August 2011

August is definately the month of forraging! As long as not on private property but hanging over onto public pathway it is permitted for personal use, not for resale! or in public parks or woodlands?
Well so far in my borough I have located several fruit bushes and trees, all that fruit going to waste, but of course I leave plenty for the birds and insects!
So far I have found elderflowers, then elderberries, blackberries, mirabelle plums, scarlet mirabelles, sloes, rosehips, damsons, hazelnuts, haws, crab apples, pears and plums, what a collection. Many I have turned into jams and some stored in the freezer for future use.

Mirabelle Jam

• 1 kg sugar
• 2 kg plums

Add a little water and bring to the boil, sieve to remove the stones or this can be done prior to cooking.

Bring back to the boil and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved.

Bring to a hard boil, then jar.

July 2011

Why doth the Lord fail me? no really, none of my seeds have germinated, dam! think the windowsill is too hot, will try again, this time will put the propagators in the GH, we've had such a hot month, Ive had trouble with most of my veggies drying out and not much growing going on, this time last year my veggie patch was like a jungle but as we've had no rain this year everything looks very miserable!
Ive planted some more green beans, I might get lucky this time.

For some good news, a beautiful thing is happening, the water lilly I planted last year has given its first flower

And my first butterfly in the garden

June 2011

Planted: Corn, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflowers.
Sowed: Carrots, spring onions, beetroot, okra.

A very hot and very wet month.  Apart from a fox getting into the garden and chasing all the chooks around I have nothing much to say! and that is that!

May 2011

May and its beautifully warm, horah!
When collecting eggs this morning, I came across a huge one, Ouch! that must have been really painful, at first I was delighted but then thought about the strain that poor little chook had to go through.  I suppose that's what my mum felt like, she is so tiny, petite, not a bit above 5 ft and I was an 8lb baby, yikes!

I have decided to try making wine and bought a wine kit "Young Elderflower", after following the instructions and letting it ferment I racked it off (meaning syphoned from one demijohn to another to rid it of sediment. and finally after a second racking bottled it into sterilised recycled bottles. It already tastes wonderful! but will leave it for another few months.

May brings the month of Elder flowers

Elder flowers here I come....... have you ever seen such a beautiful sight, real magic for the kitchen, first the flowers then the berries..... cant wait!
So most of the neighbours now think I'm a loony!!! do I care? not a bit! So there I was with carrier bags in hand and a small pair of scissors, I've had old ladies looking out of their windows wondering what the hell I'm up to and groups of young boys on their way home from school calling me a vandal? Me? what do they know.....so I've managed to get a couple of bags full, not bad for my first day.
On my return home I've made some Elderflower cordial, recipe from Pam Corbin's preserves book and some elderflower champagne, I managed to get a good recipe from a work colleagues mad aunt! no madder than me.
Managed to find some demijohns in second hand shops, I had purchased the first couple, wow its all working out rather expensive.
Found a park near to my local Aldi store where I discovered an abundance of Elders, came home with about 5 bags, have measured them into pints sizes, bagged and frozen to use during the next year.

April 2011

Another very sad month, Henry has been suffering with bleeding gums and after having 15 teeth removed the infection still won't clear up.... He was diagnosed with FIV feline immune difficient virus.  R.I.P. lovely Henry 28/4/11.

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March 2011

Very sad, Scatty didn't make it, R.I.P. 7/3/11.

 On a better note, the mud is finally starting to dry up, managed to harvest the last of the parsnips and planted out some potatoes.

Indoor sowing: Leeks, tom marmande, tom milla, tom gardiners delight, tom Roma, tom red cherry, pepper sweet red mini, pepper Toro Rossi, cucumbers, sprouting broccoli, borage, melon orange sherbert, tom sun baby, cauli.

February 2011

Started off February by puttng in my bean poles and transplanting the broad beans and early peas.  I pruned all fruit trees and bushes and trimmed back fuschias in my hanging baskets.










Sowed indoors

•  x2 trays of mixed lettuce, spinach and radishes.
• kitchen herbs
• aubergine
• peppers (red and banana)
• chilli (cayenne and fresno)
• melon (honeydue)
• alpine strawberry 

Planted Goji berry bush.

3.2.11

OMG, soooooo windy tonight! just before turning in I heard strange noises coming from the garden, turned on the garden light, where has the Green house gone?  I eventually found it next door.  Managed to get it all back.  Didn't sleep well, kept dreaming of chicken coops  being blown away like in 'Wizard of Oz'.

 

Checked for damage in the morning and this is what I found:

Have decided on trying to build a timber green house from pallets, to follow in projects later.....
Started to clear corner plot for future green house.
Finally put together raised bed for asparagus, emptied out my compost bin and planted x5 asparagus crowns, 3 of them are already 4 years old so should get a good harvest this year.

11.2.11

My other half called me at work today, sad news: Specky my lovely chook has died, she had a prolapse, so I guess she had an egg stuck again, looks like she was always going to suffer with this problem R.I.P. Specky.

Still really muddy out there, put down more woodchip in runs.

Forgotten method in coops


Have done lots of research on whats called the 'Deep litter method' inside the coops, apparently its less work and is actually healthier for the chooks, so, provide deep litter with wood shavings etc and every few days throw in some corn and the girls turn the whole lot over for you. sounds great but what about the smell I hear you ask, they say, there will be no smell?

22.2.11
When I returned home from work I found Scatty beaten up with a large hole wound on her right bum cheek, she was shaking and hiding, think she was in shock. Have brought her indoors and gave her sugar water through a syringe.
23.2.11
Put Ginger and Red back into the main coop to free up Hennies Hospital for Scatty. On my return home from work Ginger has a bloody bum and Red is scared witless so I have put them back into hospital together with Scatty. Extended the run in the hospital. Got antibiotics for Scatty who is not looking good.
28.2.11
Today I noticed Becky being chased around in the main coop, on closer inspection she has a wound on the top of her tail feathers and found Suzi has a bloody bum.  Sprayed them both purple but the usual cannibals keep going for the wounds.
I am sooo fed up with this now, I put Scatty, Ginger and Red into the main coop and pulled out Rocky, Amber, Bluebell and Maggie and put them in Hennies Hospital which I have now renamed the Lock down Isolation Prison!

Altogether again, not a good month!!!