turning an old demijohn into a cloche

I discovered this method by accident a few years ago while trying to clean an old bottle. I found an old demijohn outside and well past being able to clean it and more wanting to try this out!!

It’s dead simple, get a washing up bowl and add really cold water enough to cover the bottom of the demijohn, about a couple of inches. Leave it in there for a while to make sure the base is nice and cold. Then just boil the kettle and pour in the boiling water. If your lucky it should crack instantly and the bottom just drop out. If not give it a twist.

There you have it instant mini green house, the best part is you recycle something thats otherwise useless and it won’t blow away like plastic bottles.

april in the vegatable patch

Right no hints and tip’s this is just a list of things that have gone in. I was going to say it’s all from seed this year but someone just gave me some onion plants, which apparently are going to be more expensive this year. So thats a win win. Everything is probably too close together but most of the seed packets are well out of date so I thought I’d put everything in that I’ve got. For now this is what’s in.

Parsnips gladiator F1
Carrot Autum king
Beetroot bolt hardy
Spinach Beet perpetual spin
Lettuce little gem
Raddish Scarlet Globe
Broad Bean bunyards exhib
Early Pea Kelvedon wonder
Purple Sprouting Broc
Salad Leaf Rocket
Oriental Salad Leaves
Roob Cima Di Rapa

Don’t you just love the names? All seem to be doing OK apart from the early pea which despite it’s name is nowhere to be seen. It could be that the seed is too old. Below is a picture of my notebook, which I love. I wish I had kept one ever year too compare the years by, I think it’s more of me being a geek than anything useful though.

herb spiral two years on

Well at least I think it’s about two years old I can’t quite remember now. Anyway seen as this is my most viewed post I thought I would show some photos of even though I’m not still living here anymore.

There is still plenty of room for improvement. There are loads of gaps still which i used to use for annuals but would be better served by more perennials. I wish I’d never put the lemon balm in, other than the beautiful aroma I’ve never used it and it takes over the whole bloody thing by the summer. the rocket comes back year after year and if picked regular is manageable. The borage is also too large but the slugs harvest most of that so I don’t have too. Nice of them.

Other than that though everything does very well with little or no maintenance. I think I’ll shift the tree onions onto the spiral this should help then to not spread all over but then it’s on it’s own. Can you ever really give a garden up?

taking the garden with you

As I’ve previously said due to me and my wife separating I no longer live at home, this is also the reason that I have no been keeping up with posting. Anyway over the past few days I’ve been moving out my stuff books, tools and stuff. Today however I’ve been looking at the garden, it’s awful to think but I think I miss this the most.

Of all the things that I own and have put a lot of time into, the garden is something I wish I could take with me. I know it’s not possible and also even though plants can be moved etc the design as a whole only works because over the past eight years I’ve learned what grows where and all of the other little micro climates that you can only become intimate with over time. even if I could pick it up and put it somewhere else it could never be the same garden.

There are some certain plants however that can be moved, some that can be split and some were planted very recently and so have not yet become established. The question though is not can I move them but should I ? I’ve tried to create a garden which works in harmony with it’s surroundings so by takings things out I risk upsetting the balance.

I think more of my problem is this idea of ownership, I feel a great attachment to my garden and also don’t want it to become overgrown and unmanageable. At the end of the day the garden was deigned for this site and should stay as it was designed, I’ll just have to give it up and keep my eye on it from time to time. The thought of having to start all over again is exciting though so at least there is a positive in all this.

thinking of doing a permaculture course?

if anybody is thinking of doing a permaculture course then I highly recomend doing Patrick Whitefields course. I have been asked by a fellow blogger to put the word around as the course has a lot of places left.

Ragmans Lane Farm, Gloucestershire
3rd - 16th June 2007

9th - 22nd September 2007

This is the classic permaculture course. It focuses on skills we can put into action in our own lives, in both town and country. It also looks at permaculture in its wider context, as a way of putting many diverse green ideas into a coherent whole. It’s suitable both for beginners and for those in relevant professions - gardeners, farmers, landscape designers, foresters, architects etc - who want to add a permaculture perspective to their skills.
A wide range of teaching methods is used, including talks, slide shows, discussions and exercises, both indoor and outdoor. The main focus of the course is a series of design exercises on the land. Participants can choose between a domestic garden, a smallholding or the farm itself for their permaculture design project.

