Greenhouse!

FINALLY after several days of construction (nothing LIKE the 8 hours the instruction book predicted) we have our greenhouse! It's 11 x 8 foot (2.59m by 3.89m), with double doors and 4 roof vents. It's made from twin-walled polycarbonate, and the frame is also polycarbonate, so no metal to absorb the cold.

At the moment I have some old tyres and a black bin full of water to act as temporary heat sinks while Jerry works on the plans for a solar powered heat sink. So I just have a few frost sensitive things in at the moment (strawberry, avocado, tomato).


For a pictorial tour of the construction and the insides of the greenhouse look at the photo gallery on our flikr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigeandgabs/sets/72157600362382717/

More rain

Yes, it's true, we ARE rain obsessed! But we had more yesterday and today, and the promise of more tomorrow. As long as it doesn't come with yesterday's gale force winds I'll be happy (and so will the veg patch).

Today I picked the last of the potato crop - in a few weeks I'll have to go back to buying them, which will be a big disappointment. On the bright side another cabbage was ready for picking today, and half of it (only a small cabbage) will be on the plate for dinner tonight!



Soon we will have another exciting addition to the 'farm' - stay tuned!!

9 girlfriends??

That's "More than Lucky" (if you're not English you won't get this reference)......so that's the name of our new rooster - Lucky for short. Isn't he a handsome fellow? So come spring we hope we will have our own chicks!

And here's the latest photo of "the kids" - Freddie on the left.

Garden Update May 25

Thanks to a decent bout of rain in the last week (alas, not a droughtbreaker) things are looking green and lovely.
My winter crop of snow peas has started to shoot - you can see the latest organic slug-busting creation (copper slug rings) in place protecting them - thanks Lucy!
I've planted loads and loads of Garlic - 4 different varieties in all - and some of them are starting to sprout .


I'm onto the third crop of pink radishes, and the autumn raspberries have their last fruit of the season.

Last week I harvested my first crop of golden turnips. I tried braising some, but the best results were in a slow cooked beef casserole. Lovely! This morning's harvest basket contained beetroot and broccoli. The beetroot is going to be roasted with other root veg for dinner, and I've already blanched the broccoli and popped it in the freezer. All in all, a good morning's work.