A Week's Work (Part 3 Hens)

Well - what can I say? We missed our own fresh eggs too much. We missed having them in the garden. We got new hens. Half a dozen 17 week old Hy-line pullets from a wonderful smallholding just outside Biggar. They were no more than chicks really - had never been on grass - never even been outside. We took them home like new parents with a baby and tucked them up in the hen hut. Old Jenny paced up and down and round and round all day wondering what was next. In the late afternoon we opened the hatch and.... nothing! They were all piled up on top of each other in a corner of the hut, bless them. Eventually the bravest one poked her beak out and about an hour later they were all timidly nosing around. We left them to it and when we went to shut them in, Jenny was on her usual perch, but the babies were cosied up under the plum tree which is next to the hut. This was the Thursday - by Sunday these babies had turned into hens. They know where their bed is, their feathers are sleeker and their combs are more obvious - I think we will be getting eggs any day now. It feels like they have always been here.

A Week's Work (Part 2 - Bees)

So - last Monday night, I attended the introduction to the Edinburgh and Midlothian Beekeepers Association (EMBA) Beginners Beekeeping course. I LOVED IT. I must have a hive! Bees are just so amazing, and if they die out it is very likely that we will soon afterwards, so the more help they get the better for all of us. So many people ahd applied for this year's course they had to turn folk away! Last year only 10 took the classes, so the buzzword must have got around (sorry). I was not sure if my garden would be suitable for a hive, as we are quite enclosed by housing and telephone wires, but it seems I could have an appropriate site if we moved the arbour seat - hmmmmmmm (rubs chin thoughtfully). So I will hold back until I have been on the practical bee handling bits of the course - taking place at a hive near me next month!!!!! We have to order bee suits before this (EMBA member's discout) and I feel sure that my profile photograph may change to reflect that purchase:D Our next class is in a couple of weeks time and is apparently various presentations by EMBA members followed by a very civilised cheese and wine event. So good to be back in school:)

A Week's Work (Part 1 - The Plot)

As John was on holiday from work last week, we managed to get quite a lot done in and around the garden. To save anyone from having to plough through a long wordy post (think school compositions on "What I did during my holidays") I have decided to split it into 3 (relatively) short posts. So, this is Part 1 - What we did in the garden.
Well - not a lot different from last week. Mucho diggio really. The main veg plot has encroached further into the weed field. Onion bed finished, mulched and planted up. More seeds sown in greenhouse - lots more to do. We had a small bonfire with piles of thorny branches and twiggy waste we had in various piles around the plot - not terribly green, but we are in a serious mess here. I tried to appease my conscience with the tiny amount of potash from the ashes, and the fact that we are not tripping over piles of stuff all the time and can get on with clearing more - er - stuff.
We also cleared up what we refer to as our "patio" - a sort of dead space at the back of the house. This will become an outdoor play area for James, so John has now set about constructing gates and fencing off bits and pieces.
I uncovered a couple of small polytunnels which had been abandoned in the border - no doubt due to some interruption - a bit tangled and mucky, but I will sort them out ready for use this season. So - as they say - onwards and upwards... ;)

Hi - ho!

Yes - feeling a bit like the 7 dwarfs song. We dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig dig, dig the whole day though. There is nothing else for it really. Still - there is a bit of progress. The first picture shows what has been achieved so far on the main veg area. Granted it still looks a bit rooty and needs some more forking over, but it is so much easier to work on. Once I am happy that it is reasonably clear I will cover it with wood chips. Until about 3 or 4 years ago, the garden was surrounded by a (cue scary music) Leylandii hedge. It took up so much space and made everything so dark - not to mention how it covered up some rather nice brick wall. We knew it had to go, so the local tree surgeon was called and he did the deed. He then asked if we wanted him to take the trees away, or chip them on site. For some reason my husband asked for them to be chipped. We were left with a piles of wood chips behind the garage that rivalled the Pyramids of Egypt in scale! Now, however, they have composted down considerably, but will still provide enough mulching material to cover the whole of Scotland. The second photograph is I suppose my garden equivalent of "Here's one I made earlier!' It is the new onion bed - almost ready to go. I have since put the wooden edging onto the bed and it really looks quite ... bed like! You can also see a tiny corner of the garlic bed, which has been covered with lots of jaggy branches to keep the naughty neighbourhood cats off. Hoping for some fine spring weather next week, as husband has another wee holiday from work.

A sunny harvest

A beautiful day to pick the coltsfoot flowers that have sprung up like tiny suns around the plot. We will dry them - although they do go quite fuzzy - and mix them with the leaves when they appear. Coltsfoot is also known as "Son afore the Faither", as the flowers appear before the leaves. The Latin name is Tussilago which means to take away the cough, and the lightness and brightness of the flowers apparently clears out black residues from the lungs. A good respiratory spring tonic then.
James and I spent the day in the garden, just mucking around. As he is not walking yet, he used his push-along car to get around. Later I planted more seeds in the greenhouse, while he did some gravel and water mixing - mostly on his trousers :)
The staging in the greenhouse is starting to look a bit more business like now, with new trays of sown seed creeping in all the time. Today we planted sowed climbing beans into root-trainers and also refilled the propagator with peppers, courgettes and herbs. We are getting there and it feels good!

