Tuesday 22 February 2011

Good things come to those who wait.............

Trying to propagate eggs! Only being silly, I wash them and then let them air dry in a seed tray seems the perfect way to do it
Today has been a very good day! My son has had a few good results in his exams, which I’m really proud of! You can even positively hear the buds breaking. The weather has even been smiling on us – a balmy 6 oC with sunshine and don’t tell anyone, there was barely any wind. Shhhh, it was supposed to be windy. Maybe today was one of the 10 days of the year we have here with NO wind. This is a fact, there are only that many days a year on average with no wind, I certainly don’t joke about the wind. In the sunshine, I noticed the hen coup all of a sudden has a rampage of daffodils popping up all over it. I think the job for the weekend will be to move these to various places around the main garden. What a bonus! Free plants yippee.



Free plants coming up all over the summer chicken coup! Nice to see them. They look like they are in prison but soon they'll be rehomed in the garden.
I sold a dozen more home grown eggs (£2) today and I’ve had another couple of requests for eggs this week. This is great as it means my very clever feathered friends will have some posh food, to keep them fit and healthy. We get free grain (floor sweepings) from the farm at work, but I also supplement this with layers pellets which I buy once a month. I get free eggs, friends get bargainous lovely hen eggs and the hen money goes to pay the ‘posh’ hen food. They also return the egg boxes and it’s the perfect mini-recycling local supply system.

Egg boxes from the big supermarket nicely recycled with our eggs and a silly home made label! This way I can keep track of the boxes we do keep recycling!
My dearly beloved is up in the Isle of the Winds this week and suggested a treat of fish and chips for lunch. Whilst I was in the local fish and chop shop, I asked if everything was local. OK, so they did look at me slightly strangely, of course it’s all local, why would they import fish or tatties here? Be like 'taakin sand tae the beach' I was informed. Ok, good stuff its all local and very yummy. A picnic lunch on the beach, in the sunshine (well OK eaten in the car) then a walk with the dog – perfect lunch!

The beach at scapa, a perfect beach in Kirkwall easy for a quick lunch and a scamp! Peedie is having a sniff in the foreground there.
I posted off a few seeds and plants to far flung places in the UK yesterday from Ebay sales. My email this morning informed me that I’ve sold a couple more packs of seeds today as well. And, to make life even nicer I’ve had another direct request for a fair few veggie seeds this afternoon. Yippee, this is the kind of day we like – slowly making a bit of progress on that side of things. And, of course, reducing my seed mountain somewhat!

Part of the seed mountain! From Pandoras box.....
And speaking of seeds, the time has come to reduce my seed stash a bit more by starting to sow some chillis and peppers. (Jo has done hers and now I feel as if I’m behind!) last year chilli growing worked well, I bought a 10 different plant starter seedling kit from ebay (plants at the 4-6 leaf stage)  and they cropped really well. So I’m being brave and this year from seed, I’m going to grow Jalepeno, Cayenne, Golden Bell, Californian wonder, Haberno, Explosive ember, Yolo wonder from seed and I’ve the 5-6 plants from last year to crop too. I’ll keep a few of the seedlings to grow on and the rest I’m hoping to sell on Ebay/locally if I can. If you fancy a few chilli’s yourself – get in touch! I’m sure I’ll have more than a few ready in a month or so!

Watch out windowsills! Here come the seedlings.............germination beckons! (Can you tell that I'm excited?) I'll do them tomorrow!

Have a great day, I hope its as good as mine today! x


20 comments:

  1. Very productive post I must say! Love your balmy 6 deg.! Its actually a lot cooler here today - we had a bad storm yesterday afternoon and it has cooled things down a tad.
    Eggs look good and fish & chips sounds like a real treat.

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  2. oh my gosh - I just looked up Orkney Is on googlemap and no wonder you're cold! You're nearly in Norway!!

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  3. Love those eggs. I bet they have the yellowest yolks.

