Part II September 2009

Welcome to Part II of Down on the Funny Farm September Update.

See Wellie completely Arse About Face dig new beds for flowers, herbs and Raspberries. Mind you, I'm quite pleased actually, because I've inadvertently lost a stone and a half somewhere along the line in the last four months, which'll be great for my Birthday Holiday Bikini, no?!

These beds I've taken personal responsibility for clearing and digging, because they're full of stones.
I have the patience of a Saint. Trousers doesn't. Say no more! And I have stuff I want to plant before we go away, so I need the beds ready now, not in the Spring.

Trousers has already dug over the entire new Fruit Garden which will be ready to cultivate next Spring (which took 7 hours and he couldn't walk for two days). Mind you, I ferried the FYM back and forth from way over the other side of the farm for the same amount of time to fill said double-dug trenches...... (and couldn't even get out of bed, let alone 'stand' the following morning - pathetic....) and so today, Trousers took a well-earned rest with the Sunday papers, in the privacy of his own back yard.



As far as the design for our new Potager goes, I've tried to keep things very simples, but eminently workable. The mistake I made in our last Potager, was that in the winter months, if it wasn't all planted up with vegetables, it looked like a very bare Allotment, and given that it's right outside your kitchen door, and you're looking at it every single day of the year, that can be a very unattractive view for nearly 6 months of the year.
So once again, I've put my 'Student Hat' on, and gone back to the drawing board.
Honestly. Never be ashamed of making mistakes. I'm not. Every time I make a mistake, I learn something new.

Okay. The photo below shows the start of what will major for my Herb Garden. But probably 'tickled' with other decorative seasonal additions like Bulls Blood Beetroot, Spring Onions, Edible Flowers, Salad Crops etc. I've identified since mid-April exactly how the sun affects this area of my new garden, so I am armed with its possibilities.
And time will tell as to when I come close to 'getting it right' - especially with the addition of a few evergreens and seasonal bedding plants.

And below, this is a sneak preview of potentially the new Fruit Garden.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but I plan to have the Asparagus Bed along the fence (all 24 crowns with about 3 or 4 different varieties, cropping at different times) with protective netting between them and The Girls in the field (the sheep).

I've put a tremendous amount of thought and planning into the very little that I have shown you a glimpse of here, and daily there's much much more, but I keep it to myself in order not to scare Trousers too much!

And naturally, there's a complete 'shed load' of preserving going on at the minute too.

Here we have 'PlumBeena', which is like Ribeena, but Plum (on the right), and on the left we have a yummy Chinese kind of spicy Plum Sauce.

Today I've bottled Home Sunblushed Oven Dried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, and I am knee-deep in Tomatoes, Sweet Red Peppers and Chillies. This week Children, I are MOSTLY preserving!

Have a great week, and hopefully see you next.

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