Ryan's Garden

New Year, New Blog

2016-01-09T18:05:00.001+00:00

Thank you to everyone who has read and continues to read my blog here. For the past six years this blog has been a labour of love and a fantastic way to track my progress and often my failures too. I never thought I'd continue writing but it became a joy doing so, further reinforced when reading comments left by some wonderful people.

The blog has enabled me to share my passion for horticulture and meet like minded people who have become friends over the years. It's helped me through my RHS exams, enabling me to connect with people at a similar stage of study or those far more educated in the subject than myself and it also helped me to set up a second career writing for publications and other businesses. Over the years I've also been lucky enough to find site sponsors and host competitions for my readers, which are always very enjoyable and I know a few people loved these too.

Over the past couple of years the blog has been neglected due to relocation from Wales to England and finding myself in temporary accommodation without a garden. Most recently, the blog has fallen by the wayside what with me finally setting up my smallholding and as a result I've taken the decision to close this blog and start a new chapter over at: www.nagsheadfarmstaffs.com. This year I'll be creating a brand new and much larger garden so please do come and follow my progress on the new blog.

I'd be incredibly grateful if you would tag along and carry on the conversation on Twitter and Facebook too. You can reach me on twitter by searching for: @nagsheadfarms and search for Nags Head Farm on Facebook to follow my page there.

Growing Dahlias from seed

2015-08-16T18:25:00.000+01:00

Dahlias and cake - the perfect recipe in the kitchen

One of the first plants I remember buying as a child was Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'. Its beautiful crimson flowers coupled with dark leaves and stems made for a dazzling sight and I guess the Welsh connection did't go amiss either. Dahlias have always had a place in my garden since then but I'd not tried growing them from seed up until this year and I was very surprised to see just how easy this can be.

I've always grown Dahlias from tubers as this was a straightforward and affordable option given that I've not had the space needed to grow things from seed, aside from the odd vegetable crop and even these struggled on windowsills. With the beginnings of the new garden and with the addition of a greenhouse it seemed as though the time was right to try and grow them from seed at least.

A closer view

I started back in the spring by sowing in seed trays in the greenhouse. I chose Dahlia 'Clangers Mix' as I quite like the cactus types and a bit of variation for the vase. Dahlia seed requires no special treatment - simply sow thinly in multipurpose compost, cover lightly, water and then wait for the little green shoots to appear. Prick them out and pot on or add to modules once the true leaves have developed and then plant out after hardening off when all signs of frost have passed. It really is that simple.

Just planted and rather weedy

I planted my dahlias in the cutting garden with the Foxgloves, Calendula, Zinnias, Sweet Peas and other goodies and they really have romped away. I was concerned that the rather small seedlings would succumb to all sorts of trouble but bar the odd trampling by the dogs, cat and escaped horse they've not faired too badly. So far this month I've taken three or four cuts and as soon as the blooms have faded in the home there always seems to be more on the way.

I hope to lift the tubers of these plants in the Autumn and then further extend the range of plants on offer by sowing more seed next year to add more variation and fill in the colour gaps as I seem to have largely an orange and red palette with the odd bit of pink thrown in.

Here's to the Dahlia!

RHS Tatton Park: Celebrations all round

2015-07-25T23:40:00.000+01:00

Loveday and Vernon with Birmingham City Council - The Day of the Dahlia

RHS Tatton Park Flower Show is a new favourite of mine when it comes to the garden show calendar. With the feel of a country fair, this celebration of gardening is packed full of attractions that mean even the horticulturally averse will find something to interest and stimulate them. I had an absolute blast today! I thoroughly enjoyed the various gardens, of which there were many categories, the vast floral marquee with its many displays and associated stands, and I also managed to spend rather a lot of money on gardening goodies and other bits and bobs from the food retailers and the gorgeous Country Living tent!

Planting in the 'Light Catcher' garden

I was lucky enough to have the pleasure to go behind the scenes of the show recently when helping a friend, Sharon Hockenhull, with her show garden: ‘Light Catcher’, which featured as one of three gardens celebrating the International Year of Lightand which subsequently went on to win a Gold medal and the title of ‘Best Year of Light Garden’. To say I was thrilled with the outcome is a huge understatement and I could not be happier for Sharon considering just how much she’s put in to this wondrous design.

The experience of helping with the garden really helped me to appreciate the work that goes in to these designs. Luckily I only had the responsibility of growing some of the plants and helping to plant the final garden. Growing the plants was rather daunting as there’s far too much jeopardy for my liking. Will it germinate? Will it grow big enough? Will it be eaten? And perhaps most importantly – Will it flower? Luckily for me, everything went to plan and my little “fizzy” and “frothy” beauties grew strong and now look fabulous as part of a very considered and beautiful garden. I had my proud father moment today when seeing others enjoying the garden and unwittingly taking pictures of my plants. I somehow managed to avoid going round the garden pointing them all out individually!

Sarracenia bought at the show

In terms of the other attractions at the show I particularly enjoyed the Plant Heritage Marquee, which housed the various plant societies, and the Back-To-Back gardens, which offer so much inspiration to those looking for new ideas or gardening in small spaces. The Feast Theatre was also a fantastic addition to the show and following a talk by Zalena from Rose Petals and Rice on Indian cookery I will now most certainly be making chapatti’s.

As RHS shows go, this one has it all and I for one cannot wait until the next!

Seasons produce and things to come

2015-07-03T18:30:00.000+01:00

Why, hello there! It’s been a whole 2 months since I last posted here, although it feels like it was only yesterday that I started to show you how the then new no-dig vegetable garden was coming along. Well since my last entry it has established itself well with seven of the eight beds full to the brim with goodies; I’ve even started to enjoy the fruits of my labour, including the Red Currants above which have had their best year yet.

When I set out on creating the beds back in March I was a little bit dubious if they would work well on what was basically a field or if they would crop well in their first year. I had started to create a no-dig system on the rather weedy allotment back in Wales prior to moving and this yielded mixed results, largely due to the amount of perennial weeds that had already established themselves. Here, however, it’s been a great success. The start of the season was cool and dry and this allowed the beds to settle slightly and weaken the turf and weeds below. The surface of the beds stayed very dry, which I think had more to do with the weather rather than the manure and compost used but since things have warmed up and we’ve had a good amount of rain it’s really started to settle and the plants are certainly enjoying it. There’s been some re-growth of grass in places and weeds have regrown largely on the Allium bed but they’re fairly easy to manage and a bit of hand weeding and the reapplication of mulch has helped to weaken them further.

Most plants that have been planted out in to the beds or started from seed have done very well on the new beds so far. The only issue I’ve had is with Parsnips but I think this may be more of a seed viability issue as opposed to a no-dig issue? Time will tell and I’ll have to see how parsnips get on in 2016. The Squashes, Beets and Turnips, in particular, seem to be doing very well on the new beds however and the Beans will be ready to crop very soon too.

