No blog last week as the week disappeared in the garden. We have been planting up the front long greenhouse with tomatoes and cucumbers. The spare I have potted on as backup or I may trial them in the back greenhouse in pots.
At the allotment I have created another bed and put in blueberries underplanted with strawberries - yes more strawberries. I also put in a rowan tree so we should get berries for rowan jelly.
I had an email last week about air source heat pumps and by co-incidence the CLean SLate Magazine from the Centre for ALternative Technology ran an article on ASHPs. CAT give a link to their own research at http://info.cat.org.uk/heatpumps and the Energy Saving Trust Report Getting Warmer: a field trial of heat pumps (2010) at www.est.org.uk/generate-your-own-energy/heat-pump-field-trial . I have checked both links are working tonight.
I was given the link by a friend to a radio 4 show last week. I am not a radio 4 show istener, however this was the food show and about growing food. It focused on Otter Farm in DEvon run by Mark Diacono. Mark is Hugh Fearney-Whittingstall's headgardener. However, he has another passion that is to grow food he likes to eat, the easier to grow and the more unusual the better. He also believes in perenial foods, as they are easy to grow and often about during the current hungry gap. We were impressed with his ideas and I have bought his book to find out more. Growing tasty food with little effort does sound too good to be true, but we shall see.
This week has also seen the University of Newcastle's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Studies publish a review paper which says that organic food is more nutritious and on average will allow you to live 2 - 3 weeks longer.
My final bit of news is that after 5 years of work my rehomed Bernese Mountain Dog can now happily walk off the lead. This is a major achievement and though has nothing to do with the smallholding it has a huge impact on me. When he first came to us he had never been on a lead and when put on the lead walked on his back legs. He shied from everything and attacked all dogs. He also was terrified of men, umbrellas and sticks. It is so good to take him for a walk now. Sadly, inthe same week my Irish Red and White Setter ahd been diagnosed with dementia. It isn't a surprise but makes us realise he won't be around forever.
At the allotment I have created another bed and put in blueberries underplanted with strawberries - yes more strawberries. I also put in a rowan tree so we should get berries for rowan jelly.
I had an email last week about air source heat pumps and by co-incidence the CLean SLate Magazine from the Centre for ALternative Technology ran an article on ASHPs. CAT give a link to their own research at http://info.cat.org.uk/heatpumps and the Energy Saving Trust Report Getting Warmer: a field trial of heat pumps (2010) at www.est.org.uk/generate-your-own-energy/heat-pump-field-trial . I have checked both links are working tonight.
I was given the link by a friend to a radio 4 show last week. I am not a radio 4 show istener, however this was the food show and about growing food. It focused on Otter Farm in DEvon run by Mark Diacono. Mark is Hugh Fearney-Whittingstall's headgardener. However, he has another passion that is to grow food he likes to eat, the easier to grow and the more unusual the better. He also believes in perenial foods, as they are easy to grow and often about during the current hungry gap. We were impressed with his ideas and I have bought his book to find out more. Growing tasty food with little effort does sound too good to be true, but we shall see.
This week has also seen the University of Newcastle's School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Studies publish a review paper which says that organic food is more nutritious and on average will allow you to live 2 - 3 weeks longer.
My final bit of news is that after 5 years of work my rehomed Bernese Mountain Dog can now happily walk off the lead. This is a major achievement and though has nothing to do with the smallholding it has a huge impact on me. When he first came to us he had never been on a lead and when put on the lead walked on his back legs. He shied from everything and attacked all dogs. He also was terrified of men, umbrellas and sticks. It is so good to take him for a walk now. Sadly, inthe same week my Irish Red and White Setter ahd been diagnosed with dementia. It isn't a surprise but makes us realise he won't be around forever.
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