Its Been A Few Days

The Perfect Tomato

Arriving at lotty yesterday, my intention was to play a bit of football with the Blur before getting on with everything. There was one thing that had to be done first though, and that was to look at perfect tomato. I could hear the Blurs gasp of surprise before Id even gotten to the greenhouse. Our perfect tomato is pretty much orange now. Iv said that by Saturday she'll be ready to eat (at least I hope she will.) The melons now have a few flowers each (pictured on the left), and once iv worked out which ones are male and which are female i'll have to hand pollinate them as they are inside. Im really hoping its not to difficult and that it works as it would be great to eat a melon that we've grown ourselves.

And Back To The Chicken Coop

Having spoken to John the chicken man, and now knowing where to get them, there has been a surge in work on the chicken coop. Whilst the Blur had a bit of a swing in the hammock John and I were busy banging in steaks and fixing chicken wire in place. Our original plan was to have a small 2m square run for them, but the base for that has now become a stand for the coop so there is space underneath for a dust bath. We have now made a fence around the coop which when finished should be around 20m square. John made a fantastic gate and it was off to the hut to find some matching hinges. We had a good rummage but only found odd ones. For once I had a good idea and suggested that we have a look at the doors which are there for anyone to take. Luckily there were more than enough. So now we have half a fence and a gate, and the coop looks more like its ready to house our chickens. We need a bit more wire for the fence, but all being well the coop should be finished in the next week, and the chickens will follow shortly after. Thank you John for all your hard work on the coop yesterday.

Potatoes And Carrots

We have up until now had a regular supply of potatoes, but Im beginning to think they're starting to run out. I had a few stored in our soil store but finding enough for our tea last night was starting to become difficult. The plants are starting to collapse and digging for potatoes is becoming a delicate job, having to hold them up so as not to destroy them and making sure the roots are replanted properly after being disturbed.

The carrots on the other hand are doing fantastically. The first lot planted at the top by John now have carrots pushing out of the ground. Were having to cover the tops back over so they dont go bad like some of the potatoes. Having completely weeded around the second lot its a lot easier to see how they are progressing. The third lot (the purple ones) have started to come through, but im reluctant to weed around them just now as I cant always tell whats what at this stage. But whatever happens it seems we'll have an ample amount for a while (which is good as they seem to be a staple of our Sunday dinners.

Just a little update on the grapes. They have put on a spurt all of a sudden and are now starting to look more like grapes. John and the Blur have tried a few each (the Blur with a sour look on her face,) apparently they taste like unripened apples at the moment. Were hoping they still have enough time to grow properly. Im not a big fan of grapes, but once they're ready im sure i'll not be able to resist them.