On one of the beds I’m experimenting with Oca as part of a first year Oca breeding initiative with the Guild of Oca Breeders. I’m sure you’re familiar with this crop and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to contribute to its future as a garden staple. The tubers were planted earlier in the year and are now beginning to find their feet in the virgin ground. I’m hopeful that we’ll get a few blooms and be able to save some seed from these plants too. If you have the space to help out with the initiative there’s more information on the website to help you join in.

In other news, the garden is still waiting to be designed and planted. Livestock, work and the vegetable garden have taken priority. I imagine this may turn out to be more of an Autumn project now, along with the masses of hedging that also needs attention. The front garden, however, is starting to look good. The Opium Poppies have been the stars of the show lately, flowering in shades of red, purple and pink but others are just emerging to steal the show. Right now, I’m loving the Achillea ‘Teracotta’ that I planted last year.

On the livestock front, we’ve added a new Hebridean Ram to the flock. Brutus, along with a friend George, will meet our small flock of six ladies later in the year and I’m hoping for some beautiful strong lambs come the spring.

PSB and progress on the plot

2015-04-26T09:57:00.000+01:00

The new vegetable garden in its infancy

April has been a glorious month for the garden here on the farm. We’ve had sunshine in abundance giving me plenty of time to get out and crack on with developing the vegetable garden. It appears we've landed on our feet in terms of our wonderful micro-climate and conditions couldn't be more different from my experiences of gardening in wet Wales. I'm very much looking forward to what the coming season will bring.

The no dig beds, created by adding a good thick mulch of homemade compost and rotted horse/chicken manure on top of the lawn, have had a top dressing of compost and are looking fantastic. This peat-free mix of topsoil, compost and manure is much finer than my home made stuff enabling me to sow directly in to it and it really does help to make the garden look smart. The beds are doing really well with very little weed growth coming through from the original turf below, which was quite a concern when deciding to opt for the no dig method. I have used no dig previously with good success but the ground had already been cleared before hand. After much research, largely via the wonderful Charles Dowding's website, I bit the bullet and went for it. Three of the eight no dig beds have now been filled with Beans, Onions and Shallots and various root vegetable seeds sown today. I’ll keep you up to date on my progress, as I’ll be doing quite a bit of experimentation throughout the year.

The first planting in the vegetable garden

Once again I’m growing plants using recycled toilet roll tubes. By sowing directly you can easily grow plants on to a decent size without the need for repotting prior to planting in their final positions. This way of sowing seed has proved invaluable in the past and this year I’m using this for pretty much everything moving forward. When planting out the Broad beans you could really see the value of doing this as the root growth was fantastic and on planting the roots are virtually undisturbed meaning that the plants barely know they’ve moved and they romp away.

I started using toilet rolls when growing plants that have deep root runs and those that don’t like root disturbance, namely Sweet Corn and Sweet Peas. I couldn’t justify buying root trainers and it seemed to me that this was the most logical thing to do. This year I’ve trialled this with onion sets too. Cutting the rolls in to smaller sections I’ve planted one set per module and then these are grown on in the greenhouse prior to planting out. The extra root growth and weight of the compost also helps to keep the onions in place when the birds try to pull them out.

One of my neighbours was very intrigued by what I was doing, both no dig and toilet roll growing, but after seeing things growing away in the greenhouse he has also been converted to the method. After using a years worth of saved loo roll tubes a fabulous twitter friend (@dancoote) was kind enough to send me a massive box of these, which will see me through the growing season, as he works for a company who produces them - amazing! A thank you parcel is en route as I type.

Purple Sprouting Broccoli and soft fruit blooms

In the old vegetable garden I'm harvesting Purple Sprouting Broccoli (PSB) like it’s going out of fashion. If you've not grown this before I'd urge you to do so this year as it really is a fantastic vegetable to have in the Spring garden. The fruit bushes (Currants, Gooseberries and Jostaberries) that I moved from the allotment when we made the journey from Wales to England have settled well and despite being kept in bags for nearly a year they are now all flowering profusely. Here’s hoping this is a sign that a bumper harvest is on the cards!

Next up is the overdue planting of the orchard, planting the rest of the potatoes, starting the ornamental garden and growing Sweet Potatoes.

You say potato ...

2015-04-06T22:22:00.000+01:00

This Bank Holiday weekend has turned out to be absolutely wonderful and we have been treated to some of the best weather so far this year meaning lots of time to garden with the sun on my back finally. At one point today the thermometer registered a balmy 29.4°C (84.92°F). It appears the new garden is somewhat of a suntrap!

Early this morning I set off with renewed vigour and set about moving a few old Rose bushes in to the new cutting garden as red, pink and yellow roses don’t really fit in with my plans for the new garden. They should be great as cut flowers though and from experience last year the scent on two of them is divine. This patch will be filled with lots of annual favourites and a few other bits and bobs to keep me in flowers all year long (more to come on this shortly).

Most of my morning however was spent planting potatoes with the help of two furry friends. Tomos and Hermione, rescued farm cats from a nearby farm, are our smallholding pest control however they’re far too inquisitive for their own good and love to “help” in the garden whenever they can.

After attending a local potato day a few months back at Harper Adams University my first earlies were ready to meet our wonderfully fertile and free draining soil. After chitting away in one of the outhouses, four varieties were planted in the space where the chicken run sat last year. The soil here is wonderfully fertile as you can imagine but there are a few nettles remaining and so I immediately thought that this was the spot for potatoes to rule and shade out the perennial weeds. This year I’ve opted for spuds I’ve never grown before and I have a total of 10 varieties to plant. Today saw me plant the following 1^st early varieties:

Amandine – A lovely long oval potato with a waxy yellow flesh which is derived from ‘Charlotte’.
BF15 – Largely picked because it had a bit of mystery surrounding it. This is a salad variety discovered as a seedling of ‘Belle de Fontenay’.
Epicure – A well known 1^st early with white round tubers.
Leontine – Labelled as a new variety this salad potato is derived from ‘Nicola’ and has yellow skin and flesh.

I also finally set up the new hosepipe for the vegetable garden that’s been sitting in my house for the last month or so. Really easy to set up, I simply attached it to the wood shed and we were ready to go. I love the look of this hose compared to the usual garish green or yellow offerings from other brands. Modern, slimmer and more masculine I’m hoping it will pass the test of time and serve me well in the vegetable garden, greenhouse and orchard.

Ryan's Garden: A brief update

2015-03-25T22:56:00.001+00:00

The big oak through the fog

Today I awoke to the foggiest of spring days and at a rather chilly 1°C it seems as though nature is saying ‘stop sowing those seeds and go back inside you nutter!’ I know this will change in an instant and we’ll soon be in that space when there are not enough hours in the day in which to get everything done - seed sowing, weeding, planting out, pest control, watering, etc but right now it still seems a little counterintuitive to be working away in the greenhouse when even the grass is reluctant to get going. That's gardening for you!

