Nom, nom, nom!

Got to Holdenby yesterday to discover that spraying the lettuces and beans has not deterred the bunnies (you'd think chilli and garlic spray would be nasty, eh?). At least they didn't eat everything, and actually, were quite civilised about their noshings, taking only a few bites from each lettuce! Something's been at the peas though, and I'm not sure what. I've taken photos of some of the pods so later on when I get time, I'll do some detective work.

Actually cleared one pea bed as it was just about finished anyway, and got a few pickings which we had with our dinner last night. Harvested from the other pea bed too, so that's dinner tonight as well! Harvested a shedload of salad and am desperately hoping that the rest of the lettuces (under nets, so untouched by buns) won't bolt while we're away next week.

The runner beans have just started to flower, as has the Hungry Gap kale. To be honest, I'm surprised the kale has lasted so long - it's still producing loads of leaves! I've decided to let it get on with flowering now, as I'll need the seed for the next lot. I'll definitely grow it again, especially as this one just didn't prove appealing to critters!

The cabbages are doing brilliantly - I am so pleased with them. They are starting to heart up, so with any luck, we'll get a good autumn crop. Also found a volunteer cabbage when we cleared the peas - it must have been one of the ones we thought had been munched by pigeons just after the snow. We've now replanted it bed #1 in the hope that it will survive (it had been munched again).

Removed all the spinach from bed #1 - it didn't do well there. In fact, few of the plants I bought from Plants by Post have done very well. I'm definitely going to sow spinach seed next time. Last year's did really well (until the snow came), so I think direct sowing is the way to go.

One thing we did discover is that the pea bed we haven't staked has been pretty productive. I don't know if letting the plants do their own thing is responsible but compared to the staked ones, there is a huge difference. The plants themselves are far more healthy and robust too.

Rook Parliament

After several hours of weeding at Holdenby, we decided to call it a day. Before we left, we just sat in the sun and chilled out with a can of Pepsi.... until we heard the most incredible squawking coming from the next field. The rooks were all going rather mad! I managed to get some of it on video (my skills as a camera-person leave a lot to be desired, for which I apologise).

At the time, we had no idea what was going on - we supposed it was an interloper. However, we've now discovered it was most likely a 'rook parliament'. Legend has it that one of their number is 'put on trial' and if found guilty, put to death. In reality, it's a way of dealing with sick and ailing rooks. Whatever the reason for it, the outcome is generally the same - death to the individual. In this case, I suspect the one which I thought sounded like a younger bird, in retrospect, it was probably just weak cry of the 'victim'.

It went on for at least 10 minutes (in fact, we left before it had finished), and at one point they all chased the victim away. However, it swiftly returned, and the others then resumed the swooping and pecking.

I know it's the law of nature but I still find myself feeling rather sad about it.

My Little Bit of Eden!

Well, maybe not quite but when Kevin and I were up there last evening, it occurred to me that what I love most about this project is the tranquility and the sense of calm I get whenever I am there. Yesterday the horses were in the field, the chestnuts in full flower, and our crops growing marvelously well. Add to that the stillness and peace, and I was one incredibly chilled and happy woman!

On Sunday we were up there for four hours in the baking sun, which didn't please Kevin one bit - unlike me, he doesn't do well in the heat. Still, he soldiered on and finished the willow fence around bed #7 and dug in some more coir. We both then went into the woods to forage for sticks with which to build a teepee for the beans and to support the peas. I think he was glad to get into the shade!

Rather annoyingly, my back decided it was going to give out half way through staking the peas but I managed to get the teepee done first. I was very pleased with it!

Oh, and I swear the cabbages have doubled in size since last weekend!

Yesterday we put in the runner beans. In 1642, although they were pretty widely grown in England, it was for their flowers, not the beans (they had field beans for that). We've chosen scarlet-flowered beans, as these are appropriate for the period (even if not the exact variety of 400 years ago!), and of course, we WILL be eating the beans!

