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On My Oasis – Veggie Progress and Chicken Auctions
I hope you’ve all been enjoying the UK’s year-in-a-week! Gales, monsoons, baking heat and frosts in severn days. Mother Nature better have got it out of her system because I want to get on with gardening! Rain and sun I’m all for; that results in proliferate growth. Frosts when the greenhouse and sun room are filled with young plants? No thanks!
Despite those few cold nights, life on my oasis has been, unsurprisingly busy. Its the season for weeds, and month of May is normally when my allotment turns to a jungle that’s out of control. This year; no allotment. In their place, raised beds at home where I can potter. Results? Wonderful veggies!!
The Market Garden
Progress in the maket garden is progressing nicely. I’ve given away a lot of spinach and bok choi as taste tests, both to friends and egg-buying clients. I haven’t actually sold any veggies yet, but that’s mostly because I’m waiting for the food-venue registration period (28 days) to go through with the local council. But, there’s lots of progress in the vegetable beds and aside from those poor, mutilated French beans from last week, there are encouraging signs.
Radish ‘bright lights’. Note; they shouldn’t be this close together!
Carrots ‘Purple Haze’ and ‘Yellowstone’ germinated well. However, ‘Amsterdam 2’ has been poor.
After the disaster of plug sown beets, I’ve gone direct. Moneta is proving a poor germinator, but ‘Red Ace’ has been great. Remember, each seed is a cluster of seeds, so you have to prick them out.
The lettuces transplanted into the vertical garden are thriving
The Ornamental Garden
Things are a little slower to get started in the ornamental garden, mostly because you’re tracking flower progress and not harvests. Still, there’s a lot of growth, and I’ve been feeding the pyracantha like crazy because I need proliferous growth so I can start tying it into the trellising and forming the foundations of a hedge.
I have A LOT of seedlings and cuttings on the go, mainly that will be sold later this year as part of extended Market Garden efforts. My Spanish Flag plants, though slow to start, have also begun to spring upwards and send out lots of trendrils so over the next week I’ll probably plant the first few out in the garden; I CANNOT WAIT to see these flower.
Geums never fail to put on a show.
The first marigolds are open. These were sown in autumn, hence the early flowering. I’ll be making hand lotion this year – a new craft!
These apline asters are preparing to flower. A new favourite plant!
Who says plants don’t move? This sempervivum looks like it’s walking away!
The Poultry Yard
After the chicken traumas of late, things seem to be settling down. Phoenix continues to heal at an astounding rate; I’m gobsmacked to be honest. Meanwhile, three of the new hens have been integrated into the main flock, whilst one remains in quarantine. She’s not eating a lot, laid a shell-less egg middle of last week and just seems a bit peaky. Meanwhile, the incubator’s full of quail eggs, and Gertrude (the broody Silkie) has been given her wish and is now brooding 11 d’Anver eggs.
Egg sales are going tremendously well. In a lower income area, and with Aldi just down the road where you can get 10 eggs for a £1, I wasn’t expecting too large a demand. Seems I was wrong, and people are more than happy to pay £1.50 for half a dozen fresh eggs. With the new hens, egg count is up to about 7/8 eggs a day and when they settle in, I hope this will improve to the 12 daily egg target.
It’s also time for some of my young girls to head out to auction. Last month my lovely teenager Ayam Cemani rooster headed out and found a new home; I heard today he’s in with his ladies now. Now, it’s the turn of these three pullets; a black Poland hen, a black Polski (Silkie/Poland hybrid) and a white Polski. They’ll be headed to a mid-Essex auction on Sunday.
This trio are headed to auction.
Lastly, we’re almost halfway through fundraising efforts for the owl nestbox campaign. I would REALLY appreciate it if you could take a look at the page and share it with your friends and social media followers. Even just £2, the price of morning coffee, could help give these owls a chance so the more eyes you can help me get on the project, the better!
Thanks and have a great week!
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