Category Archives: Smallholding

No dig diary, 30th March 2026

Posted on May 12, 2026 by james

I’ve been out collecting lettuce from the polytunnel for a salad. It appears the cat has been indulging in a little pest control for me: I’m surprised he’s not eaten it. Perhaps he was saving it until later. It’s buried … Continue reading →

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My mushroom logs are sprouting!

Posted on May 12, 2026 by james

Not with mushrooms though 🙁 I wasn’t expecting that. Hopefully it means there’s sufficient moisture in the logs for the fungus to spread through them nicely.

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Vineyard progress

Posted on May 11, 2026 by james

Again, BP drugs messing me up, so it took until the last few days of March to get the vineyard pruning done, but eventually I got there. I really should go back and have another look now to see how … Continue reading →

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Artificial stupidity strikes again

Posted on May 11, 2026 by james

After my previous post I tried to search online for “UK bright green caterpillar”. The AI search summary came back with Bright green caterpillars in the UK can include species like the Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar, which is chunky and has … Continue reading →

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Don’t think I’ve seen one of these before

Posted on May 11, 2026 by james

Thanks to problems with my blood pressure medication, it’s taking me a long time to do a first weeding pass through the veg plot. I did one last November, but the mild Winter seems to have allowed them to keep … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 29th March 2026

Posted on May 11, 2026 by james

Today marks the day when we finished filling up the compost bin that we’ve been using since the start of Winter. Always seems to be the one that takes longest to fill. To try to keep the pile moist and … Continue reading →

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A real Cornish pasty

Posted on May 11, 2026 by james

Spending some time at the bakery has rekindled my desire to bake more and one thing I’ve always said I wanted to do was to make some proper Cornish pasties. Clearing the veggie plot uncovered some small swedes left over … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 18th February 2026

Posted on May 11, 2026 by james

The greenhouse is starting to fill with module trays and seedlings now…

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Late Winter potatoes

Posted on May 8, 2026 by james

Back in January I took some of the green Charlotte potatoes that I saved from last year’s harvest and put them into bags of compost in the greenhouse. By mid-February they were starting to sprout. And by the tail end … Continue reading →

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It’s time to start weeding again

Posted on May 7, 2026 by james

And I’ve only just finished the last pass through the veg plot! Winter being so mild has meant that an awful lot of weeds didn’t die off when they would normally have done so and having weeded pretty thoroughly at … Continue reading →

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