Life: The good, the bad and the ugly bits!
Yup, that’s right we own chickens, 21 of them in fact! Now we had planned on getting some (as in about 8) chickens down the allotment at some point this year but little did we know that it would end up being quite so many and happen so early on!
So how did we happen to end up with a fully established flock of 20 hens and a cockerel? READ MORE »
November is here, bringing with it plenty of cold, rain and foggy weather. But just a few weeks ago we were enjoying some beautifully sunny days. With the evening drawing in these brighter, drier, days gave me some much needed extra time to prepare the allotment for the winter and get some ground dug before it freezes solid till spring!
Even O enjoyed getting his gloves on and helping me, luckily he is quite happy to get mucky and wet although we did have to limit our time there as it was quite chilly with the wind that whips around the corner of the mountain we are on.
Here is a little allotment update video that shows you everything we have achieved up until the beginning of October and explaining some of our plans for going forward to next year.
In the weeks since making this video we have also had our first mini harvest! I pulled up a few of the winter radishes. The outside looks a bit scabby, probably due to the lack of rain, and it looks like they have been chewed a little by the slugs but the inside is perfectly crisp and watery just how they should be. This variety is quite large, about the size of a golf ball, and can be eaten raw in salads although they are a bit hot for my liking.
They can also be eaten cooked in stirfries or even in stews in place of turnip, the heat disappears when cooked. I diced them up into really small cubes and added them to a sausage and bean casserole by browning them with the onions first to soften them a little before adding the rest of the ingredients. My kids love this casserole and it’s a really frugal recipe, I can share it with you all if you’d like.
It’s amazing how much plenty of sun, rain and a few weeks patience can do to really bring on plants. Even the onions are starting to shoot up now. We are still awaiting the garlic though.
It’s so satisfying to see the luscious greenery and thinking “I grew that”! Although after the horrendous weather we’ve had this week, I’m dreading going down over the weekend just in case none of it has survived. But if they have managed to stand up to this weeks battering winds and rain I’m sure they will cope against anything the rest of the winter will be able to throw at us!
How are you coping with the weather Storm Abigail is throwing at us?
Here are my radishes, pointy spring cabbages and spring onions growing strong down on the allotment. I’ll be giving a full update on the allotment later in the week.
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Welcome back to the Summer Days Linky with myself and Karen from Stopping at Two. You can read more about it HERE. You can link your summery posts at the bottom of this post.
The start of this week was beautiful. It was so lovely we even had to wear suncream, which has been a rarity this summer!
You may have already read about LV’s very eventful birthday on Saturday, if not you can read about it HERE. We also managed to get a couple of days work in the allotment, with LV and O being the main ‘helpers’. FYI, if your trying to get rid of stones having a toddler around is NOT going to result in stone free vegetable patches! Although he did give it a good go, as well as helping me break pallets apart.
Welcome back to the Summer Days Linky. This week it’s just me as Karen is having a lovely family holiday in West Wales. You can link your summery posts at the bottom of this post or read more about the linky HERE.
This week has been all about the new allotment. Between buying a few new tools, seeds that will grow over winter, gloves for the kids etc and then trying to actually get some ground dug up it has taken up our entire week. I even managed to get the girls involved which I was mightily surprised at!
On Sunday I hinted upon the fact that I had some news! Even if you haven’t seen that post, I’m pretty sure the title of this post gives it away!
This is our 3rd allotment now. Sadly we had to give up the other two for various reasons but the land this one is on is owned by a friend, so we should be pretty safe to stay here unless she moves house, or has enough of me pottering about!
This new allotment is miles better than our old two it is extra spacious, easy to get to, is facing south west and gets sun pretty much all day! It doesn’t look like much, apart from the mountain side field that it is, but hopefully by next summer it will be filled with lots of pretty, and tasty, fruits and vegetables!
I have so many plans of what I want to grow. I’ve already ordered some seeds from the Real Seed website for vegetables I can plant over the next few months, including beans, onions, radishes and cabbage. It will take a lot of work to get the ground even a bit ready for planting, but the work has already started. Lee and I did some strimming today. FYI a strimmer harness is not the most flattering of accessories when you have big boobs 😉
