First Frost And More Layers Than You Can Shake A Stick At

Letting The Girls Out

Yesterday being Johns birthday, I decided to let him have a lie in and went to let the girls out as soon as I thought it was light enough, that being 6:45. Thats not to say that I didnt think about letting them out earlier, but the thought of how cold it would be put me off slightly. What I wasnt ready for when I left the house was the frost. The mornings lately have been cold, but this really was something else for me. Rita and Alison hadnt been laying for a week or two, but to my surprise the was an Alison egg sitting in the nest. I like to think that she knows her eggs are Johns favorites and layed one especially for him to have for breakfast on his birthday. I did laugh a little bit when Marge padded off for a drink and seemed slightly confused as to why the water was hard. Given the freezing weather I hurried off home to say happy birthday and warm myself up a bit.

Picola Finds A Pallet

Back off to lotty in the afternoon I was there for five minutes before I realised I needed to go to the shops for some provisions. On my way there I noticed a wooden pallet in the car park of the high school next to the allotments, so on the way back I popped in and asked if I could have it assuming it would be the same size as the ones we normally get. Slightly off the mark it turned out to be about 6ft by 4 1/2 ft and extremely heavy. I do like to think that I can do everything myself, and I thought 'its not that far, i'll be fine.' I'll admit I should have gone and fetched John to help. What should be a two or three minute walk turned into a half an hour trek lugging or trying to drag the pallet which felt like it weighed as much as me. One jacket less and alot of sweat later I swung the gate to lotty open and announced that Santa had arrived. John seemed happy with my find and got to work straight away taking it apart. I did have a go at hammering the screwdriver underneath the planks and like every other time Im given a hammer to use I came away with a lovely bump and bruise on the top of my hand.

Roll On Spring

Yet another frosty morning today I decided it would be better to wear a few more clothes. So with a t-shirt, jumper, jacket and yet another jumper and two pairs of socks on we left the house and hoped I had enough clothes on to keep me warm, maybe tomorrow i'll pop on another top.

Rita and Betty came running out but Marge looked out and seemed to be in two minds as to whether or not she should go back to bed until the sun came out. Alison was sat cosily in the nest keeping all of the eggs warm. I did feel sorry for Rita who appears to have the same problem as me in keeping herself warm as she was standing up by the hut this morning with one foot off the ground shivering. Being Rita I think it probably meant 'John, im quite cold enough I think its time we were off home for a cup of tea and some toast.'

On our second trip of the day to lotty we got to work putting up the legs to the structure that is going to house our aquaponics system. Using wood from the pallet I found yesterday we attached the legs together and screwed in a few extra planks for stability. All we need now is the corrugated plastic for the roof and the tanks and we'll be able to start using the system.

Winters Coming

Wellies And Layers

Well im more than sure that winters on its way now. Dressing to let the girls out in the morning seems to be a case of wearing as many jumpers and jackets as we can find, and not to mention the wellies, best worn with John very long woolly socks. Mine and Johns wellies look exactly the same and there are a few times when I'll put his on by mistake, but whatever way you look at it at least our feet are keeping dry.

The girls are having to be put to bed earlier and earlier each week and its down to about 5pm now. Luckily if were a bit late they'll put themselves to bed, and I like to think on those days that Rita walks along saying 'come on girls, time for bed, lets show John and Nicola how good we can be.' Putting the girls to bed is not as much of a palaver as it used to be. A few claps behind them and they're running off home. The three gray chickens seem to be resigned to the fact its bedtime and go straight in, whereas Rita and Alison know they can string it out a bit longer by staying under the coop once in the run. Were only getting one egg a day at the moment, which could be for a variety of reasons, like shorter days or they're going through molt.

