less potato fustration…. more potato joy!! April 30, 2008

Went to check on the tatties in the rain today.  They’re popping up nicely and it’s a lovely moment of joy and pride when you realise things are working ok (again - 2nd year for us!)

 

In the main plot (center) we have – (earlies) Accent, pink fir, Jersey royals, ?bakers?, [main] King Edward, Desiree.  Then we have a couple of randoms in two tyre stacks to the left of the picture. 

To the right of the picture we have a random four plants that I cheekily chucked in at the end of last summer when I took up the sweetcorn plants.  Told dear her indoors the other day and she at the moment is saying we should leave them there although they are growing on the path and the roots plot.  :>  Q funny really.

Bets on how many potatoes in total we’ll end up having – last year 4 seed pots = 100 potatoes.  This year 27+2+4 = ? answers on a postcard please!

Question to readers too – how many seed potatoes can we fit in a tyre stack? (standard size tyres?)

nigeybodge? I think nigey-cunning!! April 30, 2008

The cunning greenhouse rain collection contraptions are a success!  Today was a manky heavy rain day and my rain collections worked really well – one was full when I checked before work and the wheelie bin on the other side had definitly increased at least a little.

 

The side shown above works really well with all the water draining to this end.  I duck-taped a cut-off coke bottle to the side of the greenhouse, put a kids’ drink bottle lid on it and duck-taped a hose to this.  Then the hose runs down to a knackered old plastic barrel I stole from the horsy neighbours.  The greenhouse guttering needed something to let the water drip properly in so I bodged-on a piece of scrap plastic (from a kitchen bin)!!! nice!!

The other side just has a scrap bit of plastic shoved into a hose which runs to a wheelie bin next to the greenhouse.  That side of the greenhouse isn’t sloped enough so water collects in the middle bit of it and not run very well into the hose and bin.  ah well.  I siphoned a load out of the main house water butt so I think I’m doing ok although am planning to transfer as much as I can to stash before a hopefully hot summer…

Part-way through weekend update…. April 26, 2008

Random wanting to post with some updates-:

- Finished raised beds with ends and top soil procured previously from freecycle.

- Admired many shoots now appearing in the potato area

- Transplanted many things including peas, brassicas, nastersiums etc

- Put up some more fencing to sort out the chickens who keep escaping next door!

- Syphoned waterbutt off to stash some rainwater for the coming anticipated dry spell

- Completed a nigeybodge/cunning solution for collecting rainwater off the greenhouse.  [another post with pics to follow shortly]

- Completed a nigeybodge to replace some glass in a shed thing here.

Busy busy busy……

interesting pea in transition to the outside world:>

 

And a funny find whilst emptying the waterbutt->

 Toddler admitted to putting a flowerpot, a small gardening kids’ rake, and an egg-box in there a few months ago!!

chook update April 21, 2008

 

First egg!! and happy hens – well…. the one that laid this one and a second yesterday (Cindy) seemed a little bit barn-sick and mopey. :< watch this blogspace as we try to cheer her up ……

One of the brown ‘uns seemed to like a little space at the foot of a tree in the garden,  they also escaped a few times to next doors’ garden – meaning we had to contain them a little towards the end of the day!

 

 

 

Potato Update… Yay for success April 19, 2008

Some shoots! Yay – about 5 spotted so far but many just under the surface.

 

 

The large potato bed has proved fertile enough and some are now coming through (I always like this bit – well, the second time ever now!!! :> ) 

Whilst grabbing some other bits (more to follow), I also found some abandoned tyres so have started to build up some additional potato space.

Things to do with a large car… #104 April 19, 2008

 

Fill it with top soil and wooden pallets all procured from freecycle.  See our list in the widget to the right of all the things procured to date – we’re doing really well although mainly receiving rather than passing on – but I think this still has equal karma.

Anyway, got the topsoil from a localish donor – but actually missed a work call I was supposed to join as I was so involved I just totally forgot about it!

The car was really weighed down and the steering was awful on the way home!! ah well.  Soil will be used for additional pots for potatoes, and to finish the raised beds.  Pallets will be used for compost holder to look a bit less plastic-y than the daleks.

more new residents? April 13, 2008

Found this in our outbuilding today, the cheeky beggars.  Not sure when it arrived – but it did look like there was recent shredded material on the lid of the freezer which we last opened yesterday.  After dusk there wasn’t anyone in it, so also not sure of the basis of the accommodation – might be timeshare or at least a holiday home.

 

It’s on the same shelf as our drill so unfort they might get disturbed or might choose to not be there too much.  Or of course I could keep the drill somewhere else?

They survived all a-ok April 13, 2008

All the new ladies are fine this morning so we at least have had one good night fox-free.  I did pop out late before bed and it all seemed so quiet I can’t see how a fox would pick up on them being there – sense of smell I guess and probaly more so once they’ve started to be out and about.

Today will now be focused on building a coop.  The design will be fairly ad-hoc!

further chicken thoughts April 12, 2008

[Nige blogging logged in as barbara!]

Quite funny thinking about these chooks that are snoozing down the garden.  It’s a bit like when we we brought home the now toddler from hospital after she was born – the traditional feeling of ‘wow, we’re taking this think home with no support really there, all up to us….’.

Well with the chooks it feels wierd to be allowed to be responsible for their welfare, life, happiness etc.  I want to keep going down there to check them but her indoors says that a bit over the top.  I went at dusk cos I wanted to catch them asleep – and they were – brilliantly sleeping on the perch.  wot an amazing feat of science.  I would like to find out if it’s perfect balance/center of gravity or whether they are awake enough to grip on continously?? Answers by comment please.

The family joked about the fact that we have even more girls in the house now for me, but I do feel a fantastic fatherly vibe for the chooks – they won’t leave the washing up undone, or strop about my comments of how messy they room is!!

Right, off to wee around the hen-house now (desperate to at least get one night without a fox attack on them!)

chick..chick..chi chi cha changing….. April 12, 2008

From this…

 (when we procured chicken coop elements)

via this…….

 

to this…..