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A work in progress
With the soil temperature almost at 5C and most of the moisture having drained away from the vegetable beds, we’re extremely busy now as we start sowing, planting and transplanting in earnest. We...
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Spring greens
I’ve received a couple of emails asking what we do for fresh vegetables in the spring and early summer given that we “plant so late”. First, we don’t plant late—we plant for our conditions and...
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Gases for the discerning palate
I’m standing on a concrete slab, digging moist black gunge from it, when it lifts slightly, allowing a bilious bubble to slide through a crack whereupon it expands rapidly, and pops. Hmmm. A hint of...
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Four weeks and counting
Yes, I really have been making a post hole for four weeks now. On a good day, in ground clear of stones and with no interruptions, I can erect two strainer posts, including digging the holes, setting...
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Sorting tatties
When the boys came home from school I was in the middle of sorting the potatoes I’d lifted today, so I asked them to help. One decided it was more interesting to play with the dog while the other...
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Storing root vegetables
As well as freezing, pickling and preserving fruit and vegetables, we also store some crops as is. Most root vegetables can be stored in clamps—layered between straw with soil heaped over the top—or...
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Storing neeps
There’s much more to storing neeps (aka swedes or rutabagas) than tipping them into a tub and leaving them in a dark place until needed. Neeps need a cold and very damp environment to prevent them...
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The Stonehead key
How does a Stonehead unlock a door? With a gas torch, of course. Snow and meltwater often find their way into hinges, hasps, bolts and the spaces between doors and their jambs. When overnight...
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In rain and wind
There have been days when the sun was shining, the wind had died away and the temperature was into low double figures. Perfect conditions for working the tattie field–except the ground was too wet and...
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Planting tatties at last
We finally started planting tatties today, having been delayed by prolonged snow, frozen ground, sodden ground following the thaw and a broken rotavator. The ideal planting time would be mid-April,...
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