Four of the new 20ft x 4ft no-dig beds

Since I last blogged the vegetable garden has come on leaps and bounds and its not far off being ready for the growing season. Positioned on the left hand side of the garden, the vegetable plot will be screened by a hedge to separate it from the ornamental garden and will eventually lead on through to the orchard. I’m thinking of using Beech or Yew as a screen, although this could change, and I'm planning to plant this at the end of the year. Until then two large cut flower borders will create a permeable barrier between the two distinct areas.

As you walk through the gate with the cut flower beds on either side of you will see 13 no-dig beds in which I plan to grow all my produce for the home. So far seven are set up and as the weeks go on I’ll gradually complete the others. The beds are made with homemade compost from last year, a mix of food waste, manure and garden waste, and I’m hoping that this will be fantastic fuel for the season to come.

I plan to grow many plants on prior to planting them out, as these beds are still quite rough and not suited to direct sowing and so far broad beans, onions, shallots plus a few others are well underway. As usual these are all growing in cardboard toilet roll tubes saved throughout the past year. These make for fantastic alternatives to plant pots, especially for deep rooting plants such as sweet corn and sweet peas, and all you have to do is bung them in the ground when you’re ready to plant out. The cardboard simply rots off ensuring roots grow perfectly well. In the coming weeks the garden will be finalized and I’ll be posting updates throughout the growing season.

A very proud Albus and a few of his ladies

On the livestock front plans are afoot to add a Ram to the small flock of Hebridean sheep ahead of breeding time at the end of the year and we have now introduced our new breeding Cream Legbar cockerel (Albus) to the ladies. He comes from a great line of birds and should help produce some fantastic offspring for the coming year and my first foray in to showing and breeding pure breed birds.

Flower fiddlers and painted plants

2015-02-08T07:30:00.000+00:00

I’m sick to the back teeth of seeing flowers and plants tinkered with to the extreme – dyed, painted, glittered and abused beyond all recognition. From the fluorescent Heathers in alarming shades of lime green, hot pink and acid yellow; so often a staple of garden centre offerings, to the ghastly array of dyed florist favourites this trend is slowly becoming an acceptable industry standard – can we come back to the beauty that nature provides and remove these monstrosities for good? Please.

For years we’ve seen small numbers of plants fall in to these novelty offerings, more often at seasonal peaks, but more recently I’ve seen such things available on an altogether more regular basis. Perhaps I’ve become attuned to these crimes against nature? Perhaps you’ve noticed them too?

Just before Christmas I came across a very sad sight. If you follow me on Twitter or have liked my Facebook page then there’s a good chance you would have seen this already. Yes, I’m talking about the glitter-smothered succulents. These poor things weren’t simply dusted or sprinkled with glitter, oh no, they were coated. Much like a fingernail covered in glittery nail varnish would be, only I think we should remember these are actually living things and there’s no need to “enhance” their aesthetics. With this suffocating layer plants would have had no ability to photosynthesise or respire, leaving them with no other alternative than to shrivel up and die, that is if they didn’t rot from the inevitable overwatering. This begs the question, if these plants were sold as purely ornamental things, as opposed to houseplants that would grow on and develop, then why not produce them in plastic, stone or glass ensuring they last beyond a few weeks or months at best? Or is this a rather naïve attempt for the horticultural industry to get rid of it’s surplus stock at knock down prices? Hmm.

Another crime was spotted last week on a lunchtime jaunt to a local supermarket. From afar I spotted a rather intriguing bunch of what appeared to be Lilies. These Lilies, originally a pristine white, which for most people would be the epitome of style and elegance, now resembled a bad tie dyed t-shirt. Revolting in shades of purple, pink, red, orange and blue; akin to a primary school experiment I remember when we placed flowers in food colouring to show how blooms take up water, these flowers appeared to have no commercial appeal at all, unless of course your tastes harked back to the 1960’s when psychedelia was en vogue. My question is this: why don’t these supermarkets and florists simply grow plants with different coloured blooms in the first place? They’re certainly available and when it comes to the wonderful Lily the range is pretty wide, with a few exceptions. This is also the case for Chrysanthemums, Roses, Phalaenopsis orchids and a wide range of other blooms that are often vandalised to suit the tacky tastes of the consumers.

Could it be that supermarkets and florists find it financially beneficial to buy bulbs, blooms and plants in bulk (i.e. discounts on bulk orders of white Lilies) and then choose to sell some “au naturale” and others doctored to increase choice and bolster profit? To my mind, I can’t see this being the reason as I’m sure such operations don’t work in such a simple way but those in the industry may be able to shed more light on this. Another suggestion would be that growers produce extra stock and latch on to seasonal activities or sell products to large retailers at knock down prices? Another alternative, and a more plausible suggestion, would be that people actually prefer their blooms with added sparkle or in luminescent shades to match their, what I can only assume is god-awful, interior decoration and taste? After all, consumer demand directly influences supply so there must be a call for it. Personally, I’ve not succumbed to this although I have seen the odd bouquet that incorporates dyed flowers from large florist chains but in the majority of cases I’d say natural blooms appear to be much more desirable. If it is the case that consumers are driving the availability of these Frankenstein-flowers then I’d question why exactly. If they seek variation, new colours or shapes, or added interest, then they need look no further than what is already on offer from the myriad of independent growers here in the UK. Of course, there’s no glitter or paint in sight here (in the most part anyway) but there is a wide rage of colour, scent, texture, seasonal variation and oodles of interest and originality.

When it comes to flowers and plants no one does this better than Mother Nature herself. Of course, breeding and cultivation techniques have led to “improvements” but is there really a need to physically guild the lily, so to speak? I’d argue not and I can only hope that others feel the same way about this too.

Plans, plots and chickens in pots

2015-01-30T19:00:00.000+00:00

The first month of 2015 has pretty much come and gone and although I hanker for milder Spring days I can’t help but feel that January passed at breakneck speed. So far we’ve decorated parts of the house, continued to fence off paddocks, trim hedges and give the place a general tidy up. This coupled with the running of the business (www.doolittlesdispensary.com) and creating our own pet food lines (launching shortly) has meant I’ve had little time to do much else.

The ever-present to-do list taunts me with tasks completed and others awaiting completion. I’m determined to get a few key tasks done prior to the madness of Spring, namely establishing beds on a burgeoning lawn and building breeding pens for the pure breed chickens. When Spring arrives I know I’ll have no time at all to do these things for I’ll have thousands of seeds to sow and eggs to hatch - the time of year when it seems as though there aren’t enough hours in the day. Of course, in reality it’s a time of year I absolutely love!

