its all go at Llaingof, we have had a week of sunshine, its almost been too hot to do as much as we should. Will update on evening soon.
Quick overview... plenty of visitors, so have had lots of help... thank you all.
Conifer has been trimmed " reduced to about 1/3 of its size
Poly tunnel up.... just getting its ends neatened,
top soil ... 12 tonnes on the way
3 raised beds completed, 12 to go
Nature pond has had some more shaping and liner has arrived,
Railway sleepers moved to the edge of the veggie growing area
One quote for fencing recieved, another on the way
Better get off my bum and get outside before its too warm
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
The helpers( willing or not )
Its amazing where you can get help from. Our new neighbour Teresa is always on hand to advise when asked, ( and have a little laugh at our forest of beans, growing madly, but we are unable to put them out as we might still have a frost )Penny and Nigel kindly came and named a lot of new plants, and gave us some idea of how to use the rayburn oven, then there was Jayne, who helped renovate the falling down hen house ( dont ask I am still waiting for the new one to be delivered ), tish who helped prune the unruly garden , gave me a perm and showed me how to clip davids hair,and Phil who added a bit of man power for david, helping trim all the hegdes ready for fencing, move a HUGE pile of stones, dig a couple of trenches for the poly tunnel.
Then there are the not some useful helpers...
Ruby, who panics if her ball is not thrown every two minutes
Seun, whose job it is to get in the way and inspect every spade and wheelbarrow full of soil in case it contains anything interesting for dogs.
Daisy, who kindly guards the stairs to our bedroom in case any one unauthorised wishes to pass, and acts as a russian fur hat for anybody sitting on her chair in the evening.
And last, but not least Kitty, whose job it is to complain often that she needs some more food, and keeps Davids hands busy at night as she needs constant scratching of her ears, even when he is asleep.
Then there are the not some useful helpers...
Ruby, who panics if her ball is not thrown every two minutes
Seun, whose job it is to get in the way and inspect every spade and wheelbarrow full of soil in case it contains anything interesting for dogs.
Daisy, who kindly guards the stairs to our bedroom in case any one unauthorised wishes to pass, and acts as a russian fur hat for anybody sitting on her chair in the evening.
And last, but not least Kitty, whose job it is to complain often that she needs some more food, and keeps Davids hands busy at night as she needs constant scratching of her ears, even when he is asleep.
Four seven eleven orchard
Did your Mum or Granny wear 4711 ? If I remember rightly, it came in a little bottle with turquoise and gold label, and smelt like cat wee... my Aunty Bobby once gave me a wipe of her last 4711 cologne ( for being a good girl... must have been a rare occasion)
Well David was digging holes for the new fruit trees, and when we were working out how many trees we would need, the counting went ....four ( as in 4 holes in the first row ) seven ( four holes in first row, plus three in second row ) eleven ( four holes in first row, three in second and four holes in last row ) hence the 4711 orchard
Well David was digging holes for the new fruit trees, and when we were working out how many trees we would need, the counting went ....four ( as in 4 holes in the first row ) seven ( four holes in first row, plus three in second row ) eleven ( four holes in first row, three in second and four holes in last row ) hence the 4711 orchard
Just for fun
David has been having a great time with all his new tools, including the mini digger we hired, to help move some of the soil and stone around the grounds. Once the main work was complete, he took the digger down to the bottom of field number one, and just started digging a question mark shaped hole, a huge one, this is to become the nature pond... and was done just for fun. I wonder how much a piece of pond liner will cost for this lot ???
The 'present' garden
Our new garden is beautiful. Each day brings a new suprise, just like opening a present every day!! Loads of plants I dont know, spending a lot of time looking things up in the books. So far for spring we have had snowdrops,daffodils by the million,grape hyacyinths, tulips, and now blue bells. The dandelions, and grass daisies are in abundance as well, as are the weeds in the veggie plot.
This week we have also managed to put up the frame for the polytunnel , and are just refining the trenches that run down the sides before we add the skin.
