The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: plumseverywhere on August 29, 2012, 07:37:28 am
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As we approach Autumn 2012, I was just thinking back over the 'summer' months. Its been a strange smallholding summer for us and I think I'll remember it for -
Parasites! - a durge of fleas that were nigh impossible to shift but we are on top of now thank goodness, goat lice and red mite. All presented challenges and brought about a lot of extra but necessary work.
Rotten hooves - goats and sheep had scald, shelly hoof and generally rotten feet that were hard to treat.
NO blinkin plums (must change name to plumsnowhere) - usually by now we've finished our harvest and are looking forward to a quick holiday before schools back on. This year we've made ONE batch of wine and one of jam as opposed to at least 40 wine batches and 5 chutney/jam loads :-\ [size=78%] [/size]
Rhubarb was rubbish, raspberries we had about 2.
Falling over. Living on a hill means any heavy rain results on me slipping over, covering myself in goats milk. fab. great for the skin ::)
On the plus side runner beans, onions and garlic were brilliant.
How about you? what did 'summer' 2012 mean for your smallholding? and are we in line for a scorching autumn?!
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MUD, in short, Mud. after 3 months strugling to keep things together with the leg problems, the only thing we've managed to grow is a fine crop of nettles. The only strawberry we saw got eaten by the slugs, the courgette only threw male flowers, the best slow tree blew over when the ground got so wet the roots couldn't hold . the bottom bend of our drive is 6inches of mud for a hundred yards, abject missery this summer(sic)
Now as I type it is pissing down again. :raining:
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Hugely disappointing - mainly because we had got through the winter in the caravan whilst the house was being rebuilt - thinking that once summer arrived we could be outside a bit more (house not due to be finished until October) and it wouldn't be so bad. So - rain drumming down on the caravan roof five nights out of seven, mud everywhere, filthy dog under the table etc etc, OH getting despondent etc etc
Repositioned raspberries tanked. Blackcurrant cuttings have taken really well but no fruit this year. Lots of runners on the strawberries but very little fruit as they got ravaged by rabbits three times ::) :o (my fault)..... but all good for the new strawberry bed next year. Apples - well - we weren't expecting much as they had quite a cut back last winter but we have got some small apples - don't look up to much though so I don't think we will be wheeling out the large press this year. Eight out of the nine new espalier cider apple trees have survived but haven't put much growth on.
Has been nigh on impossible to get the veg allotments going due to the mud and rain and getting the rabbit proof fencing done but have planted four rows of brassicas and a row of taytos last weekend. Two out of three courgette plants got totally wiped out by slugs but one has survived and is producing a few courgettes now.
Polytunnel has been more successful. Tomatoes, aubergines and peppers all producing but whether they will ripen in the remaining time is open to speculation. Cucumbers have been great with lots of support/advice from TAS.
Sheep - feet :o ugh!! Lambing was 140% and no intervention which we were very satisfied with but I don't think their condition has bounced back after lambing as fast as last year. We have been advised to fluke them next month. We are much better at managing the pasture in the new paddocks and we have bought two new ewes so we will be sending nine to the tup this year. Fingers crossed that we will be able to get on VSS's practical sheep course in 2013. Hoping to register our existing ewes as foundation stock this year.
We hatched six chicks under a broody and they have all grown into fine birds - three boys and three girls. Still unsure how I am going to dispatch the cockerels. We have found a home for one, will keep one so only one needs to go......
So - all in all - quite a busy year but I feel we have spent most of our time "getting ready to get started" if that makes sense. I feel we haven't even approached the starting line on our smallholding even though we've been here for three years now ::) ::)
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Considering how horrible the weather has been, I'm amazed at what I did get, and am still getting out of my tiny garden... Strawberries - well, maybe half a dozen. Gooseberries and red currants (I have one bush each) I had a few - what I could rescue from the birds! Broad beans and courgettes are still going strong. Onions were pretty good, too. Runner beans are flowering - nasturtiums are full of cabbage white >:( , so I don't have much hope for the few brassicas I planted far too late... There's a few lettuces coming on (in a container - helps with the slugs). There will be brambles, I hope. (They might get rained off, of course.) Oh, and the rhubarb was ok, too. And I planted some chard, which should be alright, if I can keep the slugs at bay.