New Years Bonfire 2015/16

In my last blog I discussed that plans to start the vegetable patch were afoot and progress has most certainly been made. The old chicken run has been dismantled and we had a fantastic New Years Eve party bonfire with the old chicken shed we inherited that was so far beyond repair. It got to the point where I’d put my foot through the base every time I entered – it had to go. This coupled with tree branches and other bits of scrap wood left by the previous landowner made for a great spectacle and a much-needed warm with mulled wine and roast chestnuts. Where once the rickety old shed hung on for dear life lies a patch of well-fertilised earth – my prime-growing space! This weekend I plan to create several composting trenches upon which I’ll eventually grow beans and squash along with no dig beds for the rest of the produce. Homemade compost and rotted manure will make for the topping for these beds with a layer of cardboard beneath to smother the weeds below. I’ll post an update on this shortly.

Speckled Sussex cockerels

Although there is little active growth in the garden right now, bar a few stoic Brassica crops and overwintering fruit bushes stand proud despite the cold just waiting to jump back into action, I’ve managed to produce the first home-grown food of 2015 in the form of meat. Last year I hatched a dual-purpose strain of Speckled Sussex (see previous posts) that if male were destined for the plate in an effort to become self-sufficient. A happy compromise, as I couldn’t source the Ixworth eggs I so desired (perhaps this year?). As it happens, it turns out that Speckled Sussex are a fantastic meat breed plus the girls from the same hatch have gone to mix with my laying flock and will help to bolster production there. The cockerels grew well with the smallest weighing in at around 5lb dressed with most averaging around 6-7lb. The taste is like nothing I’ve experienced from shop bought meat and that coupled with knowing exactly what’s gone in to them and how they’ve been raised means that this is something I’ll certainly continue with, although I’ll probably experiment with breeds to see exactly what’s achievable.

The main goal for 2015 is to produce various meals for the home that are entirely home grown – although we will be largely restricted to chicken and eggs as the main protein sources. I will also attempt to sell items from the farm gate and in local farm shops – flowers, plants, vegetables and other foodstuffs will form the majority of these items but I hope in time to develop and diversify.

2015 is the year I’ve always dreamt of – the year I finally get to say I’m a smallholder.

Hanging Basket Design Challenge

2014-11-17T08:00:00.000+00:00

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to take part in a design task, along with a few other garden bloggers, to create a Summer hanging basket that could potentially go in to production. This sounded like a good bit of fun and also turned my mind once more to thinking about options for next year’s planting schemes. Right now I’m concentrating on plants being useful, however this may look, and I’m loving creams and whites, which I’ll be incorporating wherever possible.

The initial brief was as follows:

Create a mixed Summer hanging basket using plants from Plant Me Now and other sources
Baskets will be 30cm Rattan baskets, so no side planting
Try to keep it to 6 or 7 plants

Well, that sounded fairly simple and it certainly gave me scope to play around a bit. Then I had the inevitable child in a sweet shop moment. There were so many plants to choose from in the bedding range! I decided that settling on a theme should narrow things down a little and that’s how my design came to be.

I knew I wanted to incorporate a useful element to my basket and I also wanted to design something for people who may have limited growing space or perhaps people who want to venture in to the world of ‘Grow Your Own’. In addition, I felt a fruit or vegetable option would add interest and likely help to differentiate my design from others that may focus solely on ornamentals. In this instance I thought that a choice of tomatoes or strawberries would be best as they are both easily maintained in baskets and generally favoured by most people. After searching for suitable choices I decided to utilise a Strawberry called ‘Sarian’. This plant has a trailing nature and is well suited to growing in a basket.

After deciding on incorporating strawberries I then turned my mind to flowers that could add interest across the whole Summer. I wanted a colour that worked with both the ripe and unripe fruit and also something that could help me build a theme. In my mind Strawberries go well with two things: cake or cream. I couldn’t find many references to cake and so I decided on a theme of ‘Strawberries and Cream’. I chose Begonia ‘SuperCascade Vanilla Cream’ as this fitted the brief in both habit and name.

Given that both these plants are trailing I thought that some vertical height may be necessary, although the simple and limited palette above should give plenty of interest. Again focusing on the desire for the basket to be useful I chose to use Sage, in this case I opted for Salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’. I always have Sage close to the house as I use it in almost every dish I make and it will also prove useful in this situation given that it’s a Mediterranean herb and therefore will be useful in times when water is in short supply. I also like the bright green/gold colours in this plant and I think it will help to set off the darker foliage of the Strawberries and Begonias.

And so we have it, my ‘Strawberries and Cream’ dual-purpose hanging basket. Simple but useful, I hope.

Of morning walks and first years produce

2014-11-08T16:42:00.000+00:00

Frosted Nettles last week in my garden

Each morning I dutifully traipse out to the garden, wellies on and bleary-eyed looking like an even more confused and concerning Milton Jones. Trust me I don’t do this for fun at this time of year but to see to the animals and check all is well in my world. My lazy fashions have moved with the seasons from shorts to pyjamas and more recently to jeans, which will invariably lead to me breaking out more weatherproof attire given that the first frosts have kindly silvered my half-awake morning follies.

The first growing season in my new home is over and despite only being here a matter of months I think it’s been a fairly productive venture. I have produced a decent haul of vegetables, fruits and salads and my first folly in to meat production remains underway with more posts to come on that in good time. Suffice to say that the productive garden is now in it’s final throws. The greenhouse is ready for a deep clean and it’s only animal resident, Trevor the tortoise, is now set for his long and peaceful hibernation, although a safe place is yet to be found.

I like this time of year. It’s the time of year to look ahead and formulate a plan. I do love a plan!

Next week I’ll take delivery of a new hen house, which will mean the laying flock will move and their old shed dismantled and burned. This will make way for the new and improved vegetable garden, something I’ve been waiting to sink my teeth in to since I moved here. This is the next large project on my list and will see the vegetable garden more than triple in size ensuring a large and varied harvest next year and the flexibility to grow new things that I’ve been unable to grow in previous gardens and on my allotment plots. Pumpkins, permanent crops and the weird and wonderful are all on the list along with a large cut-flower garden and an orchard. As discussed in previous posts I’ll be using a no-dig method to establish each bed with the addition of cardboard, compost, straw and manure to what is now largely lawn. I’m open to trying a few methods here so suggestions are welcomed and I’ll be happy to report back on my findings.

This years hatch of Speckled Sussex and Brahma chickens

Next week, the hens I hatched this year will move in with the laying flock to bolster numbers and make up for the eggs not forthcoming from some of the older ladies and the meat birds will move on to grow in a new pen for fattening up. At present the majority of the laying flock are moulting heavily and are in need of some TLC, so along with promises of a new home they're also being treated with lashings of poultry spice and other goodies added to their food and they’re being wormed, which any decent chicken keeper will tell you is an essential task in preventing illness or loss of condition. You can find more information here on worming your hens. Earlier in the week the lovely Issy from Fennel & Fern also wrote a similar post, which you may wish to take a peek at here: Porridge for chickens.

On rehoming ex-battery hens

2014-09-24T10:30:00.003+01:00

The Ex-Batts and BHWT volunteers

Back in June I drove to Oswestry for a hen rehoming organised by the British Hen Welfare Trust.