Seedlings are taking over the conservatory, greenhouse and now the front porch,,,, it suddenly dawned on me that this was an area that was just like the greenhouse with some carpet tiles. We have beans, peas (mange tout),tomatoes, onions, potatoes, sweet corn, marigolds ( good for companion planting ) spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, brusselsprouts,peppers, also waiting for the following to germinate... cucumbers, melons, gem squash
This week we have also managed to put up the frame for the polytunnel , and are just refining the trenches that run down the sides before we add the skin.
Seedlings are taking over the conservatory, greenhouse and now the front porch,,,, it suddenly dawned on me that this was an area that was just like the greenhouse with some carpet tiles. We have beans, peas (mange tout),tomatoes, onions, potatoes, sweet corn, marigolds ( good for companion planting ) spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, brusselsprouts,peppers, also waiting for the following to germinate... cucumbers, melons, gem squash
Friday, 8 April 2011
Busy busy busy
We have had a great week, very busy, arrival of 16 tonnes of stone, one digger, one dumper truck and am ossilating hedge saw. All great bits of kit, expensive to hire, so we have worked like trojans to make the most of them. Tomorrow we are off for a day of R and R with the local garden club. Going to the RHS Cardiff show. Loads of help from Tish and Phil, it will be a pity to let them go home for a rest.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
The tree needs the chop.
Saturday afternoon, and the tree surgoen ( who was expected on Tuesday ) arrives. The huge collapsing conifer is still of an undefined species, but needs a seriuos haircut. He will have to see how things are once hes removed the part thats collapsed, before deciding if the whole lot needs to come down. This would be a real pity as the tree looks like its been there for many years, and is very twisted and gnarled, has real character, only I dont fancy it falling over completely. The tree guy says he will return to do the job in about four weeks time. By my reckoning (considering that Tuesday turned into Saturday )that will be done in about November.
I had a walk around the fields today with Ruby ( who felt she needed to chase the ball ). The snowdrops are finished, the daffs are in full bloom, and around the edges of the fields are plenty of seludine ( yellow) and sweet violets ( purple ) . So pretty. Most surprising of all was that about two or three acres away from any houses, there are some pink primroses growing . How did they get there ? Wild primroses are yellow. Well who knows.
I had a walk around the fields today with Ruby ( who felt she needed to chase the ball ). The snowdrops are finished, the daffs are in full bloom, and around the edges of the fields are plenty of seludine ( yellow) and sweet violets ( purple ) . So pretty. Most surprising of all was that about two or three acres away from any houses, there are some pink primroses growing . How did they get there ? Wild primroses are yellow. Well who knows.
Friday is market day in NCE
NCE.... local abreviation for New Castle Emlyn... not sure when the castle was new, must have been quite a while ago, as its just a pile of a few stones now. Anyway, its a lovely little town, with plenty of interesting independent shops. On a Friday a veggie wholesaler turns up with a truck load of stuff at unbelievable prices. This week it was a case ( 6kg ) of tomatoes ( only two with moustaches out of the whole lot ) for £1.50, and a case of plums ( about 4 kg ) for £2.00 that I couldnt resist. Today I have spent the whole day making tomato chutney ( turned out a little spicier than I intended... maybe next time I will walk over to the drawer to get the teaspoon toi measure the chilli powder ), preparing and freezing tomatoes for the freezer, and making plum jam and plum compote... yum yum yum, pity the washing up fairy didnt bother to turn up to give me a hand afterwards. Dear Teresa( from 2 doors down) turned up with her wheelbarrow to offer us a hand lifting the turf... in the pouring rain. David and I felt quite guilty telling her we were good weather gardeners only.
Lifting the turf from the field is a bit like giving a hairy leg a good shave, except its more heavy duty and a bit bumpier. Once David has gone over the field with the machine, we have to remove all the turfs, and make piles at the edge of the field so that they can rot down and make lovely compost for us. I found bending over rolling the turf up a bit rough on the back, so have landed up crawling along on my hands and knees in the mud rolling it up to be loaded into the wheelbarrow. I now feel intimately aquainted with every ridge in the field and if mud is good for your skin, then I should be looking years younger around the knee area.By six pm , I was considering taking up religion, and even started to pray for a bit of rain. Someone heard me, and soon there was the pitter patter of rain drops falling on my head. Theres not evry much that a nice hot bach and some clean clothes can not cure, and tomorrow we should be able to remove the rest of the turf. Yippee.