The water at the allotments was turned off last Thursday so its been time to sort out the water butts. As always we have found our own ways of attaching pipes to all the gutters and they seem to be working. The only thing I hadnt thought about when I found out the water was turned off every year was that we still needed to give the chickens water. So come Saturday (the water butts not being full) we drove to lotty with a bucket and two plastic containers full of water. Given that none of the containers had lids and the area we live in has more than its fair share of speed bumps we had a very wet car by the time we got there. It probably didnt help that we the container our new fish were given to us in also didnt have a lid so even more water was sloshed about on the way home too.

Planting and Pulling

Yesterday it was once more time to pull up more of our plants. The courgette and outside chili are now gone and the weed barriers have been taken in ready for use next year. Whilst I was pulling up plants, John was busy digging over one of the old sweetcorn patches as we'd found some potatoes suitable for planting. After adding a bit of blood, fish and bone to the soil I popped the spuds in and were hoping that with a few tricks we've learned on protecting potato plants over winter we'll be eating our own potatoes again by the beginning of next year.

In my seed planning over the last few weeks I found that at least one lot of peas were plantable at this time of year. We had a little look around until John suggested that we plant them in the floor of greenhouse two. After more digging from John we had a row of Feltham First peas in the ground. After asking if we had any more bean type plants that could be planted I found some broad beans and they went into the greenhouse floor too. Were hoping to get a few onions planted in pots in the greenhouse too before long, and if we can find any other veg to go in there it'll be planted soon enough.

Ready For Winter

Spreadsheets And Google Maps

I pretty much spent the beginning of the week sorting through all the packets of seeds we have, putting them into envelopes and writing the sowing instructions on them. Once that was done I made myself a spreadsheet and had a few hours ticking off what could be sown in each month saving us the hassle of having to go through all the packets every month. Now we can just look at the sheet and pull out the seeds we need. That being my part in the organisation of next years plantings, it was Johns turn to have a little go at planning. He found a satellite picture of lotty on the internet, cropped it and then made boxes around all of our planting areas so that I could edit it to show the exact planting positions of all our crops next year.

Having talked recently about planting potatoes over winter I found a bag of spuds in the cupboard which looked in a condition ready to be planted. Having not yet completed the growing plan I am still thinking of a good position for them where the weather wont affect them too much during the cold weather.

The other task I had to under take was the cleaning of greenhouse two. Like every job at lotty I was joined by the girls who stayed and kept me company and tried not to complain too much every time I turned around and nearly fell over one of them.

Bonding With Betty

Its been a lovely week with the girls so far. On Tuesday I took in some bread for them and sat on the steps of the hut to hand feed them. As the jostling for the best position came to a head they realised the prime seats were on my lap. Its not something they ever really do so any extra moments like that are welcome as it shows they trust us (especially the new girls who still arnt quite as comfortable with us as Rita and Alison are,)

Yesterday after letting the girls out I was slightly worried that Betty was still in the coop as she is usually the first out. I put my head in to see where she'd got to and was surprised to see her sitting in the nest. To begin with I assumed Id got it wrong and it was Betty not Marge laying, until I went back to lotty later in the day to find Betty out of the coop but looking under the weather. Usually the girls will run off if you try and touch them without food being in your hand, but as I bent down to stroke Betty she didnt move a muscle. Hoping that she wouldnt mind I picked her up and spent ten minutes stroking her back which she seemed to appreciate. Still slightly worried about her she was the first girl I looked for the next time we got to lotty. By bedtime she was already in the coop and looking even more under the weather. I was worrying most of the night as to how she would be this morning. I tentatively opened the coop door today and Betty came running out like yesterday had never happened. It was a relief to see her back to her normal self, fighting the others to get the best food. She also seems to be more comfortable with me today, standing still to let me stroke her back rather than running off like the others do.

Whilst Betty was not so well yesterday, the others made up for it by escaping into the wide world of lotty lanes as I was informed by three separate people this morning. So today I have had to scour the fence and hedge for signs of an escape route. I put metal mesh against the bottom of the hedges and repaired any parts of fence I deemed big enough for the chickens to squeeze through, and am hoping it'll be enough to keep them in.

