Annual update on progress at 'The Farmette'

[Ricard with an H]

I call it 'The Farmette' because we are one-half of the original farm. Farmhouse is one residence, we are in the milking parlour and joined to us are what were barns that have been modernised along with us. The farmhouse didn't get much attention in recent years but it is a lovely old building I would have loved to take on as a younger man.

Each year I progress and each year I realise I made mistakes in previous years, I hate that. I like to think I'm so well organised and forward-thinking I won't make mistakes.



The first raised beds were sized to fit into the available space in a triangular shaped area, they were square roughly 8 X 8 foot and difficult at times.

The new raised beds are much more suited to access and to fitting hooped enclosures which as I've learnt are de-riguer if you want your plants to survive.

So, more spending this year but just under £30 for the 50 metre roll of pipe.

Have a few photos but I have more that will go into the next post.

Lastly in the photos is the completed wood-store, the original took up space in between the paddock raised beds and was temporary.

[oldherbaceous]

A lovely post Richard, looking forward to more details and pictures.

[Ricard with an H]

Thank you.

Regarding my past comments on winter planted Garlic I have a a photo of my spring sown garlic that is just about the same hight as the the winter sown i planted in the last two years. I haven't made the effort to produce like-for-like because you would have to take my word for it. I won't in-future risk my garlic being in the ground so much longer.,

Then has been my method of propagation that you-all are mostly aware of though new readers may not be. I used these mini-polytunnels that I built three-off close to the barn and sheltered to raise seedlings as soon as they had sprouted indoors, no failures yet.

Then, and finally, the completed hoops for supporting enviromesh. My tomatoes will be grown in one end. All those hoops came from a 50 metre roll that cost under £30. Each hoop is 2 metres which amounts to 40 metres so I still have ten metres to play with.

[Ricard with an H]

Photo of a regular to our feeding station and though not close enough it is close enough to identify. The mound at the end of the grass is where my lovely Molly is laid to rest and I'm still crying on a weekly basis.

[Pa Snip]

Good to see your pics Richard, especially along with the details of the polytunnel project

Thanks

[Ricard with an H]

Where the wheelbarrows sit in the space between the three raised beds is an area just big enough for a greenhouse if I ever find I can afford one.

This part of our paddock is a windy place, it sits north/south with the nearest hedge/bank 40 metres to the west though because it's open the wind doesn't go round and round with vacuums sucking things up and throwing them.

Not a gardening project I know but the log stores are part of the bigger picture of 'Our plot'. The primary log store in the photo contains fresh cut wood, this year it's all sycamore which dries very quickly and gives good heat but not as good as ash or oak. The other log store is behind the barn and contains dried/useable logs with half dried logs, right now we still have enough dry wood for evening fires this month and into next month then a couple of tree stumps are ready to be cut and fill the store.

It was difficult building the primary store without help so I used methods used by the Romans and a lot of patience. That store catches the full force of all southerly winds so it has to have a tarpaulin inside the front gates.

So, photos are repeats but I'll risk boring you. Again the paddock raised beds with the gap for a greenhouse and the primary log store being erected after pre-fabrication in the workshop and I was wrestling with the weather.

[Westi]

Blimey Richard your garlic looks great, I thought mine was looking good this year but it's not as tall as yours. That of course may be variety but it's no where as thick either!

Westi

[Ricard with an H]

Hi Westi, I love it when I get a compliment so thank you and isn't it fabulous to get things right. Particularly after the experience of failure.

I found the photo of my over-wintered garlic from April last year, I had sown in September and it had sprouted before winter set in but the winds had created so much damage that the foliage was yellow from desication. Also, I had a lot of rotted cloves.

The bed the garlic is growing in had grazing rye sown in September last year, that was dug in around Christmas (I still haven't started a diary) and I think this garlic was planted a month ago. The clue would be a thread I started about garlic. Probably called, "Garlic matters".

Other improvements this year are a few of self seeded marigolds that have been flowering for two weeks during this sunny but cold spell, I also have lots of poached egg flowers that self seeded. Nice ground cover if you have plenty of ground.

Back to the hoops over the raised beds, after last years success with enviro mesh covers I decided that it's a waste of time growing stuff if you're not prepared to protect it.

I could be very close to self sustaining for most of the year if I had hens and a few sheep, though I'm mostly vegetarian she isn't and doesn't eat much veg at all which is a shame. I'm now baking good breads, sourdough and yeasted. Bread is good trading for eggs though I don't have enough neighbors to realistically trade with I could get lamb from the farms. I tried getting milk from the dairy farmer but won't allow it for some reason.

I want an old tractor now to complete my mission pretending to be a farmer.

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Richard, funds are always a little tight here too, so i sold all of my bikes to allow me to purchase a tractor, as this was something that i have always wanted. I'm slowly adding implements, as and when something comes up at the right price. I bought a nice tipping trailer and a proper 7ft field roller for £200 a couple of months ago, so bargains are out there.

Very wet here this morning, but going in a nice warm, cosy greenhouse in a minute or two......i know i keep mentioning it....

[Ricard with an H]

I do have my 'Shed".

My shed is every blokes dream, a proper space to make a mess, make noise, be quiet, store toys and etc-etc. I should have included more Velux windows in the roof so the upstairs could be close to a greenhouse but the design had to cope with high wind loadings which limited what I could do.

My original,idea was to have a small,tractor that would tow a grass cutting thingy, a roller and of course a front bucket. All my spare money went into the shed because of the investment value.

A 6 X 8 metre floor plan with an upstairs room could turn into a small,house so was a better investment than a boy's dream of owning a tractor.

[oldherbaceous]

Now a decent workshop, is something that i dream to have.......

[Ricard with an H]

On a very serious note my workshop/shed has meant I can use my skills to build thing and repair stuff like windows. Our conservatory has bits cut away and added to it annually. Making new cills if you have a few machines is easy, I just made a complete set of glazing beads you couldn't buy.

[Elaine]

Ello Richard. Regarding greenhouses....have a look in your local newspaper "for sale" adverts. We have three greenhouses, two at the allotment and one at home....we only paid for the 10x6, the others were free if you dismantled it yourself. The 10x6 was only £80, ten years ago and he gave us a parafin heater, slabs for the path, metal staging, loads of pots and other bits and bobs as well.
There are bargains to be had, especially at the end of summer when folks want rid of stuff sharpish.

Your plots look marvellous, you have achieved so much! Well done chuck.

[Ricard with an H]

Thanks Luv.

I'll make a point of looking for a local bargain though it'll have to be a back-end or next years project. Iv'e done myself in this year, after the winter wood cutting I built the wood store that almost put me in bed. Then I re-roofed the conservatory together with other repairs that are not quite complete so I'm looking forward to some pottering-about.

Fitting the hoops to the raised beds only took me half a day and that was a pottering-job. now i'm waiting for seedlings to get big enough to put in the ground and some seed sowing.

Mallorca for a week will be my first holiday out of the UK for seven years and those seedlings will have to go in the ground in two weeks because I'm not/can't/don't want-to rely on people watering my stuff.

It's good to sit back after achieving stuff drinking a Fursty Ferret.

[Primrose]

Richard. You're to be congratulated on everything you've achieved, especially your DIY skills which must have saved you a fortune, and your efforts in growing things in such a hostile windy environment. It can be very dispiriting to put so much effort into nurturing your seedlings, only to have a bitter wind blast them to blazes in the space of a few hours.
The garlic looks very impressive. Please do continue to keep posting your ohotos. It's fascinating to see what other people are doing and the particular growing challenges they are facing and overcoming.