The Homestead Garden week to week

[British Red]

I thought that, now that Spring is really sprung, it might be mutually interesting for us to char about (and show) what we are all up to in our gardens and homesteads

Today, we planted Oca (150 square feet)



and established planted two new strawberry beds. These beds we have cut in and built this year....there were trees there last year!



We are also working our way through the beehives, finding, marking and wing clipping the queens that we gained through "Suprcedure" late last year. The bees are very active, very early this year and have been breeding up like crazy for at least a month - we are hoping for a bumper year on the honey front!

Over the next few days I will be drilling peas and planting parsnips and carrots ...then moving onto beans.

What are you guys up to?

 

[Clouston98]

Looking good mate! Our bees are doing well, have been out and about a fair bit recently and our colony is certainly getting bigger, we might split them next year and get some more when we move .

Great idea for a thread!

 

[British Red]

You done an inspection yet this year Cam? Ours are packed with brood..far ahead of where you would expect. Some people are reporting a food shortage and starving colonies though - probably worth "hefting" your hive if nothing else

 

[tommy the cat]

I weeded my mates raised bed then moved 45 bags of top soil to my gaff as mines clay!!
Carrots and spuds in at the weekend + parsnips and sweet peas
D

 

[British Red]

Good looking soil that Dave - but for goodness sake don't get any of that bamboo into your garden - some varieties are amazingly invasive!

 

[Clouston98]

You done an inspection yet this year Cam? Ours are packed with brood..far ahead of where you would expect. Some people are reporting a food shortage and starving colonies though - probably worth "hefting" your hive if nothing else

We've done one, it was looking good, about the average amount of brood I'd guess, plenty honey in there too, they're doing well and healthy looking bunch, very little varroa too, they're doing good .

 

[British Red]

Excellent - we've got one weak hive (it had gone queenless). We popped a frame of eggs in from as strong colony and they have raised a queen cell so fingers crossed we might save it. The other two have gone off like trains.

 

[Clouston98]

Excellent - we've got one weak hive (it had gone queenless). We popped a frame of eggs in from as strong colony and they have raised a queen cell so fingers crossed we might save it. The other two have gone off like trains.

Good stuff! I love our bees, really clever, self sufficient and use proper team work- and great honey on toast!

 

[tommy the cat]

I was really careful BR as it has spread in his bed... The soil is lovely had/ having prob 11/2 tonne or so.. I'm hoping for good things with the carrots this time.
It's slightly sandy but really lush compared to my clay. Was wondering if sharp sand might help in my plot?

 

[British Red]

I'm not a fan of sand and clay and water - its the mix to create adobe bricks (which are not renowned for being a good growing medium)

The best thig for clay is organic matter and plenty of it. Clay is not bad per se, it just waterlogs / cracks / hardens. It does have a good nutrient complement, it just needs it drainage sorting - compost or manure does that well

 

[Toddy]

We're on heavy clay here, Lanarkshire blue clay. Great if you can open it up, but it's used for tiles and bricks for a blooming good reason.
Organics are the only way to keep the topsoil workable, just keep digging it in. I have three compost heaps and the soil they produce is beautiful. I just keep working it into any bed I'm digging over or tidying up.
If you can get some straw and get your worms to work at that, it makes great debris for working into the clay. Stables, folks with gerbils and rabbits, or chickens, it all breaks down a bit with time and makes excellent 'roughage' to mix into the clay. Leaf litter is brilliant, if you have a local council who sweep it up.

cheers,
M

 

[tommy the cat]

Thanks BR going to try the wizard field beans as a green manure later in the year and maybe mustard ??? I'm thinking about a dedicated seed bed for seed saving?? What ya think??

 

[British Red]

My way Dave (and its just my way) is to keep the end of my beds. I have ten, identical beds in a row, they are all twenty five foot long by four foot wide. The left hand end of most beds gets left for seed rather than harvesting. If you look at the very top picture, the bit at the bottom are last years Spring Onions left to go for seed this year (just two small rows).

The theory says "keep your strongest stuff for seed". That works well on annuals (like beans) select your best plant, with big beans and full pods and let it go over for seed. Its hopeless with biennials - what do you do with the best eight parsnips out of 200? Leave them for an extra year and plant between them?

I have done beds just for seed saving - mainly when I have acquired a few seeds and want to multiply them or for things like beet that have to be enclosed in a cage to prevent cross pollination.

 

[tommy the cat]

Ok food for thought

 

[British Red]

This is how I manure Dave



6" deep layers, left over Winter and turned in around this time of year. A little bit here or there does no good at all on a large area - I get through four or five tonnes a year on our veg beds. Get the boards up as you have, then just pack the manure and compost on in late Autumn. Let the frost and worms work on it all Winter and turn it in in the Spring.

I manured over rhubarb crowns this Winter. The heat from the rotting manure meant I could pick rhubarb in January!

 

[Man of Tanith]

All we have done is dig a veg plot, spread some manure over the clay we found and with some child labour raked it in

come good friday we shall put some spuds in there to break the soil up
we are also discussing trying the three sisters growing technique this year so see how that goes.

 

[British Red]

Can you lend me the child labour for a month Sam - got loads to rake and some chimneys to clean

 

[Man of Tanith]

I'll trade him for the nessmuk trio you're sellin Hugh

he loves being outside and "farming" as he calls it.
must be the genes kicking in

 

[British Red]

Ahh the axe has long since sold Sam - you'll have to keep him!

Let me know if he wants some seeds for his own garden?

 

[Man of Tanith]

blast thought I was on a winner then

thanks Hugh thats very generous of you