Success

The babies I found under the gooseberry bush appear to be doing well - all are producing leaves and don't look at all dead!

Construction work

Today started out beautifully sunny and then by the time I got to the plot, ended up very dreary - managed to get 2 more small beds and 2 large beds enclosed with wood. Got very wet and muddy. Red wine made it better though!

Errr - It's not a girl!

Louise looking remarkably like a boy Buff Orpington!

It's a girl!

Tracey - compare the differences between her and Louise - or should it be Louis....

Scavenging

I was walking to the office and spotted some large blue barrels at the back of the post office, plucked up the courage and asked if I could have them - am now the proud owner of said barrels. They will make great waterbutts and have saved me £40 which is the cost of new ones.

Sowing

At the plot today I was joined by my daughter who actually dug her bed and put manure on it although there were many complaints about the smell! Spent some time in the greenhouse sowing radishes (in orange tray), spring onions (in the blue crates) and carrotts (in the grey tub).

Also sowed hearting lettuce and beetroot into modules and salad bowl lettuce, mixed spicy leaves and early peas into gutters.

Spuds spuds and more spuds

Just a few potatoes chitting! - eventually got round to picking up my seed potatoes and was rather perterbed to see just how many I ordered - looks like I might have a tad too many!

Shopping

Went to the local garden centre and did what a girl is best at! - SHOPPING - and bought jiffy pellets, seeds: Borlotti bean, lettuce can can, salad bowl and cocarde, American land cress, salad rocket, and flat leaved parsley, I could have spent a fortune but I restrained myself - Just!

Comfrey

Comfrey starting to poke it's leaves throught the soil at last

Arial view

This an arial view of my allotments - hopefully will be swapping plot 44 for 47. Normally the playing fields are empty but the rows and rows of cars you can see are parked there as it is the Cambridge Folk Festival - This Photo must have been taken in July 2004.

Expanding the empire

Today there was a bitter wind but the sun was shining again - I went to the plot aiming to plant onion sets and carrotts - only I had to dig the bed first. Hard work it was too. Discussed what I was going to do today woth one of the chaps whose plot is near mine - when I said I was going to sow carrots his eyebrows went rapidly heavenward - hastily I added that I would be putting some fleece over them - I then had to find the blooming stuff, cut it to the right size and try to anchour it, when all it wanted to do was go sailing towards Gt Shelford...

This is the next door plot (photo taken last summer) and I heard that the guys who have it might give it up - they got theirs just before I got my plot. I now have first refusal on it which is great as it will not take too much work to knock it into shape - here's hoping!

Tracey again

Tracey looking marginally less down trodden, inside the run - safe from the terrible trio!

Tracey is the tamest and I think the cleverest - she knows exactly what the scoop looks like that I bring out the grain in. I put it on top of the run and she was trying to knock it off with her beak - the others did not have a clue until I scattered the grain in the floor. Tracey also doesn't run away when you try to pick her up as do the terrible trio!

Louise

Louise - Tracey Beaker's best friend!!

Hen House mark2

Hen House mark2

Tracey Beaker

Tracey Beaker - who wouldn't pose for the camera!

Fully Glazed!

The greenhouse - full glazed. Very toasty it was in there - particularly good when having a well deserved sit down and cup of coffee! - I might actually grow some plants in it eventually!

Gooseberry bushes

Look what I found under the gooseberry bushes...........more gooseberry bushes!!

The bottom end of the plot - The two gooseberry bushes at the back were completely covered in brambles - so they were liberated and pruned - as were the gooseberry and black currant bush in the front left. The other four bushes were off shoots that had rooted themselves from the main bushes which I dug up and replanted. I then mulched the lot with horse manure. It started snowing whilst I was lobbing about horse muck - but I did not weaken - I went for a coffee break!

Blooming birds

A cold but sunny day today. Managed to get to the plot by lunchtime, Unloaded the horse manure, compost, liquid feed and bits of gutter from the car (the car stank). As time goes on I think my plot is getting more and more like Steptoe and Son's yard (minus the horse - but I do have it's poo!)
Had to cover the spring cabbage - the birds have been at the brassicas!

Terrible Trio

The 'Terrible Trio' Pepper, Florentine and Edwina

Edwina

Edwina is the bravest chicken and the nosiest, She is always the first to explore a new area, although she is at the bottom of the pecking order of the 'terrible trio'

Pepper

Pepper is very definitely first in the pecking order - She had been laying some eggs but now she is having a rest!

Florentine

Presenting.......Florentine - who is second in the pecking order, although she did most of the bullying of Tracey Beaker - must be the red hair!

OOPS

I went out for a meal with the guys from work to celebrate my birthday and forgot to tell anyone to bring my seedlings in that I am hardening off - My artichoke seedlings are now looking very sorry for themselves - managed to salvage about half of them. Thankfully the other seedlings seem to be doing ok though.

All is well

Tracey Beaker and Louise appear to be friends - Hooray!

All the chickens have been moved to the area at the end of our garden which I have fenced off. There is a reasonable sized run as well as a slide, a swing and a climbing frame for them to play on! I am letting them out on alternate days ie Tracey and Louise on one day and the terrible trio on the next - They all seem to be ok with this arrangement. - Except that since I moved them the eggs have dried up - not sure if this is a delayed reaction to coming to live with us. I think I will give it a little while - then start worrying.

