Don’t the years whizz by? On Tuesday I have my annual Soil Association audit, during which I will be grilled on all aspects of how I manage the land organically, and on how well I conform to the strict SA standards. It’s always a stressful time, because whilst I do everything that I can to comply with the standards, in spirit and in deed, it is sometimes difficult to put one’s hands on that vital piece of paperwork that proves that I am strictly adhering to the rules. It is largely a test of record keeping and administration, and as a one-man operation I don’t always have time to record the minutiae of everything that I do. The real world hands-on experience of the auditor is important when it comes to assessing how things are done, because it would be easy to fall foul of dotting every i or crossing every T, I am sure that an over zealous inspector could find shortcomings if they really wanted to. One hopes for a certain degree of realism on their part.
The weather continues to disappoint. Cold, grey, wet, frosty, it’s no wonder that nothing in the garden wants to grow. Most of the vegetables that I have transplanted are just sitting in the cold soil sulking, further irritated by the constant attention from the greedy slugs and snails. However, if our esteemed meteorologists have got it right the temperature will soar tomorrow from today’s dismal 7° to a dizzying 17°! It means that I will bite the bullet and get the tomatoes planted in the polytunnel, because overnight temperatures are predicted to be no lower than 9° this week after tonight. I am hoping that the cucumbers will emerge from their torpor in the greenhouse with the change in conditions, and finally start shifting.
Next week I need to do the blog and update the shop on Saturday rather than the usual Sunday. At the time I would normally be hunched over my laptop computer I will be striding out over the 19 mile path from Nowton Park in Bury to Clare Country Park. This is a fund raiser for the St Nicholas Hospice in Bury. It is an awfully long time since I have walked anything like that distance, and the big debate is over what footwear to lace up. Do I opt for my newish light weight walking shoes that are not altogether worn in, or my leather walking boots that are heavier but are probably more comfortable? I will wear both during the week and plump for those that I feel will result in fewer blisters, but rest assured I will be taking some padded plasters with me for running repairs. Maybe some Vaseline too. I expect to feel pretty stiff and sore come Monday morning. At least going from north to south means that it’s all down hill.
Early last week the much anticipated goslings arrived on the top pond. There were 5 of them, closely guarded by their attentive parents. When I saw them yesterday there were only 4. So one has been predated, or it’s a different family. There are several pairs of adults, so It’s possible that there is another brood. In my previous blog I told you about the fledgling Thrush and Blackbird that I released from the greenhouse. Well on arriving last Monday morning I discovered a pair of young Blackbirds hopping on the window ledge calling to their parent on the other side of the glass who was beside himself with stress. I opened a window and out they flew, and when I went outside to see that they had escaped safely the male bird came hopping towards me with his wings fanned out, excitedly calling for me to “back off!”. I retreated inside and things clamed down. I don’t know how they got shut in there overnight, they normally make their presence heard.
Produce availability is really poor at the moment, so I am having to turn to European organic growers to get us out of a hole. The weather conditions are going to make for a very late season, so the prospect of good UK new season product in the near future is not good. My spring greens in the polytunnel are all but finished and the greenhouse chard has just one more cut left in it, so I am getting in some broccoli and a limited quantity of aubergines in from Spain. Courgettes and cherry tomatoes are already coming from there. Asparagus is available, and I will be cutting some large round lettuces from the tunnel. The new carrot grower was every bit as disappointing as the previous one, so there will be no more until the early crop comes on line. All in all your choice is now very limited, but there is little that I can do about it. The European citrus season will carry on for a few more weeks yet.
I had a lot of late orders last week. Please try to observe the Tuesday evening deadline, it really helps me. Some of you lot don’t half keep some funny hours, one of the orders arrived at 2.30am!
The photo above was taken when I went off to gather wild garlic on Friday. These Doronicums (I think) were growing in the shade of a large Horse Chestnut tree and just looked so cheerful that I couldn’t resist taking a snap of them.
Right, I’m off to dig out invoices and crop records – what a treat on a Sunday afternoon.
Have a good week and enjoy the warmer conditions, I might even cast a clout and slap on some factor 50.
Phil