Cheeky Sparrows

A quick weekend break away saw us in North Wales where a whole host of sparrows were outside our window feasting on the bird seed we put out. Managed to capture this one with the camera in between him diving down for the food!

December Snow

HenSafe Automatic Chicken Coop Opener. Robust, Rugged, Reliable.

Brrr....snow on the ground. If you need something reliable to open your chicken coop each morning, and to shut it at night, then HenSafe is your answer. This morning we woke up to freezing weather and lots of the white stuff but, as ever, we trusted our HenSafe to let our hens out - although, to be fair, they weren't that keen until we had cleared them a snow-free patch! 
To find out more about HenSafe, visit the website: www.HenSafe.net
or our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HenSafe/

Learnings:

• Choose HenSafe. Robust, Rugged, Reliable.

Plotting and Planning

The festive season is over and the beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to look forward to Spring and the growing season. I love to look through the seed catalogues which plop through the letterbox and decide what new and exciting crops to try on the veg plot. To be fair, it’s usually just a different cultivar of something I’ve grown before – but it’s still new! This year I’ve decided to go multi-coloured with Radish “Rainbow Mixed” and Carrot F1 “Rainbow”. I will sow the radish next month in the polytunnel once it’s warmed up a bit. Carrots will go outside at the end of March.

Rainbow Veg!

Planning the vegetable plot rotation is another essential winter job. It helps provide the best nutrients for your crops, avoids build-up of pests and diseases in the soil and can help with weed control. Typical problems that you may have if you don’t rotate are club root on your brassicas and white rot on your onions. Not nice!

There are heaps of plans available online, depending what you want to grow and how many beds you have, but I find this video from Monty Don at BBC Gardeners World a very helpful reminder:

http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/basics/how-to-practise-crop-rotation/94.html

Learnings:

*Remember your plot rotations to avoid a build-up pests and diseases.

*It’s always best to decide what you want to eat before you plan what to sow!

*Try something new and brighten up your plate

Winter Lettuce, Oriental Leaves and Lambs

Taking some time outside just to have a look at what’s going on out there on the plot. Lambs are growing well. Is it my imagination or does Brownie always look up when I lean on the gate? 

Meantime in the polytunnel it’s lovely to see new crops growing and the bright green of these Cos lettuces have perked up an overcast morning. These were sown at the end of September but it’s not too late to sow winter leaves in the polytunnel or the greenhouse – seeds can be sown under cover at least a month after the last sowing date on the packet. Look for the packets that say "ready in 3-4 weeks" and try some mixed oriental leaves available from most of seed suppliers. These generally include Mustard, Mizuna and Rocket and have a lovely peppery taste. Don’t cut the whole plant but pick the leaves individually from January onwards (they take around 3-4 weeks) and you might get 2 or 3 pickings from each. Combine them with Cos or Little Gem lettuce leaves and eat with cheeses and pickles for lunch or wilt them down in a little butter as a hot veg with boiled spuds. Delicious!

Learnings & Tips:

*Don’t forget to sow winter crops in late Autumn in the Polytunnel: Salad leaves, oriental hot leaves, spring onions amongst others

*Polytunnel sowings can be done 4-6 weeks after the last sowing date on the packet at the end of the season, and 4-6 weeks earlier than the first sowing date at the beginning of the season.