Fancy a holiday?

Fancy getting away from it all for a bit?  Need to attend to some family business? How on earth do you go about leaving the place, with all that needs looking after?

Well it can be done with a little prior planning and preparation.  Depending on how much needs attending to whilst you are away, will depend on who you can ask and how often they need to visit.

Friends and neighbours can be called upon to put chickens to bed and let out in the mornings, but their level of knowledge and confidence will depend on how much more they feel they can cope with; someone more professional with more experience may be needed, who will come and house-sit full-time.  The appointed person will come and ‘live-in’ for the duration of your holiday, giving you peace of mind whilst you are away with regards to security.  This works excellently if you have household pets, e.g. dogs and cats, as it means their routine is not disturbed.  All your required jobs will be fulfilled by the sitter, i.e. all animal feeding and watering, dog walking, polytunnels/greenhouse watered.

Finding a house sitter, can be a little problematic in itself.  Who is capable, knowledgeable and trustworthy?  Word of mouth is an excellent way, as you get an instant reference as a bonus.  Local smallholding societies who produce monthly magazines may advertise someone local, plus the internet is a good place to hunt too.   The person you choose ideally should be CRB checked, have full third party liability insurance and be able to provide references for you to follow up.

Before committing yourself, you should arrange for them to come for a pre-holiday visit, to view the property and you all get to meet in person.  This gives you an ideal opportunity to see if the person is suitable, if you like them, (they are staying in your house after all), and if they are willing to take the job.  Post visit you can, discuss payment, duties, start and finish dates.  Be prepared to pay a reasonable amount, labour is not cheap and they will be responsible for your property twenty four hours a day.

Whoever you choose, you need to make sure the appointed person understands exactly what needs doing.  Draw up a comprehensive list of duties, e.g.

·        

CChickens

AM – Feed and top up water.  Collect eggs

PM – Let out.  Collect eggs

EVE – Close up run and pop hatch.  Remove feed hopper to shed

·         Leave contact details for yourself and where you are staying, including any mobile numbers.

·         Leave details of where all feed and equipment is kept and where the keys are if any buildings are locked.

·         Notify Vets and the knacker man that you are away and who is staying in your place.  Also leave their contact details in the house for emergencies.

·         Let neighbours/close friends know who is staying, in case they pop in ‘on the off chance’.

·         Leave details of household necessities – bin collection days, stop taps, electricity meters.

·         Anything else you can think of – Central heating squeaks when first comes on, tap drips in kitchen, any vehicles being left at home, for security purposes.

Your expectations of the house sitter should be reasonable too.  Don’t expect them to take your dogs for a five mile walk if you don’t.  Make sure your feed and forage supply is adequate for the duration of their stay.  Also ensure your fencing is secure – enough said!  If it’s winter time, ensure a plentiful supply of heating fuel – oil, coal, logs, whatever it is you use.  The easier and more comfortable you make it for them, the more likely they are to want to come back.

The whole process may seem daunting at the outset, for both parties, but if the house-sitter is experienced in these matters, then all will be well, leaving you to relax and enjoy your time away in confidence.                       

Pesky Pests

I've had two main pest problems in the garden this year, cabbage white butterflies and moles.  I've talked about cabbage whites in earlier posts and the tribulations they've given us, the moles on the other hand have silently and unknowingly caused problems of their own.

The polytunnel is 80% full of tomatoes and every single plant has been undermined by the moles tunnels, excavations and hills.  Watering has been eventful as all of a sudden you find the hosepipe stream disappearing into a tunnel instead of on the soil around the plant.

Now I'm an animal lover and understand that all animals need access to shelter, but if they'd just moved twenty metres further away then they would be in the field and could tunnel away to their hearts content, have huge 'houses' out there and keep me happy too.  So I did some research in the library this afternoon, to better acquaint myself with the blind little critters.

It seems they are extremely sensitive to sound and scent and so various deterrents tend to use this to their advantage e.g.

• Mothballs placed in the tunnels
• Rags/material placed in the tunnels that are soaked in paraffin or some other highly flammable substance and set on fire!
• Shop bought smoke bombs
• Plastic bottles buried into the tunnels - the air that moves along the tunnel vibrates across the 'open' top causing a noise
• Brambles placed in the tunnels - Ouch!
• Soiled cat litter placed in the tunnels - Nice!
• Traps can also be used that entrap the mole, killing it in the process

Those are the more normal ways apparently, there are some more obscure ones -

• Buy a cat - cats will go out at night and catch moles and other damage causing animals - didn't know cats dug out moles, but I suppose it's when the mole surfaces that they catch them
• Using an organic fertiliser containing castor oil meal.  Apparently it is poisonous (very organic - NOT!), but enriches the soil and discourages rodents of all types over a long period of time
• The planting of caper spurge is a traditional method, which is to supposed to deter them - but I wanted to plant vegetables

All this to me seemed a lot of hard work for a few little creatures that were only trying to keep their house in order, and/or set up house for the first time.  I think I'll just carry on squashing the soil down around my tomato plants to level out the soil and raking out the molehills, they've got to live somewhere.

Molehills at various places in the garden - they certainly pick their places!

They do also have some endearing qualities, as they feed on chick beetles, cutworms, leather jackets and wireworms, and as I don't seem to have had a problem with any of these, maybe I should just be thankful for the moles and not all those listed above; they are after all a sign of good soil health as they feed on earthworms, so maybe I'm doing something right after all.