Breakfast At Lottington

Sausages and Fresh Eggs

It was a bit of a chilly walk up the lane first thing this morning despite the sun shining, so we couldnt wait to get into the sunshine at lotty. Once inside the gates it was straight off to let the girls out, and not a moment too soon by the looks of it. Four feathery bums (Alison decided to take her time coming out) were high in the air while they got their first taste of grass for the day. There was one egg in the coop (Marges) which was still lovely and warm. While John got on with lighting the fires and chopping down a bit more of the hedge I ambled off home to pick up the Blur and some provisions for the day.

By the time we got back the fire was nearing cooking temperature so off into the hut I went to chop up some mushrooms and wrap them in foil with our sausages. By this time Rita and Alison had laid their eggs for the day so having three eggs now John put on a pot of water to boil. The sausage and mushroom sandwiches were just what we needed but the real treat was extremely fresh hard boiled eggs. They'd not travelled more than a few metres from nest to our bellies, though I hope the girls wernt watching and wondering what we were doing to their eggs.

Pellets and Pots

After our lotty feast it was off to Newstead to get the girls some more food. While it was just Rita and Alison the food hardly seemed to go down at all, but with three more mouths to feed the pellets have been going down quite quickly. They were hand fed a few this afternoon and gobbled them down at lightening speed, even after being given bread, melon, grapes and worms to eat.

I started pulling up the weeds that had grown up around the inside edge of greenhouse two and put a few boards down to try and stop them coming up even more over the winter. Then it was time to sort out the plant pots. John put the water boiler over the fire and between us we cleaned around 250 little pots, with John on hot, bleachy water duty and me on cold water rinsing. Part of me wanted to do the hot water part but only up to the point where the water was boiling and couldnt have put my hands in it if I had wanted to.

As is usual for a Saturday were now at home smelling of smoke and ready for a cup of tea and something to eat. There were lots of people around the allotments today (most probably due to the committee meeting) but I seem to have seen alot of new faces this week. The chickens seem to be the stars of lotty though as everybody asks after them whenever they pass. Its been a good week at lotty, being that we've had lots to do, so lots of time spent there. I have more planning to do next week as we have all our seeds at home so I can plan out what and when we can start planting for next year.

Once again thank you John and Blur for a lovely day at lotty.

Plans, Plans And More Plans

Saturday

After coming home one day last week with a new innovation (for us at least) for growing veg at lotty, John was up bright and early on Saturday morning and off to get some legs for the shelter to our upcoming aquaponics system. He came home with a car full of metal legs and hundreds of nuts and bolts which had spilt out in the back of the car. Having breakfasted on some of our girls beautiful eggs it was off to lotty for a hard days work. On arrival the car was unloaded and it was down to business. Whilst I cleaned out the chicken coop, John was at the top of lotty clearing up and chopping down part of the hedge. We decided that it would look nicer if all of the wood, glass and bits of metal were around the side and back of the Charlton Heston shed. This may not sound like alot of work but there was plenty that needed to be shifted. Whilst I was getting rid of the broken bits of glass I found several sheets of pvc sheets, which when put together said The Agony Aunt Family. We have no idea why it was there but it kept me amused for a few minutes.

Meanwhile the Blur was up in the pear tree making herself a tree house. She started out with a blanket, a piece of corrugated plastic and a plastic sheet and seemed quite happy up there for a while. I took a sheet of wood from the hut and placed it up there as a more sturdy seat. John thought it would be better if it were nailed down, and so off up the tree he went with hammer and nails in hand. The Blur seemed to like this new house and the next time I passed the tree she was led down in her house reading a comic.

As is normal for a Saturday a fire was lit. John found an old dustbin type water boiler and took it down to the fire and it wasnt long before we have some lovely warm water to dip our hands into.

I finally decided that it was time to take down the runner bean plants. They have given us so much and I was holding out pulling them up in the hope they still had a bit more to give, but I know when enough is enough.

