Spring and start of Summer ...

Since the last time of writing, Neil completed the propagator box and I have quite a busy greenhouse; seeds sown and germinated include; Tomatoes (several varieties) Cucumber, Melon, Aubergine, Dwarf Beans, Peas, Mange Tout, Peas and lots of Sunflowers. The first lot of chilli and sweet peppers failed to germinate so I am waiting to see if we will get some with the second attempt. I have also sown some sweetcorn, courgette and squash.
In the polytunnel, I have sown some spring onions, beetroot and salad leaves. All seem to be coming up and probably need thinning out. Some of the strawberries are flowering so we are hopeful that we will get some strawberries. The weeds are quite prolific in the polytunnel so I will need to keep on top of them as the weather warms up.
I have put in some potatoes and sown some carrots and cabbage in the kitchen garden but little sign of anything coming through yet.
Some of the fruit trees are in blossom so we can start to see which will need some pruning - one of the pear trees seems to only have blossom on one half of it. The gooseberries are coming on and we have had some rhubarb already - very nice as a topping for cheesecake, with cinnamon which I hadn't thought of doing before.
We are looking into building a fruit cage ready for transplanting the soft fruit in the autumn - probably 5m x 5m behind the polytunnel. I was considering putting some of the sunflowers and sweet peas in that area during the summer but talking to a friend, apparently sunflowers take all the goodness from the soil and I need it to be nutritious for the fruit so will have to re-think!

It is now June - well time has flown and I failed to publish the last post I started to write, though I would just add to it.

The sheep are back - and have been fascinated by the hens - one even ended up in the hen run!

The hens are doing really well and loving being free range, producing 5-6 eggs a day. Jim (Jemima) lays in the compost bin and went broody so I managed to get her some fertilised eggs and we have 3 great chicks - 8 weeks old now! Not sure whether they are male or female yet, although I did think I heard one trying it's crow this morning :(

The greenhouse and garden keep me busy - we have lots of tomatoes, some melons (not sure whether we will get melons as struggling to catch the female flowers open to fertilize), aubergines, squash, courgettes and cucumber. having some in the poly tunnel and some in the greenhouses hopefully means we will get staggered timing of production!
There are also lovely beetroots, strawberry - the jam is gorgeous. I used a recipe from James Martin on the BBC website (what will I do when that closes down - I need to remember to write up the recipes!).

Strawberry Jam Recipe

1kg hulled strawberry          

750g jam sugar

juice 1 lemon

small knob of butter

           

Prepare the strawberries; hull the fruit, and cut any large berries in half.

Put the strawberries in a bowl and gently toss through the sugar.

Leave uncovered at room temperature for 12 hrs or overnight.

Tip the strawberry mixture into a preserving pan with the lemon juice. Cook very gently.

Boil hard for 5-10 mins until the jam has reached 105C on a preserving or digital thermometer, then turn off the heat.

Add a knob of butter, if you like, to the finished jam, and stir in to melt.

Transfer to jars.

We also have spring onions, salad leaves and potatoes, leeks, onion, garlic and various peas, beans and cabbage/broccoli, in the kitchen garden. So it is all looking OK at the moment.
The gooseberries are just ready for picking and we are going to try making some gooseberry wine!?
There are 2 types of rhubarb - one has been lovely and the other one hardly bothered to turn up! Hopefully when we move them later this summer, and feed with some manure, they will come back better! We have just made a small quantity of rhubarb gin; last year I made too much and it doesn't really last more than 4-6 months, so had to throw some away. The recipe is from queenofeverything:

Ingredients

1 bottle of cheap Gin

400g Fresh chopped Rhubarb

50g Granulated Sugar

1/2 a Lemon, juiced

Method

Put the chopped Rhubarb and sugar in a sterilised and cool jar

Tighten the lid and shake until the Rhubarb is well coated

Then add in the Lemon Juice and Gin, again tighten the lid and shake together well

Store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 weeks, shaking every two days

After 2 weeks the Gin will have taken on the pink of Rhubarb

Sterilise a glass bottle in the oven and let it cool

Strain the Gin and pour into the glass bottle, fasten the lid and you can store for up to 6 months

There are elder trees in the wood so we have just made some elderflower cordial so look forward to that - such a refreshing drink. Elderflower cordial is again a recipe from the BBC website.
The planting is lovely, beautiful flowers all year so far and the shrubs look good. My main job over the next few weeks is to make sure I prune at the right time to keep them looking good.

I nearly forgot to update on the drains and paths. Neil and Sam are digging round the polytunnel to put in land drains and then making gravel paths around to help with weed control as well as hoping to reduce the problem of wet paths!

The fencing is being done and will look good when finished.

Bees and Propagators

The past couple of weeks have continued to be quite interesting here at Barnfold.
We moved the bees with us to Barnfold, on a hot summers day, and sited them where we thought would be sheltered and they would get plenty of sunlight. [By the way, Neil is responsible for the bee management]. Two weeks ago he went in to do the usual check and the 2 hive were still looking good for the time of year. One of the hives is quite an angry colony, which is difficult as the bees bombard him whenever he opens the hive and in the summer they will bombard those of us nearby! The other hive is a good calm queen and consequently a calm colony. The following week, he went in to feed them and the calm colony has died; there is no clear indication as to what has caused it - the weather had got considerably colder (the first real chilly snap this winter) and Neil wonders if that has caused the problem. So he is on the lookout for another colony but most importantly another place to site them!
We will wait and see what happens with the 'angry' hive!

