The Veggie Patch in June

I've been asked a couple of times for photos of the Veggie Patch, so here goes.

This is the view from the bench and by the time you've carried a few watering cans up the hill as I have been doing this morning you need the bench.

I don't always water with the watering can, but I have our 6X feed in the trough in the polytunnel and I'm gradually working my way round the outside beds feeding the soil with this lovely nutritious drink and then covering with mulch to keep in the moisture.  We've not had any rain for almost two weeks now and with lots of young crops on the parched hillside I'm just doing my best to keep them alive.

The 'pop bottle' crop is Sweetcorn, after I took the photos this bed was watered and mulched, I think I will risk taking the pop bottles off later on today, they are simply used as mini cloches to keep the plants a bit cosier at night after first coming out of the heat of the polytunnel if I've not hardened them off.  In front of  the Sweetcorn in the same bed are some Pumpkin plants, and then in the bed further down with the bean support I have planted Runner Beans and Butternut squash.

Planting tall or climbing plants, for example beans, sweetcorn or peas with a sprawling plant such as Courgette or Pumpkin means that the sprawling plant covers the soil keeping in moisture and anchoring the tall plants.  This is part of the 'Three Sisters' method of planting that I first wrote about HERE.

Two more Pumpkin plants are in the next bed and there is some space over for more Butternut Squash which I am just hardening off ready for planting out.  The bed to the left has got First Early Potatoes, the ones I got from the Pound Shop.  They are lovely healthy plants but still quiet small.  I need to feed this soil a lot more I think and carry on with the mulching.  The end bed is still covered over with membrane, it was going to be more Sweetcorn but my other batch of plants didn't appear .... dodgy seeds I think.

The view looking up the hill at the same part of the Veggie Patch, which shows the two beds of Second Early Potatoes lower down the hill than the Bean bed.

Looking up the hill through the net tunnel frame.

The centre beds have Courgettes under the net cloches, then it's the Garlic bed and behind that an as yet unsed bed covered in membrane to keep the weeds out.

The right hand beds have Red Onions, White Onions and Shallots.  This picture was taken before I watered and mulched and you can see how parched the soil is.  The bed with the bean support has Runner Bean seeds in, but I don't think they are going to come to anything so I will add some more seeds up there while there is still time.

In the centre of the Veggie Patch is Dad's Bed, a two metre square patch of flowering plants to attract the bees and pollinating insects.  Another day or so and the Poppy plant in there will be in full bloom the buds are on the verge of exploding open.  The tree is magnificent this year, lush, green and very healthy and the bird bath is very necessary for visiting birds and bees.

As you can see most of the crops that I have planted in the outside beds are the sort that rabbits and other creatures would not find too appetising, and my plan seems to be working.  Having planted the garlic and onions first seems to have set a precedent and they have obviously decided that this is all that's available on this part of the hill, so they have stayed away .... up to now!!

Soon there will be the net tunnel for the more 'rabbit tempting crops', salads, lettuce, cabbage cauliflowers etc, but for now all I can do is bide my time and wait for it to be finished, we have so much going on it's slipped down the order of importance :-(

I'll be back out in the Veggie Patch later to do some more watering and mulching, but for now it's too hot out there and even hotter in the polytunnel,  hence I can have a quiet hour with a coffee or two on the computer while the washing machine does it's thing downstairs.

Sue xx

Family Weekend

We've just had a brilliant weekend.  

Jobs done, things accomplished, time spent with Lovely Hubby's sister Alison, drinking far too much wine and eating more nibbles than we ever normally do.  We caught up with family news, and to round it all off we had a lovely day out yesterday.

The forecast was a chance of rain, but the clouds passed over quickly and we enjoyed a day of lovely warming sunshine.  Driving to Anglesey, just forty minutes away after a mooch around the Farmers Market and a couple of purchases we had a coffee at the cafe opposite, sitting in the sunshine watching the shoppers and the owl display, then we had a stroll around Beaumaris Castle.

