Fresh Eggs For Breakfast

Breakfast From The Coop

Having had a bit of a late start yesterday morning we decided to take a flask of coffee and a box of chocolates to lotty with us so we didnt have to go back home and waste time. Once we arrived there John suggested that we could put the kettle on the fire and boil the eggs that we'd just collected for breakfast. John got on with making the fire whilst I pottered around a bit and and collected a few twigs. The fire was being a bit temperamental for a bit but it did eventually come together enough so we could leave it and get on with other things.

Having been to Homebase a few days earlier we had a few more packets of seeds that we could get on and plant. So into greenhouse one we went and filled quite a few pots with compost. We started with two more trays of onions, which means we have around 100 onions planted so far, but at the rate we use them we'll more than likely be planting quite a few more of them in the very near future. We also planted a dozen cauliflower seeds too. We didnt grow them last year but im quite sure we can grow just about anything. The chickens seemed very interested in what we were doing and one would sporadically turn up at the window to have a bit of a peek in.

By the time we'd done half of our planting the eggs we're ready and we sat down and enjoyed them for a few minutes. It was a very cold morning, so I was glad our fire had eventually got going. We sat around it for half an hour or so just being happy to be warm for a while.

As we had been talking about cooked breakfasts all morning we'd made ourselves very hungry and the eggs as nice as they are wernt quite enough to satisfy us. We went home for a change of clothes and a cup of tea and discussed our eating options. We decided on cobs but as we were leaving the house John drove in the opposite direction, but he did have another idea up his sleeve, and we stopped in Codnor as its the only place we've found that sells battered black pudding. The other reason for taking this drive was because of the garden centre we would pass on the way home. We looked through all the packets of seeds first and picked out some more sweetcorn and courgette seeds and also picked up a packet of strawberry seeds. The we ventured off outside to see if we could find strawberry plants. Just as we were starting to think there were none we turned a corner and there they were. So happily we went back off to lotty to unload our purchases into the greenhouse and put the girls away.

An Even Colder Morning At Lotty

Once again we were slightly late this morning so we decided it would be a very quick visit to let the girls out. Having seen David on his way in we decided to pay him a visit with a box of eggs to see if he could give us any advice on our new strawberries as his were amazing last summer. He told us how and when to plant them, how to stop the fruits getting dirty and what to do with the runners once the plant has fruited. We'd been in his plot for around twenty minutes and Johns feet were getting very cold so we said our goodbyes and thought we were on our way home. As we were passing the school plot the teacher stopped us to let us know that one of his chickens had now started laying, as he was sure he would have to wait until next spring now. We had a little speculate as to which of his girls it might be, and we all agreed on the one with the biggest and reddest comb. He then invited us in to have a look round.

He showed us inside his poly tunnels and the new pond that the kids had made and generally told us what they were doing. Having also had the strawberry discussion with him he showed us a few trays with an abundance of strawberry plants in and told us we could take as many as we liked. We were absolutely freezing by that point and hastily got going as soon as we had the opportunity. So now we have alot of strawberry plants and seeds and half an idea of where they're going to live.

We had planned on doing some work at lotty today but by the time we arrived back there wasnt as much time as we'd hoped. So John did a little bit of pruning on a few of our apple trees which gave me just enough time to plant a few of the strawberry seeds. Having spent a good few weeks/months with not much to do around lotty it been great to have so much to do there and its lovely to see greenhouse two as full as it was in the summer. Im hoping we'll be busy with it right through until next winter now. With all the new seeds we've bought lately iv got a whole lot of adding to do on my planting spreadsheet and will be having a look on there regularly so we dont miss any planting opportunities.

First Plantings For Next Year

Off For A Drive

After a bit of a late start this morning we were off to Homebase to pick up some potting compost and have a look at what seeds we could get our hands on. The Blur saw some cat grass seeds and decided she'd like to plant some for our cat Toby, whilst John and I chose onions, Italian Purple tomatoes, carrots, peas, squash, parsnips and sprouts. The teacher from the schools allotment told us that parsnips are hard to grow and that he'd so far not managed to produce any so its made me determined to grow some next year. Apparently cauliflowers are hard to grow too so theres another challenge for me. With the seeds paid for we hoped we could get to McDonalds within five minutes before they stopped serving breakfast, and we were just in time.

And So To Lotty

John had to do a bit of bumpy driving up the lane as a van had parked right in front of one of the gates and he said he couldnt reverse up the lane. So John had to drive into the retainer plot so the other man could drive down through the gate and let us past. But we got there in the end and unloaded the car. As we were going to start planting I thought id rake the greenhouse floor as the chickens made their dust baths in there and it was full of small ditches. Next time I'll remember to shut the door as id only turned my back for a few minutes and they were back in there making new holes.

John meanwhile was taking the backs off of some pallets so that he could make a new compost bin. He started off by the original bin and put all the excess wood in the wheelbarrow until the Blur and I took it so we could clean out the chicken coop. We came back up to find him with a pallet, hammer, axe and crowbar. They're not the easiest things to take apart, but at least he didnt hit himself in the wrist with the hammer. When he'd got the pallets how he wanted them John fixed them together and transferred the top layer of compost from the existing bin into the new one, revealing a chickens buffet worth of worms and some lovely compost ready to be used.