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Oh - and I got whooping cough and fell off my bike :raining: :gloomy:
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Rain rain and u guessed it rain
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Rain rain and u guessed it rain
Ditto!!!
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Our bungalow finally converted to our dream house even if we had the roof off in the wettest April on record. But we are now so pleased we have escaped to the country we have started to blog it www.escapedtothecountry.com (http://www.escapedtothecountry.com)
Dahlias have been great. Garlic we grew was pleasing as was the runner beans. The rain actually helped the 500 willow rods I planted stay healthy - so musn't complain.
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Like plums, no fruit at all. Not a Bramley, even the Calvados tree is bare and its normally so full,the branches touch the floor. Not a cherry, nor a raspberry, blackcurrant and only one lot of rhubarb. I think the blackberries are going to be good this year after a very poor crop last summer. Trouble is, Ive no apple to put with them for my pies!
Its been a terrible summer for mice. Ive never seen so many, dead or alive. Its also been bad for barbeques. We havent had one yet, its either been too hot or raining!
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:rant: rain, mud, escaping chickens, egg eating chickens, nest hiding chickens, weeds taller than ever!
:excited: Some great courgettes in polytunnel, a home-grown new duck (girl), quite a good crop of garlic and berries and a handful of cherries!
Thanks for making me think of the successes, too, they are easy to forget.... :&>
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lots of rain & mud ... but some very hot days too, very tanned o/h!
Lots of new babies - chicks, turkeys, ducklings, guinea pigs & goats
Most of which needed some DIY housing, so done a fair bit of that... as well as in the house (new window, shower, bedrooms decorated, stairs & hall in progress)
Not alot in the garden, if I'm honest.
But you can't do everything!
Plenty of weeds for the animals,
Not been away but some fab nights camping.. in the garden!
Husband has made huge improvements in his health :) [size=78%] [/size]
And a new addition to our household, our friend has moved in from up north to start a new job. :hug:
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Husband has made huge improvements in his health :) [size=78%] [/size]
That's good news. :thumbsup:
For me, spindly rhubarb, pear trees covered with blossom, then tiny pears which all fell off bar two, lots of apples and plums. Newest apple tree has produced one apple this year. No cherries despite the blossom. New raspberry canes are not much bigger than when they went in.
Two lots of climbing French beans planted but only a few actually grew. The biggest is still about a foot high. No crops. Same with the squashes. Slugs had five of the nine plants and the rest have hardly produced any flowers and those all male. I did have two boxes of salad leaves which were lovely and grew well. Yesterday I ate the first of the tomatoes.
Weeds, weeds, weeds, weeds and more weeds. Not helped by the fact that a bad flare up of arthritis has meant I can do very little in the way of gardening. Nor with the goats. thank goodness for lovely friends who have helped with milking and done the cleaning up/mucking out.
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Cuts, grazes, scratches and bruises. Too much fencing.
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Wet grass, uncut grass, longer grass, more rain, soggy grass, now wet,long,mushy,muddy, grass :rant:
but the weeds are happy...so that makes up for it all ;D
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I would say, grief, grief and more grief but, in fact, apart from the animal upsets, peace :) :) :) :)
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Thanks for making me think of the successes, too, they are easy to forget.... " src="http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/Smileys/default/Ducky_Emoticon_by_Spikette2108.gif">
Yes - it was only writing on this thread that made me realise that - actualy - it's not been a total disaster :D :thumbsup: despite the wet weather
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A polytunnel :excited: and a little ginger kitten :love:
But on the down side I now know what tomato blight looks like :-\
And the hens run needs much more wood chips than first thought as the last lot has disappeared in the mud!
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:thumbsup: Good stuff, healthy litter of 10 piglets, successful procedure on back, polytunnel bursting with courgettes(marrows!) & toms at last, lovely flowers in baskets & pots, new weathervane, Dizzy pig winning a first prize.
