As an urban allotmenter, with the dream of one day running my own smallholding, follow my successes, trials and tribulations on the allotment as I strive to become self sufficient. I hope you enjoy.
I said there was something magical going on today...
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...as I collected my potato sacks to head up and lift my potatoes, one stray leftover had turned into a Christmas Bauble!
On the 29th January we got our three hens. We decided on three different breeds - a Splash Orpington, Crested Legbar and a Cemani. They would give us three different coloured eggs (blue, brown and white) and the Cemani is good winter layer (so I am told). Having been beaten by the weather, they spent the first week in the greenhouse while I finished building their house. That was actually quite good thing in the end as they gave the ground in the greenhouse a thorough weed, rake and fertilise ready for sowing. Having got them at 6 weeks of age, they were not yet ready to lay (usually 18-24 weeks old is when they start) but each day we still checked for eggs. I closed off the nest boxes at first so as to not get them into the habit of sleeping in there. This is a really easy habit for the chickens to get into, but a hard one to break. We don't want them soiling the nest boxes and eggs! Knowing that the day was getting close, last week, ...
I got home from work while it was still daylight today so took the opportunity to pop up to the greenhouse for a few minutes. Over half term, I sowed a number of different seeds and today I have seedlings! Both the 'All the year round' cauli and the basil have germinated in the greenhouse. True to it's name, this little beauty does grow all the year round! Nothing else poking through yet, but I remain confident. I pruned my sage back in passing too today. All the clippings in a carrier bag in the freezer so I'll still be able to use it for (mostly) sage and onion stuffing throughout the winter. On my onion bed, it's still a case of man vs. magpie. As quickly as I poke the sets back in, they pull them out. At least I can see that the sets have roots and shoots so it shouldn't be long before they hold their own and the magpies lose interest (fingers crossed). Anyway, the magpies have found a much more lucrative past time...flying into my bird feeders and shaki...
So as my 'To Do' list starts to dwindle as we approach November, I've got to thinking about projects for the winter. As much as I love the general potter around over the winter months, there are a couple of things I'd like to achieve before the hustle and bustle of spring. Project 1 and 2 I've got four currant bushes which are a little close together and really could do with a bit more space. I've got an area earmarked for them, and after a year of not using the old compost bin, I'ts time for it to become my new fruit bed. The old wire bin is going to be cut down to provide support for the path/bank area. The plot is on a slope so the bank is somewhat eroded and I hope the mesh should provide a little more support. I freecycled some roofing tiles to edge the new bed which will make it look quite smart when finshed. Project 3 I've got the bug for topsoil and I think I'm going to try and fill my last raised bed. Well it's not really a raised ...
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