On arrival at the farm I was greeted by several volunteers, all of whom I immediately labelled as slightly mad since they all appeared to be cuddling chickens. This stereotypical view of the dedicated chicken rescuer was soon replaced with the realisation that this was in fact a very slick operation. Each of the would be rehomers, myself included, had been given allocated time slots to come and collect the several thousand hens and these ladies were simply ready and poised to help the new owners load up their hens, answer any questions and of course pose for pictures. When I said that this was going on the blog the coin flipped and they thought I was mad - touché!

Following my arrival the process seemed to move very quickly. They asked me how many I wanted, they loaded up my crates, I gave a healthy donation and away I went with 10 scraggly beasties in the back of my car. I was over the moon to have a new flock and I couldn’t have been more impressed by the volunteers and just how slick and well organised the operation was.

Yolko's progress

Once back home I could assess the new birds and they were a very sorry sight indeed. Pale, patchy with some birds almost bare and clearly stressed – I popped them in to one of the outbuildings for a couple of weeks so that they could be quarantined, wormed and left to settle in. Despite their bedraggled outward appearance the birds were in fact very healthy, heavy and alert. One hen in particular was also rather vicious. A very upright and cross beaked bird; she was determined to get me. Each time I entered the shed she would attack. Flying at me, pecking at every given opportunity and acting like a hormonal cockerel on steroids. I guess this was her way of coping with the change and she immediately earned the name Cluck Norris.

Egg production started immediately - all over the floor of the temporary shed. This made each visit to the shed quite enjoyable, a mini treasure hunt almost since they had no qualms about laying in the most unlikely of places. They soon started to come around to their new way of life though and with the introduction of a make shift egg box - a plastic compost bin with a wooden planter inside, they gradually started laying in one place making egg collection much easier. After a couple of weeks I started to let them free range and they met my existing small flock with very little fuss.

I immediately noticed that these birds are incredibly inquisitive and one bird in particular (Yolko, pictured above) is almost loving. Everyday she runs to greet me, she’ll walk around the garden with me constantly chattering away and she’ll even perch on my knee enjoying a little fuss and a cuddle. This hen was in the worst condition out of the lot on arrival with few feathers at all. After three months she has now completely feathered up and is as bright as a button.

The latest arrivals and a few of the flock

Since my initial foray in to rescue chickens, I have since rescused another six hens (this time white birds who lay dark brown and blue eggs, pictured above) and this time I got to go direct to the farm and in to the barn where they were kept. To say that this was an experience would be an understatement. 16,000 birds in a very confined space was an assault on the senses but I have to say that these birds were in fantastic condition when compared to my initial batch and kept very well in a cage free environment. This farm rehomes every 70 weeks or so (the average optimum production life of the commercial hen) and I’ll definitely be going back to save more from the meat man in future.

If you are thinking of rehoming hens I'd urge you to do so as it's a thoroughly worthwhile experience. More information can be found on the British Hen Welfare Trust homepage and once registered you will be telephoned by one of their volunteers who will help you with any questions you may have.

A gradual progress

2014-09-13T13:31:00.000+01:00

Greenhouse offerings

It’s been just over 3 months since I moved here and I don’t think I’ve stopped. Posting here has fallen by the wayside and it seems like just as I go to write, something else crops up, often when you least expect it. A runaway sheep or a broken piece of machinery are the usual suspects; neither of which I have any experience of or am I well placed to deal with but I’m learning – slowly.

Since I wrote last, I’ve collected my first few harvests of potatoes, salad, tomatoes, peppers, chillies and beans and I’m hoping this will continue for some time to come yet. I didn’t think I’d have time to get anything growing this year but it’s gone quite well. The vegetable garden is still very small with the larger garden being created this autumn/winter. I’ve decided to follow the no-dig method, firstly for establishing my beds, the same method I trialed on my allotment a couple of years back with success, and secondly throughout the rest of the growing period. This should cut out the time and effort required to remove a lawn whilst ensuring the natural balance of the soil is kept intact. In other words – it’s easier, it's better for the soil and those within, and it has the same desired overall effect (if not better) as digging – makes sense to me! There’ll be plenty more on this in the months to come but I’d love to hear from anyone who has done this and what they found most beneficial.

The hedgerows that form the boundary around our fields have provided a feast of blackberries and plums, which I’ve made good use of. We’ve had a few crumbles and cakes and although I’d like to get around to making jam I think this will have to wait until next year. In the meantime I’ll just continue grazing on the berries as I tend to the animals. I’ll be planting more edible hedges shortly too with the seedlings from around the fields and some other trees I’ll source and I’ll also try to improve on what we already have by laying some of the hedges and in filling in the gaps the sheep have exposed with young plants.

Brahma chick meets the laying flock

On the livestock front, the “flock” has expanded greatly and we now have a mini-farm situation going on - two horses, six sheep and quite a lot of chickens. The latter are a mix of my old girls, two rescues worth of ex-battery hens, two pure-bred breeding trios (Cream Legbars and French Wheaten Marans) and a load of chicks hatched around 11 weeks ago (Speckled Sussex and Brahma). They are great fun and extremely productive, which is great as this smallholder has many uses for their eggs, although the vast majority end up as cake.

In addition to this I'm hoping to add a few more species to the farm. As I write, there are Turkey eggs in the incubator and when candled yesterday 5 were viable so fingers crossed for a good hatch. These are not for Christmas I hasten to add – not this one anyway. No, Turkeys take 28 days to hatch, meaning we have another 21 days to go until we hear the tint pitter patter of scaly feet and not enough time to fatten a Turkey up in time for the big day. They come from a heritage (wild) type bird largely used for egg production so we’ll just have to wait and see what hatches out.

A dry garden

2014-08-24T19:46:00.001+01:00

Front Garden: Before and After

Well, it’s hard work this smallholding lark but of course, I’d never have it any other way and to be honest it’s pretty damn good fun – except for the vast quantity of poo that I seem to be shovelling on a daily basis.

Aside from shovelling muck and feeding animals I’ve had little time to garden. The vegetable garden and greenhouse are starting to produce, with potatoes and salad crops dominating the harvest. The lawn, well it’s still a lawn, a pretty big expanse of lawn really that’s just itching to be dug up. I’m reluctant to start doing this right now as with ridiculously free draining soil I fear a warm snap could ruin any young plants I plant or turn any borders I dig in to sand pits. I’ve not known soil this sandy before and this is probably going to be a huge learning curve for me as my previous gardens and allotment plots have been formed atop beautiful rich Welsh clay. So very different from the dry but fertile English soil I find my hands in now.

