I can feel spring approaching, I have a warm fuzzy feeling inside just thinking about it. As I begin to open veg seed packets to sow my first crops of the year, I drift away into my own little world inside the greenhouse. My thoughts turn to warm summer days rolling into hazy golden-lit evenings, sharing food and wine with friends as I [...]
All posts for the month February, 2012
Food for Bees and Pollinators
Posted by Karen on February 25, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/food-for-bees-and-pollinators/
First Egg of the Year
One of our old hens has come back into lay, I found this lovely egg in one of the coops this morning. Yummy!
Posted by Karen on February 19, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/first-egg-of-the-year/
Rosemary Cuttings
Last October I decided to take cuttings from our Rosemary bush, using this very useful guide: http://ruralgardener.co.uk/2011/10/10/time-to-take-rosemary-cuttings/. I admit to not taking cuttings very often, pure laziness on my part but now that I’ve done it and had good results I think I will try taking plant cuttings more often. I did not use rooting compound (simply because I didn’t have [...]
Posted by Karen on February 17, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/rosemary-cuttings/
My Favourite Variety of Garlic
The snow and ice are no more, melted away by yesterday’s gorgeous mild weather. While I was rooting around in the soil of my veg garden this morning (oh how I’ve missed being able to do that) I spotted the Cristo garlic that I planted back in November, pushing through the soil. Garlic needs a cold spell, this month has certainly been [...]
Posted by Karen on February 15, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/my-favourite-variety-of-garlic/
How to Deal with a Damaged Chicken Claw
It’s fair to say I’ve experienced my fair share of chicken problems, ranging from feather pecking, fatal diseases, egg related issues and the dark side of chickens known as cannibalism. You name it and I’ve probably seen it or heard about it from my chicken-keeping pals. Early this morning I dealt with what seems to be a common [...]
Posted by Karen on February 11, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/how-to-deal-with-a-damaged-chicken-claw/
The Best Purchase We Ever Made
Chicken keeping has become more popular in recent years thanks to self-sufficiency programmes such as River Cottage. I’ve seen a rise in prices for coops and chicken runs, I’ve also seen some shoddy cheap options that won’t last a winter, but, if you shop around or build one yourself, a walk-in chicken enclosure will be the best purchase [...]
Posted by Karen on February 10, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/the-best-purchase-we-ever-made/
Jobs for February
February is the month of love and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t love your garden at this time of year too, despite the weather being bitterly cold. Snow may be on the ground, making gardening difficult, but venturing outside and spotting signs that the garden is beginning to wake from its winter slumber should cheer you [...]
Posted by Karen on February 8, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/jobs-for-february/
Snow View and Snow Victim
The snow that we had been expecting arrived last night, I watched the snowflakes dance and swirl before covering the ground with a crisp white carpet. The above photo shows the view of the lane from the front of our house, taken from an upstairs window. As beautiful as snow is, it can be very [...]
Posted by Karen on February 5, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/snow-view-and-snow-victim/
Chitting Seed Potatoes
To me, setting seed potatoes out to chit heralds the start of the growing year. This year I’ve decided to grow more potatoes than I usually do (most will be going to my allotment) so there’s lots of chitting to be getting on with. I’m sticking with two favourites of mine which are Charlotte, a versatile salad type grown as a second early and Desiree, a [...]
Posted by Karen on February 2, 2012
http://thegardensmallholder.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/chitting-seed-potatoes/
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Welcome to The Garden Smallholder, it's a blog about growing veg, fruit and keeping chickens in a rural back garden.
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