Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Turning the corner
It feels like we can finally leave, what has been a very long, cold, depressing winter behind us and look forward to better days. The recent dry, even sometimes warm weather, along with the lighter evenings have made all the difference.
The vegetable garden is beginning to take shape for the year's crop and jobs at the yard can now be done after work rather than just weekends.
Our major project for the next few weeks is sorting out the area used for the pigs last year and turn it into another poultry pen. We had hope to complete it over the winter months so it could now be used but the weather put pay to that.
So far a soak away and trench have been dug so the old, very large, rusty water butt can be emptied and dismantled, before it bursts and floods the pen we are working on and the adjoining poultry pen. The whole area needs digging and levelling before it can be re seeded.
I would like to add a couple of trees to the area and maybe a few plants. These will have time to get established before the new grass is tough enough for the hens to go on.
We also need to make good a second hand chicken house, we bought 18 months ago. It needs a new roof and nest box, the door needs rehanging and it needs a good couple of coats of creosote.
Once all that is done we can turn our attention to the orchard, as this year we really are going to need to make good use of all the grass we have available to support the two ewes and three lambs.
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3 comments:
do you recommend any particular trees or bushes that can stand up to hens?
and what of Fred.. has he gone? did I miss that?
No not really : ) still at the experimental stage! The young Rowan and Crab apple appear to have survived( we did have to peg wire netting to the ground around the roots to stop them digging) The Dogwoods they leave alone once they are in full leaf, the best so far is a kind of ornamental bramble that grows as an arching shrub ..can't remember what it is called. It isn't at all rampant and quite pretty. I'm trying Zebra grass in one area hopefully to provide a little shelter from the wind. Comfrey they totally destroyed.
Last year against the fence on the outside I grew nasturiums and sweet peas, these obviously grew inwards, aswell, the birds didn't bother with them at all. For the layers pen I need plants that provide shelter from the wind at the yard I need plants for shade, I'm still thinking about that one : )
Fred....no he is still with us, but his days are numbered.As soon as I sort out a second ear tag and arrange a day with Langs he is off.
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