Set 24 hens eggs in the incubator – 12 of our own plus 6 Rhode Island Reds and 6 Light Sussex which we bought off the internet. They should hatch in 21 days.
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Hatching eggs
Category: Crofting
Posts relating to crofting activity
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More seeds sown
Spring seed sowing starting to ramp up. The following seeds sown in modules in the polycrub :
Dwarf sweet pea
Tagetes
Marigold
Zinnia
Cosmos
Viola
Lobelia
Heliopsis
Pea – Hurst’s Greenshaft
Dill
Parsley
Tomatoes – legend and gardeners delight
The seeds planted earlier are all germinated, although they are still fairly small. The over wintered spinach beet is now ready for picking and eating
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Willows for fuel
We are reducing the size of our rigs for growing vegetables as they are going to be made into raised beds, so we have a bit of space fenced off from animals with reasonably good soil. In order to utilise this space we decided to plant some willows specifically for harvesting for fuel for the range. Ordered up 3 varieties of willow from south which arrived on Friday and when the weather improved slightly on Sunday we planted them out. They were just pushed through some weed suppressant fabric, which was pegged to the ground, so that they have a bit of head start on the weeds. If all goes well we should be cutting some willow to burn is a few years time.
As you can see from the picture the ground is very wet at the moment – makes working outside very difficult , if not impossible. Hopefully we’ll have a spell of good weather soon and the ground will dry out.
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Blackcurrants and willows
3 years ago we took cuttings of blackcurrants (well prunings really) and shoved them in the ground. Most of them rooted successfully and having survived pigs and turkeys it is time to move them. We planted some of them outside of the pig area to act as wind break / screening, along with some willows which had been growing on in the old polytunnel area.
The three largest blackcurrants were planted into the fruit area on a bed that used to house strawberries. They were joined by a gooseberry bush.
So in a couple of years we should increase our fruit harvest.
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Mirrie Dancers
Mirrie dancers (aka northern lights, aurora borealis) were out in force tonight. Perfect night for it – moonless and virtually cloudless
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More seeds sown
The beds in the polycrub are starting to get filled. Planted the following rows of seeds today along with a couple of rows of red onion sets:
- Carrots – Early Nantes
- Beetroot – Moneta
- Spring onion – White Lisbon
- Swiss chard – Rainbow
Also sowed the following seeds in pots for planting out when they have germinated and grown on
- Lettuce leaf – gourmet
- Celeriac – Prinz
- Leeks – American Blue Flag
- Leeks – Bulgarian Giant
The white stuff in the picture below is crushed egg shells sprinkled over the seeds to keep the slugs at bay
The radishes have germinated, so should be eating them in few weeks and the autumn planted shallots are coming on nicely.
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Strawberry bed and rhubarb
Finished making and planting the new strawberry bed next to the shed. We don’t seem to be able to grow strawberries in the polycrub, they grow well but the fruit tastes a bit mouldy which tends to spoil the enjoyment. So have made a raised bed next to the shed, south West facing and with a bit of shelter from the polycrub and planted the strawberries. We’ll see how they get on.
Rhubarb is starting to come into leaf – always a sign that spring is on the way – so have given it a bit of a boost by covering the whole area with some compost/manure from the midden.
Also tidied up in the polycrub, planted some rosemary, manured the fruit trees.
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Another season starts
Another season gets underway in the polycrub. Not much left from last year, just some rocket, radicchio plus autumn planted shallots, broccoli and spring greens. All looks a bit bare – although all ready for planting a new season of crops!
Have already sown some first early tatties, which should be ready for eating in June.
This weekend we sowed some radish direct into the soil and gourmet lettuce leaf inside which will planted once it has germinated.
With the sunshine this weekend it was nice and warm in the Polycrub – here’s hoping for a good spring and summer!
Picked some of our carrots, rather large thinnings really, and have embarked on making some carrot pickle using a recipe from Oded Schwartz.
All ingredients shredded and mixed, now needs to be left overnight to marinate before boiling and putting into jars tomorrow.
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So much to do
Things are really revving up down here at the old Creative Croft, no time to sit around – lots to plant out
Our first little lambs Samson and Delilah having a nap and the goatlings Heidi and Jasmine are a year old and growing.
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Before I begin the watercolour section of the botanical art course I’m doing I just need to work on flowers of a different kind to make more needles and buttons etc.
Jasmine is a very curious goat!
