2010 first update!

Well, its been a while since I last updated the blog, sorry about that, we've been pretty busy!

My bad back has been ok thru the winter, but the sciatica is still there, I just gotta learn not to overdo it and to ask for help when lifting rather than just struggling on like I normally do!

Our plans to get chickens have taken a back seat at the moment, we were saving up to get a hen house and run built in the back yard, and were nearing the target we'd set ourselves when unfortunately we had a big bill come in to get one of the cars thru its MOT, so the money had to be used to keep it on the road! How I wish we could kiss goodbye to the rat race and start living an eco friendly lifestyle in a self build earth sheltered earth house, growing our own crops, raising our own animals and living off grid, but until we can do that I'm afraid we'll have to stick in the workforce and pay our way!

The plots are coming along nicely, both the greenhouses are fully planted up, and over half of the beds have been cleared and planted up, with a further 1000 seeds planted at home ready to be planted out in the next few weeks!We've a pair of blackbirds nesting in the lean to area of our shed, with 5 chicks that are already growing feathers and getting big, and the tadpoles in the pond are growing nicely!

All 3 of our beehives survived through the harshest winter around here for many a year (temperatures were down to -19C during the worst of the nighttime weather), and after we had a DEFRA inspection today, we were pleased to find that we had enough queen cells to be able to split the 3 hives into 7, filling the 4 new hives (3 of which we bought for yule prezzies to each other and one that Pat and Colin bought) with nucleus's (nucleii?) of 3 to 5 frames each with 4 to 6 queen cells in each hive! These divisions were taken in order to stop the colonies in our first apiary from swarming by removing the pressure on the very full hives, and the 4 new colonies were moved into our larger second apiary (that we built with Pat and Colin this past winter) on plot 1.

All in all things are going well on the allotments, the first flowers are showing on the tomato plants, the broad beans and peas are flowering nicely, the garlic and onions are growing well, the rhubarb is going really well (and its verry tasty too!) and the early spuds are beginning to show above ground!

All we need now is to finish clearing the last 14 beds and plant them up, weed and rebark up the paths, then move the compost bins from the back of plot 1 to the side, in order to fit in a new 3mx2m walk in temporary walk in greenhouse/polytunnel.

Hope your growing season is off to a good start!

Hoping to get some piccies of the plot ready for posting in the very near future, lookout for more regular updates soon!