We make full use of the farm as a teaching resource, with outdoor sessions every day. Some subjects are taught by the people who live and work on the farm, each contributing their own expertise and experience. There’s at least one session of practical work in the farm gardens on each course. To get an idea of the full range of subjects covered by the course, please see the example timetable below.

There’s a range of optional evening activities, including a session on healing, campfires and hot tubs. A favourite activity on the weekend is canoeing down the River Wye amid the beautiful wooded scenery (cost approx £10).

The Design Course is recognised by the international permaculture community, and can lead to the informal Diploma of Permaculture Design. Our Design Courses at Ragmans Lane can also lead to a nationally recognised qualification, because they make up two modules of the five-module Sustainable Land Use course, which we also teach at Ragmans Lane.

Patrick’s major permaculture book, The Earth Care Manual is available to course participants at half price. You can order your copy in advance or receive it on the course. (See below)
Tutors
The main tutors are Patrick and Cathy Whitefield.

Guest tutors include:
Sarah Pugh, urban and community permaculturist
‘Josh’ Joshua, land manager at Ragmans Lane
Matt Dunwell, permaculture pioneer and the farmer of Ragmans Lane

We also make two visits. One is to Oaklands Park, a biodynamic community, to see innovative water and sewage treatment systems and the vegetable gardens, where we’re shown round by Mark Moodie, a pioneer in biological water treatment. The other is to Achitype, a firm of ecological architects, to see their recently-completed office building and a slide show of their work by partner Jonathan Hines.

Venue
Ragmans Lane Farm is situated in beautiful countryside in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, on the banks of the River Wye. A number of interesting examples of permaculture in practice can be seen there. One of these is shii-take mushroom production, in which oak logs from the nearby forest are turned into a valuable food product when they’re inoculated with the mushrooms. Another is apple juice making, a way of adding value to the products of local orchards, giving them a value which preserves them in the landscape.
The farm is also the home of the Willow Bank, which supplies a wide range of willow varieties and installs living willow structures. Many of these can be seen around the farm. In addition, there is an interesting range of ecological building styles on the farm, and there is both mature and newly planted woodland.

For more information on the farm, including a pictorial tour, see www.ragmans.co.uk (Please note that you should use the booking form on this website, not the one on the Ragmans Lane site.)

Accommodation
This is in the bunkhouse, a converted stone barn with many ecological features. Accommodation is basic and there are no individual or double rooms, but if you want privacy you are welcome to camp.
The camping site, with beautiful views of the local landscape, is right beside the bunkhouse. Campers have full use of the bunkhouse facilities and there is no reduction in charge for camping.

Full vegetarian board is provided and the great majority of the food is organic.

when is it going to rain ?

Now coming from an english man it may seem that I’ve lost my mind. I’m not complaining the weather for the last few weeks has been amazing but the gardener in me is getting impatient. I have not been keeping a record but I know that it has not rained here in nearly 20 days as thats when I fixed the water butts so they are still sitting empty. I would also go as far as saying that it hasn’t rained for three weeks.

I’m not saying that this is a sign of global warming I’m just sick of having to use the tap to collect water for the plants and seedlings. The dry weather also means that I’m having to water the rest of the garden aswell causing me to use even more water than normal.

It does make me think about how we would cope if we relied on the rain for all our water or even just for crops without the tap I would have nothing left by now.

If it rains tomorrow don’t blame me for moaning about it and knowing my luck it will rain for the next three weeks non-stop, sorry.

april’s permaculture veg patch

What with coming back from Bulgaria and having my wisdom teeth out this years growing season has been a little behind but I’m almost back on track now. I managed to drag my puffy face down to my mothers and get some seeds in.

