Recent activity

In the allotment:


Dug over half of the far plot and removed what remained of last year's leaf beet. There were still a lot of twisty white bindweed roots, but (I dearly hope) not as much as last time this was dug over and certainly not as much as when I first attempted to clear it.
Had a bonfire with the hedge trimmings and some woody stuff that would take too long to compost.


The view from the plot. Guess where the leaf beet went?


Ooooh freshly dug... Can I?

Manured. What's wrong with the litter tray, you little ***?


Hunt The Garden Cat.

In the garden:


This shrub was being crowded by a penisetum in front of it and a dahlia behind it so I dug out the broom (dead) that was here and put this (alive) in instead.


I've split some ornamental grasses, bought some herbs and potted up some bits'n'pieces.




The salad bar is at an increasingly jaunty angle. It needs moved somewhere sunnier and strengthened.

Esmerelda's spurs and Mathilda's wings

These are new - if you look really closely at her legs you might notice spurs about an inch long.






And the rest of old Esme...

She seems quite happy and is still laying but there's something not right about a chicken suddenly sprouting spurs.



You might just be able to see where Mathilda's wings have been clipped. She is the only one to have had the wit to get out of "Borkatraz" and now we've raised the mesh, extended it, plugged all the gaps we could find, shears provided the final option.

What's going on

Wotchalookin' at?


The goldfish are awake.


Not sure but these might be tulips.


Yay! I didn't kill off the rhubarb when I moved it!


My house. My perch. Why can't I go inside?


The daffs are flowering already.


Bathing.


Pigeon-proofing

Things To Do That I Should've Done Already...

... plant garlic
... dig up, split and store the overgrown dahlia tubers
... dig over the far end of the lottie
... tidy up the ornamental grasses
... move a plant that is being crowded out by the grasses and the dahlias
... take more photos - notably of the daff that is flowering already in the garden
... have another bonfire and spread the ash over the plot
... make a bed for squash plants ready for the spring

Actually I did plant some garlic but it completely disappeared after the shoots reached about 3 inches high. Some of the other jobs here are traditionally autumn jobs I think but it has been really mild here and not too wet so I think I can just get on with it.

It's been a while...

...and I have been busy - honest!

The chickens are settled in to their new home and I think (fingers crossed) their playground is almost as escapeproof as we can make it. They're still laying - about 15 eggs per week at a guess. Still a bit baldy in places! I'd upload pictures but the blighters won't stay still long enough to get decent closeups.

In the allotment not much is happening. The leeks are brill (having some with dinner tonight). I dug up the parsnips today and was actually quite impressed by them. Not great but I didn't expect anything worth eating since they went in late and the ground wasn't really suitable. They were small and forky but they'll feed us tonight. Also in the pot: jerusalem artichokes.
Cue mash!

The main job this week has been to erect anti-pigeon defences around the raised bed (spring cabbages) and the brassica bed (PSB and kale).

A step forwards

I have resigned from a job that I used to love but has been making me miserable for a year. From Easter, I will either be working elsewhere or doing supply work until the right place comes up.

Meanwhile, we have a bit more flexibility when looking for a suitable property.

Mathilda's Massive Egg

Can you spot the 100g monster? She clucked plenty over that one!

what's in the allotment

I moved the kale and PSB from its closely-planted "holding area" up to the ex-potato bed. This area has been weeded, dug over with compost from the garden and bonfire ash, covered with a cardboard mulch and left alone for a month or so.



The cabbage collars I used did keep cabbage root fly away but provided a nice home for slugs. There was quite a lot of slug damage so overall I'm not convinced that collars are worth using.


Something has broken this kale off at the stem. Slugs or pigeons?


Some of the leeks are big enough to use.


Kohlrabi


Slugs got some of the swede and some swedes just vanished. Rotted away or eaten? The ones I get to first were nice though.

I'll try again next season with better slug-defences!

Back to project 1...

Since the chickens are keen to remove all traces of vegetation from their vicinity and I actually want to keep the lawn, we have made them a permanent home behind the pond. This is the area I cleared ready for re-planting in the spring. Change of plan!

They have a bigger area now.


Scratching about


Garden cat no.2's reaction to flapping wings.

So what's in here then?


Garden cat no.1 supervising the digging up of insects and worms - the compost bin lived here until Friday.


I think garden cat no.2 may be deciding to change species.

free(ish) ranging

They're out! ScratchscratchPECK ScratchscratchPECK ScratchscratchPECK Do they never get bored?


Here's a patch of lawn they've not been on yet...


And here's a patch they have scratched over.

They have done a great job of removing the moss and they seem quite partial to dandelions too - even grubbing up roots. I've reseeded in places but the rest will have to wait until spring. We need to choose which part of the garden to sacrifice as their permanent home. The bare area behind the pond is looking likely! I just need to level it off a bit first.


Mathilda's baldy neck. The feathers are starting to come through. Mathilda lays the biggest eggs - wish I'd photographed the last one! Massive!

Laying - Mathilda: big eggs, nearly every day. Esmerelda: nice shaped eggs, thick shells, nearly every day. Clarabell and Henrietta: one is laying well-formed eggs sporadically and the other lays soft-shelled eggs almost daily but I don't know which is laying which. I'm giving them oyster shell grit and the empty eggshells get washed, baked, ground up and mixed with their feed as a calcium supplement.


Jealous? Moi?

A week later...

They're a lot more confident, come over for some attention when we go out to see them and definitely like their food best made up with olive oil and honey. They had one short session of free-ranging yesterday and seemed to want more so I'll get some netting and poles that can be moved around the grass and let them out during the day.



Found this on my washing - I've seen a few different species of ladybird in the garden but don't generally have the camera with me!

chookchookchook...

Look what we got today! 4 ex-battery hens from the Battery Hen Welfare Trust.


In their new home - not free ranging yet!


A bit baldy in places.







They've had a traumatic time but after half an hour or so they had started to peck around the grass, preen and one of them found the coop and went in.

Photos (in wrong order)

I can't believe I have strawberries ripening now!

The square foot bed (well, the 121 sq inch bed really) with kohlrabi, lettuce and spring cabbage.


The "hedge" of leylandii behind the pond and the start of the chickenwire to cover the gaps. I'm sure the chickens will be right over that and into the precious brassicas...


A bit more clearing done - mainly the leylandii bits that were growing through the fence and a dead tree.


Garden Cat on the chicken run. I had better fix the roof panel on securely!


The ex-potato bed, compost and ash dug in, mulched with cardboard. I'll plant the kale through the cardboard once it has been rained on and softened a bit.


Borlotti beans. Gorgeous.


The chicken coop. It's a swiss chalet mini ark from Jim Vyse. Sturdy and easy to build.


The 6ft run (minus roof panel since I want it to be hinged on one side and fixed on the other and need a trip to the hardware store to get the bitsnpieces)


Staghorn Sumac hasn't quite got its full autumn coat on, but it'll be all red in a day or two.


Aha! They're purple and yellow!


The "that'll do for now" fence behind the pond. It will keep the chickens in and I'll hide it with climbers.