Sunday

On Sunday morning it was off to let the girls out and collect the eggs. With one of the new girls laying were getting three eggs most days now. Having raved about Alisons amazing eggs to anyone who'll listen, we decided to give one to David. In return for the egg he gave us a punnet full of brussels sprouts and five huge carrots, which solved my problem of what veg we were going to have with our Sunday dinner. The sprouts were about the ones I have ever eaten and John kept passing them from his plate to mine as he said he'd never heard me go on so much about one piece of veg. Even the Blur managed to get two down her.

Dinner and washing up done and dusted it was off to lotty to carry on with our plans for the auqaponics. This entailed digging a big trench as our starting block. Im not sure how many trips down to our soil pile this took but my hands were extremely sore by the time we'd finished (John thinks we shifted about a ton of soil.) The Blur during all this was swapping jobs frequently, she did a bit of stone collecting, a bit of digging and lots of raking. Once the hole was finished we thought it would be good to see if we could jump over it. Given that its roughly three metres long me and the Blur didnt stand much chance. Luckily the Blur took the driest side for her attempts, whereas I on the other hand managed to pick a spot that had just had water tipped into it. Needless to say my trainers were a bit muddy by the end of it all. John cleared the ditch on his first attempt, despite him wearing boots.

Monday

Though not much was actually done on Monday I had a big planning session for what and where we are going to grow things next year. I listed everything we wanted to grow, then drew out two plans. This left me with a big patch that would need to be dug over. I also had to go to a place near lotty to find out about a big tank which we'll be needing next year. We have all we need to know about sourcing our aquaponics systems components and it'll be coming together as and when we have the materials.

Having forgotten to check for a few days, I had a look at our sole surviving chili plant which is outside and im happy to say the chilis are finally turning red. Hopefully it'll only be a few more days before it is completely red.

Tuesday

Now having said there was a big patch that would need to be dug over, that was my main task for today. Arriving at lotty it was straight down to the coop to let the girls out and check for eggs. There were two already in there but after the telling off I got from Alison on Sunday for taking eggs I thought it would be for the best if I left egg collecting until after Ali had left the coop, by which time there were three eggs all of which she had sat on herself.

Then to the digging. It seemed like a never ending task, but was manageable with the help of a flask of tea and a packet of biscuits. During one break I sat on the bench surrounded by chickens who all seemed to think that my legs were food. It wasnt long before I was laughing at the situation and being glad that we had them around to keep me company.

Its been a very productive few days and reminiscent of the summer when there was always an abundance of jobs to be done. Thank you John and Blur for giving me a lovely weekend.

Fun With Chickens

Money Well Spent

Having had the new hens for a week now were starting to recognise their personalities. They have been more adventurous, and innovative in the last few days than the others have been since being given the run of the allotment. They have realised they can reach grapes higher up the vine by jumping, which has provided us with plenty of entertainment, having not seen Rita or Alison do this until the new girls arrived. They have ventured inside the hut for the first time and one has explored the shed.

Betty has so far shown the most personality of the new girls. She quickly got the hang of eating out of our hands but seems to think our hands are also food. She likes to chase us around assuming we have something for us and if our hands are just dangling by our sides she will have a peck to see what she gets. This would be fine if she was gentle like the others, but she tends to be a bit rough.

Rita and Alison are starting to get used to having other chickens around and its nice to see them all together when we walk into lotty. Thats not to say they wont still give them a peck as Alison proved when Betty kept stealing the pieces of apple that were being offered to her.

Also to prove their adventurousness we have been informed that we had our very own episode of chicken run. One of the new girls managed to find a hole in the fence big enough to squeeze through and escape. Luckily chicken George spotted her and got her back in, and also covered a hole he thought she had escaped through.

