polytunnel progress and more roof antics

Here's a taster of what is going on in the polytunnel these days. Thankfully the squashes are starting to lose their insistence on scambling over the paths but they are producing grand fruits now, like this pumpkin potimarron.

The russian mammoth sunflowers are living up to their name and have reahed the top of the tunnel and have tree trunks for stems.

Of ourse, I am starting off more seeds, to fill gaps left by peas and brassicas (see the 'blue banana' squash growing along the bench - good in risotto so I hear .. I'll remember to invite a large crowd for dinner that night!)

The butternut squash are a bit behind. Fingers crossed they'll cath up.


My best surprise has been the green nutmeg melon - we have four, hidden behind brocolli and so unattended, but they've done fine and are very tasty - even ripened well and are even sweet.


Corn on the cob is fab too.


Brassias were ridiculously large, especially the leaves, but all came through with good heads in the end.


Of course, we've not been without incident. Last week my pop corn got badly infested with aphids (I swear I hadn't seen any the day before) which took some time and effort to sort (washing up liquid and brutality).


Also. outside the polytunnel, the pond has some sort of green gloop. Not quite sure what it is, but will feed it to the compost heap.


In the house there has been some progress.

Here is the ceiling starting to go up.



Here, Sam starts making holes in the roof again ...


... to fit the flue for the stove (note the re-appearance of Neil, our able helper back for more punishment)

Here's Sam on the roof, removing tiles.


Now, job done, saluting his fine erection .. of the flue.

Where does the time go?

Wherever the time goes, it hasn't been spent building much over the past few weeks.

With guests a plenty and work to distract us the build has been sorely neglected.

However, we've got a few things done and have been having some fun.

Here's Sam attempting to 'herd' the ducks towards the pond on their first free range outing.

Needless to say, he was unsuccessful.

The chickens are also greatly enjoying free ranging now and are looking really lively and healthy - and producing plenty of gorgeous eggs.

Despite neglecting the tunnel a wee bit we've got plenty of veg - still dwarf beans, the last polytunnel peas (with outdoor peas now starting), broccoli, cabbage, courgettes, salad onions etc

Here's one of our tunnel sunflowers.

Here's some marigolfd from the tunnel (they entice the bees in).

Here's a potimarron winter squash.


Inside the house we have managed to do first fix electrics and plumbing, so we've lots of wires hanging from the ceiling.

We've also been preparing for insulating the ceiling under the roof. Here are the hardboard sheets we (very painstakingly) put up. That took us a lot longer than we anticipated. I think if it wasn't for Test Match Special Sam might not have made it through the job in one piece (it's tricky wielding hardboard over your head .. esp when the helper (me) is undersized for the job).

The squash have been trying to take over the universe. I'm still regularly filling wheelbarrows with squashy tendrills that overtake the paths in the tunnel.

Here's some of that veg I was talking about earlier.

Hopefully, I'll have a bit more to report soon. There are rumours of a working toilet soon. Now that will be well appreciated!

Stairs, eggs and chickens

I now have the answer to the age old riddle 'Which came first the chicken or the egg?'

For us it was the egg - as our ducks started laying a week last Friday. Here's Sam with his treasured find. They taste really good too.

The chickens weren't far behind actually, we got four ex-battery hens last Tuesday, but more on that later.

That Friday was a busy day indeed, as we got our stairs put in too.

Of course, there has been lots happening in the tunnel and garden, we're now eating mangetout peas, broad beans, potatoes, courgette, lettuce and mizuna and have lots of basil and parsley too. Here's a pic of broad beans (mega tasty) and spuds.

Anyway, I digress, lets backtrack to those stairs. Here is our 'before' picture with the hall crying out for some lovely stairs.

Here the stairs are in, looking great. It really makes the place seem more like a home and less like a building site to have stairs (we had a ladder before). Sally is delighted as she can now come upstairs with us.

Here's some detail of the bottom of the stairs.

Here's Elvie playing on the stairs.

Here's Elvie playing on a haystack in the field!

At last, here are the long awaited chickens (well, 3 of the 4 felt photogenic). You can see some areas where their feathers are missing if you look closely. Mind you, we got the best of the bunch i.e. the most feathered!

Here you can see one with feathers missing on her chest. They're all settling in well although the ducks were a tad miffed at sharing their space at first. They're getting the hang of things, although only one is laying so far - but I'm happy to give them a bit of time to settle in. They have to eat the pellets as 'mash' with water rather than dry (it might be because their beaks are clipped). I'm not sure if I'll be able to wean them onto the dry stuff or not. Typically, the ducks now want mash too!

The tunnel is becoming quite a jungle. The squashes in particular are trying to take over every inch of space. I'm forever training them in circles. The sweetcorn is massive now too.

Outside the tunnel I've been extending the gravel, so it's easier to walk when the ground is wet (a job best done before winter) as the water can puddle along the paths there. The border beside the tunnel is doing ok now, with the peas starting to flower and the beans starting to climb.

The beans are now properly climbing the poles in the planters outside the tunnel too .. everything is having a growing spurt.