I was going to put sweet peas in at the same time but a couple of nights ago, something got into our garden at home (yes, the walled courtyard!) uprooted them from their pots. They also had a go at the cavolo nero. Grrrr. Fortunately it looks like I've only lost one of the latter and a couple of the former but they're in a bit of a sorry state. I'll give them a week or so to recover and then get them in at Holdenby.

Also planted out some land cress between the beans, around the edges of the bed. I'm wondering whether to put the kale in the centre - there's a lot of space which is not being used but of course, this is going to become pretty shady once the beans and sweet peas grow up the teepee, so I think a fast-growing crop is out really. Anyone have any suggestions?

Dock and thistles are still very much a bane of my life - so much so that I am giving serious consideration to putting some chemicals down when the current crops in bed #8 are done. I loathe the idea of using weekiller but we just can't keep on top of the dock and thistles, despite 10 months of constantly digging them out. In truth, I suspect that we've probably made it worse because of leaving behind broken bits of roots, which of course, then grow into more plants. Anyway, I haven't quite made my mind up yet - use weedkiller to get rid of the problem once and for all, or just continue to hurt my back (and have a grumpy partner!) trying to dig them out, knowing that they'll keep coming back, competing with the crops? It's a tricky one.

Back to the good news though; the peas are now podding, and we've been eating fresh garden/herby salads twice a day, every day since the weekend! I don't know if it's this or the weather, but I am in a very happy place right now!

May 15th/16th: EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL!

We didn't manage to get up last weekend so of course, today we arrived to see triffids in the garden! OK, they may have been docks but they were huge! Still, everything else has got pretty huge too, so I'm not complaining. We even have a large nettle crop, so I'm considering nettle beer....or fertiliser! Definitely soup though!

I dyed some Blue-Faced Leicester with madder on Friday and took it up to Holdenby to dry in the sun. I would have dyed it up there if not for my very 21st century dye pots! There was a lot of interest from the MoPs (Members of the Public) though, so I'm looking into getting some decent sized cauldrons which I'll be able to use up there.

I picked the first of the kale and sautéed it in butter, over an open fire, with home-grown squash, chives and garlic leaves. It was delicious and authentic fare but I wish I’d cooked more!

Oh, and the willow fencing is growing! Heheh!

It took Kevin and I the best part of the day to weed all of the beds (Kevin did more than me!), although in fairness, we were stopping to speak to the public quite a bit. In addition, I discovered the limitations of trying to garden in heavily-boned 17th century stays! I'm considering either making new ones or removing some of the bones. Of course, I'd prefer to have reed bents instead of spiral steel but finding a supplier is one thing - affording them is quite another! I'll have a look at the next living history fair I go to.

But I digress!

Kevin started building a willow fence around bed 7 but is trying out a new design, so it's a bit slower going than it was with the others. I'm really impressed; he loathes practical stuff like this but he seems to be enjoying it at the moment.

In addition, he appeared to be having a great time talking to the public...but then he *had* spent the last month cramming so he could be sure of what he was talking about! We're both something of authenti-fascists when it comes to living history, and it's really important to us that we don't give the public inaccurate information. I know not everyone takes this approach, and some even think it's OK to fill in the gaps in their knowledge with stuff they've just made up (or worse, seen in a Hollywood movie - I kid you not!), but we're not like that. I hand-stitch our kit, and use as close to period fabrics as possible! Anally-retentive, moi?!

Of course, the Holdenby garden isn't 100% authentic but we are quick to tell people that while the design is correct for the period, it is actually better suited to a higher status person; however, we're only growing crops which would be available to the kind of person living in the cottage (i.e. a farm labourer).

The reason for this compromise is because to do something completely authentic according to status, we'd end up with something visually unappealing to the paying public. Since we don't own the land, we want to make sure that we give the owner as much value as possible. Especially since he pays us £200 a year for the upkeep of the cottage and garden.