Tomato Fever

The tomatoes are out of the propagator and sitting nicely in 3 inch pots on the greenhouse staging. Getting to that point is always the trickiest part as far as my gardening skills are concerned, so now I feel fairly confident - well - lets just say a bit less nervous, that we will have tomatoes this year. I read an interesting thing about transplanting seedlings at the weekend - after moving them - spray them with Rescue Remedy! So, I did. There are loads of seedlings - 9 Black from Tula, 9 Sioux, 8 White Tomasol and 8 Roma. I only really planned to bring on 3 of each, but I can never make myself do the 'use the strongest seedling and discard the other' maxim - feels like I am needlessly destroying a potential life. I regret this later on, of course,when I need a machete to cut my way in to the greenhouse, but the wonderful smell of tomato leaves and the thought of those multi-coloured salads will be worth it. Also, my Dad is going to take some off my hands, and I thought about putting some on Freecycle, so really that means I have more space than I thought - back to the catalogues :)

Spring Snow and Summery Dreams

It has snowed here the last two nights and mornings. A typical spring snow which fell heavily with large sticky flakes - hard and slushy, and completely gone by the afternoon. Winter just wants us not to get too excited yet. I am a bit excited though, because my tomato seeds are up and looking quite strong. Everything has germinated except the Ailsa Craig seeds, which is no real surprise about as I found the packet at the back of the garage where it had been for over a year. The Seeds of Distinction Catalogue came in yesterday and I want to grow everything. My annual seed order is largely dictated by dishes I have imagined, or recipes I want to try out. Sometimes even by the serving plates I have - the heirloom tomatoes are being grown just so I can serve a multi-coloured tomato salad in my new white square shaped shallow bowl. So with that in mind I simply must have a green tomato, oh - and I see a purple one too, and I absolutely must add the chocolate coloured pepper to the order. Hmm - that's going to be one big salad!

Back to the soil.

Many thanks for the supportive comments and vitual hugs re my last post. Reading it over I think the garden probably reflected my mood at the time. Now we have been home a few days, slept in our own beds and eaten some decent food, things look a bit brighter. James is slowly using his poor leg more and more, although it will be several weeks before he will be walking again. He is being wheeled about in his buggy, or sitting in his highchair like the King of Siam, ordering us all around - so what else is new! He is just loving his dad at the moment - cries of Da... Da.... Daaaa echo through the house, and I am only required when he is in pain or upset. So, with this advantage I have managed a couple of hours in the garden over the last two days.

Yesterday was a lovely mild day with a definite waft of spring. Everywhere I looked there were signs of growth - rhubarb, chives, new chard, perpetual spinach and best of all - lots of garlic shoots. I began to number them, but like counting stars, I soon lost track. It was so cheering and I felt that cloud finally drift away from over my head. Getting my hands into the soil always chases away the cares. I worked away, clearing the weed pile left over from digging out the last bed into our brown council bin (their compost heap gets hotter than mine!). It felt great to be moving properly again - releasing all that pent up energy from the long winter and the hospital interruption. I couldn't resist picking the spinach for that evening's dinner - and jolly delicious it was too.

Today I had a chance to wash out pots in the greenhouse and sow some seeds - tomatoes steaming up nicely now in their propagator, leeks and parsley on the greenhouse staging. There is something so hopeful and positive about sowing a seed. I was reminded of Harlan Hubbard writing in Payne Hollow about gardening, which really encapsulates what I mean.

"The very beginning is perhaps the best part of a garden.... The sun riding higher in the sky, arouses not only the dormant buds and seeds, but also the dormant hopes of the gardener. The memory of past mistakes and failures has been washed out by winter rain.

This year his garden will be the best ever. "

Hubbard H. (1974)Payne Hollow: Life on the fringe of society Fitzhenry &Whiteside Toronto

Nurturing new growth

Well not quite the new growth I had intended- after all that handwringing a few weeks ago about when to sow the tomatoes, nature sent me an answer. For the last two and a half weeks I have been living at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh with Baby James. My poor wee lamb slipped awkwardly on some water, and fractured his left femur. He had to lie with his leg in traction for 15 days whilst the new bone grew and then had a few days physiotherapy. He was so good and patient during this interruption to our lives and hopefully will be back to normal in a few weeks. I will probably say more about this in the Corridor Living blog once I have gathered my thoughts - it was quite an experience.
We just got home at lunchtime today and I nipped out to take a look at the garden. It is looking very bedraggled. The chard has died back, although it should come back again soon for a spring flourish. The perpetual spinach looks okay, but that it is about it - no sign of garlic shoots yet. Head Gardener has taken this coming week off work, so I may get a chance to pop out now and again to see what I can do. February has almost gone and I haven't even finished January's tasks yet! HG is looking forward to spending his time catching up with BJ after our unexpected 'break', but he'll have a lot of cotton wool to unwrap first.

A Winter Visitor

It's been a few years since he's visited us - and he's grown quite a bit since the last time - new scarf - and his nose is a bit different too! I was glad to see him though - it is Winter after all - it should snow really- and for more than 2 days. Enjoy the season - Spring will soon be here.