Needless to say, I did not get done as much as I optimistically planned at the end of my July post. Is the kitchen ceiling finished? No. Is the French drain dug? No. Did I scythe the entire hay field? No. Did I plant out the hazel tree? Also no. Still, the wheel of the year turns, and things happen sometimes with or without my involvement. Let's have a look through some photos, shall we? The veg patch I've largely ignored the veg patch this month except for a little light weeding, and yet we've still had a few harvests. It's not all been success, mind you. Caterpillars have set up home in the kale, the sweetcorn hasn't pollinated, the entire cucumber plant is smaller than my hand, and now the pea frame has blown over in the wind. Our one apple and one plum were lost to the high winds as well, so now the only remaining tree fruit is the damsons, which seem to be doing rather well (so far). Still, the veg garden overall still looks pretty good, even after I (unwisely) let the chickens in for a bit of a treat. I've harvested and dried some of that calendula, but haven't decided what to do with it yet. There are masses of seeds, so if you'd like some please do let me know and I'll send them out. While I had the dehydrator out, I also dried some oregano, which I always forget about because I didn't plant it, and it's half hidden under a bush. I must crawl under and get some more, and think about what else I can dry. Lavender maybe, although I spotted three jars of lavender I'd dried in our old house so I really should get on the case making lavender bags or something if I'm going to dry any more. Hay (or not) I had great plans for scything the entire meadow and making a giant pile of hay in August. Sadly, those plans were foiled, mostly by the weather, and partly by them being rather unrealistic in the first place. Still, some hay was made, and a lot of soggy, damp grass cuttings were made too. I've come to terms wit h the fact that the rest of what I've cut just isn't going to dry out, as the weather is too unstable. If I had a team of 15 able to rush out at the slightest hint of sunshine and turn it all over instantly, then it might, but I don't. So I've decided that the rest will be cut and used for mulch - my priority is removing it from the field as I'm trying to restore a more wildlife-friendly habitat (which is my priority, more so than making hay). The edible windbreak is benefiting from the first round of mulch. Not ideal, but then this little adventure of ours is all about trying out what's practical, not what's ideal, so here we are. And I'm certainly getting better with my scythe in the meantime. DIY Clearly I didn't finish the whole of the kitchen ceiling. I did make some progress though - I've started fitting battens to the joists and have put up one whole piece of insulation and plasterboard (which I now can't find a photograph of). We decided last week that it would be easier to paint the joists before we put up the plasterboard, so everything was put on hold while we made decisions about that. I'm pleased to say our chosen wood oil has now turned up, and I'm hoping to at the very least get that painted on in September.
So there we are. Harvesting, hay, and the teensiest bit of DIY. I'm not making any great plans for September - it's the busiest time of my work year and it's quite likely I won't get much done at all. When I do get chance though, I'll be out scything the field, or inside painting the kitchen ceiling. I'm not planning anything more dramatic than that...
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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