:rant: stuff - veg patch disaster, weeds, weeds & more weeds, rain & mud, FIL playing up, flytipping in our drive end, poachers, no pumpkins, soft fruit or orchard fruits, flies(never had so many), bumping the pick-up and not telling Oh but he found out coz i used araldite to stick the knocked off piece back on :innocent:
Not bad really!
Mandy :pig:
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well march went well with lots of chicks it then went dawn hill iv still got grass to cut and the harvest hasent got going the ph is still 20 needs 16 to 17 so we need a window of wether for a week il just have a look WETHER SET TO INPROVING IN THE NEXT FUEW DAYS A GOOD WEEK NEXT WEEK
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Husband has made huge improvements in his health :) [size=78%] [/size]
That's good news. :thumbsup:
thankyou x
It is :D though the more he's out, the more he can spend... ;)
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And the hens run needs much more wood chips than first thought as the last lot has disappeared in the mud!
I've given up on woodchips years ago - no chance! I now use all the pebbles I pick and dig up from the veg patch to throw them on top of the mud to create a stepping path. Works a bit better but not foever in this climate :raining: :raining: :raining: :&>
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Husband has made huge improvements in his health :) [size=78%] [/size]
That's good news. :thumbsup:
thankyou x
It is :D though the more he's out, the more he can spend... ;)
Every silver lining has a cloud. ;D
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RAIN,RAIN and more RAIN.!..although i did get ducks, rabbits and chooks!.. :raining:
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well apart from it being the worst summer weatherwise, its been pretty good, ive met some great tas'ers caught some great fish, gained some new land, got a cracking wood pile sorted, the veg has been poor this year but ive sussed leeks and had a much better tomato harvest. so all in all quite good.
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Rain Rain and more Rain, lost three ducks to the fox, also three hens passed on.
On the bright side, broke Bob the horse to ride and drive, going fantastic. We are fencing a area of for a polytunnel, going to try our hand at growing fruit and veg.
Maybe a summer to forget. Weather wise anyway.
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Now officialy the worst summer for over 100 years :raining:
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Really????
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Is that because records started in 1912 or because they had an even worse time than us that year?
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Sold lots of breeding stock to some lovely people. Great lambing (only lost one out of 56 lambs) then Coccidiosis, due to 'certain' weather conditions, when we lost six-four boys and two girls :'( . Got treated to some three strand fencing by v kind neighbours who's land we graze (they felt sorry for us having to constantly move the netting) Grazing non-existent then we couldn't keep on top of it. Ewes and lambs perfect paddock interrupted by a swarm of feral bees! Grass was thigh high when they eventually got onto it ::)
:farmer: Loads of rhubarb, lettuce, herbs, beans, a few tomatoes and spring onions, sweetcorn coming along as well as chillies and peppers.
:chook: Got shot of a mass of chooks to a neighbour which has eased the load as I was giving eggs away (nobody wanted to buy F.R. anymore at £1.25 for a half dozen delivered!). :chook: Lovely Captain Bobbles (Tamest White Wyandotte) got pecked to death by the 'too many' cockerels we have. Our fault for not bumping them off for dogs dinners.
:cat: Lost our Pixie cat to a series of strokes.
The most knackering year yet, the only one which has made us wonder if we're cut out for the smallholding life :thinking:
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No complaints about our weather though a late frost means that we too have no fruit,
We had the usual sequence of family visiting us and usual disasters.
1. Grey water soakaway gave up - dug a new one.
2. Toilet failed the day 7 people arrived - found the septic tank under the lawn and the full grease trap beyond it - emptied it - YUCK.
3. Car broke down on the way back from a wedding ( still in the UK waiting repairs).
On the plus side we bred our first rabbits and are growing great melons for the first time. Most crops were good except the spuds were small due to little rain when they needed it. I also cut and hayled home enough wood to heat us should we have another very long cold bout. Oh and we converted an attic above our utility room into a workshop for winter craft work.
All in all a great time !
