Category Archives: Smallholding

Memory Lane, 9th December 2022: Overwintering tomatoes

Posted on April 10, 2024 by james

In September I took cuttings from a number of tomato plants and left them in the greenhouse in jars of water. Those that produced roots were potted up and then moved indoors into a bay window when the weather became … Continue reading →

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Beehive repair thoughts

Posted on April 10, 2024 by james

I have some old boxes that were either made the wrong size (depth) or have shrunk over the many years they’ve been out in the open. Some of them I’ve extended back to the intended size with pieces of timber … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 26 November 2022: Logs in

Posted on April 9, 2024 by james

First batch of logs from this Winter’s tree felling. Should keep us warm for a while next Winter.

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A bit of progress with hive repairs

Posted on April 9, 2024 by james

“Other stuff” seems to have taken up much time today, but I did at least get a little bit of progress made on repairing hives. First I put some danish oil on the rims I added to floors a few … Continue reading →

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It’s been a day of upset

Posted on April 9, 2024 by james

Not considering my travails with BT sufficient, Fate had another chainsaw to throw in the washing machine this afternoon… I was sitting at my desk when I heard a kerfuffle from the chickens. I looked out of the window to … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 26th November 2022

Posted on April 8, 2024 by james

Oh dear! No more apple peeling for you! After several years of sterling service, the crank on our apple peeler/corer has snapped off. Don’t think there’s much I can do to repair this one. It might be time to invest … Continue reading →

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Asparagus are go!

Posted on April 8, 2024 by james

I’m sure these weren’t there yesterday, but they’re definitely there now 😀 I’m so excited about this. They were planted three winters ago, so this year is the first year we’ll actually harvest any. I’ll need to look up how … Continue reading →

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No dig diary, 8th April 2024

Posted on April 8, 2024 by james

I last weeded the big polytunnel and the greenhouses in January and today decided it was time to do them again, removing the Winter salads that are already starting to flower at the same time — the leaves become tough … Continue reading →

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Memory Lane, 15th November 2022: A new beekeeping tool

Posted on April 8, 2024 by james

Given all the under-floor entrances I have made, there is now a possible need for a tool to clear the entrance slot of rubbish in case it gets blocked up, so today I had a swift visit to the workshop … Continue reading →

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Frankenstein’s greenhouse gets a “strawberry shelf”

Posted on April 8, 2024 by james

I posted about a week ago that I was going to look at making a shelf for Frankenstein’s greenhouse that I could put strawberries on in the hope of getting an early crop. The mess of reclaimed timber leaning against … Continue reading →

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