Summer bounty - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Monday 12 August, 2024

by Rosemary at 3:04pm in Smallholding No comments Add your own

Monday 5^th August

We’ve had a good fall of rain overnight and that’s continued into morning. Dan and Murdo took a load of rubbish to the skips first thing, then moved the fencing materials for the new fence in Home, into position. The hedging plants are ordered, so the fence needs to be up before they arrive in November.

It’s been quite overcast and I’ve felt really tired today. It’s quite oppressive. I think if Murdo hadn’t been here today, Dan would have been asleep too.

He did find time to brush the dogs. We could needlefelt a third corgi.

Corgi floof.

Tuesday 6^th August

Today was Festival work day, so completed a few bits and pieces. Cleaned out the hens, cleaned and refilled their drinker and topped up the pellet feeder. The Light Sussex, Belle, has been broody for AGES and I think the others are starting to moult, so egg production is down to about two dozen a week.

Packed up Mickey’s boots to go back for replacement with a smaller size. Hoof Boutique’s customer service is excellent.

Dan and Andy were doing comfrey; Dottie was helping.

Dottie, checking comfrey orders.

Wednesday 7^th August

Very windy with a few showers, but warm and sunny too.

Bought a few plants for the yellow bed – Achillea x “Lucky Break”, which is cream; Achillea milleflorium “Terracotta” which is a deep yellow, a creamy yellow Red Hot Poker  “Poco Citron, and Penstemo “Snow Storm”.

The start of the cream and gold bed.

Thursday 8^th August

Cooler and cloudier, with rain starting at 5pm, exactly as forecast. Not as heavy as forecast though.

Dan picked and cooked tomatoes with basil and garlic – for the freezer and a great base for all sorts of stuff in the winter.

I cleaned out the barn – OMG, those ponies pee gallons. I put down some bedding on Tuesday and it was saturated. Not putting any more down – it just encourages them to go in the barn. If it’s just the rubber matting, they go outside to avoid the splashing.

I planted out some of the biennials – Honesty, Wallflower “Vulcan”, Hesperis ‘White” and Hesperis “Purple”. A couple have failed – Foxglove “Alba” and one of the Sweet Williams. Not quite sure what to do with the others as the plants are so small and don’t seem to be getting any bigger.

Dan weeded more of the informal bed he’s been working on. We’ve decided to extend the Shrubby Honeysuckle hedge along the fourth side of the new beds, on the side beside the house. It will make it easier to keep the path clear.

I cut back the geraniums in the bed under the dining room window and Dan took out two failing roses from the bed under the living room window. I found a nice Heuchera in the sunken garden, which I’ll transplant into the space created, along with some cat mint and maybe a small geranium. The huge blue ones are destined for one of the informal beds as ground cover.

Friday 9^th August

SO windy. I can’t remember it being this windy at this time of year. I stripped and washed beds – so the bedlinen was easy dried. Lovely.

We moved the sheep into Far Top. There’s loads of grass in there; should do them a week, hopefully. I’m hoping they’ll get one more turn round the paddocks before they go home. Dan topped Sheepfold, from where they’ve come, and switched the topper for the harrow, so all the paddocks will get a bit of a freshen up in the next few days.

Saturday 10^th August

Still really windy; sunny and mild though. The wind’s brought the Virginia creeper on the end of the house down, so Dan’s trimmed it back to secure what’s left.

More peas picked and podded. Probably the same tomorrow and that won’t be the last pick. Just as well we like them. So do the dogs; they like an unopened pea pod to crunch.

And we had our first sweet corn. Not the greatest pollination but so tasty and tender. We’ll be eating a lot for a wee while now.

First sweet corn.

I was out last night – not drinking, but I’m so tired today. Can’t do it anymore.

Sunday 10^th August

Wind’s dropped and it’s been hot. Dan harrowed Sheepfold first thing – our tractor doesn’t like the heat and it has a wee leak, so we’re waiting on John the Tractor Guy to come and give it some love. There was quite a lot of thatch, so he’s saying he’s going to do it in the other direction tomorrow. There’s no rain forecast for the rest of the week, so it’s a good opportunity to get round them all.

After the morning round, I picked tomatoes, cucumber and courgettes. I’m really tempted just to pull the courgettes out. It’s a rubbish crop ad we don’t even like them. NOT growing them next year.

Cucumber "Mini Munch".

I WILL be growing more beetroot. We’ve had a decent crop for the few rows I sowed and it would have been better if I had made a better job of thinning them. I picked most of what’s left and cooked them in the multicooker, rather than the oven. Much better way of doing it than using the big oven.

Dan picked peas and podded them. Still a lot coming but they won’t be ready for a few days. I weeded the carrot bed.

More peas.

It was hot. But despite having lots of shade at the end of the field, the sheep chose to lie in full sun, peching away. Dopes, all.

Hot sheep.