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.