June 2017 in the Garden

June has been beautiful. Lots more plants coming into flower and plenty of colour; I've loved just being out and weeding and deadheading.

Glut in the Garden - Cucumbers -Bread and Butter Pickles

Anyone who grows fruit or vegetables has a glut from time to time. Some things, such as potatoes, carrots and other root vegetables can be stored in a cool place for several months. Others, such as tomatoes and soft fruit can be frozen. We've always made jams and chutneys which we eat throughout the year.

We usually plant  couple of cucumber plants in the polytunnel, but often one is brought down by a fungal disease, so we only have enough for salads during the summer. This year, both plants are romping away with plenty of good-sized fruit. I gave a plant to a friend and hers is doing amazingly well, too. So I thought I'd see if there is anything that cucumbers can be used for other than sliced in a salad.

Bread and Butter Pickles - based on a recipe from Quick and Easy Preserves by Simone Sekers

500g cucumber (prepared weight)
1 large onion
25g salt
125ml cider or wine vinegar
125g sugar
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp mustard seeds

1. Slice cucumber and onion thinly. As my cucumbers were large, I quartered them lengthwise, and removed the seeds. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Stir occasionally for an hour, and then drain off the liquid that has formed. Rinse in water and drain again. Dry on a teatowel.

2. Heat the sugar, spices and vinegar until the sugar is dissolved. The spices can be varied - I'd like to try cumin, fennel, or chilli.

Add the prepared vegetables and simmer for 3 minutes.

3. Spoon into sterilised jars. This will keep for 2 months.

This pickle is so called as they are reported to be all you need in a sandwich. We ate them with some farmhouse Wensleydale and a loaf fresh from the oven.

Polytunnel part 2 - the frame

Once all the ground-works were finished, The Gentleman Farmer was keen to get the polytunnel frame up so that we could have the best chance of harvesting crops this year. The first task was to install the 12 foundation tubes and their anchor plates.  This was the most time consuming and difficult part of the whole construction project, largely because of the ground conditions; once you are more than a foot down from the original surface, the ground here contains many large stones / small boulders, which had to be dug out. The anchor plates themselves require that the holes be about two square and about two feet deep and the foundation tubes have to stand plumb vertically within this hole, before it is back filled.  Accurately setting the foundation tubes is critical to a successful build but in the end, after much labouring and delays caused by bad weather, that is what was achieved.

You may recall from an earlier post that the top soil had been set aside during the ground-works and then returned in order to provide a suitable growing medium. However, because the top soil is a fairly heavy loam and was now full of roughly chopped turf, GF felt that hand digging it might be a bit of nightmare. Furthermore, GF felt that numerous barrow loads of well rotted stable manure, very kindly donated by our neighbours, should be incorporated. Therefore, he hired a rotovator, and, with two lambs supervising, he turned over the ground. He also took the opportunity to rough out a couple of further vegetable beds, below the site of the polytunnel.

The main frame then went up fairly easily, sometimes needing both of us, and was completed in early April. Always the sheep were curious to see what was going on. More annoyingly, they did like to sleep on the soft newly-turned soil, so we soon got a contractor in to protect the vegetable garden with some stock fencing. The GF had toyed with the idea of installing the fencing himself, by hand, but having seen how it is properly done, by someone with the right equipment, he was heartily glad that this idea passed!

Covering the structure with the polythene sheet was another matter altogether. Our field is relatively sheltered, but every time we planned to cover the structure, the weather conspired against us. Just one small gust under what was effectively a ca. 100 square metre sail could be disastrous - not only the expense of a replacement, but would set the project back. 

We tried first at the beginning of May. It's not often that the Gentleman Farmer is stressed, but this was one of those times. At one point, there were six of us lying on the sheet to stop it flying away up the dale. Eventually, at the end of May, we had a still day, the assistance of two good friends, and the tunnel was sheeted in no time. 

May 2017 in the Garden

What a month! We've had a lot of good weather, so spent plenty of time outdoors. The garden has been beautiful. Here are some highlights

Paeony

Berberis

Hosta; we couldn't grow these in our Yorkshire Vicarage garden as we had too many slugs and snails. in Teesdale, though the climate is wetter, we have next door's ducks. 

The pond - more on this at a later time. We have plans to improve and manage the pond better. 

Laburnum. We lost our laburnum in Yorkshire to what we thought might have been honey fungus. This is a beautiful specimen. 

Wisteria - looks good and, I discovered this year, smells great too!

Acer

  

Lots of aquilegia, in a variety of colours. I suspect that they may be self-set hybrids. 

The First of Our Own Livestock on The Farm

We've kept hens since we moved to The Vicarage in 1996. The previous owner left hers behind, with our agreement, as she hadn't space in her new place. We had a few assorted hens (including Jack, who only had one eye) and over the years we added to, and twice replaced when Mr Fox wiped out our entire flock. We've also hatched eggs in an electric incubator, and had hens raise their own clutch. 

So poultry was the obvious first choice for livestock on The Farm. We have a small incubator, but as it only holds 7 eggs we decided to approach a commercial hatchery to hatch a larger number on our behalf. Jack of Mount Bank Farm hatched us 12 chicks on 24 May, and we collected them from his farm, near Osmotherley, on 26 May. 

The Gentleman Farmer rigged up a pen for them in the barn undercroft. A heat lamp kept them warm, and we closed the barn door overnight to protect them from local wildlife. They are fed on chick-crumb, which they'll stay on until they're about 8 weeks old. 

On 24 June, at about 4 weeks old, we moved them into an outside run and small house, which Master W built when we lived in Yorkshire. 

The run is located in a small area fenced off from the main field, so that the lambs can't play top-lamb on it. The chicks weren't impressed sufficiently to explore the outside world before they had to be shut in for the night, so we've been encouraging them outside today. 

A Bit of Crochet

A few years ago, during Lent, instead of "giving up" I "took up" and taught myself crochet. YouTube was invaluable. I offered to make MissA a blanket, which was finished in time for Christmas 2016.

Using some of the remaining wool, I made a cushion cover.

It fits perfectly on our rocking chair.

I've offered to make MasterW a blanket - finished in time for Christmas - not specifying which one.

Polytunnel part 1 - Groundworks

Back in March The Gentleman Farmer ordered a 30' by 16' tunnel from First Tunnels. We bought our original 20' by 10' tunnel from them for the Yorkshire Garden over a decade ago and we were very pleased. When we left that garden, the sheeting was still in good order, despite having been in place for more than twice the time we'd expected it to last.

Our field is on a slight slope, so The GF sought the services of a local contractor to build a level site. He came with his mini digger, and within a couple of hours he'd scraped off the grass and top soil, levelled the sub-soil and then returned the top soil so that we had a decent medium in which to grow plants. Now we have the platform upon which to start building.