Once those jobs were done and we had a good fire going we decided what seeds we were going to plant and where. Most of the seeds were to go into pots in the greenhouse, but a few have to go straight out. So whilst the Blur and I were in the greenhouse planting cat grass, chilis, peppers, aubergines and onions, John was outside digging over soil and adding compost to where we are going to be planting our carrots and parsnips in a few weeks time.

It seems like a long time ago since the three of us last spent so much time at lotty together, so it has been lovely to spend the day there with them today. John said that last year he didnt plant anything as early as he probably should have so im hoping that the work we've put in today will make our crops even better. Thank you for a lovely day John and Blur.

My First Year At Lottington

It Started With A Fire

It seems like forever ago since I first set foot in lotty, it was nothing like my expectations of a few metres of plot with nothing to separate one from the next. It was a shock to find the massive, fenced off piece of land that lotty actually is. Having never lit a fire of my own before it was one of the reasons John took me there in the first place, and make a fire we did. Cat food boxes filled with shredded paper, and a few bits of wood to start, and John sat making me a fire lighter from a cane, string and a bit of petrol. We've had plenty of fires since, but that first one will always be the one I remember most of all. We toasted (or burnt) marshmallows on it, we made grass fuses and tried to dry myself out by it after being drenched with water by John. It was an amazingly hot day for the time of year, but the heat wasnt going to spoil the fun of the fire or my first weekend in Nottingham with John.

I dont remember doing too much actual planting or anything else there from that weekend, but I did enjoy it and knew that I would be back there again soon enough.

Getting Into Gardening

It wasnt long before the veg caught my imagination too. I remember feeling slightly jealous sitting in Bristol looking at photos of the potatoes that John had picked and eaten, and wanting to be there to share that with him. At first I felt like I was in over my head, not knowing what to do or when to do it (though I do still feel like that at times) and had to constantly ask what I could do. It wasnt long before I could go there with a list of tasks and a weekly routine.

What really captured me about lotty was silly little things like seeing a poorly plant and doing my best to get it healthy and producing veg. Our sickly tomato plant for example went on to be one of the healthiest looking plants there.

Not only have I learnt alot about growing food but also about cooking. Having to find things to make with what we have available at the time was tricky to start with, but the more I did the more I thought about what I could do.

Trying New Things

Until id picked and cook my own I had never tasted freshly cooked beetroot that hadnt been pickled, and I was surprised at how much I liked it. The Blur was the one who really took on the trying new foods idea. Despite having always eaten vegetables before she was now willing to try just about anything. It was great in the summer when John and the Blur would do their daily picking and testing rounds of grapes and peas. The Blur tried radishes, beetroot, beans, peppers and chilis for the first time. I found that there were recipes for pumpkin other than pie.

Things To Make And Do

One thing I have really learnt this year is how to build things with what you have and no tape measure. It started with the chicken coop, the went on to rebuilding the Charlton Heston shed. I led in bed thinking how the shed had gone from being battered and falling to pieces to something the looked good and was usable, and all by our own hands. The Charlton Heston mystery kept us amused for a few weeks. Trying to work out what the message said, the finding all the little coincidences surrounding the film and Charlton Heston. We also made a swing, a tree house of sorts, a bird table and the base of our aquaponics system. To begin with the morning after a busy making day at lotty would leave me feeling like id been ten rounds with Mike Tyson, but gradually its made me stronger and I now wonder what it would take for me to ache like that now.

Chickens

Now one of the main events for us all was the build up to and the arrival of our girls. The coop we built together is one the best features of lotty and the best one coop I have ever seen. Every part of our chicken journey has seemed full of excitement, from owning building the coop and owning our first bale of hay to the two times we drove to and from the farm to collect our girls. I never would have believed on the first day how much joy and amazement they would bring to my life. Theres not a moment I spend with them when I dont feel happy to have them. They're so much more than I could ever have expected, watching their personalities come out, seeing Alison finding her place in the world. Rita being our middle aged, upper class lady who's got something to say about everything. Betty who seems to need the reassurance of some time in my arms having a cuddle. Marge being the first at your feet when there's something good on the menu (or even if its not that good), she's also a damned good explorer. And Penny who likes to see the world from higher places and will always come sit on the bench next to me.

I cant not mention Cairo. Bottom of the pecking order but always willing to fight it out to make sure she got her fair share. There's always a place in my heart for her, and she'll be remembered just as well as all the other.

Random Conversations

One of the most enjoyable parts of lottington is the random weird conversations that make everything that little bit funnier. Ant pants is one of the very first that I can remember. Trying to work out how many ants you would need, how would you get the skins off and how would you put them all together. Another was of the car seats that looked like some aliens that we'd seen on star wars.

My Final Words Of Todays Blog

Its been an interesting journey for me and not just one that is about learning to grow veg or look after chickens. Its one that has showed me that I am so much better at things than I had previously thought, how much I am capable of, that I can not just achieve things but achieve what I feel are great things, and I can see my own potential. This is not something that I have done alone.

Thank you Blur for all the things we have done together at lotty that have made me smile and laugh, especially the silly games.

Thank you John for giving me this and for the encouragement, love and support.

I love you both and look forward to more springs, summer autumns and winters with you both. xx