We we warned on the way in that there were lots of nests and baby birds, and to be very aware of their protective parents, but we got pretty close to this Mum and her babies on top of the castle.  She kept her eyes on us but was happy for us to watch her lovely chicks.

In fact this was  the first time I had ever seen such young seagulls, with their downy, spotty heads, they were gorgeous.  There are two in this photo, can you spot them ... they are very well camouflaged.

And then on the way out we came across this Swan family.  Mum, Dad and six lovely fluffy babies.

The view from the top of the castle is amazing, and after filling our lungs with fresh sea air, we strolled to the harbour and had lunch on the patio of one of the hotels there.  We watched the world go by and ate some pretty good food, what more can you ask ..... oh yes, a quick drive home and some more wine and nibbles  ;-)

So now the weekend is over and it's back to work, but it was very nice while it lasted.

Sue xx

On the Hill

On the hill overlooking the Veggie Patch Lovely Hubby has made a space for our little old bench, it needs some renovation but we love it and it will do for now.

It only took Lovely Hubby a few hours of hard graft to dig out a level bit lay some slabs, and he's very particular about laying them on a firm bed of sand, he's nothing if not a perfectionist !!

Rosy helped by checking up on Dad every now and then, but then the rabbits on the hillside attracted her attention and she vanished.

It was well worth the time spent , look at the view we have when we sit down now with a cup of coffee in between weeding and planting.

Back near the house, the foundations have been dug for the workshop and garage and since this picture was taken  the concrete arrived and was poured into the holes and trenches.

A panoramic shot of our view from the bench.

It's all looking good.

Sue xx

Rosy and the Chicks

Whereas until recently Rosy would dash over into Chicken World every morning with me just to get into the shed, to stand staring at the gap in the floorboards, looking for the rat we know is living under there,  now she dashes over and waits expectantly at the little Broody House.

It seems she wants to say good morning to the chicks .... every day!!

Mother Goose is none too keen on this giant furry creature licking her chicks but she gives Rosy a minute or two before shouting at her little charges to stop this ridiculousness and come and eat their breakfast.

Other non-family little creatures do not get the same welcome.  This picture, one I took to show progress on the road at the side of the polytunnel also shows Rosy guarding her latest little al fresco meal.  A rabbit caught by Ginger the cat and finished off by Rosy, which made the second course of her breakfast this morning.

So if you don't want Rosy to eat you and you are smaller than her ..... you just have to be family.

Sue xx

Polytunnel Progress - June

Working every day in the polytunnel I don't really notice the difference, well not always, last week after a hot day the day before and giving everything a good drenching with the hosepipe in the evening I stepped in next morning and was startled by a six inch growth on the potato plants, they had literally shot up over night and flowers had appeared that most definitely were not there the day before.

This was how it looked at the start of last month, I'm glad I started taking comparison photos after seeing this difference.

On the left hand side -

potatoes (comparison)

peas (c)

carrots

tomatoes

rocket

fennel

beetroot

sweet potato

nasturtium

 .... and an experimental Ginger in the plant pot on the floor at the end.

... and dotted here and there amongst them all lots of french marigolds

In the middle -

salad leaves

shallots (c)

single garlic (c)

spring onions

iceberg lettuce

cucumber

spinach

show carrots in breadbin

butternut squash

courgettes (c)

In the pots there are the rooted herbs from the kitchen windowsill -

basil

rosemary

sage

In the hanging baskets -

strawberries

tomatoes (c)

french marigolds

Oops ..... I forgot to get a photo of the bed under the workbench.

But underneath are -

spinach

leeks

radishes 

celery

and more french marigolds.

On top of the work bench are lots of seedlings waiting to be planted or potted on, including -

tomatoes

herbs

cabbage

cauliflower

runner beans

cape gooseberries

peppers

comfrey

aubergine

cape gooseberries

 lavenders, antirrhinum and salvia plug plants 

 ...... and no doubt a few others that I have forgotten about.