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Oh I did also learn some important lessons
1) don't leave seed potatoes in a dark box and forget about them as they turn into triffids
2) remember to turn electric fence off before bending over to show teenage 'helper' how to milk goat (ow!)
3) hugging a car battery as you carry it down steep steps is a really stupid idea, especially when you realise that wet sensation on your chest, tummy and thighs ISN'T rain water. (ow again)
4) Red mite are indestructible and laugh at humans
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No apples, no plums, no strawberries, blighted outdoor tomatoes, birds well fed with red and blackcurrants, no potatoes, very late courgettes (now marrows), bloody Jerusalem artichokes everywhere, bolted lettuces. Two cars costing an absolute fortune to mend, death of two chickens and one cherry tree, red mite multiplying faster than rabbits. No pigs this year, and no holiday.
Awesome hydroponic tomatoes the size of footballs, fantastic hydroponic chillies,OH getting paid big bonus (yippee), raspberries coming out of our ears, sweetcorn looking good, finally getting round to making my house habitable - seem to have turned a corner. :excited:
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OH has dug up half a colander full of tatties yesterday - from 3 plants that's not bad considering the bad blight. I will harvest some tree spinach today, it looks phantastic in the tunnel and I hope it will taste as good! One lot of tomatoes has blight (the ones in the grow bag!), the other lot (moneymaker) is fine, maybe it's a blight resistant variety??
This summer I also remembered the suggestion by another member to make fresh pasta from too many eggs :D - which has turned out to be a fabulous idea! Just to say I have too many eggs because - the hens are nesting free range and I can't sell the eggs I find :rant:
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I would say, poor weather, poor harvest and this morning a touch of frost :gloomy:
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I will harvest some tree spinach today, it looks phantastic in the tunnel and I hope it will taste as good!
Tree spinach! I was given a plant recently - never heard of it before. How much space does it need? It's still in the pot while I'm trying to remember to find out more about it...
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Oh i also sadly had to put my beloved springer spaniel 'Rosie' to sleep..she went into renal failure and was very poorly..i miss her deeply ..its been two months now.. :dog: :gloomy:
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Alys Flowler wrote about it and as the hens had eaten the real spinach I thought I'd give it a go and bought seeds on ebay ;D
Never thought they'd germinate but most did. If planted in warm nutritious soil (my tunnel seems perfect ;D ;D ) they literally hit the roof and do branch out a lot. Poor soil and shade and they stay much smaller. I love the pink new leaves, so pretty. I'm sure it can be planted outdoors as an ornamental veg! Will cook some tonight ;D ;D
I will harvest some tree spinach today, it looks phantastic in the tunnel and I hope it will taste as good!
Tree spinach! I was given a plant recently - never heard of it before. How much space does it need? It's still in the pot while I'm trying to remember to find out more about it...
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Oh i also sadly had to put my beloved springer spaniel 'Rosie' to sleep..she went into renal failure and was very poorly..i miss her deeply ..its been two months now.. :dog: :gloomy:
So sorry to hear about Heidi. :hug:
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Alys Flowler wrote about it and as the hens had eaten the real spinach I thought I'd give it a go and bought seeds on ebay ;D
Never thought they'd germinate but most did. If planted in warm nutritious soil (my tunnel seems perfect ;D ;D ) they literally hit the roof and do branch out a lot. Poor soil and shade and they stay much smaller. I love the pink new leaves, so pretty. I'm sure it can be planted outdoors as an ornamental veg! Will cook some tonight ;D ;D
I think I'd best plant it in my multi purpose border (partly ornamental) - don't have indoors space for it. Let us know what it tastes like! Thanks for the info!
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now , this is an interesting veg! I expected it to behave like spinach when cooked but the leaves are much more substantial, more like kale. Quite tasty with feta and pasta, but less moist! Next time I'll either do a soup or a sauce with them I think. What I read about it that it should be cooked or steamed for at least 10 minutes due to some raw toxins. Then it become highly nutritious in protein,Vitamin C and minerals and could become much more important to the food landscape. It is also very good for diabetics, hear, hear! Should put it on Rusty's old thread on food as meds ;) :&>
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My meishans and rain, rain, rain