One year on

I have just realised that it was a year ago, yesterday, that I made my first tentative steps into blogging.

So did we achieve all we set out to over the year? Well no - but I think looking back we did achieve a great deal.

As always work on our own home was put on the back boiler in favour of other more 'interesting' jobs. A fact that must be rectified this year...the bathroom is a must !

Our main aim was to produce more of our own vegetables to accompany our home produced meat. Carrots were our major failing, not quite sure what happened there. The tomatoes weren't great, a good crop but lacking in flavour. Turnips, parsley and beans were exceptionally good. Parsnips were OK as were the beetroot and onions, although the onions aren't keeping that well. The shallots were a great success, the different salad crops were also good. Potatoes, for the amount of land we have were not really worth growing, maybe this year just a few 'new' salad ones. Despite being ravaged by caterpillars the sprouts have come good and the leeks ,which we thought at one stage we would loose have made a come back.
So all in all well worth doing.

We also created a new wildlife pond and a small orchard ( well we planted a few fruit trees !)

The freezer is full of our own, lamb, pork, gammon, sausages and bacon as well as turkey and soon goose and chicken.

I have made chutneys, pickles and jams and as well as having far too many eggs for ourselves I have also given away many and sold a few.

My aim for this year: to sell more eggs, both for eating and for hatching. Raise and sell more poultry, develop a 'table' bird flock.

Continue to improve the fencing and grazing at the yard.

To plant the soft fruit.

To cook a greater variety of meals using our own produce, definitely make more chutneys and jam...they are disappearing much too quickly.

I guess we should also tackle some of the jobs that need doing in the house and of course we still have the other house to finish ready for renting out.