Busy Busy Busy!

I've just realised how long it is since I last posted anything here! I do apologise :0)
Well in my defence I have been working hard - several days of 'real' work this month, combined with trying to get the greenhouse up and running, the allotment, hen parties and a craft fair this coming weekend and I have been busy indeed!

The allotment is coming along slowly but nicely. Not as well as others on the site, despite my early start, I have lagged behind. But I've noticed that those who have dug over the whole plot in one go now have couch grass reappearing. I have been adding raised beds slowly as I have obtained wood. My Dad has also been building me smallmetre square beds and bringing them over when he can. As I put them into place I dig them over and go through the soil literally with a fine tooth comb to grub out the couch roots. This large bed in the foreground was dug over, thick layers of newspaper applied, then a layer of compostible material, then a layer of topsoil. It is currently growing onions and broad beans. The idea is that by the time the newspaper has composted, any couch roots wll also have died.

The large bed on the right is waiting for some rain to soften the soil so I can tackle it. The deeper bed in the background on the right has also had the newspaper treatment and just topsoil added. It has now been planted with carrots and parsnips.

There are three more small raised beds in that area that are in the process of being dug and sifted. One has already had manure added ready for the courgettes.

At the far end, in open ground, are the spuds - coming up nicely. That was the first patch of ground I manured and I planted the potato tubers in two trenches. I noticed that the other plot holders have also used trenches for their potatoes, but theirs are planted in the ridges, rather than the furrows. Hmm, I wonder if I'm doing it right!

Down the right hand side is another manured strip which now houses raspberries and gooseberries and a rhubarb. I still need to work on my paths - the ones between the raised beds are done, weed suppressing membrane and bark chips, but this side still looks messy.

As well as making some bags for commissions lately (see the Recycled Bag Lady blog!) I have been busy with some projects purely for myself. This was a mystery quilt project posted on the Omlet forum. I love how it is turning out! I still have to back it and add hanging bits, but for now it is sellotaped to the wall so that I can enjoy it!
And this is a new cushion cover from a piece of fabric I bought on ebay. No technical skill required here - just a simple envelope flap on the reverse. But it does look lovely in my lounge!

On a sadder note, I had to make the hard decision to part with a couple of my hens this week. Pom was one of my original Omlet hens and much loved, but she was an old lady and had gone off her legs :0( Cinnamon was younger, but was a feather pecker and had developed a massively impacted crop that would not shift. RIP little ladies.

Rare Garden Bird ...

OH thought he'd spotted an unusual bird on the bird feeder this afternoon.
But on closer inspection - guess who?

"I was just checking the feeders were full Mum, honest!"
"OK, I've been rumbled, I'll take a bath instead"

"Look, I really am too pretty for you to be cross with me"
Little Madam!

Grand Greenhouse Opening!

Hooray! It's finished!


Well OK it's not quite 100% finished, more like 99.9% finished. It still needs a few more nuts and bolts to make it really secure and it needs bolting to the base (A ran out of screws). In the meantime there are a couple of surplus bags of sand holding it down.
I have dismantled my mini greenhouse and split it into two to make the staging, but I do need some a bit bigger to make better use of the space. There will be a small raised bed down the left hand side to grow tomatoes, peppers and melons in. We have a couple more slabs to put in as well to make a walkway down the middle.

I have to say it's been a pig to put together - I'm glad we didn't pay full price for it. But it will serve it's purpose for now.

What a great Mother's Day present!

Strange Egg Season

I love this time of year for egg collecting - it seems to be the time when egg production peaks and we often get the biggest eggs, and often double yolkers. But we had this strange little offering from Little Bo yesterday.
This is it next to her offering from the day before - a hefty 75g compared to the miniscule 7g. I wouldn't mind but the poor girl laid another 70g egg later the same day! Bless her, she had a day off today.

I've never had one of these eggs before, but they are not uncommon. Known as wind, fart or witches eggs, they often only contain egg white. I haven't cracked this one yet, so contents unknown!

Greenhouse news - the roof is on! The doors are half built, we had to finish as tea time was calling. Looks like my Mothers Day present tomorrow will be the grand greenhouse opening! Watch this space!

I make no apology!

