What a year we’ve had….
This time last year, April ’10, we spent weeks lugging bricks around to pave the Kitchen Garden paths. It was a job worth doing but took longer than we thought and therefore we got behind with the planting. However, we managed to find time to start this blog and begin Twittering and are thrilled to have had so many visitors to the site and met so many wonderful Tweeps!
So many highlights…
Our Chicken Keeping Courses began last May and it was a privilege to introduce several groups of people to the joys of Chicken Keeping; they seemed to have a good time and gave us these very nice reviews. As a result, we were chosen as Omlet Course Host of the Month in August, which was a real honour! We’ve announced our new dates, so if you fancy discovering for yourself how to keep chickens, particularly in an urban environment, why not come and visit us in West London?
The Media Moments…
In June, we were included in an article for Observer Food Monthly as London cider producers. In January, we filmed for Market Kitchen Big Adventure looking at the local produce of Hampshire. In February we had the photo shoot with Adam Johann Lang (see pic above) for our article in Lost in London magazine and in March we were asking questions on Gardeners Question Time…
Other successes…
Coucou survived the Fox Attack in January, see her recent picture below.
The long-awaited Asparagus has already supplied five meals, not much more to say here but ‘Yum…..’
We are on target with our Planting Plan and the cold frame is gently nurturing a wide variety of seedlings and baby plants.
Looking forward…
Soon we’ll be collecting a full range of multi-coloured eggs; it would be such a joy to find 5 or 6 different colours in the nest box on Easter morning.
Salt (White Leghorn shown left) has started laying her perfect chalk-white eggs this week, the first ones are always so small, and we’re expecting olive-green from Cinnamon (Columbine) and dark brown from Pepper (Feather Laced Copper Black).
We are also hoping to be hatching chicks with some fertile eggs from South Yeo Farm, do check out the varieties of wonderful poultry that they are breeding in Devon. Unfortunately, we need to wait for Butternut or Ascot to get broody again before ordering the eggs (we’ll pop them under the broody) and hope that they turn out to be good ‘mums’.
Coming up…
Cider Sunday is planned for September 18th, let us know if you want to join in, we may make a course out of it…
Harvest Fare Trade is set for Saturday 1st October; Make it, Bake it, Grow it, Sew it…
For those who have been following us for a while (to subscribed pop in your details top left) and were wondering about Plan Bee, well, after licking out a jar of honey last week Andy is now nick-named ‘The Honey Monster’ and we’re all off the Ealing Apiary today…
Jobs for next week:
- Harvest Asparagus, Leeks, Carrots & Rhubarb
- Tidy the Herb Garden
- Get on with the April planting
Have a great week yourself now….
Corners aren’t just for squares!
