Category Archives: Smallholding

The Great Leek Scape

Posted on January 7, 2022 by james

Or perhaps not, given today’s weather, but the weather is presumably what is responsible for the behaviour of this particular leek that I noticed in the veggie plot yesterday and photographed today after a snow shower with the biggest snowflakes … Continue reading →

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Growing Degree Days

Posted on January 7, 2022 by james

I’ve come across the concept of Heating Degree Days or Cooling Degree Days in work I’ve done (basically the number of days where the temperatures has crossed some specific threshold where heating or cooling of a building is required) and … Continue reading →

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Garlic comparison

Posted on January 6, 2022 by james

As I posted a couple of days ago, this year’s garlic has finally made it out of the ground. I’d been feeling a bit apprehensive about what was going on because it seems to have been far slower to get … Continue reading →

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At last we have garlic-sign!

Posted on January 4, 2022 by james

I’ve been a little apprehensive about the garlic for next year. I saved four of my best bulbs from this year’s harvest to replant, and did so back in October. Despite the fairly mild weather however there’s been no sign … Continue reading →

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Smoke #2

Posted on January 2, 2022 by james

This morning I’ve smoked the second batch of cheese, or, at least, the Tesco own-brand cheese. The rest somehow “disappeared” from the fridge and is nowhere to be seen. It’s a mystery… This time I used apple wood dust from … Continue reading →

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My first attempt at smoking…

Posted on January 1, 2022 by james

Cheddar cheese in this case. It rolls ok, but it’s a pig to get lit 😀 Slightly more seriously, I bought just over a kilo of cheese earlier in the week. Given that this was going to be my first … Continue reading →

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Last shot from the plot

Posted on January 1, 2022 by james

For 2021, at least 🙂 I lifted a good couple of dozen leeks to share with my extended family when we saw them just before the new year. Fortunately there are still plenty left for us.

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Pickled jalapenos

Posted on December 29, 2021 by james

I’ve just realised that I meant to show what I did with all my green jalapenos from this year. No idea how I can have forgotten something so important 🙂 I did save a few to stuff and bake, but … Continue reading →

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The veggie plot at the end of 2021

Posted on December 29, 2021 by james

As I posted a couple of days back, I wanted to take a few photos of the plot as it is now so I can remember where I still need to spread compost once the winter crops are out of … Continue reading →

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Post-Christmas veggie plot tidy up

Posted on December 27, 2021 by james

Despite filling ten (I think — could be twelve) dumpy bags with fallen leaves, there were still quite a few that had collected on the paths and around the plants in the veggie plot so today I decided to clean … Continue reading →

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