I make no apology for yet another post rejoicing in the arrival of spring!
But first let me show you what I did today, when the sun tempted me to outside jobs:

Last year we had to have the porch rebuilt, and we laid a new slate tile floor. There were only two tiles left over, and being the good recycler that I am, I managed to find a use for them. They have been on the front of the porch for a while now, but I couldn't think what to put on them. I knew I wanted our house number, but not what style, or what to put on the other tile. Then I spotted LilyMosaics http://www.lily-mosaics.co.uk/index.html at a craft fair. She makes beautiful mosaics, a lot of it from this pretty sea pottery - shards of old china washed up on the beach. Well I do love the sea, and miss it, being so far inland! So this house number was perfect - then I had a brainwave and asked her if she would make me a chicken to match! And she did! They finally got glued to the slate tiles today, and I love them. I am not so keen on the state of our porch windows and front door however, I might just get my paint brush out tomorrow.

Anyway, another glorious sunny day to tempt me outdoors! Small boy was fast asleep after a busy morning at the swimming pool so I managed to get some seeds sown, then decided to have my lunch al fresco! The cover came off the table and chairs and I happily sat in the sun eating my cheese and pickle sandwich and drinking tea.

The chickens were very curious, even the normally shy Sugar was tempted by a bit of brown bread crust.

Nutmeg kept her distance, being lowest in the pecking order, but still managed to get some to nibble.

Bella has no qualms about standing at my feet shouting until I cave in and throw her some crust! I was a bit worried that she might jump onto my knee at one point! (not that I'd mind, but I was enjoying my sandwich)

So after dining, I reclined the chair and with my eyes shut, I could feel the sun beating down and hear the trickle of water into the pond and the chortling of the chickens. Bliss! For a short while I could forget the surplus, no longer played with and homeless toys that I really must sort out and get on freecycle, as they are blocking access to the shed (along with various bits of netting, bags of compost and bamboo canes that need putting away)

I could forget the tatty lawn, vainly trying to recover from the attentions of 14 chickens and two young boys.

I could forget the half finished greenhouse.

OK, so my garden is as messy as my house - I make no apology! We will sort it all out - one day, when there is nothing better to do!

Another gorgeous day!

Spring is well and truly here! A and I were out first thing this morning to recommence work on the greenhouse. The frame is built but it needs cladding. The neighbours must think we are barking, starting work in the garden at 8am on a Sunday! It started off quite chilly, but as the sun spilled it's beams into our corner of the garden, the temperature rocketed. I actually had bare arms at one point!

We managed to get the sides onto the greenhouse - what a pain it was! Very fiddly - it has clear polycarbonate glazing that fits into all these little channels, but as soon as you get one in, the one next to it pops out. We could've done with 8 pairs of hands never mind two! But it's done - next stage is to get the roof on. But A is back at work tomorrow, so a few more days before we can start again. No pictures today - the greenhouse looks exactly the same as it did, even with the glazing added!

Tea was a scrumptious leg of lamb in moroccan spices, done in the slow cooker and served with cous cous. Deeeelicious!

Chickens on the Allotment!

What a difference a couple of months makes! Our site is really beginning to look like allotments now, rather than just a field!
This is Plot no. 10 - we have raised beds!

Looking from No 10 back to the car park. You can see 2 large mounds of wood chips - our second job today has been to barrow those chippings around the site to cover the paths. The first job was to add some rabbit proof fencing - we nailed chicken wire all around the site, pushed it down into a ready dug ditch, and backfilled all the earth. Allotmenteers 1, rabbits 0!

Looking from the car park across the whole site - and the view across the fields. No 10 may be a small plot, but it has a lovely view! You can just see my plot - the one with the green dalek composter.

I finally plucked up courage to take Florrie and Pom with me today. They were very well behaved. I chose them because they are the only two who do not run away when I try to catch them! (and they are very efficient and enthusiastic diggers!) They had lots of admirers! It was lovely digging and listening to their contented little cluckings beside me. They were doing a very good job as well, until Matthew got too close to the fence with his ham sandwich and they mugged him through the wire!

Finally managed to get things planted as well! The bed in the foreground has been 'lasagned' - dug over and as much of the couch roots removed as possible; 3 layers of newspaper; a layer of compostible material (from the bottom of the chicken run and veg peelings); topped with a layer of topsoil. I've planted onions and shallots and broad beans. I've heard that birds like to pull up onion sets, hence the old net curtains over the bed to protect them.

I can't believe how much I am enjoying this - it's been a lovely day!