1. A weird headache behind my eyeballs.
2. Lots of wee 3D models.
3. Relief that I can now get on with the woodwork.
Monday 24 January 2011
Computer work...
This week I have been mostly drawing staircases on AutoCAD. Took me all last Monday to remember how to use it, and now I have:
1. A weird headache behind my eyeballs.
2. Lots of wee 3D models.
3. Relief that I can now get on with the woodwork.
Yawn. Rather be outside but it's too wet and this is progress of a sort.
1. A weird headache behind my eyeballs.
2. Lots of wee 3D models.
3. Relief that I can now get on with the woodwork.
Sunday 9 January 2011
Winter veg - the winners.
Piacenza savoy as big as a football, Hildst Blauer Herbst und Winter radish as big as a cricket ball, Long de Meziers leek as big as a rounders bat. Bottomless stomach so no probs with disposal.
Barley and veg stew tonight, and every night this coming week!
Barley and veg stew tonight, and every night this coming week!
Saturday 8 January 2011
New Year, new plans.
Happy new year to all my reader.
Not much happening at the moment because the weather's foul and I'm leaving the digging until it's drier. Being clay soil it's bad to dig it in the winter and you should either do it in autumn (preferable) or spring. Or no-dig it of course - pull out perennial weeds, mulch and then cover up until needed. We can't do this yet because we don't have enough compost. I didn't adapt what I had read about compost in the Humanure Handbook to the wet conditions we have here and ended up with a slimy mess. So on christmas day K and I layered what we had with straw into one big pile and covered it with the ubiquitous black placcy. We now need to get a few tons of municipal compost from somewhere (only stuff you can get here in big bags) and hopefully our stuff will be ready by summer and we can mulch everything with it. Live and learn.
I have been pleased with the Piacenza savoys - big crunchy tasty heads with no slugs! Same with the leeks. The winter-sown broad beans look a bit battered from the frost and wind but they'll come back. Next year I'll cover with straw and net to keep them healthier. Same with the spring cabbages. The chard is coming back from the brink after the hard frosts, there's a few wee romanesco peeping out of the foliage and the purple sprouting is looking good. More to be planted next year. Kale is poor - too small. Brussels have been a bit disappointing as well. I need to stake both of them firmly and give them more muck. A surprise has been the winter radishes - I thought they were woody and bitter at first tasting but after the hard frosts they turned crisp and sweet, with just a hint of pepper. Delicious!
Soft fruit has been netted against birds eating the buds and is looking ok - lots of big healthy buds, etc. We're going to plant more soon. Fruit trees look ok apart from the Belchard apple so I want a couple of dwarfs to make up the deficit. Polytunnel crops are ok - got enough salad bits for the two of us but I think we could do with planting them out earlier next time so they grow a bit more before the cold weather hits.
Chickens are fine out in the cold wet windy muck! Still getting one or two eggs a day. Obediah the cock has ripped out all the feathers on his favourite lady's back when he's been -ahem- busy and it's looking very raw. Next spring when the new chicken areas a la Balfour Method are done I'm introducing two new chooks so that should enable him to spread his joy about and the poor bugger will recover. Obediah's got to have his scratchin's.*
Gite is coming along slowly. I'm re-drawing the stair plan to take into account the planed wood is 1cm smaller than what I was told it was. Got to wait for the cement to set on the floor where the old stair base was so no problem. Kitchen's being wired as I type this, stove is all clean and nice, and there's only a few more wee jobs to do before we decorate and get all the crap out of our spare room and back into the gite where it came from. I feel like we've broke the back (and bank!) on it at last. Apart from the stairs, but I've got someone showing me what to do so it should be ok. Should be done and dusted by spring, thank God!
Roll on spring.
*see Sharpe's Rifles series for clarification. Thought Sgt. Obediah Hakeswill and the cockerel had similar personalities!
Not much happening at the moment because the weather's foul and I'm leaving the digging until it's drier. Being clay soil it's bad to dig it in the winter and you should either do it in autumn (preferable) or spring. Or no-dig it of course - pull out perennial weeds, mulch and then cover up until needed. We can't do this yet because we don't have enough compost. I didn't adapt what I had read about compost in the Humanure Handbook to the wet conditions we have here and ended up with a slimy mess. So on christmas day K and I layered what we had with straw into one big pile and covered it with the ubiquitous black placcy. We now need to get a few tons of municipal compost from somewhere (only stuff you can get here in big bags) and hopefully our stuff will be ready by summer and we can mulch everything with it. Live and learn.
I have been pleased with the Piacenza savoys - big crunchy tasty heads with no slugs! Same with the leeks. The winter-sown broad beans look a bit battered from the frost and wind but they'll come back. Next year I'll cover with straw and net to keep them healthier. Same with the spring cabbages. The chard is coming back from the brink after the hard frosts, there's a few wee romanesco peeping out of the foliage and the purple sprouting is looking good. More to be planted next year. Kale is poor - too small. Brussels have been a bit disappointing as well. I need to stake both of them firmly and give them more muck. A surprise has been the winter radishes - I thought they were woody and bitter at first tasting but after the hard frosts they turned crisp and sweet, with just a hint of pepper. Delicious!
Soft fruit has been netted against birds eating the buds and is looking ok - lots of big healthy buds, etc. We're going to plant more soon. Fruit trees look ok apart from the Belchard apple so I want a couple of dwarfs to make up the deficit. Polytunnel crops are ok - got enough salad bits for the two of us but I think we could do with planting them out earlier next time so they grow a bit more before the cold weather hits.
Chickens are fine out in the cold wet windy muck! Still getting one or two eggs a day. Obediah the cock has ripped out all the feathers on his favourite lady's back when he's been -ahem- busy and it's looking very raw. Next spring when the new chicken areas a la Balfour Method are done I'm introducing two new chooks so that should enable him to spread his joy about and the poor bugger will recover. Obediah's got to have his scratchin's.*
Gite is coming along slowly. I'm re-drawing the stair plan to take into account the planed wood is 1cm smaller than what I was told it was. Got to wait for the cement to set on the floor where the old stair base was so no problem. Kitchen's being wired as I type this, stove is all clean and nice, and there's only a few more wee jobs to do before we decorate and get all the crap out of our spare room and back into the gite where it came from. I feel like we've broke the back (and bank!) on it at last. Apart from the stairs, but I've got someone showing me what to do so it should be ok. Should be done and dusted by spring, thank God!
Roll on spring.
*see Sharpe's Rifles series for clarification. Thought Sgt. Obediah Hakeswill and the cockerel had similar personalities!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)