After recently replanting the front garden, the only real gardening I’ve done so far, I soon realised just how much of an issue this sand-like soil is likely to be. The border is only small and prior to my renovation it housed a couple of old roses, Hemerocallis, and remnants of alpine plants that were clinging on for dear life. The border sits next to several large conifers on one side that edge the garden next door and exacerbate the dryness issue further. This, coupled with the hot weather we’ve had in the past few months did not bode well for some of the plants I put in despite the generous addition of compost. They are starting to perk up now though and by next year we should have a burgeoning bed of beautifulness (try saying that when you're drunk!).

My temporary vegetable garden

The soil will require a lot of nourishment and extra attention; just as well I have more animal dung than I could shake a stick at and a massive compost heap then! Feeding the soil will be a major focus for me going forward. But where once yellow/cream gravel lay beneath tired geriatric plants, flowering in shades of pink, we now have a young garden. A mix of herbs, perennials and the odd Rose for good measure flowering in shades of blue, white, orange and gold. The plan for this part of the garden is for it to be useful and full of scent – something I will probably pull through the remainder of the garden out back once I begin. Plants need to earn their keep and be fairly drought resistant so we’ll see how they get on but having survived one hot snap I think they should do well here. Planted so far we have Rosa ‘Kew Gardens’, Jasminum officinale ‘Clotted Cream, Thme, Sage (ornamental and culinary), Rosemarie, Verbena bonariensis, Bronze Fennel, Rudbeckia fulgida, Achillea ‘Terracotta’, Geum Euphorbia amygdaloides, Stipa tenuissima and lots of self-seeding Alchemilla. I’m looking forward to posting an update on this next year.

Aside from the garden, since I last posted there have been a number of new additions to the smallholding – the ex-battery hens, the chicks (15 in total and growing at a rate of knots), a trio of French Wheaten Marans and two new Cream Legbar Pullets (a birthday present to myself), Gareth the rescue pony and my small flock of Hebridean Sheep. There’ll be more to come on those.

Why, hello there!

2014-06-28T19:28:00.001+01:00

It has been seven months almost to the day, 209 days to be precise, since I last posted here. In that time I’ve moved country, had one house move fall through and spent far too long in a temporary home with no garden. Safe to say things never go smoothly; but as I write I can only think - it was all worth it.

Ever since I was a child my sole ambition was to own a field, my Sister’s was to be a duck so in that respect I wasn’t that odd in comparison, but the space and potential a field could offer me was overwhelmingly attractive. My partner and I had a burning desire to follow our joint ambition and buy a smallholding and I guess we’ve finally realised this.

After our first house move fell through things have moved very quickly. We found our new home online and after all the legalities had been sorted we moved in. We’ve been in around five weeks now and things are starting to come together. The plot consists of an old farmhouse, once a pub back in the 1800’s, and just over 4 acres, divided between garden and pasture. The garden is around 0.4 acres as it stands and is pretty much all lawn, which is great for me as it offers a completely blank canvas. Although at times this is quite daunting! We also have a large Rose pergola, a small vegetable garden, a greenhouse and a few other plants (most of which flower pink – not my colour). The plan is to extend the vegetable garden considerably, plant an orchard and develop the ornamental garden – in time.

As I write the housing for our horse has just been erected and tomorrow she arrives along with our first batch of ex-battery hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust. I also have around 20 or so hatching eggs in the incubator, one of which is hatching prematurely on day 17/18 and the rest are likely to hatch over the coming days with Wednesday being day 21. These chickens will be a mixture of laying and meat birds as we move more closely to becoming self-sufficient. We’ve chosen Speckled Sussex this time around and I’m informed by chickeneer extraordinaire and Twitter friend Andy Cawthray of Chicken Street that they make good table birds. I also have a few Brahma eggs due to hatch and these will stay with the laying girls of which there are currently six.

Sadly not all of my old flock made the trip and Mc Gee, Roxy and Diana are now in chicken heaven after a fabulous vacation on a friend’s farm on Gower. The wonderful Sophia La Hen and Edna made the trip safely and are busy bossing our young hybrid girls. We’ve also been treated to two quail, although sadly one passed away, and the latest addition, a Cream Legbar Cockerel courtesy of the lovely Sharon Hockenhull.

The next few weeks and months will see me fencing, cutting, mowing and digging until the place starts to look good. This is a big project and is likely to take some time - wish me luck!

It’s so good to be blogging again!

Goodbye

2013-12-01T11:38:00.000+00:00

Things have been quiet of late (apologies); by late I mean the last six months and by quiet I mean near enough silent. Deafeningly silent in fact. Dead? The blog, twitter, my facebook page and writing in general have all ground to a halt and I’ve been more than aware of this. Let me explain.

At present I’m in limbo. Torn between two countries, between my home and what I’m reluctant to call my temporary home, with no real garden to speak of. The sale of the original “Ryan’s Garden” and many new commitments have all led to me having fairly clean hands and very little to write about on the garden front.

You see, I’m relocating. Sounds a little exciting doesn’t it? No, I haven’t witnessed a major crime and I haven’t been put in to a witness protection programme, although the prospect seems like quite a thrill to be honest. Sadly, it’s a little more mundane, although in reality it’s all part of the master plan to move to Salop and start a small smallholding (if there is such a thing?). No matter how depressing my groans make it out to be it’s actually pretty amazing; it’s just I want everything now and such a big move takes time. There are processes to follow and I’m not too good with that.

The original plan was to simply blog about my then existing garden and allotment as I made the transition but this didn’t happen and life and other events took hold. The move to my temporary home took a lot of time and effort, not to mention getting the animals settled. The final nail in the coffin was returning to my allotment, mid-move, and at the point of harvest, to find that it had been dug over. Devastated doesn’t come close and the little wind left in my sails at that point died in an instant.

So what’s a boy with an eponymous garden blog to do with no real garden? Well, I’m yet to discover that and I have little motivation to write with little or no inspiration but I’m hoping that writing this will help stir something up and get me going again. One thing I do know though is that my next garden, which may not be all that far away, is sure to inspire and who knows, it may even mean a totally new blog?!

Here’s looking forward to the new year!

Jewels in the sunlight

2013-06-02T00:02:00.000+01:00

Meconopsis cambrica

It’s amazing how much of a difference a little sunshine can make and with the added warmth and blue skies the garden takes on a whole new feel and it was looking particularly glorious today. Full of foliage and blooms the garden is thriving; not too bad considering I’ve done nothing bar a bit of pruning and a small tidy up.

Bejewelled with oranges, yellows, purples and interspersed with dashes of white the garden looks clean and crisp. Here are a few of the blooms that I couldn’t do without.

Clematis 'Elsa Spath'

This large flowering Clematis climbs up the large Chaenomele at the top of the garden and is having a particularly good year. It's currently covered in blooms most of which are far too high to photograph. The contrast of the rusty obelisk and purple and green of 'Elsa Spath' work beautifully.

Polygantum x hybridium

I think if I were to pick a plant that I couldn't do without this could be it. Understated and often overlooked Solomon's Seal, as it more commonly known, is a must have for me. Clean foliage and pendulous white flowers tipped with green it really is divine and even better in the sun. What's more - we have no sawfly this year!