Anyone still awake ??

This fennel is amazing, I love the delicate foliage of fennel and would grow it even if I didn't eat the bulbs :-)

We are on the second crop of radishes, still tasty but I need to get a third planting in, something I forgot to do, I'm not perfect at this successional planting yet ... is anyone!!

I planted a very old packet of carrot seeds into this bread bin, which was filled with a nice light compost, I didn't think they would all germinate but most of them did, so I have just thinned them out.  My aim is to try and get some nice straight show carrots, not long, long ones, just as perfect looking as possible.  We'll have to see if it works. As they grow I will thin them out a bit more, giving us some hopefully tasty young carrots to eat and leaving the healthiest looking ones behind to grow on.

There you are then, June's guided tour of the polytunnel, I need to get out on the hillside and photograph the veggie beds they are nearly all planted up now and looking very neat.  We need a good downpour to water everything, overnight would be fine if someone could arrange it for me please, these lovely sunny days are wonderful.

How's your garden looking?

Sue xx

What am I ? - Edited - Solved

I bought this little chap at the weekend from the Warborough car boot sale.

Lovely Hubby was in a 'buying rusty tools because they might come in useful' mood and browsed the stalls getting some real bargains (yes, I have to admit it he did well), I bought a set of three books and then spyed this little chap.  Made of wood he is about 4" high, but I don't know what he is, but at just 30p I thought he could come home with me .... I like wooden things.

At first glance I thought he was a squirrel, but that notion was quickly dispelled, his tail is wrong, second guess was beaver, but no wrong tail again.

His tail is just a little stumpy furry thing curled behind him.  I wondered if he was a skinny, mini groundhog.  But  I don't know.

Do you know?

The little owl on the kitchen shelf next to him, just looks sad and puzzled .... but then he always does!!

Edited to add -

He's one of these .... a Prairie Dog.

Thank you to 'Anonymous'.

(Picture from Google Images.)

Sue xx

Nibbling, time flying and scratching in the earth .....

The polytunnel fared pretty well with me being away for the weekend.  By watering heavily before I left and moving all the pots into trays without drainage holes I seemed to have managed to keep everything alive.

I was over there for a couple of hours yesterday evening, tending, weeding, watering and generally checking that everything had survived without me, while I was there I ate the four luscious strawberries that beckoned to me from the hanging basket and rather than eat a full blown meal in nibbly form I decided to pick a selection of things for tea.

The choice is still limited at the moment of course, but what is there is so delicious I really could just eat this everyday, after all eating what's available with the seasons is what growing your own is all about.

My trusty salad spinner is back in action on the work top.

I've just checked to see when I got this as I remembered looking at the photograph that it was a product I was asked to review ... it turns out it was in August 2010  (see HERE) ... wow ... where has the time gone!!

Oh and all three items are still going strong :-)

Once rinsed, washed and spun I picked out the things I wanted for tea, radish, mixed leaves, pea shoots and spring onion thinnings, and wow are those getting a powerful onion taste to them.

Then I put the excess leaves on kitchen paper in a stayfresh bag.  An poly ordinary bag works almost as well, but I still have some of these.  I wash them after each use and leave to dry and then they get used over and over.  The same three are possibly almost as old as the salad spinner come to think of it.  (They were from Lakeland.)

With a peg to keep out the air the leaves will stay fresh for a week or more, but I somehow doubt they will last that long, with a few more radishes and pea shoots from the polytunnel they will most likely disappear into tonight's tea.

Last nights simple meal, with a dollop of my favourite mayonnaise.

Mother Goose and her babies.

She was teaching them to scratch in the grass to find food, fascinating to watch, just four days old and they are already getting the hang of feeding themselves ... just like Mummy does.  

Oh and that's not Mother Goose making all the noise in the video clip, it was Poppy, the Lavender Pekin telling me to come over for a selfie .... only I don't think she's quite got the hang of it yet!!

Sue xx