This last couple of weeks has been busy - thus the lack of blog. It is a busy time of year for many of us. Those who grow food and keep animals are tending crops and young animals. Those who have kids have school holidays and of we are lucky the sun is shining and we want to be out enjoying ourselves.
Our veg patch had been poor so far this year, the salad crops have been great, but the kale in the same bed is growing slowly. The peas have grown on one side of the frame but not the other though the nasturtiums I grow with them for capers and salad have grown very well. The courgette and squash plants are starting to flower and a few odd courgettes coming. The potatoes are poor but I think that may be site as much as anything I may move them to the allotment next year.. The red onions were fantastic before we went away last week but started to bolt while we were away they are lifted and drying but will not be as good as hoped for. The white onions are much slower but they went in later. The brussel sprouts are coming along nicely, but the garlic I have left in place, despite being planted in November and being maginificent plants they have no bulbs. I have stopped them flowering and will let them run to the autumn and see how they are. The leeks are tiny but will give us a crop in due course.
The greenhouse is producing cucumbers, the tomatoes are green but big and prolific and the peppers and basil are coming slowly. The rasps have done well considereing and we are still picking.
The allotment is coming along though two beds still need to be built.
We also took time out and went to see part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. On the way we popped into a fishing tackle shop to pick up some odds and ends for our hols and then visited a brew shop I was last in while at school - with my parents! I picked up a book there on wine making , many hedgerow wines so I will be off trying some new ones this year. It also gives reasons for failures which will be very useful.
And then it comes to the bees. Our new hive is doing really well, lovely bees and hopefully persuadable toproduce a new queen for us. The older hive sadly is grumpy. Initially I thought this was due to hunger so I started feeding them again but no luck so I am going to have to take advice from my beekeeping collegues as to what is best to do.
And finally, finally we have been away on holiday. Up into Scotland with our trailer tent. This was typical mission creep. It was a weekend away to celebrate a friend's birthday initally. Thus the tent as the hotel accommodation was price, scarce and wouldn't take dogs. This then expanded to a week, sadly not longer. We had one of our best holidays ever. the kids loved it and prefered it to the caravan. We used less than two tanks of LPG despite the engine size of our current tow car, tents are so much lighter. So now we have a problem. Do we keep pur tent and caravan - ?excessive, do we sell our caravan and stick to the tent - eco and financially good but no winter trips or do we keep our caravan sell the tent on - financially neutral, the kids would revolt and we are slow to go anywhere with weekends away with our current rig virtually impossible. We do however need to decide soon as it will have an impact on our transport coices for next year and beyond. Watch this space.
Our veg patch had been poor so far this year, the salad crops have been great, but the kale in the same bed is growing slowly. The peas have grown on one side of the frame but not the other though the nasturtiums I grow with them for capers and salad have grown very well. The courgette and squash plants are starting to flower and a few odd courgettes coming. The potatoes are poor but I think that may be site as much as anything I may move them to the allotment next year.. The red onions were fantastic before we went away last week but started to bolt while we were away they are lifted and drying but will not be as good as hoped for. The white onions are much slower but they went in later. The brussel sprouts are coming along nicely, but the garlic I have left in place, despite being planted in November and being maginificent plants they have no bulbs. I have stopped them flowering and will let them run to the autumn and see how they are. The leeks are tiny but will give us a crop in due course.
The greenhouse is producing cucumbers, the tomatoes are green but big and prolific and the peppers and basil are coming slowly. The rasps have done well considereing and we are still picking.
The allotment is coming along though two beds still need to be built.
We also took time out and went to see part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. On the way we popped into a fishing tackle shop to pick up some odds and ends for our hols and then visited a brew shop I was last in while at school - with my parents! I picked up a book there on wine making , many hedgerow wines so I will be off trying some new ones this year. It also gives reasons for failures which will be very useful.
And then it comes to the bees. Our new hive is doing really well, lovely bees and hopefully persuadable toproduce a new queen for us. The older hive sadly is grumpy. Initially I thought this was due to hunger so I started feeding them again but no luck so I am going to have to take advice from my beekeeping collegues as to what is best to do.
And finally, finally we have been away on holiday. Up into Scotland with our trailer tent. This was typical mission creep. It was a weekend away to celebrate a friend's birthday initally. Thus the tent as the hotel accommodation was price, scarce and wouldn't take dogs. This then expanded to a week, sadly not longer. We had one of our best holidays ever. the kids loved it and prefered it to the caravan. We used less than two tanks of LPG despite the engine size of our current tow car, tents are so much lighter. So now we have a problem. Do we keep pur tent and caravan - ?excessive, do we sell our caravan and stick to the tent - eco and financially good but no winter trips or do we keep our caravan sell the tent on - financially neutral, the kids would revolt and we are slow to go anywhere with weekends away with our current rig virtually impossible. We do however need to decide soon as it will have an impact on our transport coices for next year and beyond. Watch this space.
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