Louise

Picked up Louise, who according to the Oracle (my daughter who knows all things TV) is apparently Tracey Beaker's best friend - I hope so otherwise all my cunning plans will have gone pear shaped and I will have to make hen house mark 3 and move to a farm or something....

I got some lovely flowers from my friends for my birthday - Beautiful aren't they?

Thankyou everyone!!










P.S also picked up 8 bags of horse manure!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Good news - another Buff Orpington has been found at the same place we got the others from so at last Tracey Beaker will have a friend. I am going to pick her up on friday evening. When I was picking the others up I noticed that there were bags of horse manure for sale so I might pick some of that up too!

It is also my 40th birthday today - I am now apparently officially old - NOT

Hen house mark 2

Have built another hen house so that tracey beaker and her future pal have somewhere of their own to sleep - and lay eggs I hope! Not quite up to the same standard as mark 1, but I am sure they will not complaing especialy as they will be away from the terrible trio.

Name that chicken

Yes the chickens now have names - The Buff Orpington is now Tracey Beaker - duly named by my daughter who is a great fan of the aforementioned TV icon (good name isn't it!). The Light Sussex is now 'Edwina' - no prizes for guessing why, the Rhode Island Red is now 'Florentine' (oeufs florentine - yummy!) and the Speckledy is now 'Pepper'

Chicken saga

Finally we picked up our hens and this is a run down of the past couple of weeks:

16th Feb - Hooray after alot of to-ing anf fro-ing I finally managed to pick up the three pure breed pullets that we had ordered (only 4 weeks after we should have picked them up!) We have got a Rhode Island Red, a Buff Orpington and a Light Sussex. I got them safely home and ensconsed into their house with some food and that was it until......

17th Feb - Opened the hatch for the chickens to come out and have a look - no sign of any chickens all day - diddley squat...not even a beak out of the pop hole...zilch - Then had the most amazing brainwave of getting a Hybrid hen because they tend to lay more than pure breeds - into the wilds of Norfolk I went and came home with a Speckledy hen. She was then also deposited into the house.....

18th Feb - Opened the pop hole this morning and waited....and waited....and at last the Light sussex poked her head out of the hole - I had put their food in the run and had put some grain on the ladder into the house to coax them down...eventually the light sussex came down into the run, then the speckledy hen, then the Rhode Island Red, then finally after what seemed like ages the Orpington came out.

The trouble was that the speckledy, rhode island and light sussex were all having a go at the Buff orpington, she ended up looking very sorry for her self cowering underneath the ladder.

19th Feb - The three naughty chickens were still having a go at the orpington so I have made a run extension to give them some more space - I have separated the orpington during the day and put her into the main house to roost. I am now searching for another orpington so that they can be kept separate from the others.

When I have sorted things out and have the time in the day light I will take some photos. We have had some egs though from the speckledy hen. I had the first one in a courgette souffle ala Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - very nice it was too!

More digging

Went to plot and managed to do quess what? - more digging. I also planted some broad beans into the bed where the others had got frosted, so I am hoping that these will get on a little better. I have also sown into modules some globe artichokes (purple and green), some brussels sprouts and some broad beans into newspaper pots, all of which are on my windowsill getting some rays. Again I totally forgot to take the camera, but I will definitely take it next time

Aching all over

I have very aching bones. Went to plot and nearly finished digging one of the beds for the peas and beans - did I say I ached? I also put more glass in the big greenhouse and moved the small greenhouse out of the way. I just need to order some odds and ends of glass to fill in the gaps and one of the greenhouses will be functional. Hooray!!

Everything is growing nicely apart from the broad beans that I started off in the house - There are only 4 left as all the others got mashed by the frost. I think I will just sow some more straight into the bed over the next couple of weeks. Hopefully these will do a bit better.

I still have a list that goes on forever of things I need to do, and I keep adding things to it which is depressing. At least the days are getting longer which makes me happy. Didn't take any photos today as I forgot the camera but I will next week. See ya!!!

Nest boxes

And a view of the nest boxes through the egg getting flap!
Hopefully lots of eggs.

Inside story 2

A view of the nest boxes from the inside

Inside story

This is the inside, with the perches (which are removable) and the pop hole.

The new des res

Buckingham hen palace - or is it Gin palace?
The Hen house is finished!
At last the hens have a lovely new residence ready for them when they get picked up at the weekend.

Half way Hen House

The framework of the hen house is complete. I have made it so that the nest boxes are removable and the whole thing will be easily sweep outable. I am going to clad it with tongue & groove shiplap, with some doors in it for collecting eggs, and for cleaning the house out.

Chicken plotting

Had a good day today - went to the plot. The sun was shining and it was lovely and warm - just a little nip in the wind to keep you on your toes - just the thing to put you in a great mood. I planted some of the broad beans that I started off in the house, added some more glass to the greenhouse, and weeded round the leeks and cabbages. Chatted with the plot neighbours and took some photos for the blog. After lunch the children and I went to look at hens - The children had a great time looking at the chickens, goats, ducks, geese, pigs, calves dogs etc... at www.poultryinmotion.org.uk/ all the animals are free range and they are running round the place completely un fenced and not wanting to escape.

We came away with a dozen free range eggs and made an order for a Rhode Island Red, a Buff Orpington and a Light Sussex, for collection sometime in the next 2 weeks. I had better get on with building the hen house!!!

Hen House Plans

Light Sussex