Stats today -

 

Eggs produced = 13

Sales -

1 dozen eggs £1.80

3 x 400g Tomatoes £3.00

1 x Cucumber £0.60

Expenses -

Nil

Look what they've done now!

The little blighters, not content with decimating my winter cabbages they've been on my spring cabbages aswell.

That's two trays nearly all eaten.  It was only by chance that I noticed them.  I was watering them yesterday and wondered what was going on, happened to take a closer look and noticed what looked like caterpillar poo on the leaves, near where the leaves joined the stems on the upper surface, and didn't believe my eyes.

I swept my hand gently across the top of them and lo and behold did the little blighters fall off onto the compost in front of my eyes!  So I did it again until I found them all, and took great delight in squashing them. I'm hoping they aren't too far gone and will re-grow.  I had planned to plant two more trays, as we can sell them once pricked out and plant some here to for sale next year; looks like that job has just been added to my list for tomorrow.  Oh well that's gardening for you.

Stats today -

Eggs produced = 11

Sales -
1 & 1/2 dozen eggs £2.50
1 x 500g Tomatoes £2.00
1 x 500g Carrots £0.75
2 x Geranium plants £3.00

Expenses -
Nil

Poo tea food

Food for tomatoes that is!

How to use your Poo tea.  What?  You mean to say you haven't made any?  Shame on you, when it's free (or pretty cheap, compared to chemically prepared stuff), and organic, what could be better for your plants?

Ok, so you made your witches brew a week or so ago, it should be pretty well stewed by now, stewed enough to use anyway.  Collect your utensils together -

I use an old baked bean tin to collect the tea in, a large plastic watering can, I think it's about 10 litres, then a stick to stir it with.

Give your brew a good stirring.

Then collect a tin full of it, straining off as much as the liquid as you can, leaving the raw material behind.

Empty the strained liquid into your watering can and then top up with water.  Direct the watering can flow at the bottom of your tomato plants; I use one watering can's worth to six plants.

I'm tending to use this concoction every day to water my plants, rather than just plain water, especially as the fruits are beginning to ripen.  Don't forget to top up your dustbin, as the water level recedes.

Stats today -

Eggs produced = 13

Sales -
9 x Geranium plants £13.50
1 x 500g New potatoes £0.75
1 x Cucumber £0.60

Expenses -
Nil

Tomato tidy

One of the jobs on my jobs list for a while now has been to get in the polytunnel and 'tidy up' the tomatoes.  They were looking scruffy, starting to fall over from the weight of the fruit and full of weeds.  Now I love a good tidy up, so I set to the task in earnest this morning, before it got too hot to work under plastic.

I planted half the tomatoes down one side of the tunnel, the other half having to stay in their pots for a while longer, because the ground was still being used by new potatoes. Once harvested the other half went in.  So I'm hoping from this that I might have accidentally staggered the harvest season.

I've grown two varieties - Money maker and Gardeners delight (cherry tomato), and both are doing really well.

I removed the lower leaves to let the light get to the swelling fruit, to aid with ripening -

I took out wayward side shoots and other stems that seemed to have grown from nowhere(?), so that the plants can concentrate their energy into producing fruit not leaves and stems; I then weeded the soil around them, especially around the base where I concentrate the watering -

Finally if the plant had five sets of fruit on it plus two more leaves I pinched out the tops.  The difference in the plants was amazing, I can actually see what's on the vines now.

I think you'll agree they look really tidy now -

Now I've just got to do the other side of the polytunnel -

Aaarrgh!!  Am keeping my fingers crossed for a cool day.

Just wondering though what you all stake your tomatoes with?  Up until now I've always used garden bamboo canes, but am finding they are not strong enough, what else can I use?

Stats today -

Eggs produced = 12

Sales - good day today
1 dozen eggs £1.80
1 x 500g Carrots £0.75
1 x 500g New potatoes £0.75
1 x Cucumber £0.60

Just an aside - had a customer comment on our produce today, she stopped me in the street to tell me -
'Since eating your produce I will not be buying supermarket produce any more.  It all tastes amazing.'
What a compliment, we are chuffed to bits.

Expenses -
Nil

Planting broad beans

The first lot of broad beans refused to germinate, so unperterbed, (I love them skinned and either covered in garlic butter with loads of herbs, or scattered in a large salad with lots of home-made salad dressing), I stuffed some more seeds in pots in the greenhouse and thankfully this time they germinated and grew well.  So I know I am a little late sowing them outside, but better late than never.

It was with great interest that I read the article - 'notes from the potting shed', in the July 2013 edition of Grow It Magazine, about puddling in your plants when planting out from pots.  So I thought I'd give it a go.  The basis of the article was getting much needed water to the plant when it is first planted out, a crucial stage of the plant's life.

Here are my efforts: -

First dig your hole

Then fill it full of water

Pop in the plant, having got it out of the pot before pouring in the water, just in case it all disappears whilst you are fiddling around with the pot

Then quickly back fill the soil around it, so that as the water drains away it takes the soil down with it.

 Work in progress

The finished line of fifteen plants

I'm  looking forward to seeing how these do, will monitor them and let you know.  It was amazing to watch the water suck down the soil, but the long traditional urge of firming was strong and hard not to do - I managed it with most, but my automatic brain kicked in before I had chance to stop it and my hands were round the base of the plant compressing the soil - old habits and all that!  

Have you ever tried something new like this and been impressed by the results, so much so that it is now part of your regular gardening routine?  I'd be interested to know.

Stats today -

Eggs produced = 8

Sales -
1 & 1/2 dozen eggs £3.00 (overpaid by £0.30)

Expenses -
Nil