Extra Growing Space

I always struggle with the edges of my garden. This is where weeds encroach into the veg beds and I generally loose control!  

The side of my poly tunnel is going to be one of those areas. It's about 3ft to the rabbit fence I've put in.

Strip The Willow

The other day I realised as I was planting my runner beans that when I had harvested my hazel bean poles I hadn't harvested nearly enough! 

But then again I have increased my growing since I cut them down!

May Garden Tour 2020

The garden is benefiting with the extra time I've spent in it lately.

There's so much going on so I decided to do a quick (ish) walk around the garden to show you what I've got growing this year.

Lots of crops for seed saving hidden everywhere as well. I'm hopeful this should be my best year for saving seeds and crops for drying! 

Elderflower Champagne

It's that time of year again when my hay fever is going crazy - It can only mean one thing - Time to make elderflower champagne!

Now it's not the elder flower that sets off my hay fever, but I always put the two things together in my head now!

Keeping The Old Mixer Going

 I posted a picture of this old mixer the other day and a builder friend of mine laughed at how dirty it was.

Yes, her best days might be behind her, but she's had a long hard life! 

Dad bought this about 30 years ago for £25 from a farm sale. It has done countless other jobs since then. It's main down side is it's not easy to move but otherwise it's a great bit of kit. I think it's been here for the last 7 years at least and used to do so many jobs. 

Poultry Tour!

We have lots going on with the poultry on the smallholding at the moment. 

I've made some new pens, repaired old ones and seem somewhere near organised with it all so I thought I'd do a video showing you all round our birds and what we're planning to do.

Children In The Flowers

I love our paddock, part of me hates all the butter cups that grow there, but they do look so beautiful at the moment!

We're very lucky to live here and I have to pinch myself at times, especially during this lock down.

Unusual Commission - Miss Matched Drawer Unit

My carpentry has pretty much ceased during lockdown, but I have got an unusual commission to try to fit in around childcare. 

This one is for one of my toughest customers - my mother!

Ducklings Are Cuter Than Chicks!

It's official - Ducklings are cuter than chicks! 

We've all been super excited for this hatching! I must have been a young child the last time we had ducklings!

Frost In May

Round here this is not uncommon, but I think many have been caught out. It was quite a hard one and even froze the puddles.

But that's not to say I didn't take some risks!

Chicken Tractor Refurb!

When you keep more than just a few chickens having some extra pens is essential. 

They have lots of uses but having somewhere to keep a poorly chicken away from the others is essential and a pen around this size also makes for a great broody coop for a hen to sit on some eggs and have the chicks have safe access to some grass outside. 

This chicken tractor/ark is one I built in 2008. The picture above is how it looked when I first built it, complete with cedar cladding in our very tidy garden at our first house!

The picture below is me putting our first ex-battery hens in the coop and my first chickens since leaving home.

Lockdown Walks

We've not left the smallholding much over the last 6 weeks. 

But the last few weeks we've started to take a few more walks into the surrounding countryside to learn the local footpaths a bit better.

Home Grown Plugs

The other day I posted some pictures on my twitter of my hull less oats being planted. 

I've planted these as plugs. But plugs I grew myself.

One Of Our Favourite Things To Forage - Lime Leaves

Now although my eldest asked if the "lemon" leaves were ready to eat yet, I was really pleased they'd remembered this foraged treat from last year.

Yes that is a Christmas jumper, no I don't care...

Even the Boy, who is going through a phase of not eating salad leaves, loves these.

Dandelion Bhajis

The girls love picking flowers, they are very stereotypical like that!

But here they had a purpose! They were picking them so I could make something. I wasn't exactly sure what but it seemed like a good reason to keep them busy for a while!