In previous centuries, almost everyone (in England) lived on farms, and grew their own food, but by 1642, around a half of the population was dependent on wages. (One modern study shows that whereas in 89% of a rural population had land beyond their own cottage and garden in 1560, by 1620 that figure had dropped to 60%, making these (nearly half of) rural households, like their urban cousins, entirely wage-dependent.) And while the number of large farms was increasing, smallholdings were dwindling. It was the rise of the wage-based labour-market.

While much food was bought, almost everyone had a garden, from which vegetables, pot- and 'physick' herbs could be grown and gathered. A labourer's cottage in the country would include its own garden, and even in the impoverished East End of London, one third of houses had a garden.

However, food bills accounted for around 80% of people's wages, particularly those at the lower end of the social scale, so it made sense to use every scrap of land available to them to grow as much food as possible to supplement this. For us to do this at Holdenby, it would mean that the public wouldn't really be able to walk around the garden and have a look at everything. Hence, we opted for an in-period-but-not-status-correct-layout! As I said before, we do tell people that this is a representation and not exactly as it would have been!

Next job is to finish the fences, and forage for pea-sticks. Mind you, I think I'm going to do a bit more research into how peas were grown because certainly in the middle ages, there were pease fields, which I'm sure were not staked, so I'm wondering whether in the 17th century they would have been. At the moment, the peas are looking quite wild and straggly, and since I want some intercrops, I'm hoping that I will find that they would have had sticks as supports!

Also on the agenda is building a teepee for the runner beans and planting out the gazillion beans and sweet peas sitting in my garden at home, waiting to be put in the soil! Runner beans at this time were grown for their scarlet flowers, not the beans! I'm not sure when people discovered they could actually eat them! I've also got some land cress which needs to go in, carrot seedlings (purple of course!) and quite a few herbs. However, I'm loathe to put them in until they can take care of themselves!

Happy days!

April 4th: THE REGIMENT ARRIVES!

… or rather, a few of them did (James & Vivienne, Matt & Hannah plus Bob (not Kate!), Krusty, and Sam & Andy)! They helped with planting out (replacement broad beans, peas, spinach, beetroot and cabbage), weeding and securing the beds (plus did some more repair work to the chimney stack).

Things are definitely picking up in the garden, and now that we’re covering the beds with chicken wire when we’re not there, there’s been no more bunny damage. Hoorah!

I moved the leeks from bed 7 into bed 1 in the hopes that they will do better there, since this has had much more dug into it. Bed 7 will benefit from the addition of organic matter (coir) and a fence before the runner beans go in. We also planted five plum saplings up on the bank. The orchard-ette is growing!

March 21st: THIS JUST ISN’T BUNNY!

So, after surviving the snow, just as we thought we were back on track, in came the rabbits and dug & chomped their way through our crops. We now have nothing but the garlic, onions, a handful of leeks, and the kale. Bloomin’ nuisance. Time for chicken wire, I think.

The dark patches of soil are where I filled in the holes. Bah!

Garth very generously volunteered to lurk on bunny duty!

February 7th: WILLOW FENCING…

Now that the snow has gone, we can get on and build some low willow fencing around the beds. Neither of us has done anything like this before, so it’s a bit of a learning curve. And speaking of curves… the bed I did has plenty of them! I like the wibbly wobbly walls though, so ner!

It’s good to see things springing into life again – I’m so glad!

Oh, and we planted our first apple tree up on the bank (generously donated by James and Vivienne).

January 9th: ‘SNOW FUN THA’ KNOWS!

It’s been snowing again and the garden is covered. We went up to Holdenby to check the damage…oh dear. Why didn’t we harvest the rocket, spinach and other salad before the snow came? It was all doing so well a couple of weeks ago, and now it is mostly gone. I’m very sad about it.

Most of the brassicas have survived however, and the winter lettuce seedlings look ok, as do the turnips, so all is not lost. It’s still galling though.