Here’s what went in.
Chard blue lights
Spinach beet- perpetual spinach
Beetroot bolthardy
Lettuce mixed
Leeks - forget which sort
Sugar snap peas
Pea kelvedon wonder

This is my experiment for this year to see if I can simply just push the pea seed through the paper mulch. I’m surethat it will be fine and also I hope that it will stop the pigeons from digging them all up but thats a long shot.

I was very pleased to find that the sandy soil under the mulch was quite moist which surprised me as it has not rained here for over two weeks. The only problem is that there was quite a number of slugs under there as well but I deal with that by just planting more seed one for me one for the slug.

My best victory has been between me and the cabbage white, last summer it totally decimated my cabbage and broccoli crop and although I lost all the cabbages and most of the broccoli the purple sprouting because of it’s long season has come back beautifully. All I need now is to be able to eat and I can enjoy it.

I’ll also be potting on most of the seedlings like tomato chilli pepper and the squashes in the next few days. My only problem is that I’ve lost a number of seed packets, I think I need a word with the little lad.

april’s garden photo’s

Here is is part of my tub crop raddish lettuce and garlic

this is the herb spiral looking a little healthier.

I proud of the thifty use of this old window that I’ve just put into the shed door. I just need to get the roof on the shed now! I’m hoping for something to turn up on freecyle as up to now all the materials have been free.

keep it dirty

I know that alot of others have posted this article on their blogs but I thought it was so interesting I’d post it for all those who may have missed it.

DIRT EXPOSURE ‘ BOOSTS HAPPINESS’

Exposure to dirt may be a way to lift mood as well as boost the immune system, UK scientists say.
Lung cancer patients treated with “friendly” bacteria normally found in the soil have anecdotally reported improvements in their quality of life.

Mice exposed to the same bacteria made more of the brain’s “happy” chemical serotonin, the Bristol University authors told the journal Neuroscience.

Common antidepressants work by boosting this brain chemical.

Dirty play

A lack of serotonin is linked with depression in people.

The scientists say more work is now needed to determine if the bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae has antidepressant properties through activation of serotonin neurons.

Lead researcher Dr Chris Lowry said: “These studies help us understand how the body communicates with the brain and why a healthy immune system is important for maintaining mental health.

“They also leave us wondering if we shouldn’t all spend more time playing in the dirt.”

The work could also help experts’ understanding of why an imbalance in the immune system leaves some individuals vulnerable to mood disorders like depression, he added.

Mood and immunity

Canadian researchers have also been exploring the links between serotonin, mood and immunity.

A team at Georgetown University Medical Center recently discovered serotonin is passed between key cells in the immune system, and that the chemical can activate an immune response.

This suggests that serotonin may restore a healthy immune function in people who are depressed and prone to infections.

On the flip side, it is also possible that serotonin, and serotonin-boosting antidepressants, end up bolstering immunity to the point that they trigger autoimmune disease where the body attacks itself.

Gerard Ahern, lead researcher on the study, explained: “At this point we just don’t know how these drugs might affect immunity, so we really need to clarify the normal role of serotonin in immune cell functioning.”

rain water harvesting

I had to do some repair work today on my water butt, as in the winter the bricks that it was sat on sank and it smashed through the fence. I’ve buit a new wooden frame for two butts as a single one fills really quickly in winter and emptys just as quick in the summer.

I hope that the wooden frame is stong enough, I’ve used all recycled wood from various sources and wanted to try it before building a concrete base. I think that it’s pretty sound as I tested it the usual way, by jumping up and down on it, although with my skinny arse I don’t know if that makes a difference.

If it had been at the top of the garden then I would have made it as high as possible so that I could use a hose pipe or drip feed but it’s at the bottom so I just left enough room for the watering can and to put plant pots under.

All I need now is to attach a connector, from one to the other so when one is full it then overflows into the other, I think that was part of the problem with having one on it’s own as in winter it was always overflowing and possibly caused the bricks to shift. I ‘ll post pictures when it collapses and causes a mini tidal wave.