Allium 'Purple Sensation'

I have a large drift of Alliums which add height and temporary structure in the garden. These plants look great but they also really bring the garden to life, not only with their colour but by actually drawing in bees, butterflies, and other bugs, many of which provide endless entertainment and much needed natural pest control.

Blossom, Blooms & Buckets of Slugs

2013-05-11T13:00:00.000+01:00

I finally feel as though the cobwebs of winter have been dusted off as there’s lush green growth all around and I have seeds bursting out all over the place, with many more still to sow (everything is late!). Little is in its final position however and progress has been slow both in the garden and at the plot what with the increasingly long working hours; running your own business is actually a lot harder than I thought previously! The past few weeks have been refreshing somewhat though as with the longer evenings and the temporary uplift in the typically dreary Welsh weather, we’re back to rain now, I have been able to get a lot more done.

The garden is looking full and green interspersed with the reds and pinks of apple blossom, peachy/orange of Quince, the blues and purples of bluebells and pulmonaria and sprinklings of white with alpine strawberries and Viburnum. The Alliums are standing proud and tall and it looks as though we’re in for quite a treat! That’s if the slugs and snails don’t eat everything first!

When tidying up the garden a few weeks ago I noticed that my large clumps of Miscanthus ‘Yakushima Dwarf’ were harbouring slugs, snails and bugs abound. Many writers and bloggers have noted how the cold and wet may have knocked population but in this garden I don’t think there has been much of an impact at all. As anyone who has read this blog over the years may have noticed, the battle with slugs and snails is never ending, as I'm sure most are familiar with in their own gardens, and I’m always open to new suggestions on how to battle them effectively. I recently came across an article from The Telegraph written by Toby Buckland, which shows his somewhat gruesome way of farming nematodes. I’m not entirely convinced on this method but I’d be willing to hear if anyone has tried this or if there is any evidence to prove this right. I may just stick with my current methods though.

In other news:

Tulips have now replaced Daffodils on the hall table as the "in-season" bouquet.
I’m very impressed with my new Fiskars secateurs – very sexy, comfortable to use and possibly a rival to my Felcos.

Competition news:

Ryan’s Garden Spring Competition has launched and please do feel free to enter - some great prizes on offer to a potential 10 lucky winners!.

Ryan's Garden Spring Competition

2013-05-10T20:16:00.000+01:00

Spring is here although it did get off to quite a slow start. Right now it's taken a little step back what with the new wave of cold winds and heavy showers but is there hope for a sizzling June, July and August?

Whether it’s a barbecue summer or a total washout, our friends at Subscription Save have your gardening needs covered. ‪The publishers of The English Garden, Country Smallholding, Your Chickens and many other titles, want to share the love by offering Jane Cumberbacth's Pure Outside Style book or a Burgon & Ball kneelo to 10 lucky readers. ‬

‪To enter the competition just make a guess as to how the year will pan out - “bbq summer” or “total washout”. Enter your prediction in the comments box at the bottom of this post for your chance to win. There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to your entry, it's just a bit of fun!‬

You can gain an additional two entries to the competition by retweeting @ryansgarden promoting the competition on twitter or by sharing a link from the Ryan’s Garden Facebook page (you must like the page to share the link). The number of entries will not increase if you retweet or share links more than once.

Good luck and don’t forget to subscribe to the Ryan’s Garden blog to ensure you don’t miss out on future competitions and posts.

Terms and conditions: This competition closes at 23.59 on 24.05.2013. Any entries received after this time will not be counted. If for any reason the particular prize is out of stock then an appropriate alternative will be sought. Entrants must be UK residents aged 18 years or older to enter. By entering this competition you agree and consent to your name being published and your details being sent to the prize giving company. By taking part in the competition, entrants are deemed to have read, understood and accepted all of the Terms and Conditions and agreed to be bound by them. The winner will be selected at random and will be announced here on the blog.

Ready the Bumbles!

2013-04-16T20:02:00.000+01:00

On this evening in particular it feels as though Spring has finally sprung. Daffs and tulips are plump and opening, if not already blooming and there are buds galore to be seen all around. The chickens are also feeling the seasonal change and eggs are being produced quicker than they can be used up. Okay, so the earth is largely left bare, aside from the yawning perennials, but this will soon change in a flash – when I finally move in to action.

As I turned the corner on to my plot today, ducking under the low apple tree and negotiating several raised beds, I was met with a symphonic drone. A low buzzing akin to a dubstep bassline quickly followed by my shock at seeing around ten or so also slightly shocked bumble bees taking flight. They had been sunning themselves on the shed, affectionately known as The Tardis, and took to the sky on my arrival almost proclaiming that the worst of it is over.

So there we have it – nature has announced that we’re in the thick of it. Ready the Bumbles!

Days for tea and cake

2013-03-23T16:31:00.000+00:00

There are merely a few signs that Spring is here and right now it feels like Winter is having a good old go at clinging on with its icy finger nails clamped tightly on this patch of the world; putting the growing season temporarily on hold and forcing me to seek the warmth of the wood burner, mugs filled with tea and oven-warm cake. Although I’m pretty sure that no matter what the weather has in store, the latter two will always have a place in my life.

Just a couple of weeks ago the soil started to dry, buds started to bulge and the chickens upped their egg laying efforts. Today, however, the soil is once again wet and icy cold, many buds have fallen dormant stuck in a catatonic state just waiting for the starting pistol and my chickens, though still laying, are not quite as productive as I would have hoped for this time of year. We may even have to resort back to the warm breakfasts.

Despite the cold, the rain and the wind there are a few garden stalwarts that are putting on a brave face. The Rhubarb is resplendent and will soon find itself in countless recipes, as will the sorrel and what remains of the parsnips and potatoes. As you will see above, the daffodils, once upright and jolly have taken on a more leisurely approach to looking beautiful. Battered by flying tarpaulins and feeling a bit sorry for themselves, if not broken completely, most lean or lounge looking quite apathetic – not dissimilar to those slightly vague looking models seen in fashion magazines.

This temporary hitch is quite welcome given that I’m yet to sow a single seed. Work and other things have dominated my life of late, hence a lack of blogging, tweeting and other forms of web-based procrastination. The last frost is now in sight and with the nights becoming longer I’m sure that this will all change very shortly.

In other news, the blog has had it's 4th birthday although I completely missed it and didn't get around to acknowledging it at all and you may have also noticed that I’m a contributor in this seasons ‘The Edible Garden’ in which I feature a few great blogs I like to read and eight of the nicest twitter-folk, all of whom are incredibly talented and inspiring. If you do get a chance please check them all out and tell them I sent you!

