Seeds / Sheep / A hole - The Accidental Smallholder

Posted: Sunday 20 April, 2025

by Rosemary at 7:12pm in Smallholding No comments Add your own

Monday 14^th April

Fatality in the cheeps this morning. Nothing obvious, just dead; I noticed one wasn’t moving well yesterday, so hopefully that’s the one. The rest all look grand but they’re so vulnerable at that age and size.

Dan was off harrowing before breakfast, as planned. At 8am, it felt warmer than the forecast 6C. 70% chance of rain. Fingers crossed. And we have rain; it’s been falling lightly most of the day. We can almost see plants growing.

Tuesday15th April

Bit more harrowing, bit more weeding for Dan. I spent most of the day doing hub stuff, but now caught up. Dan finished weeding Bed 1; it looks good. A few bare patches but I’ll get them filled soon.

Bed 1 weeded.

The Buddha bed is looking rather fine, more by accident than design.

Buddha bed.

Sore back, so did some Pilates stretching and one sit up, when Cooper jumped off the bed on to my lower abdomen. Bloody cat. And to top his contribution, he brought is a dead but still bleeding rabbit. Bryn ate it. We’re still trying to get the stain out of the stair carpet. May be an insurance claim. Bloody cat.

Wednesday 16^th April

I had a seed sowing session – two varieties of Cosmos, some sunflowers. Cucumber, courgette, melon (a first, unless you count cucamelon), pickling cucumber (another first), butternut squash and sweetcorn. That’s the heat pads full again.

Then the rain came on.

We have a lovely show of fritillaries this year.

Fritillaries.

And it sounds like lots of bumbles in this wild area.

Bumble bee haven.

Thursday 17^th April

Murdo was here today, so he and Dan sorted out the stone troughs, ready for sale.

Bertie and Diesel can co-exist – so long as the food lasts.

Bertie and Diesel, lunching together.

Friday 18^th April

Dottie helped incubate the chrysanthemum seeds. Until she was ejected.

Dottie the incubator.

Saturday 19^th April

We spent the morning at the hub; Dan laid vinyl in the coffee bar and I tidied up. Trip to the skip on Monday should see it all but done. Just (just!) the outside to be painted now.

After lunch, Dan put in the potatoes. He lined the trench with comfrey leaves and only made a single row. Usually we do two rows, but we’re trying to get bigger potatoes this year. Then he took himself off to harrow Home; we had a walk round all the paddocks with the dogs and they’re looking good, so it will soon be time for sheep.

I started to plant up the third formal bed. I’d forgotten how big they were and how many plants they took to fill. I think I’m only going to be able to do one just now; the fourth and final one will need to wait until later in the season.

I had two dozen geranium plants delivered, so I potted them up. The peas and runner beans are sprouting, so I’ll get them potted up tomorrow.

Dottie helped. Cooper didn’t come home.

Sunday 20^th April

Cooper was shut in the plant room. He’d certainly have been warm overnight.

It was cool overnight, so the relocated plants looked OK, but I carried on planting today and we put the sprinkler on in the evening. I’m running out of plants but should get Bed 3 finished this week coming.

Bed 3.

I potted up the runner beans, sowed salad of various types and some brassicas. This wooden “thing” is for processing comfrey but it’s awfy guid for holding seed packets.

Patent seed packet holder.

The Cosmos (Purity) has germinated; so has the Cosmos Antiquity, but not quite so well yet.

Cosmos Purity.

Dan harrowed two paddocks this morning; once he’s done the remaining three, he’ll switch to the topper and do at least Home. The grazing ponies (and the dry) have really hammered the rushes over winter. After lunch, he had an hour in the polytunnel. Tomatoes, sweet peppers and chillis are ready to go in, and Dan saved some self seeded marigolds.

Polytunnel.

The polytunnel strawberries are flowering. I gave them a comfrey feed and will do taht weekly. They've kind of caught me on the hop.

Polytunnel strawberries.

Nine sheep were dropped off today; seven are cull ewes and will only be here until 1^st May. The remaining two will be staying on until the ewes and lambs come up later in May and they all join up. They’re in Sheepfold, then the two will go into the wee paddock between the orchard and the spinney.

Bryn digs a hole in the side bed of the West Range. We’ve tried all sorts to stop him. None have yet worked.

Bryn's hole.

And finally, the aubretia and creeping phlox bed.

Aubretia and creeping phlox..