the daydream fund challenge thread

rhiwfield

Red letter day yesterday!

Seems like years (3 years to be precise) since we sowed the asparagus seed in pots and we subsequently planted out 21 crowns in the newly dug beds. Not sure how many crowns we've since lost BUT yesterday we cut and ate the first spear :beer:. It was lovely!
Not sure about the time and cost payback but very satisfying.

Can see a few more spears emerging so looking forward to the next six weeks or so

choille

I planted 6 crowns about 4 years ago - 2 died straight away - didn't look well when I bought them.

Two crowns survived until last year when nowt came up. I don't know what I did wrong. I congratulate you.

meanmarie

Hope that you will all be happy to know that I saw 3 swallows to-day...made my day.

Marie

Rummer

I am tickled pink today because all the things I have planted are beginning to show signs of life! Next week I will need to start the sowings all over again and so the cycle will continue of the next few months. Now I finally feel that spring has sprung! Got some plants for my tubs today so that to do tomorrow.

Davesnave

Well done, rhiwfield, for having the foresight and patience to plant your asparagus bed. :jSorry it didn't work out the same for choille. Perhaps the soil is wrong or something? I've seen commercial beds near here, so our garden should suit, but until it is all laid out, I'm not sure where they'd go. We've been out, pricing timber for bed/path edgings & will need to get a good load delivered so we don't pay twice for haulage. They don't fit in the van.

Out on the land, I finally managed to dismantle the old pig arks in the orchard that had rusted beyond repair.:D These are in the van ready to go to the recycling centre, along with a bath and various other bits of steelwork we found buried in the nettle beds. We will try to save/repair one other pig ark to make a shady dust bath area for the chickens, when they arrive. At least things look pretty tidy there now, and the lines are in for post-bashing man to follow when he does his stuff. We moved a fence and put in about 6 posts ourselves at the week-end.....and remembered why we were employing someone else for that job!

Our swallows came back about a week ago, marie, but I wouldn't say it was all of them. They still seem a bit low-profile and I'm hoping more turn up. In the barn we have three newly-hatched robins, which may replace the three we lost to the winter weather.

More or less overwhelmed with various small plants and seedlings ATM, but perennials have not made the usual progress, so I'm beginning to think that something is wrong with my compost mix. Also, Hellebore Black Death has raised its ugly head again, which is frustrating when we had quite a large cull in two previous years and felt we'd got on top of it. The problem seems to be that lightly infected plants act as carriers and pass the disease on (via aphids) before they are identified and culled. Always something new to get to grips with!

Winged_one

My parents stayed unexpectedly last night, and Dad needed distracting (so did DD truthfully). So she took him out to see the seeds - cos it's a different plastic hut to last years (former was a Lidl special that lasted 3 seasons and died, this is a DIY chainstore special, taller but already has holes in plastic). He was very impressed as his veg are not as far on yet - but I discovered that my courgettes tray (a mix of courgettes, summer and winter squashes and pumpkins - all in individual pots) have started to sprout - not sure which 3 plants are up yet as I was paniccing about stretching dinner for 3 to dinner for 6. And the first of my beans (again not sure which but I think it was borlotti rather than french bean tray) is through also.

I think I am going to set aside one of my savings accounts specifically as the daydream fund rather than a general "rainy day" fund. And make myself buy anymore books on the subject from that stash....

But the sun is shining today and I have things in my head to feel good about and distract me from "real life", so that helps!

rhiwfield

Not going to bore everyone again with the "will he wont he" chicken saga BUT just ordered a coop and run. The coop has attachable wheels so that I can move it weekly (or more often) round the gridwork of grass paths in the veg garden

All I need now is 3-4 chickens!

This breed or that breed?

stitching_witch

Aw rhiwfield, I got mine a few weeks ago and I'm loving them! To reduce costs we bought a good quality coop and DH made a run with wheels that the coop sits on. We do have to move it every day as 4 chickens produce an awful lot of "manure" in a day! I'll try and get a photo of the rig and post it later.

Now all I need is some eggs girls!!!

stitching_witch

As promised, a picture of the moveable run. The girls will have a permanent run soon, but they will still have this so we can rest the permanent run from time to time. DH made the wheels able to be lifted up and down to move it.



You can click on the image to make it bigger!

Dug two new beds in the garden today to grow salads as I don't want them at the allotment. I'm making the most of DH being at home as he should be back at work within the next few weeks. :j

rhiwfield

Stictching Witch, thats not a house, its a castle!