Broad beans

I sowed these at the back end and they seem to have survived the snow and ice so today I've put up some roadwork netting to give them some protection from the wind. I've got a brand new 50 metre roll of this stuff which came out of a skip. Happy days.

Big garden birdwatch

I managed to miss the big garden birdwatch. I did see a redwing on the plot the other day but not today so it doesn't count. Such is life. Still eating sprouts, carrots and leeks from the plot so it's not as if I'm going to lose any sleep.

More winter plantings

Where I cleared some of the brambles at the back of the plot I've planted a young Sweet Chestnut - Castanea "Marigoule". This is a Marron type giving one large nut per cluster rather than lots of small ones. And also a Juneberry - Amelanchier "Ballerina" which should provide fruits in July. Both of these from Cool Temperate Nursery, Cossall, Notts, as recommended by Ken Fern's Plants for a Future, situated round the back of Trinity Farm farm shop. The nursery isn't open to the public so if you plan on buying anything there you'll need to check the website and contact Phil to make an appointment.

Winter jobs

Now the snow's gone I can crack on with some jobs on the plot. I've pruned the apples, gooseberries, raspberries and grapes, now I'm getting on with clearing a few brambles.

Apple trees pruned.

Brambles

Brambles are a great multi-purpose plant. Shelter for birds and mammals, flowers for the bees in spring and blackberries for me from summer into autumn. They also make a great barrier which is why I've left a deep layer of them on two sides of the plot to stop Billy the burglar getting to the houses on the other side, one of which happens to be mine. But they were starting to encroach too much into the orchard which is why I've been cutting them back a bit.


Winter's a good time for digging out brambles, the roots come out much easier when the soil is wet.

Hedging

As the fence panels between me and my neighbour start coming apart I'm replacing them with a hawthorn hedge. Here I've planted a stretch up with whips:



Here's some I planted further up a couple of years ago growing away well now:


Spot the fox trail!

Winter walkabout

Carbon footprint

A gang of us planted these stands of trees as little saplings for the council twenty-odd years ago so it's good to see them doing well. (And yes, some of those years were very odd).

Happy New Year

Hello boys and girls. My resolutions this year are to eat more from skips and resume shoplifting. And get out more in the countryside. Starting today.

Turkey genocide

So how was it for you?
Check out my cool pressies:

Bungee-jumping bird feeder

Trailer-shaped nesting box (makes me feel all nostalgic).
Cheers Jax. xx

Another gratuitous dig at those barmy americans

I haven't shown you my air raid shelter before because it's top secret. Or possibly because up till now it was buried underneath the brambles. Apparently they're very fashionable at the moment so I was thinking of inviting offers for it. On the other hand I may just hang on to it in case those barmy americans turn nasty.


There's quite a few of these knocking about on our site, most of them sawn in half and tipped on their sides for stashing manure. But in case you can't get enough of them here's another one that's still intact:

Christmas veggies

Got these in today ready for dinner tomorrow with the oldies.
Forking leeks out of frozen ground...


...and carrots...


...the sprouts were a bit easier:



Happy Christmas to us all, we're utterly brilliant.

Tree O'Clock

Did my bit today by taking part in the BBC Breathing Places Tree O'Clock event to plant as many trees as possible between 11 and 12 o'clock today in an attempt to break the world record for most trees planted in one hour. I toddled along to our local event at Allestree Park organised by WildDerby and along with lots of other people planted my dozen trees. Hopefully next year they'll do something really useful and plant up the golf course.

Not only that I also scored a few hawthorn whips to plant at home; I've used them to fill in some gaps in the hedge on the plot. Regular eco-warrior I am today.

Aquadulce broad beans

Coming up nicely:

Getting started

On the winter digging:

Spreading compost...

...and digging it in:

Stephanie McMillan

Proper autumn

Proper autumn now, not that you'd know it from the balmy weather and yes, global bloody capitalists, I still blame you more than ever.

Halloween and all that nonsense. Thankfully I haven't grown any pumpkins.

Still plenty to eat from the plot mind - carrots, leeks, autumn greens and the last tomatoes; barrow loads of apples; peas and beans from the freezer; onions and potatoes from store.

I've planted out the garlic and also sown some broad beans and peas for (hopefully) some early crops next spring. Other than that I've been getting on with some structural jobs. Oo-er, get me.


The colours of autumn - the last of the tomatoes, carnations and sunflower heads.

Blimey I'm getting all artistic. Don't tell Emma.

Slabbing

The path down the middle of the plot gets muddy in winter so I've put down some recycled slabs:


Cool eh? Very structural.

Carnations

Still enjoying these before the frost cuts them down:

Cosmos

Bees enjoying the last cosmos flowers: