Category Archives: Smallholding

Just Give Me a Buzz

Posted on August 20, 2012 by james

I received a phone call from BT last week. “Oh dear, what have they broken now” I thought. But no, it transpired that an engineer had been out to visit a “green cabinet” in a local hamlet and had to … Continue reading →

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A Very Late Swarm

Posted on July 23, 2012 by james

Yesterday (22nd July) morning I received a phone call about a bee swarm in a local garden. The swarm was in a holly bush right next to the path to the front door of the house and the owners have … Continue reading →

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Veg Plot Progress

Posted on April 12, 2012 by james

Busy times at the moment. This is the veg. plot as it looked at the start of March. It’s a big plot and in previous years has taken a very long time to dig over by hand, so this year … Continue reading →

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Veg Plot Ready for Planting

Posted on March 24, 2012 by james

Last weekend it was finally dry enough to get the rotavator onto the veggie plot to get it sorted for this year. I say rotavator. I cheated a bit this year. Sadly work too often gets in the way of … Continue reading →

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Starting This Year’s Fruit and Veg

Posted on February 28, 2012 by james

Well, kind of. I’ve already got broad beans under cloches in one of the veggie beds and a sowing of peas in the polytunnel, but they were all planted last year… Anyhow, my daughter has been getting at me to … Continue reading →

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This Little Piggy Went To Slaughter

Posted on February 27, 2012 by james

This morning at stupid o’clock I took our two Large Black pigs off to slaughter. Large by name and large by nature, too. I’d estimate they’re somewhere up around the 120kg to 130kg mark, live weight. We’ve had them eight … Continue reading →

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Proper Marmalade

Posted on February 27, 2012 by james

Towards the tail end of January or the start of February I like to buy some Seville oranges and make proper marmalade. I’m really not keen on a lot of the manufactured stuff which just doesn’t have the bitterness and … Continue reading →

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Strike Temperature

Posted on February 23, 2012 by james

During my last batch of brewing I came across a formula for calculating the water temperature for a mash given the grain temperature and desired mash temperature. Unfortunately I can no longer remember where it came from. However, it is: … Continue reading →

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Trouble Brewing

Posted on February 23, 2012 by james

I’ve not made much beer in the last year, so having ordered 25kg of pale malt and various other bits and pieces, last week I decided to crack on with a few brews. Protz and Wheeler’s “Brew Your Own British … Continue reading →

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Splitting Eggs

Posted on February 5, 2012 by james

Though it’s much warmer today we’ve had four or five days on the trot where the temperatures have barely risen above freezing, getting down to close to -10C on one occasion. One of the unexpected results of this sudden cold … Continue reading →

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