In Other News

This week we have picked the last of the runner beans and they are on the agenda to be taken down this weekend. The carrots we planted out a week or two ago have started to appear which I myself am rather pleased with as I thought it might have been too late for anything to happen. Despite the weather the Blurs cucumber plant outside is still thriving and we have several good sized fruits growing from it. There were two small melons on the outside plant, but it looks as if one if the chickens thought it would be fun to pick it off and run it halfway down lotty.

One of the sunflowers has been acting strange and has around ten heads running up the very top of the stalk. We have taken the heads off of the other sunflowers and are drying them out so we can give the seeds to the chickens and the Blurs hamster Bam.

My dad came for the night and had a good look around lotty. He went back to Bristol with a bag of goodies from lotty and a recipe for pumpkin pasta. I did also let him know that pumpkin pie tastes alot better than you would imagine.

John came home from work yesterday with an idea for growing tomatoes and other similar plants, which is going to give us some work to do over the weekend and me something to write on Monday.

Way Over Due

Lots To Update
Its been a while now since I last blogged and so much has happened. We no longer have a sweetcorn alley. The last of the cobs were salvaged and then with a bit of effort the stalks were pulled up. We were keeping the cobs in a box in the shed, but since we now have a mouse around the place they had to be put up higher where they wouldn't get eaten. Greenhouse two is nearly empty after having to pull up most of the plants. The melon plant gave us a few melons, and after letting one ripen a bit we had a taste. It was just as good as we could have wanted, not that the chickens were too bothered when we gave them some.
The purple carrots have also been used. It was great to see them. The purple outside runs a little way into the carrot and then its orange again. They have a much gentler taste than the normal carrots which I prefer as im not too keen on carrots in the first place.

We have an abundance of runner beans which are hanging in the shed to dry out so that we can use the actual beans (father beans.) These too had to be moved out of the way of tiny paws.

Old Girls And New Girls
After the trauma of losing Cairo, Rita was a bit under the weather for a few days. Alison really came out of herself and took charge, trying to keep things as normal as possible. She started to trust us more, and eat from our hands. She has a bit of a taste for pears, apples and plums and for some reason she likes to have a peck at peoples shoes. Rita on the other hand prefers grapes. Given the chance I expect she would eat the whole vine.

We have now let the girls roam free around the allotment and its amazing to watch them find bugs in the dug patches. Both girls will join us if were digging and pick up worms or centipedes. Rita always does a lovely run when she spots a butterfly or fly around the place and its funny to watch her catch them. Its been amazing to have them so close to us and to see their personalities come out.

Having had Rita and Alison for around ten weeks now we decided it was time to get some more. It took a few phone calls as the farmers wife had just had a baby, but finally on Saturday we were off to get the new girls. Having gotten hens all the same colour last time we thought it would be nice to have a bit of variety this time and were going to go for three differently coloured hens. Unfortunately when we got to the shed there were only black or silver girls there. So after a bit of a kerfuffle in the coop John handed me the girls and we were soon off to lotty to get a better look at them. They were named as they came out of the box. Firstly there was Betty who can be distinguished by the brown patch on her breast and her exceptionally dark eyes. Second was Penny who has a medium sized crop, and lastly Marge who has the largest but palest crop.

Rita and Alison came over for a look and to be honest I'm not sure they were too impressed. There was a whole lot of clucking and pecking before their disgust at the new arrivals drove them back to the top of lotty where John was waiting with a handful of grapes. Ritas personality has started to really give us a laugh over the past few days. We imagine that she has the voice of a middle aged upper class woman who doesn't realise she is a chicken, and likes to complain to John about 'those bloody chickens'.

The girls do now seem to be getting along. It was lovely to walk into lotty yesterday and see them all in the same place, side by side. I usually head straight for the coop to check for eggs, and after giving her a call Rita will join me, though yesterday it was Marge who followed which was great to know they were getting used to us and not seeing us as so much of a threat. The new girls havnt yet eaten from our hands but I'm sure it wont be too long. Maybe a good session of digging for worms will encourage them a bit more.