Time to gamble

Although we are not gambling kind of folk, this time of year is always about edging your bets with the weather!! 

Have we seen the last of the frosts??

After purchasing some horticultural fleece for frost protection earlier in the year we took a risk and planted out our sweetcorn at the beginning of the month, but unfortunately the late frosts had disastrous consequences for one of our crops and we lost the lot, however on the positive the other is showing signs of recovery - fingers crossed.

However now with the need to free up space in the polytunnel and of course the desire to get early produce, there comes a point in the month of May that you just have to go for planting tender plants outside. So to accompany our earlier plantings of:

• Cavolo nero
  

• Rainbow chard

• Red orach
  

• Celeriac

• Khol rabi 

which are now all storming away, we are filling up the outside beds with some of the old traditionals:

• Mixed coloured climbing beans, yellow, green and purple, together with assorted dwarf beans

• Courgettes - again yellow, dark and light green

 and 

• Squash, five different varieties, from the more traditional butternut to the unusual black futsu
  

Looking at the long-term forecast there are no signs of any more late frosts to catch us out, and in fact quite the opposite, a settled spell of warm beautiful growing weather - here's to the long summer days, fresh produce with loads of variety and colour to inspire our local chefs and customers.

Denise and the bantams

We are both amazed and really pleased how well the new members of our hen flock, the Cream Legbar and Peking bantams have settled in. 

Definitely helped by having a 'minder' in the Cream Legbar, now called Denis, the miniatures aren't frightened to stand their ground with the other birds, some of which are as much as 10 times the size!! 

Its great to see them all together and there isn't a day go by that they don't make us laugh out loud - a real pleasure.

Out with the old and in with the new - Spring is here

Whilst the polytunnel continues to house many of our salad leaves, particularly the bright and spicy brassicas, as shown below:

together with the watercress -

It is also still home to our winter greens, rainbow chard and black cabbage (below) which are both favourites and very popular with the local people and businesses, but soon they will be making room...

As we look to turn it into a haven for delicious summer produce, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, aubergines, melons and peppers just to name a few. Aiming for early fruits we have already started planting with beds dedicated to tomatoes - 

early dwarf beans - 

early carrots

and of course courgettes, both yellow and green.

But in the next week we are planning for the BIG plant out in the tunnel - with so many plants now bulging out of their pots and the greens outside of a suitable size to prevent a hiatus in supply - the timing should be just perfect.

Working under the spotlights

Our experiments with the salads growing under the lights continue, but there is something that has become apparent, the effect on their germination is fantastic.

Both the brassicas and the watercress present what must be close to 100% take up, which is far more successful than germination in outside conditions.

However the vertical growth is not quite there yet, whilst the trays are shooting upwards, the seedlings could be considered as a bit too keen...

Compared to those grown in outside conditions, (below), they are a little leggy and irregular, (above), without the consistent, dome forming regularity of leaf cover.

This can be seen from both the side profile and also from above, the photo below demonstrates the cushion effect that is typically achieved in outside conditions, (top), compared to the irregular growth pattern, (below) currently achieved under the lights.

Our experiments continue and we are working with the light manufacturers GN UK Ltd to perfect the growing conditions. This includes altering the distance from the lights, changing the time for which we operate the lights and also the type of light used which includes the combination of different light colours, which affects different aspects of the growth. All exciting stuff and a very steep learning curve, but really looking forward to perfecting the approach so we can maximise the potential of our new facility.

A true delight

Yet more new recruits and yet again we were in for a real treat...

Four Peking bantams and a Cream Legbar were in need of a new home...

So small, they all arrived in the same carry cage together, four perfect little miniatures, with their minder - the Cream Legbar, keenly watched by our existing flock.

As soon as they left their carry cage they made straight for the dust bath and they settled in immediately. A real mix of varieties, they truly are adorable, with beautiful plumage and amazing temperaments - exquisite.

After just a few days although in a different coup at night, they were running with the main flock in the day and despite their small size their confidence was admirable and the pecking order seemed to be soon established.