The other area of development is yet to be completed; in January I ordered various different seed so that I could get a good start in the greenhouse and 2 weeks ago, when I came to do some planning, I realised that I needed some form of heat!
I was reluctant to use an electric heater - fuel guzzlers - and talked to Mark (my trusted allotmenteer and small holding friend and advisor for technical stuff with regards to growing vegetables, in particular!).
He told me of his propagator box which he made to utilise soil warming cables; something I hadn't heard of previously! We now have the soil warming cables and most of the stuff to make the box; so next time I update you, there will hopefully be pictures of the box and maybe seedlings - I need to get sowing! Those of you who know me will understand that I need to wait for Neil to make the box as my approach is described as 'slapdash' and he is much more of a perfectionist. Mind you, if he doesn't get a move on I might have to just do it!
This last week, I have taken some photographs of the hedge after it was laid - it will look amazing in the spring with the new growth, the birds are already busy looking for homes in the branches. The third photograph is of the muddy path that has developed this winter and rarely gets chance to dry out! I think we need to consider the drainage as it is particularly bad there! There are a few drainage issues which I am sure I will come back to at various points.

That is that for now ...

First six months in brief!

On 31st July, we moved into our new home - Barnfold.
We have many visitors, in fact Neil and Naomi keep saying that we have visitors all the time. There are many new various elements of our lifestyle, combining work and our semi rural idyll; it has been suggested that a blog might help to keep people up to speed as well as help us to keep a record of what we have achieved :)

Barnfold is a 4 bedroom barn conversion in North Lancashire set in 4.5 acres of land.

When we arrived, a local farmer asked to keep some sheep on the land which was useful in trying to keep the grass short; however, summer 2015 was a good one for grass so there weren't enough sheep to keep the grass at the right length. It was also obvious that thistles are a big problem. When the sheep were taken off the land in October, Allan's son Chris, topped the field so it has looked better for the winter. I am sure that the thistles will be back with a vengeance as we head back to the spring. The field also has plenty of moles, which were really active before the winter and although less so now, it is still obvious there will be a problem.

The orchard area which has several mature apple trees had grass of about waist height, which Sam got under control, using Neil's new rechargeable strimmer.

One of the first purchases on our move here were a strimmer, lawn mower and hedge trimmer which all use the same rechargeable battery. They are light and all seem to work well - and whilst the battery recharges, Neil can have a coffee break. Last week Neil also bought a chain saw, to go with his set!

We have a local contractor who to do the hedge laying and fencing.
A few weeks ago, one of his associates, laid the hedge between the orchard and the field; and it looks good - they will replace the fence between the wood and field when the weather dries up a bit. Once the orchard is stock proof we are hoping to get a couple of weaners to fatten up. The hens have just been let out into the orchard area - until now we have had them in a fenced off area, and with all the rain this winter, the patch has become very muddy. I have decided to see how we go by letting them roam the orchard - hopefully they will be used to laying in the nesting boxes and will come back to the hen hut at night!

Inheriting a fruitful orchard and garden means we have tried a variety of new preserves and need to think this year about how we can use the products as gifts for Christmas!
There have been loads of apples and some pears (although I didn't pick these at the best time!) - from the apples we have made cider, apple and ginger marmalade, chutney, apple jelly, as well as the usual apple crumble, apple pies and apple cakes, to name a few. We still have apples stored in the shed :).

 

There were many plums, some damsons (a tree in the hedge, which we have managed to keep following ht hedge laying), blackberries. There are gooseberry bushes, rhubarb, raspberries, blackcurrants and blueberries. I have planted white currant and redcurrant bushes so hope to have plenty of fruit this year. Mind you with the lack of frost this year, I am not too hopeful.

There were also lots of tomatoes in the polytunnel and we have had the fruits of the vegetable garden left for us by the previous owners - cabbage, potatoes, green beans and onions in the main. I have planted some kale, some broccoli, onions, garlic.
A couple of weeks ago, Neil and I redesigned the polytunnal beds and moved compost into the beds so hoping we will have a productive year. We have built compost bins which we are filling with our waste as well as moving the old compost from the compost areas in the field. I have ordered seeds so will be making a start on sowing seeds soon. With the mild winter, it is important not to do too much too soon!

At Christmas we moved the mulled wine and mince pie gathering to Barnfold - it was a lovely evening, welcoming old friends and new.

Before Neil got his chain saw, he chopped down the evergreen tree at the side of the house, with his newly sharpened axe, with thanks to John Hacking (mum and dad's friend).

For Christmas, Neil was given a flat cap which he is sporting here on a walk with the Fosters in the snow!

Pip is loving life at Barnfold, as are we all. She has a new playmate - Oli is our 'barn' cat; who lives in the shed and continually tries to get into the house at any opportunity; often looking in at the window when we are eating in the dining room, or relaxing in the lounge.

Today (10 Feb 2016) there are some spring flowers - the daffodils, snowdrops and many different hellebores.

There will be many things I have missed and I will now try and write something on a more regular basis! We'll see ...