Now, we're getting on inside the house insulating the upstairs and getting ready for first fix electrics and plumbing. No rest, thats for sure.

I'm finally realising that this is our HOME in the making and I'm getting for of an urge to get in and make our mark on it and make it 'ours'. Time to start thinking layouts again - for electrical sockets, lights etc .. not to mention furnishing and decorating. Looks like it's only beginning in some ways.

P.S. We were hoping to get on wireless broadband but couldn't get line of sight so we're still on VERY slow speed mobile internet here, hence the infrequent postings. Fingers and toes crossed that Eircom actually bring broadband to Carrigallen and beyond in the not too distant future (there is a rumor that they might).

Nearly mid summer

Time flies and the longest day is nearly upon us. That somehow gets us in gear to get moving on the house more, so we've a chance of being in before those nights get too long and the weather gets too cold.

The strawberries are enjoying being in the tunnel now (even if I never got them out of their supposedly temporary pots that I put them in earlier in the year)

The ducks are still moulting, so there are no eggs yet. They now have lovely new chest plumage and only the big feathers left to moult. You can see they are 'bleaching' out i.e getting pale in the picture

It has been slow going in the house - still finishing off the passive upgrade (insulating the walls inside) and the final stud walls down stairs.

I managed a day or so of oiling the outside wood .. and got rather covered in the oil, so I ended up looking like I had a fine tan before I washed it off.

Very soon we're onto the second phase - first fix electrics and plumbing. Then things will really look different inside.

Outside, the weather has normalised somewhat - with a mix of sun, rain and wind. Means that our grass is coming up well.

Our broad beans have lovely pods (much better than this oldish pic shows)

All in the tunnel is going great guns. Here are the first flowers on my Auvergne peas.

Already there are lessons to learn. Firstly, the south end of the tunnel can be quite draughty. Already it caused a couple of young sweet corn to fail (I've put up a mini windbreak to minimise the damage). Next year there will be hardier plants by the doors. See in the pic how the top row suffered compared to the other two.

Also, I must get my irrigation system sorted. We have water butts now - which help warm the water from the well (it is very cold). Surpisingly, I don't have to water that much. The straw in the mushroom compost holds the moisture well .. even though the top surface dries out.

I was very overoptimistic with my theoretical plant spacings - and I've had to plant some squashes and other things outside. Some intercropping is working e.g. cauliflower and mizuna (see below).

As hoped, the tunnel is a great place for a washing line!

It is always warmer and more sheltered than anywhere else .. and I love nothing better to spend a few minutes sitting inside admiring the growing plants. The squashes are really growing fast.

Outside, the south face of the house is VERY exposed to the wind. I have plans to plant a fedge (fence / hedge made from living willow) 10 m away from the house to shelter the raised beds (will do the beds in September) but I may need additional precautions. Sam made a herb planter for outside the kitchen door and I must admit that some plants (a thyme!! and goji and even chamomile are suffering - from the windy days this week).

I have time over the summer to sort out some more ideas for extra wind breaks.

For now, it's on with the oiling and final studding.

Busy in the polytunnel

Well, the weather has been absolutely glorious and rather HOT, so hot that Sam has been wilting and that I have been having great fun cooling off in the stream after a hard days planting. The water is a tad cold - as this picture shows.

It's been hot, hot, hot in the tunnel but the weather is cooling now so it's rather lovely in there (I'm thinking of moving in full time).

Here's the field in it's full buttercup and blossom glory.

We've been - well I've been - very busy in the polytunnel since the last post, making the raised beds and planting. Somehow I thought I'd get it all done in a couple of days - ha!

I'm only just about done now .. and I've been working flat out (sending Sam demented as I haven't been able to help with the house).

Here's the progress.

I started by marking out the raised beds.

Then I got planting!

Here's a sample of what I put in ..

Sweetcorn and lettuce (and beans up top)

Lots of squashes - summer and winter varieties

Brussel sprouts and lettuce

Cauliflower and mizuna (we're already grazing the mizuna).

Tomatoes and peppers - peas at far end.

Sam made me some fab planters for outside the tunnel .. to put some extras that didn't quite fit in (more on that next time). There are beans to climb up the poles and some quinoa.

We also made a mound bed out of extra mushroom compost along the edge of the tunnel, with the idea that it will soften the view of the tunnel from the house. There are peas, squashes, oca and will be some flowers too this week. It is actually quite a breezy spot, so my initial idea of sunflowers may not be ideal.

 

Finally, as if all that isn't enough, we got a neighbour to rotivate the  ground out the back. It was really rough and weedy. It's only just dry enough to work. I'm not a great lawn fan and intend to have raised veggie beds there by next year, but it is handy to have some grass there for now - and for paths between the beds in the future. I'd planned on sowing a wildflower mix BUT would have had to rotivate it in after - so to save time and energy we've gone straight to grass.

I'll make the raised beds in September - the no dig way (cut the grass, cover with cardboard, then rotted manure / compost, then straw, then black plastic). I'll leave it over winter and plant in the spring.