Anything goes
Lazy (?) Sunday afternoon
Sunday 28 October, 2007
The weather this weekend has been sonewhat variable. Last night we had a lot of rain and it was very windy. During the morning, it brightened up and the sun got out for a while but by 4pm, it was dark, raining and windy. So time to light the fire and get out the seed catalogues.
I now have my orders prepared and tomorrow, in the cold light of Monday, I'll go through them and delete half the potato and tomato varieties and some of the more fanciful species. I'm going to have 5 tubers of Mayan Gold and I'm going to grow them in pots, so I know they're safe. At £2.49 for 5 tubers, I might put them by my bed!
Forth Valley and West Fife Smallholders Association - Inaugural Meeting
Friday 26 October, 2007
The inaugural meeting of the Forth Valley and West Fife Smallholders Association will take place on Thursday 29th November in the Theatre Bar, Alloa Town Hall at 7pm.
Diane Alderdice from Forth Valley Food Links will be the guest speaker.
Light refreshments will be available.
It would be helpful for catering purposes if you would let me know if you are attending and the names of those attedning in your party, so that I can do name badges.
Look forward to meeting you all on the 29th!
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Managing grass
Sunday 21 October, 2007
This is such a vexed issue - managing grass is rather difficult, I think. If you have the right amount in the summer, you don't have enough in the winter; if you have enough in winter, you've far too much in summer ( especially if you have no easy way on conserving it).
Yesterday, we split the horses' field in two. They are all being wormed this weekend and I'm clearing the half they aren't on - picking poo and cutting thistles (well, Dan's cutting thistles). Once the wormer has worked (48 hours or so), they're going on to the clean field and I'll try and keep it clean. Chris is then going to harrow the top half - not ideal at this time of year, I know - cut the thistles and we'll rest it for as long as we can.
Wanted - restauranteurs
Thursday 11 October, 2007
Come on you down-shifters! Fancy a wee restaurant in an up and coming location? Alloa needs you - and we'll try and supply all your runner bean needs!
Alloa, the county town of Clackmannanshire, is a town on the up. To be fair, it was starting from a fairly low base, but it's going in the right direction. So if you want to get your foot in the door, there is a restaurant premises for lease in the town.
Alloa is basically a fine Victorian town that had fallen on hard times due to the demise of its traditional industries - coal, textiles, brewing, distilling, shipbuilding - you name it. But it, and all Clackmannanshire, is experiencing something of a resurgence. The railway is due to open early 2008, so Glasgow will be 50 minutes away by train. The new Upper Forth Crossing (called the Clackmannanshire Bridge, we hope) opens next year too, improving connections to the motorway netweok - yet here we are, with the Ochil Hills to the north and the River Forth to the south, a patchwork of small towns in the countryside, relatively unknown.
Winter is coming!
Tuesday 9 October, 2007
Winter is coming - I've put the curtains up! I'm on holiday this week (half term) and it's pouring rain today so I won't be in the garden and the empty chicken arks are too wet to paint, so I'm busying myself indoors.
I always take the living room and hall curtains down at Easter - since we have no neighbours, it's nice to have the windows bare and let the light in. But at the October holiday, they go back up. In fat, Dan's Mum and Dad had put up the living room ones at the weekend, so I only had the hall ones to do today. So tonight, it will be all snug, especially if I light the fire. I lit it last night for the first time this autumn and had to fight my way past Cassius and the dogs to get anywhere close. In fact, Cass is curled up on the footstool in front of the hearth NOW (noon) just in case he misses it.
First frost
Tuesday 18 September, 2007
We experienced our first frost of the winter this morning. My goodness, it was cold. We've had a reasonably good spell of weather for the last three weeks or so, but it was cold yesterday and colder today. By 7.30am, the clear skies had clouder over and it was cold, windy and damp. Looks like summer is over for thsi year.
Mind you, I think this is my favourite time of year, if the weather isn't too awful. It's time to tidy the garden, admire the trees, light the fire and start planning next year's crop. And there's Christmas to look forward to, as well, with pies and cake and pudding to make and eat!
Stressbusters
Thursday 6 September, 2007
I would like to recommend two stressbusters to you all.
The first is chamomile tea. Now, I've been a bit sceptical about the claims made for herbal teas and so on, but I will have to revise my opinion. I'm trying to lose a bit of weight so I'm drinking herbal tea, which I can make in my office, instead of "real" tea that I have to go to the canteen for (I have no fridge so milk in the office is yogurt before you know it). If I go to the canteen, I succumb to scones and stuff - like a roll and black pudding with brown sauce... Yesterday, Dan rang me at work and enquired as to how I was. "I'm sooo tired" I said, "which is odd because I had a really good sleep last night." Somehow, the conversation got to the fact that I was drinking chamomile tea. "How much have you had?" asked Dan. "About three cups," I replied. Dan then told me to bring the chamomile home and take peppermint to work, and keep the chamomile for bedtime. I felt much better today! So, chamomile tea to get you so stress free that you are asleep with your head on the desk!
Wanda's parcel 2
Monday 3 September, 2007
For those of you who might have been losing sleep over the fate of Wanda's parcel, with Marmite, IrnBru, the Alloa Advertiser and Wee County News, you will be able to rest tonight knowing that the parcel has arrived safely.
When Wanda has finished doing a "wall of death" around the room ( a common result of indulging in too much IrnBru (made in Scotland from girders and probably the source of some of the best advertising campaigns ever seen)), I'm sure she will give us some feedback on Marmite!!
Ragwort, thistles and other nasties
Sunday 12 August, 2007
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.
Calling smallholders in central Scotland
Thursday 9 August, 2007
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).