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  4. I love Cayenne pepper! But Explosive ember......really? Sounds a bit dangerous to me. What are you going to do with them? Feed them to people you are not fond of?

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  5. Duchess - hope the storm wasn't too bad, yes we are nearer Bergen in Norway than we are to Edinburgh on the mainland of scotland! Fish and chips are a real treat and so tasty from here.

    FBMKW - lovely to see you - they do indeed have the yellowest yolks, almost orange.

    Red studio - hello! The cayenne did wonderfully last year - but was very hot, which I didn't expect., Explosive ember is a rainbow chilli - beautiful and hadn't thought of feeding to enemies...........I love chillis I don't think I'd sarafice any to people I wasn't fond of!

    I knew I shouldn't have posted about lovely weather - its back to normal today - horrible, windy and rainy - hey ho, at least we had a good day yesterday!

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  6. Hi Fay, not sure what the best bit of all that is, free daffs, selling seeds, starting to sow or guilt-free fish and chips! Wonderful.

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  7. "From December to March, there are for many of 
    us three gardens: 
    the garden outdoors, 
    the garden of pots and bowls in the house, 
    and the garden of the mind's eye."
    -   Katherine S. White

    Your preparations put me in mind of this quote :)

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  8. Hi Fay,
    You've got it all going on at your place.Well done to your son on his results too.It can be a tough time for them(and us).

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  9. Great post Fay. Will have show David your picture of scapa flow. We have a beautiful art print of it hanging in our bedroom and he talks of it a lot. We also love to have fish and chips whilst sitting in the car at the Beach in Ynyslas. For me that is a really romantic date.
    I love the label on the egg boxes by the way

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  10. First visit here and I am intrigued by the whole thing here... the windswept harsh landscape and isolated gardening feel. Very gothic in some way. I'll be following.

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  11. Great, fun post, I had to laugh at your ten days of the year with no wind. You are beginning to make me feel Aberdeen is almost tropical, well it does have the rain. Today forecast was said to expect 15c, I think it reached 12c. You are doing well with the eggs, wonder if I should get a few chickens.

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  12. Alistair you're positively in the tropics! We did get upto to 10 today but with a 25mph wind chill - it felt cooler. Consider hens - I love them - I've had every combination from 2 to 12 - they are wonderful pets - clear up any waste from the garden if you lob it in - and are happy if penned in with your latest compost heap - perfect gardeners pets. We're luck we have got 6 eggs a day from the girls since they arrived - and now we've the new hens we're upto 8 a day.

    If ever there was an award for the perfect recycling machine, it would be for a chookie!

    Hope the sun shines on you tomorrow!

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  13. Jess welcome to the choas - always a bit random - the landscape here is very gothic - I don't feel very alone anymore gardening here - I have a romp around a few lovely blogs and I get my gardening mojo back!

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  14. Janet wonderful isn't it - I love the potential of it all at this time of year and the days are getting longer - however i have to say I have garden rhubarb envy from your wordless wednesday post - mine is just peaking through!!!

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  15. Julie tough times indeed!!!! Mums need to have badges for these times of year!!

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  16. Jane

    "From December to March, there are for many of
    us three gardens:
    the garden outdoors,
    the garden of pots and bowls in the house,
    and the garden of the mind's eye."
    - Katherine S. White


    How true - what a wonderful poem - In my mind my garden looks wonderful - I've even bought some Cerinthe major purperescens - I love that plant - it doesn't mind a coastal garden and I so want to see it later this year - not only in my mind!!

    Thank you!

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  17. Terrific! How cute is your egg label!!!! Good on your son too. I was thinking it was cold here for summer today...only 25deg...then read your post calling 6deg balmy LOL I just can't complain! Rainbow chillies sound lovely!

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  18. Ps The Bok Flock ask you to please leave a few cheery daffodils in the chook coop! For their feathered Orkney pals!!

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