the accidental smallholder :: diary archives

Cabbages and cauliflower

As you will know, I have taken a (comparatively) more active role in the vegetable gardening this year because Dan has had less time than previously. I got terribly tense about the brassicas - not really sure why, except that the plants I grew from seed looked pretty pathetic.

I had a plan involving mini cauliflower, cabbage and three varieties of sprouting broccoli. I managed to mix up the cabbage and cauliflower seedlings - I've planted them out but won't know which is which until the heads form (if they do). I also started the broccoli in trays in the greenhouse. I don't knwo if I used the wrong compost or what but they were just embarrasingly pathetic. In the end, they went in the compost and I sowed the seeds direct. I've now got several rows of healthy looking plants, but I don't know if I sowed too late to get anything useful from them. I'll just have to be patient (not my strong point) and wait and see.

Part of the bed went unused this year - for the reasons above. It did grow a great crop of weed though. Today, I pulled them out - very therapeutic. The soil was lovely - black, friable and full of worms. I think we'll sow some green manures this year - Dan's perusing the choice just now. He's also looking for something to sow in the pigs pens when they become vacant. The grazing rye was OK but there are lots of options. We've got a bit of ground to reseed so we're going to use a grass / herbal mix developed for goats - but I'm sure the sheep (and the rabbits!) will love it!

Pickling and stuff

It's piddling rain here today. The hills have disappeared in a shroud of cloud. On the bright side. it's not cold and it's given me an opportunity to try out the Driza-bone coat that I bought in Australia! Dan and I took the dogs for a long walk this morning and then had a couple of hours in the garden - well, we were wet anyway. Dan was clearing a stoney part of the field so we can level it with topsoil and reseed it. I lifted the rest of the beetroot and weeded the brassica bed.

We've had the best crop of beetroot ever. We sowed two varieties - Boltardy and Forono. Forono is a cylindrical beet which I think is really good for pickling. In fact, I'm pickling both today. The pigs get the leaves, which they love. I've just taken the beetroot out of the oven; once it's cool enought to handle I'll remove the skins, slice and jar then prepare the vinegar, pour over and seal. Easy peasy.

I've also pickled some pears today. They're nice with cold meats and cheese. I bought pears for this - the four on our tree are for eating, if we get them before the wasps and other pear predators. In the past, I've used the recipe in Delia's Christmas book but this time (shock, horror) I'm using one from an old copy of "Country Living" magazine. They should be kept for a month before eating, so I'll have to wait to see how they do.

Just the shallots to go now! Oh, and the chutney...

Ragwort, thistles and other nasties

I've spent a happy hour in the garden / field digging up ragwort. I took the opportunity to also dig up the thistles that are flowering - I hope that this will help stop the spread. I don't have time to pull them all today, but I'll make a point of checking regularly and disposing of those coming into flower. I'm just going back out to pull the ragwort from the horses' field.

We don't have much - I pulled a lot last year, so I think that has helped. With the sheep coming, we will have to manage our limited grazing as best we can, so removing thistles and other weeds will be a start.

However, ragwort control doesn't seem to be on evertyone's mind. We've just come back from Alnwick, in north Northumberland. Now, I'm not saying that it's worse there than anywhere else - far from it, but the amount of ragwort was just staggering. In some areas, it looked like it was being grown as a crop. Even land that was clearly horse grazing was thick with it. Apart from anything else, like animal welfare or moral duty, it is illegal to have ragwort on your land.

Horse owners, in particular, seem to practice the very slackest of grass management. Some horse pasture is nothing short of dangerous, with unsuitable fencing, discarded rubbish and weed infestation. I do know from my University days that managing grassland is not easy - even farmers find it challenging to make best use of grass. Claire took me to see the horse she helps with. He's in a small livery yard near Falkirk. The grazing was just a disgrace - overgrazed, wet, full of docks (and I mean full). From a purely aesthetic point of view, I would hate to live near it.

Now, I'm not saying that Smokey's field is an example. I've not picked poo for weeks, but I'll try and get started again this week. There's also a healthy crop of thistles - although the horses do like the flowers, and munch them. The corners of the field are worst, where the horses don't have access. Those bits need a good strim and probably sprayed.

Anyway, rant over. Now I'm off to finish ragwort pulling.

Calling smallholders in central Scotland

Are there any smallholders or aspiring smallholders in Forth Valley / West Fife who would be inetersted in setting up / joining a smallholders group? I don't think there is anything similar in this area, although there is a group in Ayrshire, going under Scottish Smallholders.

I thought if there was interest, we could get a group together with a view to having social gatherings, maybe invite speakers / demos, support and advise each other, maybe swap / share seeds and seedlings, take a stall at a Farmers' Market to sell surpluses, have a machinery / equipment pool (as you see the ideas get more complicated).

