A busy day today

Managed to finish the new chicken coop, which the hens seem to love, although I had to catch them to put them to bed – I’m sure they’ll learn where they’ve got to go soon enough! Tried to get them up the ladder by leaving corn on each step, seemed to work as they were in and out all day but couldn't do it in the dark! Really pleased with the coop and pen, their old one is now sitting empty for a while and I’ve promised not to get anything else until I’ve started my new job and got used to it!
Claire sent off for some seeds from Blue Peter to encourage bees so I’ve planted a little wild flower boarder next to the chicken pen with these (as well as adding some poppy seeds) and made a “bee hotel” out of bamboo to give them somewhere to live.
We went for a lovely walk tonight just as it was getting dark, walked up to the river past all the commercial vegetable gardens, its really interesting seeing how they do it on a bigger scale.

Advanced Fruit Tree Pruning Course

I had a great day yesterday on the second part of the course that I took in November last year.
This course was nearly all hands on as we’d done the theory on the course before. The trees were older as well, meaning we were doing tree renovation rather than designing how a tree will grow. When doing this it nearly always means cutting big limbs off, and sometimes over a course of two or three years you take the tree right back down to a stump to start its structure again.

How to train trees in their different forms was also covered in more detail (this is what I'll be trying to do in my garden) and we got to see behind the sences at a kitchen garden thats currently being renovated with rows of different shaped trees being grown.

We also learned to tell different tree problems like canker and woolly aphid (although the damage can look similar) and when these problems occur. Apparently becides the varitey just mentioned you can eat aphids and they taste sweet - I'll be trying this in the summer! Below is a picture of wooly aphid damage - looks just like canker.

This was another brilliant day run by the RHS and I’m going to book myself on their summer pruning course to finish my learning of this subject as well as booking up their cider making course (although I’ve made cider in the past, it sounds like another fun day).

New coop

Well I’ve started using the shed before it’s finished! I’ve been making a new coop for the chickens and the shed was the perfect place out of the wind to make it. So far today I’ve managed to make the framework up (all with halving joints) and stain it as the timber wasn’t treated. I made something similar for my mum a few years ago and the design seemed to work well. As it raised off the ground this stops rats from making a home under it, as well as providing the chickens with somewhere to shelter in bad weather and keep their food dry. I should have it finished by the end of the weekend, but I probably won’t move them into it just yet, I might just put it in their pen so they get used to it first. I’m also making it so it’s flat pack for when we move in a few years time.

I have planted my tomatoes, peppers, basil and chilli seeds today, in my windowsill propagator. I’ve probably planted far too many different varieties – I always get carried away!

I’m trying to get as much done as possible in the next couple of weekends as I’m starting a new job in a few weeks time on a massive tower block with an hours drive either side of working from 7 till 6 in the middle of Birmingham, I’m looking forward to the work as it will be interesting but the hours scare me. Hopefully it will mean we can save a bit more money and it means getting our own smallholding will be that much closer.

Down on the farm

My brother and his girlfriend have just gone off on their travels on the weekend just gone so we went to my parent’s farm to see them off. they're off for 4 months around South America so we’re all quite jealous. Other than that it was nice to go back and feed the sheep and see the lambs. Really missing the lambing season this year, doesn’t seem right not having to drag yourself from a warm house to count how many have died overnight! Dad has lambed outside this year for the first time in as long as I can remember, but he down to about 30 sheep now so its not the big job that it once was. Also popped across to the neighbours farm to have a look at the cattle and pick up dads digger that been on hire. I always love looking around other peoples farms, every one is so different, really hope one day we can make our mark on one! Getting back home I’ve planted some snowdrops in the (now chicken free) lawn area (we dug them up from where a drain is going on the farm) and my mushroom kit has finally worked – fried mushrooms for tea (not very many though)!

A very productive weekend

The sun has been shining all weekend and its been great to work outside with just a T shirt on.
For a while now I’ve been thinking about making the chicken a bigger pen as they’ve made the lawn look like a soil and sawdust bomb has gone off, as you can see from the picture. I move them everyday, but every day they dig another hole! So I got my brother to come over (before he goes travelling) to help me make a secure pen in an area of the garden I have just left to weeds.
In a weekend we turned this area:
Into this area (Digging the wire into the ground properly as well to stop Mr fox).

And the chickens seem to love their new pen and here they can dig as many holes as they want! I will build them a new coop in the week or next weekend to go with it, on stilts to discourage rodents, and hopefully make it so we can collect the eggs without going into the pen.

To make sure it wasn’t too much too soon for the poor hen we put their old pen in with them but with the door open, this also means they’ve still got somewhere to sleep. The new enclosure measure 18ft by 7ft so it should be plenty of space for them.
I think I might use the ark for some quails in the summer (might even use the incubator and hatch them out!)
Also planted up four biggish tubs with round carrot seeds and put them in the green house (it seems silly to have it nearly empty except for a few slow growing radishes) so should get to eat those in a few months!

Well the last month has been eventful but sorry I haven’t written anything but there is very little going on in the garden.
My onion seeds haven’t come up, although the radishes have in the green house. And I’ve had no luck with my mushroom kits which is sat in our dinning room doing nothing.
Outside I’ve put some black plastic down on a couple of the raised beds to try and warm the soil for carrots to grow earlier in the season, and I’ve been using up the parsnips, Swedes, brussel sprouts, leeks and kale whilst waiting for my purple sprouting! The shed is coming along slowly, got the windows and one door in (the one set of hinges were missing and I’m still waiting for them to come!). Started to clad the shed the weekend just gone, so it’s looking pretty good (if I do say so myself), and managed to insulate about one third of the inside so it feels a bit warmer!

Planting fruit trees

The weekend has gone in a complete blur. I have managed to get a few gardening jobs done but no progress on the shed.

I managed to plant the two fruit trees I was brought for Christmas. These were a Conference pear and a Cox apple, I know these are not very interesting varieties but when you can only fit a few trees in you have to go for the tried and tested ones and I’ve planted other pear trees back on the farm and they don’t compare! I’ve now got 5 fruit trees in the garden.

I also pulled up the rest of my carrots as the slugs are starting to win the war on them now, so it’s either make carrot soup or have carrots with every meal over the next week or so!

Start as you mean to go on

Got the New Year off to a flying start (even if I did feel dodgy on new years day)!
My brother came round again yesterday to help me put all the timber work on the roof of my shed with the ceiling joists. It does feel massive – I’m sure it’s the biggest shed for miles around!
Then today I managed to persuade my dad to come and give me hand putting the ply on the roof. We also managed to get polythene on top, as a temporary cover, so it should be dry inside until I get the felt on to waterproof it properly.