Building the Farm.
Before we moved in our property was used solely for horses. Our much anticipated hobby farm. called for a more diverse use of the land and so our first job was to change things to suit our purpose. |
October 2019 preparing the ground for planting garlic.
2019 Masham Sheep Fair UK |
Raised Vegetable Beds
Since we planned to grow pesticide free vegetables and fruit we needed growing space. The old dry-turnout area was chosen as the ideal area for raised beds as it was well drained. The remainder of the land is clay and consequently can get quite squelchy! We had to make soil for the beds using manure, dead leaves, old newspapers and compost. We continue to build and feed the beds using our wonderful compost that has the addition of both chicken and goat manure.
Hot compost steaming briskly
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The first year
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We now have a full compliment of raised beds, and other beds where we can squeeze them in, and grow all sorts of produce organically. We have tried a farm stand and this works well for plants but not so well for vegetables so we sell those at our local farm market - on an extremely small scale indeed!!
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Forced Spring Rhubarb squeezed into a free space!
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Our first greenhouse! Greenhouse in a Weekend!
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Using salvaged pallets, left over wood, a couple of free recycled windows (one for the skylight, one for the door) and some thick plastic we had our greenhouse finished in two days! Of course we added finishing touches with a wide shelf, a raised bed and some gravel on the floor - perfect! We can keep track of the day/night temperatures using the maximum-minimum thermometer and we'll be ready to get started with seeds when it's warm enough at night.
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Newspaper Pots For Free! Newspaper is printed with vegetable dyes and is fine to use for this purpose.
Newspaper pots are wonderful though they do take some effort - great for winter days! As the spring arrives and life gets a LOT busier we are using mainly plastic pots that get recycled over and over and over and - - -
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Starting peas in vermiculite makes them easy to separate when transplanting them into the garden.
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Leeks in front and brassicas in the tunnel - the sorrento raab broccoli is NOT a success! Fingers crossed for the calebrese :)
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We all need a little warmth!
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Outside the greenhouse
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From May - to September
We have challenges and successes and every January the excitement starts to build around what will happen this year! What with our bakery, the goats, chickens, ducks, geese, bees, fruit and vegetables there's a lot going on around here! here are some snaps from 2013 - - -