Lifting the turf from the field is a bit like giving a hairy leg a good shave, except its more heavy duty and a bit bumpier. Once David has gone over the field with the machine, we have to remove all the turfs, and make piles at the edge of the field so that they can rot down and make lovely compost for us. I found bending over rolling the turf up a bit rough on the back, so have landed up crawling along on my hands and knees in the mud rolling it up to be loaded into the wheelbarrow. I now feel intimately aquainted with every ridge in the field and if mud is good for your skin, then I should be looking years younger around the knee area.By six pm , I was considering taking up religion, and even started to pray for a bit of rain. Someone heard me, and soon there was the pitter patter of rain drops falling on my head. Theres not evry much that a nice hot bach and some clean clothes can not cure, and tomorrow we should be able to remove the rest of the turf. Yippee.
Another visit to the vet...
I think the vet is my new long lost friend, or we are his, as it seems we will be paying quite a few visits to him.Seun is looking a lot brighter, was asking for people food again today at lunch time. He has been given even more antibiotics and will need an ultrasounbd of his liver in a week or twos time, to see what is going on there. I have questioned David as to wether the dog is a secret drinker, but they both deny it.
Thursday afternoon, David has hired a turf cutter and is starting to prepare the field for the poly tunnel, which arrived today. To me, it looks like a huge meccano set, and I have no idea how we are going to get this set up. We have a bit of a cunning plan, in that my cousin and her hubby are coming to visit next week, and we havent mentioned that a couple of extra pairs of hands might come in useful. So the plan is a great dinner on Monday night, followed by early morning call to Tool box check inthe workshop at 06.00, and then off to the field. Laugh out loud if this plan comes off. Im thinking that after a day in the field anything will taste good, so have made gallons of gossip soup ( bean and veggie... called gossip soup because it talks behind your back ) That should also be ok when we are all out in the field sharing farmyard smells.
Thursday afternoon, David has hired a turf cutter and is starting to prepare the field for the poly tunnel, which arrived today. To me, it looks like a huge meccano set, and I have no idea how we are going to get this set up. We have a bit of a cunning plan, in that my cousin and her hubby are coming to visit next week, and we havent mentioned that a couple of extra pairs of hands might come in useful. So the plan is a great dinner on Monday night, followed by early morning call to Tool box check inthe workshop at 06.00, and then off to the field. Laugh out loud if this plan comes off. Im thinking that after a day in the field anything will taste good, so have made gallons of gossip soup ( bean and veggie... called gossip soup because it talks behind your back ) That should also be ok when we are all out in the field sharing farmyard smells.
Parole day is Wednesday
We are so busy on the smallholding that its almost inconvienient to leave home, as I feel this is a waste of time. I decided it would be good for me to have a few other outside interests, gets me out and about, and meeting and hearing about different things. So Wednesday is my parole day. I have joined up with a patchwork class at a local shop, on a farm just across the valley. There seems to be a lot of chit chat to listen to, and occasionally a new tip or hint to be learned, so should be a laugh. Of course it is always necessary to buy some new fabric as well. This week I have been mucking about, making needle holders and pincushions.... so who wants one for their birthday or christmas. By the time I have dashed home ( well a slow doddle in the car as Im not too keen on the twisty windy roads) , had a bite to eat, gone to dog training with Ruby I am pooped.
Did I forget to tell you ...
Just the words you want to hear when you are waiting anxiously for something to arrive ie: the top of the range chicken arc. No sign of it 3 weeks after ordering, so I got on the phone to the supplier and she said " did I forget to tell you ....... that our factory is relocating, and we are even further behind with our orders than usual " Well yes, you DID bloody well forget to tell me, but interestingly I note you didnt forget to charge my card on the day of the order..... Fume, fume... well theres nothing I can do about it, but will just have to chill.It is rather irritating though. So no chickens for me just now, dont they realise they have just mucked up my time line ???
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