Desktop blooms from the garden

2013-02-16T22:32:00.000+00:00

Today I took a quick trip in to the garden, which is something of a novelty these days but the sun was shining and I had a free saturday to play with. There’s not a great deal on show, beyond the general browness broken up by the odd evergreen and fresh green leafy offerings from the Spring bulbs and early woodland plants that are poking their heads above ground. That said, the Hellebores, Snowdrops and Witch Hazel are flowering away happily and this is enough to satisfy my horticultural desires, for now at least.

I couldn’t resist bringing a few blooms back indoors with me so I snipped a little bit of Box and coupled this with a few Hellebore blooms, plonked them in a vase and positioned them on the desk next to my computer where I find myself sat for hours on end these days. I also nabbed a trio of pristine Snowdrops and as I was without a bud vase, not for want of looking I must add, I salvaged an empty Vanilla extract bottle and put it to good use. The nodding blooms make for a great little piece of decoration and also remind me that beyond this computer screen and hours of work, the garden is still there and thriving without my intervention.

This week, whilst driving home each day it's not gone without notice that the days are lengthening at quite a pleasing pace. No longer am I returning in the dark but I have time to see to the chickens, walk the dogs or pop to the stables and soon enough I’ll be spending long evenings at the allotment working with hands in warm friable soil and planting out seedlings with or without a barbeque perhaps. It cant come soon enough.

A bacon and egg sandwich day

2013-01-19T17:54:00.001+00:00

On days like today, after a long morning at the stables, I’m more than grateful for bacon and egg sandwiches. It's the kind of food that warms you up, fills that gap and screams sunshine and comfort on a plate with those deep orange, glowing yolks laid by my little flock of hens. It's possibly my favourite lunch after a hard days gardening or morning spent at the plot but as no gardening was on the cards today it certainly came in handy after a long and cold morning.

The girls are now obliging but they are still a little hit and miss with the old egg laying business. They have come through the moult and after looking like battered old feather dusters for a little while they’re in tip-top condition and demonstrating that they’re hardy little things. Unperturbed by rain, wind and snow, they just carry on about their business focussed solely on food and looking pretty. Today, as a reward for their hard work, they’ve been treated to an extra special hot breakfast with porridge oats, rice and raisins and as always it was gone in minutes.

The two girls at the forefront of the picture above are still going strong and can be seen in my original post: 'A warm breakfast for cold chickens'. They are endlessly entertaining and wonderfully productive as ever with McGee, the brown hen, having very few days off in the years that I've had her.

Here's hoping for a productive 2013!

Welcoming the New Year

2013-01-01T19:28:00.000+00:00

Welcoming the New Year has started with a cold, a heavily moulting Golden Retriever and a hell of a lot of cleaning. Not the most exciting way to begin a brand New Year but it would be hard for it to get worse than that. On the plus side, I guess it’s semi-proactive, bar the coughing and spluttering of course.

Over the past year I feel as though I’ve neglected the garden and the blog somewhat, although starting a new business and a brand new career has eaten up a lot of my time. In some strange way I seem to have engineered a very busy existence of late that revolves around work and animals, which leaves little time for anything else. This will need further adjustment over the coming year although changes are already afoot. As a start, I’ve resigned from my post as Allotment Secretary and adjusted various other things that will mean come sunnier times I’ll be able to garden care free, write more and finally get back to riding. I seriously need to invest in lessons; perhaps this should be a resolution of mine?

Along with a lack of time, the weather has influenced my absence heavily and I can only pray that this changes in 2013. Is it just me or does it feel as though the rain hasn’t really stopped since Spring? The past month especially I’ve found that my allotment and garden has been largely submerged and much like Anne Wareham’s Yew hedges, I fear that I too will see losses come the Spring. One benefit is that I still have a variety of bulbs that remain unplanted. I say that its a benefit as if planted I fear they may have simply rotted in the waterlogged clay ground. As soon as the soil drains a bit I’ll plant them up or save them for containers. I do worry though that without a good cold spell we may also have a battle of epic proportions with marauding molluscs and other undesirables on our hands. Failing a late Winter cold spell, perhaps an early Spring offensive would help?

The chickens have faired better than the plants and haven’t struggled too much. Their badly timed moult has left them looking worse for wear although their desire to stand out in the rain when they have a perfectly good shelter baffles me. The old girls have also decided that egg laying is “so last year” and I’m having to do with shop bought, which is not a patch on what the girls provide.

Overall 2012 has been a mixed bag. A lot has been achieved and much has gone undone. Highlights have included attending the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and writing for some great blogs and publications. 2013 will be much the same I expect and I’m excited, as this may be the year that leads on to bigger and brighter things, or so I hope!

Happy New Year all!

Product review: GreanBase Wheelbarrow Booster

2012-12-10T20:57:00.000+00:00

When I was asked by Joe from GreanBase to review the Wheelbarrow Booster, a product that would increase the capacity of my wheelbarrow by up to 300%, I couldn’t resist and I jumped at the opportunity. I use wheelbarrows on a daily basis, largely when mucking out my horse’s stable, and I knew I could put this product through its paces and to very good use.

On the day it arrived it was swiftly unpacked ahead of its first outing. A simple product, often the best inventions are, it appeared well made and I could imagine it would last many years if looked after correctly. The only downside – it didn’t fit either of my barrows. At the time of testing I was using an 85 litre Bull barrow and if you look closely the plastic pan meets up with the handles meaning that I couldn’t securely fit the booster’s elastic band around the pan. Rightly, the manufacturers do state that it fits “most” barrows but it appears I have a knack of selecting barrows that fall outside of this category. I did however manage to get some purchase around the pan and testing was possible. I looked to see how others got on with similar problems and Compostwoman from ‘The Compost Bin’ blog found one way to deal with it.

The first test was to see if it could hold wood shavings. I had just taken receipt of new flooring for the stable and I needed to lift the shavings that were currently in place so I could fit the rubber matting. The barrow safely held a whole stables-worth of shavings, although we may have worked hard to get the last few forkfuls in. As you can see from the picture we overfilled the booster but despite it bulging slightly it certainly held well and made the job much easier. The first test was a success.

It’s recommended that the Booster is used for: “light-weight, but bulky garden waste e.g. grass/hedge trimmings, leaves, pruning’s, cleared vegetation. Not forgetting hay, shavings etc. around the stables.” In an effort to test it with heavier materials I filled the barrow with both horse manure and garden compost and it worked fairly well, although it wasn’t possible to fill it as much as in the first test. My main concern with carrying this type of material is that you do have to be fairly careful when filling your barrow and that upon emptying it the Wheelbarrow Booster came loose and detached, although I fear this may be more to with the type of barrow I was using and the lack of correct fit.

All in all, I found this product to be pretty good and especially handy at the stables, although it would be interesting to see a design put in to production that accounts for barrows such as the Bull barrow, which doesn't accommodate the current design. I don’t have a lawn or much hedging to trim but I imagine that the booster would come in to its own in larger gardens that require the removal of such trimmings and leaf collection, which the booster is specifically designed for.

The Wheelbarrow Booster from GreanBase retails for £15.98.