Welcome back to Hen Corner!
This week has revealed lots of green growth in the garden (all that rain!), opportunity for some inside jobs, and preparation for next month’s courses; but let’s begin with another film in our series ‘Ten Top Tips for Keeping Chicks’:
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Going Green…
Mmm, after a wonderful warm and sunny March, we now have a quintessential April complete with showers of rain, every day. Whilst this is great for the lawn (which has recently been aerated and fertilized) unfortunately, it is also good for the weeds in the kitchen garden. I find myself dressed in my gardening jeans and running out for a quick five minutes between showers, resulting in the asparagus bed being only one-quarter cleared!!! The wet weather, however, does give us opportunity to catch up with some inside jobs and curling up with a good book (in the name of research of course!) is one of the country pleasures enjoyed from the sofa…
Most recently, I’ve read The Bad Beekeepers Club by TV presenter Bill Turnball. It is a collection of lighthearted stories that recount his journey of keeping bees. As a beginner, I identified with some of them and laughed out loud at others. Fortunately, other members of the Ealing and District Bee Keeping Association have read it aswell and enjoyed both the humour and the love of bees that is revealed page by page.
Heart of Herbs…
Fortunately, when it’s not raining, we’ve had some beautiful sunshine streaming into the conservatory that has helped the seeds from the Planting Plan germinate to reveal their first little leaves. This galvanized steel heart planter has four sections which is now home for two types of coriander, flat leaf parsley and a sweet basil. Other seeds that are germinating now are sweetcorn, pumpkins, squash and cucumber.
Another wet weather activity has been classroom based. I’ve trained with South West London Environment Network as a Compost Champion! Paul Richens of Blue Dome Synergies brought us in-depth information, all the top tips alongside the science of soil structure and the pros and cons of aerobic and anaerobic composting! Look out for us as we visit fayres and garden centres around West London in the coming weeks….
Other News:
- We’ve potted on some tomato plants and one is starting to flower
- We’ve put a ‘super’ on the bee hive in anticipation of collecting honey
- Hen Corner was featured in the local BRAG Mag (Brentford Recycling Action Group), Thank you!
Jobs for next week:
- Check the bee hive for honey stores, with this wet weather it’s more difficult for them to fly and forage
- Prepare beds in the Kitchen Garden ready for the transfer of baby plants from the cold frame into the ground
- Get ready for Wednesday’s course Urban Hens – Keeping Chickens in London
Have a good week yourself…
Join us on the Journey!