Double trouble, these two beautiful little birds have certainly brought smiles to our faces, oozing with character and the desire for a cuddle, you simply can't help but adore them.

They were soon to have another minder, yet another village hen in need of a new home after the rest of the flock had been lost to Mr Fox - a Rhode Island Red cross, nicknamed 'Billy' joined in the fun.

As well as the pure enjoyment of having our new recruits, they have also brought a couple of additional bonuses...

A supply of bantam eggs, perfect for pickling..

And a beautiful blue egg from the Cream Legbar - an amazing addition to any box of free range eggs.

Our new grow lights

Now we have our small solar array installed, we are ready to take a major leap forward in growing both baby leaf salads and watercress through the winter, but also with the certainty that they will not be affected by insect damage over the summer months.

The secret to this is the use of grow lights, which provide the desired light needed to stimulate growth, with different coloured light for different plant types and growing requirements. We have been working with a British company, GNUK Ltd, who have supplied us with their LED TELOS 0008, ideal for baby leaf salads.

We have decided that due to the popularity of what we are currently producing and the demand for produce like salad and watercress, we are going to postpone the installation of the aquaponics side of the business, until we have more time to invest in it.

So this means that we are going to utilise the room that previously housed the fish tanks for our new grow lights.

Once the tanks were removed, Melv started to prepare the ceiling for hanging the new lights of which we had 12, to be positioned in two rows of 6.

Very easy to install, via the fittings supplied, we were soon ready for the first of the 12, and as they can be operated as individual components we couldn't resist a little trial!!

All measured out as per the plan, Melv soon gets the hang of it and motors on with the rest.

All in position we were ready for the big switch on - get the sunglasses ready...

An incredible light - very powerful, but next the tricky bit - lining the walls with a reflective material. In our case the most cost effective was going to be tin foil, but being thin and flimsy we knew this was going to be a challenge and a recipe for an argument!!

But as often the case the with tasks you don't look forward to, it was nowhere near as difficult and we made great progress quickly, sticking up with PVA glue and finishing with foil tape.

Then with the lights on you really do need sunglasses - amazing|

It feels a little like being inside a spaceship (not that I have ever experienced that!!), but very clean and clinical and the seeds like it too.

After just two days our baby leaf brassicas were already germinating, we now follow with interest just to see what growing under lights in an insect free environment is really like, and the icing on the cake is that it is just brilliant knowing that the sun is paying for all the energy.

Greening up

It is not only the hedgerows that are greening up as spring approaches, we are too, as we look to achieve something we have always wanted to do - have solar panels installed and generate our own electricity. Despite the lack of incentives now available even for business installations we are still very keen to get a small 4.48kW system in place that can cover our energy use.

Our plan was to have the installation ground mounted, just to the east of the potting shed. This is an area that the hens currently have access to, so the first task was to fence off the site to prevent the hens from using the panels as perches!

Once we had made the site hen free Melv set to making the wooden frame to hold the panels.

Although a substantial structure it soon started to take shape, he concreted in the main upright supports, to which then he could attach the main runners which would hold the aluminium frame that holds the panels.

A compass was employed to ensure that the frame was positioned and angled to maximise the sun's rays.

 With the main supports installed, the next job whilst access was still easy was to stone out the site, to keep it tidy and weed free.

 And as you would expect there was plenty of help on hand, to transport to the stone to the site as the hens were keen to get 'hands' on with the muck truck!!

Trench dug, cable installed, stone down and the frame completed we were ready for the installation - even the sun was out ready!!!

The rest was up to Mole Energy and before too long the panels were going on - so exciting - we could really start how smart our small array was going to look.

Three pairs of hands and the finishing touches we being made by lunch time.

Now it is over to the sun to do the rest - highest generation so far has been 3.8kW, not bad for April - we now have another reason to look forward to the summer. 

We also have another little project that this electricity generation will facilitate - but that is news for a future blog...