The actual plans for the week are to get on top of sorting the plots out, ready for the coming growing season, so we've got the greenhouses to empty, clean and some compost / manure to add to the greenhouse borders, the grapevine to prune, the raspberry canes to prune,the compost bins to turn over, onion sets and garlic to plant, beds to clear and muck, planting areas to sort out (I want to move the pea and bean supports into place so they will be ready for use in a few months time), the dual plum tree to plant, the early sown broad beans to plant out, the shed to clear and tidy, paths to weed and remulch with bark chippings, and finally have a big bonfire to take care of the prunnings (and give us a good source of potash for putting on the crops), all of which is going to be very much weather permitting! Sounds like a relaxing holiday huh? Lol!
Our planting plans are already in place, the widget below shows the new layout for the forthcoming growing year, use the right and left arows to switch between the plots!
Planting Update
The chillies, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are starting to come up, so today Im going to be potting on some of them from the heated propagators, we've got Chocolate Habanero's, Scotch Bonnet, Dorset Naga, Naga Jolokia, Cayenne, De Cayenne, Tokyo Hot, Mohawk, Jalapeno chillies all up, plus a fair number of toms, aubergines and peppers, so they all need to come out of the heated propogators and be planted on! Once they are out of the propogators I can plant a batch of the later chillies and peppers in a week or so!
Homebrew Update
On another front, our homebrew experiments have been going well, with batches of Elderflower (2 batches), Bored Bean, Summer Fruits, Elderberry, Celtic Druids Mead, Gewurtztramminer (Grape from the plot) all finished and bottled (and a fair bit drunk or given away as Yule prezzies), with a batch of chardonnay (from kit), a batch of red berry and the large batch of 5 gallons of mead all still on the go, with another batch of Mead due to be started this week!
I have to say that most of the wines we've made have been very good, some of them I wouldnt have minded paying £5 to £10 a bottle for them (especially the first batch of Elderflower (lovely and crisp and light), the Elderberry (very fruity and dry) and the Bored Bean (slightly sparkling, very crisp and refreshing)). The wine we made from the grapes from the plot we are a little less pleased with atm, it is quite sharp, tho hopefully a good 6 months to let it age will make it much more pallateable, but only time will tell!
In total we've already bottled 48 bottles of wine and mead, with another 42 bottles worth still fermenting, definitely a good way to use up excess produce and provide a lot of extra value to the produce! Hopefully this year we will be able to make even more, I especially cant wait to try making some of the rhubarb rose wine that Dave (on the plot) makes!
Beekeeping Update
We were fortunate enough to have a lovely dry and warm day last Thursday, so we took the opportunity to do the winter bee inspections (and varroa treatment with Oxyalic Acid) with Pat and Colin, the bees were busy, with plenty flying, and every hive had good levels of stores and a large amount of bees in them! Looks like (so far at least) all 6 of the hives are faring well, though only time will tell how well they come through the winter (but we are hopeful that they should all make it through!) On checking back a few days later, the Varroa mite drop was actually small, with between 50 and 120 mites per hive, which is a very light infestation, so it looks like the icing sugar treatment is helping to keep the Varroa levels low within the colonies, definitely a good thing!
Breadmaking
The homemade bread has been sooo tasty that it even inspired me to write a poem about it!
Freshly Baked Bread - a poem (of sorts!)
There's nothing so fine as homemade bread,
A daily staple to keep us all so well fed,
Nothing more than flour, water and yeast,
Yet once cooked it becomes a veritable feast!
Supermarket bread seems made of plastic,
All so soft and white and so elastic,
Once sold in bulk so very cheap,
But now the prices could make you weep!
Now its cheaper to make your own,
Nothing gives such a sense of home,
As that delicious fresh bread smell,
That from your childhood you recall so well!
Tis so simple and easy to make,
Not as complex as a cake,
Mix it all then knead the dough,
It has to be done, like just so!
Then for a time you have to wait,
Give it a while for yeast to create,
As almost before your very eyes,
Your loaf does now so proudly rise!
Now in the oven its time to bake,
Dont let it burn for goodness sake,
Wont take long and then its done,
Barm cake, loaf, roll or bun!
Let it cool, just a bit,
Then its time to cut into it,
Real butter spread on fresh hot bread,
For it there's truly a lot to be said!
Suzanne Read
11th December 2010
Anyhows, thanks for reading, more updates and plot piccies to follow htis week as we (hopefully) get some sorting out done in the allotments! Hope your prep and clearing is going well, and that you will also be ready for another great growing year!
