgot I live on a hill so the journey was mostly up hill and into the wind. I had rosy cheeks when I got in. H and made Leek and Potato soup which went down very nicely.

 

Best intentions

I missed the allotment work party as I got confused of where to be and on what day. I turned up on Sunday which I thought was the right day to find it is was not. I tipped the trailer of manure and pondered what to do. I could have sneaked off for a sit down with my book but conscience got the better of me and it was not an unpleasant day.

Even my soil is too wet to dig. Instead I went to the black compost bin by bed 1, took the lid off and looked in. The compost was super fine. A colony of Ants had been living in there over the summer and had processed the soil to a fine tilth. The Ants were gone so I removed the bin outer the got the spade busy digging out the compost and throwing it across the adjacent bed. I hope the worms and rain with mix it in for me.

I cleaned up the area of the bin. There was a mass of White Dead Nettle runners under the base of the bin. It was a bit of a job to root them out [pun intended]. I reinstated the footing of the base and replaced the bin. Now I have an empty bin for the piles of weeds that are popping up on the plot. Nettles are a beggar. On the one hand they are invasive weeds and sting but on the other hand are habitat for several Butterflies. I ought to be happy they are because Nettles thrive in rich, moist soil which is indicates the quality of my soil however it is a bit of a drag for such a high honour. Click HERE of the "Be Nice to Nettles" website. I particulary like the "did you know" panel on the bottom left of the their website. Proper useful infomation for chats in the pub.

I took the oppertunity to dress the Rhubarb patch with manure. I am not short of manure so the bed got a good deep dressing. You can telling it is warm the top layers of the manure heap is teeeming with worms. There are a few birds about but not many. The bird feeders I put up last week have hardly been touched. The Robins where about as were a few Blue Tits but not much else.

I had a look at the bees and replaced the syrup feeder with a block of fondant. The guard bees were out quickly to find out who was shaking up the hive, even if it was with the best intentions. 

Rock Candy

I have predicted a largely wet and warm winter for 2013. It has not been so wet this last week, the River Mease is back in it's channel, but it has been warm. That means the bees will not be clustering and therefore will be eating up their store of honey. If they eat it all up before the spring then they will starve to death. Dead bees don't make much honey. The usual strategy is to feed bee candy. More accurately it is a fondant. It is sugar and water cooked up to "soft ball" then allowed to cool and set. I have tried many recipes but this one works every time. You need a heavy bottomed pan and a jam thermometer. I use the jam making pan. Remember that the sugar syrup is going to get very hot and it sticks if it is splashed about. You have been warned.

The local supermarket does sugar in 5kg bags. I use whatever vinegar is available but usually cider vinegar in preference to malted vinegar. The vinegar helps stave off mold and fermentation. Pour the 5kg of granulated sugar, 1 litre of water, a teaspoon of vinegar into the pan. Next just mix the sugar, vinegar and water to together in the pan then put the mixture on to boil. A jam thermometer is a very good thing to have. I have tried guessing when the correct temperature is achieved. I ended up with hard candy. That is no good to the bees. As the pan heats up stir it occasionally to make sure the sugar fully dissolves and nothing catches on the bottom of the pan. Bees do not like burned candy and it is near impossible to clean off the pan. When the syrup gets to "soft ball" which is 240F or 114C turn the heat down and keep it at soft ball for 5 five minutes. Do not leave it a soft ball for more than five minutes or let it go above soft ball or you end up three litres of hard candy. Take the pan off the heat. I put it outside to cool down [cats, dogs and kids beware etc]

Whilst the syrup is cooking line a couple of shallow tins with foil. You need a mould for each hive because as soon as the fondant starts to set there is no going back. I use baking trays as moulds. I find that the fondant block will sit above the crown board and under the roof quite easily. No need for ekes! When the syrup starts to form a skin on the cooling surface of the syrup this is the moment to start whisking the syrup to make fondant. Whisking introduces air and makes the fondant go white. As soon as the fondant starts to thicken up, which does not take long because whisking speeds up the cooling, pour the syrup into the lined tins and leave them to go completely cold. I cannot say how long it takes for fondant to set. It depends how cold it is and how thick the fondant is in the trays.

Problems
Too soft
If it does not set at all then it was not hot enough for long enough. So long as the fondant is not actually liquid and will hold a shape then I would use it on the hive. You just don't want it running into the hive. If too liquid pour it back into the pan and reheat it to the correct temperature and go through the process again.

Too hard
If, on the other hand, it has set like rock then you have rock candy. You have two choices; break it up and feed it to the kids as old fashion candy. It just tastes sweet or leave it in the air and in a week or two it will go gooey on the surface just like those sweet you lost in a blazer pocket when you were a kid. Is not so readily taken down by the bees but it might do whilst you make another softer batch.

I make the candy about 1 - 1 1/2 inches [25 - 40mm] thick, depending on the depth of the moulds and the how I divide the batch. I leave the candy in the moulds, even when cold and take down the bees. I usually score the surface of the candy with my hive tool just the make some loose edges because I think the bees can make a start on the block a bit more easily. I just pop off the roof, if the bees are round the hole in the crown board I just put the edge of the tray on the crown board near the hole and invert the mould. The fondant block just drops out and I lower it over the hole. If the bees are not round the hole I scrape a bit of fondant off the block and drop it into the hole just to give the bees a clue dinner has arrived and place the block over the hole. Then I just pop the roof back on and retire for a few weeks. My blocks are about 3lbs [1.5kg] each. I have a 5kg of sugar in the house ready to use as fondant or syrup as circumstance require.