Diane Allerdice from Forth Valley Food Links is going to put a note out to FVFL members / subscribers, to assess interest. If you are interested, can you email me and let me kow, including where you are and if there is sufficint interest, I'll organise a meeting somewhere central.

Three sisters' bed

The three sisters' bed is growing well. The runner beans are cropping well, much to Dan's Mum's delight. The sweetcorn is growing but I think some of it may be too shaded by the beans to ripen, even if cobs form. The marrow, courgette, squash and pumpkin are all growing, but I think it's almost impossible to fail with these plants.

It also seems to be Cassius's preferred spot for hiding rabbit remains. Both dogs were going mad to get in there today - Meg was nearly strangled by the beans - then Tess appreared with a scraggy bit of rabbit skin (Cass doesn't leave much) and shot off down the field with Meg in hot pursuit.

However, apart from hiding grisly remains, it does look very nice, too.

Onions, garlic and shallots

It's been a lovely day here today, as was yesterday, so I've lifted all the garlic, onions and shallots and put them to dry in the sun. This involves quite a lot of our garden furniture so if you're coming to visit, bring your own chair! Of course, I had the hens helping me to clear the bed, so I wasn't lonely.

A significant number of the onions show white rot, so these have been discarded for burning. However, there's still a reasonable crop. My vegetable book says not to grow onions on that land for eight years, so I'll need to think about that. The shallots and the garlic don't seem to be affected, fortunately.

The shallots have done well - so Dan can get pickling this weekend. Peeling the shallots is mind-bending; given the reduced number of onions, I might keep some shallots unpickled. We planted four varieties of garlic and the yields look pretty good - the elephant garlic has lived up to its name.

The bed that the onions etc were in this year will have peas, beans and carrots next year, so I'll have to decide what to do with the bed now. I don't know whether to sow a green manure or mulch it with horse poo or compost. Decisions, decisions. I'll see what Dr Hessayon says!

Our five compost bins are full. They really need to be emptied and turned and the useable stuff put to use. I cleaned out the hens this morning and was carefully dividing the hemp between bins, wherever there was a wee bit space. A(nother) job for Dan, I think.

New arrivals

We are expecting three new arrivals at Longcarse in the next few weeks. We've bought three coloured Ryeland ewe lambs. This is the fulfillment of a long held ambition for me - a flock, albeit small, of pedigree sheep!

I've been a non-flock owning member of the Ryeland Flock Book Society for a couple of years - now I get to upgrade! Hopefully, someone from the Society will get back to me sooner rather than later and tell me how to register our new flock.

It all worked in rather well (apart from the FMD). I was intending to go to Lanark next week to the Rare Breeds sale and had sent off for a catalogue. However, I have to attend a meeting at work on the same day, so I was trying to work out how I could be in two places at the same time.

A friend of mine, who lives locally, has a small flock of Ryelands but she's been retaining her ewe lambs to increase her flock size. Dan suggested I give her a call on the offchance that she was selling this year. And she was! She had five ewe lambs for sale - two were going to Lanark and the best three were going to Carlisle in September. So we've bought the three bound for Carlisle.

I now have to think of names. When you register a Ryeland ram, you have to give it a name starting with a different letter each year (ewes just get a number!). The letter for 2007 is J, so in that spirit, I think the three girls should have names beginning with J. As you can guess, since they are getting names, we're not planning to eat them. We will eat their babies though...

I'll put up some photos when they arrive here - one is a lovely chocolate brown; the other two are lighter, more "latte" than "espresso".

The fruit garden

The fruit garden is now finished for the year. I picked the last of the white currants yesterday and froze them. They look like pearls (or fish eggs, depending on how romantic you're feeling). They're good in summer pudding but I haven't found any other use for them.

We've had good crops this year, especially gooseberries. Dan cut back the raspberry canes last weekend and I tied them in. This is one of my favourite jobs because it makes it nice and tidy! We've mulched the bed with comfrey, of which we have LOADS (both barrels are full). The goosegogs, currants and strawberries will be pruned later on.

I made strawberry jam yesterday - with bought strawberries, I confess. The last lot I made was such a firm set it was like strawberry toffee. THis lot has a nice set but is a bit scummy and the fruit has come to the top. Tastes OK but not "show quality" so if anyone has tips for eliminating scum and floating fruit, I'd be glad to hear them - before 9th September, which is "show day"!

We're back!

This will be our first post for a long time. During our time away, we've been to Australia, which was amazing. However, July is NOT a good time to be away from te garden. On our return, we were sure a family of pygmies were living in the lawn - the grass was certianly long enough to conceal them!

The cats seemed to have missed us most - especially Cassius, just proving that he's just a big softy.Tess also seems glad to have us back - at least, I take that she hasn't tried to bite me this week as a sign that she missed us!

All the animals thrived while we were away. The pigs, especially, have grown a lot.

Now we're back, I'll start getting up to date - but I also have a "To Do" list as long as my arm, so blogging will have to be restricted to the hours of darkness or wet days.