Its raining, again.

Not bothering me, im at work now, and got todays gardening done before hand. Me and Sam chose some seeds yesterday and so today was a day for sowing. Well, Sam helped choose them but cant read yet so just passed me things he liked the look of. Two and a half rows of carrots, Nantes Frubund, should be ready in spring, two rows of spring cabbage, and two rows of spring onions. So the dilema of what to do with the potatoe patch has been solved. I now have the nice crumbly tilth that i should have had at the start of the season. So good in fact, that i sink 3inch into it in my wellies. All i have to do now is prevent Sam from digging it up or walking on it.
Theres only one and a half rows left now. The half row i think might be for garlic. We love garlic. Cant put it in the other row and ive just pulled the onions from there.

I dug the old potatoe plot over a day or so ago, finding to my surprise a handfull of spuds. I also cut back the old raspberry canes. I need to prune the apple and plum trees, both are overgrown. The plums are very crowded and not getting very big, brought a bagful into work for whoever likes them. We discovered a bramble growing amongst the hedge, with blackberrys on it! It had a good healthy brier with suckers on, so Sam and I have put these into contact with a big tub of soil. Once they're established i will remove the original plant and move the new ones to a gap near the plot, hopefully establishing a nice blackberry bush.

Julie collected my new book on keeping chickens today. Ive read it already. Im leaning towards Rhode Island Reds, or a hybrid of some sort. I want lots of eggs.

Grass needs cutting tomorrow. Julie doesnt like doing the front. Theres lots of little sulphur tuft mushrooms popped up that need to be mown before Sam takes an interest in them.

The next parish council meeting is on the 13th. They should be discussing my request for the provision of allotment plots. I dont think i can be there so i will have to make sure they do discuss it. Its scandalous that a rural village like ours doesnt have any allotments. Until i get an allotment, i cant really start growing properly, certainly cant practice crop rotation properly anyway. I need to draft and submit a notice for the parish newsletter asking for interested persons to contact me.

So, pruning fruit trees and starting on chicken houses next jobs

Maths & Onions

This is Zak :

Zak enjoyed escaping and exploring the garden whenever he could. Hes now in the garden under the apple tree, along with Daniel (zaks piggy mate), Katie (zaks wife) and Molly (daniels missus and Dylans mum). We like to think there is an animal afterlife, in a secluded field with a stream and trees, thats where they are now.

Today was supposed to be for writing an OU astonomy assignment, which indeed it was, but whereas i expect to spend hours on end slaving over equations, that wasnt to be so. I have no idea what the equations are about. Some people may be happy to mathematically explain the relationship between the scale factor and the mass density parameter of the cosmological constant, but it just gives me a bad headache. So, i didnt answer those questions, and got out into the garden.

I got the onions pulled up and set out to dry. Not too bad, about 14 that look usable, the odd pest hole in one or two. Now, ive never even considered growing onions before, but the father-in-law gave me some sets, so i had a go. Quite pleased, although we dont tend to use many onions, so what im going to do with them ive no idea!

I had decided i would pull out and replant the gooseberry bushes as well, but on venturing down the garden, i noticed rather curiously they wern't there. Julie and Sam were out at a party. When they came back, i discovered that Julie had decided to mow them over with the lawnmower. Quite how she managed this i cant imagine, but theres nothing left of any of the 6 bushes.

Caterpillers. Half a dozen big 'uns, and under one cabbage leaf about a millions baby ones. I just cant win with these things. I crushed most of them, but several plants look like ive had a go at them with the 12gauge. The weeds were looking a nightmare as well. So, it looked like time to do some weeding.

Julie by this time was home with sam. Sam had his wellies on and was searching the weeds for 'catipillies', but as he says 'not find any'. I took it on myself to give the now defunct and much overgrown potatoe patch the once over, and discovered one scraggly plant that yielded a half dozen or so spuds. So thats tomorrows dinner. I started to hoe the rest of the plot, something that i had badly neglected. I discovered that there were a few of the deemed lost carrots still hiding away amonst the weeds.

So a carrot was saved. The deluge of rain recently has been a godsend for the plot, i can actually dig more than half an inch! After a good hoeing the plot looks respectable again, although i was amased how that prized plant grass had crept in. Now, dont get me wrong, i like a nice lawn just as much as the next bloke, but not between my cauliflowers. Some thining and occasional transplanting later, and things are looking tidy. I dismantled the pea canes for later use.

On the small plot, which was only dug last month at great personal effort and resulting agony, using a pick axe and mattock as the ground was like tank armour, the weeds were taking hold. But whats that? A lettuce? and are those carrots? I could be very wrong, but it does seem that my gamble here might just pay off.

I got into trouble for leaving bits of onion skin and mud near the kitchen, and have been told ive got to wear the wellies on the plot. The plums are starting to ripen, but i think next year the tree needs cutting back a bit and thining out. The cooking apples are not bad either. More digging over tomorrow, and a bit more weeding but now the ground moist enough things are doing better. The parsnips i thought were a gonner after growing in sedimentary rock now look like they may just manage to survive.

Freddy is picking up Dylans habbits. Old Dylan does seem to be livelier, and happy to look after little Fred. I can relax now, a bottle of Black Sheep Riggwelter and a few others tonight for me.

A week or so ago, Julie told me there was a rabbit in the garden. Indeed there was. Black and white and sitting on the border. After much chasing we caught it and installed it in Zaks old house. Several days passed before we found out it belonged to the lady a few houses away. The bunny was returned, and after finding out they had two and the hutch was no good, we donated a double hutch we didnt need to them. The lady cam around today to say thankyou, with two bottles of white wine. That'll do for me!

Getting eggsited

The decision has been made to keep chickens (by me really). Only a few mind. This is something i know Julie has always wanted to do, and now its become one of my pet projects. The idea of having my own fresh eggs, and nice busy chickos in the garden is what appeals to me, and they can fertilise the vegatables. Not rushing straight out though, we have ordered a book on the subject and im getting advise and henhouse plans of the 'net. I want to build the house cheeply using reclaimed wood.

Julie says they can go at the bottom of the garden, near the veg plot. Theres gooseberry bushes there now, but neither of us like goosegogs, so these are coming out. Probably be re planted in the hedgerows.

The veg is not doing well this year. I was late digging the plot anyway and the soil is just not good. The onions did ok, but the carrots and parsnips were pointless. Mostly my fault, as i firmed them down 'well' too well in fact and its like there concreted in. The potatoes suffered badly from scab, but we did get a few. Sam enjoyed the peas, which did quite well. For a couple of days he ate loads of them.

Im hoping the caulies and broccoli will do ok, and the sprouts. Im having a heck of a job controlling the caterpillers, i tried a natural method using a type of nematode, which worked but was too expensive to keep using. Derris did a good job so they will get some more of that soon. Now im just picking them off by hand, the furry little pests. I cant get Sam to do it, he prefers digging the soil with a stick.

The onions are coming out this weekend, before they go bad, so long as i have time. University study has priority this week though. At least the water butts are full again now.

1st Test

Hello. Im Zak, well no im not, Im Martin. Zak was my rabbit until he died. This blog is in his honour.

Bear with me, ive only just started this. But eventually it will have all sorts of stuff about growing my veg, our creatures, astronomy, radio etc blah blah. And a running commentary on my plans for my own chickens.

There will be words of wisdom from Sam as well, in 2 1/2year old scribble writing...

There should also be some occasional writings by Julie, who is in overall command.