Category Archives: Smallholding

Pruning vines with a friend

Posted on July 6, 2026 by james

It’s a slow job, but a friend came to help out today…

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No dig diary, 1st July 2026

Posted on July 1, 2026 by james

Didn’t do a huge amount today, but first off I planted out all my spare squashes in the polycrub. Hopefully they’ll be happy enough there. Still need to get some weeding done in the polycrub, but that can wait a … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 30th June 2026

Posted on July 1, 2026 by james

I took myself off to the polytunnel this afternoon and indulged myself in a little weeding, winding. watering and wsideshooting whilst listening to the rain hammering on the cover. It does look much better now. Whilst grubbing around the plants, … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 29th June 2026

Posted on June 29, 2026 by james

Managed to do some seed-sowing today for the first time in more than a week, thanks to the cooler weather. On the list today were beetroot, peas, spring onions, coriander, radish and swede. I also potted up a couple of … Continue reading →

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Back to the vineyard

Posted on June 29, 2026 by james

I needed to go back today. The owner wanted to be able to mow between the rows and was, err, struggling a bit? When I got there I could see why. I should really have been back a while ago … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 28th June 2026

Posted on June 29, 2026 by james

I had other things to do today, so work in the garden was largely limited to a bit of weeding around the brassicas. That involved removing a few volunteer potatoes which turned out to be an acceptable harvest for one … Continue reading →

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A dangerous-looking chile?

Posted on June 29, 2026 by james

I was sent seeds for this chile (Khang Starr Lingria) as a freebie with an order of other chile seeds from Chillichump. It’s not a well-known variety and I was somewhat worried that if someone bothered to breed a chile … Continue reading →

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I think venison needs to go on the menu

Posted on June 29, 2026 by james

For the second time this year, deer have been in, munching on the tops of my beetroot and my sugar snap peas 🙁 So frustrating. Between the blackbirds, deer, rabbits, squirrels, butterflies, pigeons and pheasants it feels like you can’t … Continue reading →

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When I see an elephant fly

Posted on June 26, 2026 by james

Ok, so perhaps not, but there were plenty of horseflies in the polytunnel this evening, all waiting for a victim (me) to provide them with a nice juicy blood meal. Though given the problems I’m having with blood pressure of … Continue reading →

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Too hot to be chile?

Posted on June 26, 2026 by james

I’m getting fruit on some of my pepper plants already! This one is “Zitava”, which I believe is often used to make paprika. I’m going to have to have a go at that if I get enough fruit. And this … Continue reading →

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