tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69005843829993482552012-01-01T06:44:13.977+01:00We are not Tom and Barbara from 'The Goodlife' but we could be!Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.comBlogger591100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-56774524855065633902008-02-17T22:30:00.008+01:002008-02-21T14:27:44.162+01:00

This year I have decided to grow 4 different kinds of Tomatoes they are:1.Neve's Azorean Red (from Plants of Distinction)2.The Dutchman (from Plants of Distinction)3.Moneymaker4.AlicanteLast year wasn't very succesful on the Tomato front as I didn't have a Greenhouse but this year my Greenhouse is all ready to go,I dug the Greenhouse floor out to about 3ft deep,filled this with compost,soil

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-88441967879813061712008-02-13T22:14:00.004+01:002008-02-20T00:12:32.526+01:00

Sowing Seeds.... We have had 3 lovely warm days so far this week so,I repaired my Green house door glazing,the wind had blown it clean off,it landed on the ground and smashed three panes of glass,so I bought some Silver tape and stuck some clear thick polythene over it and its done the job great (got really hot in there today). I potted some Broadbeans up a few weeks ago (Red Epicure) into

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-14886089038332133462008-02-02T23:55:00.000+01:002008-02-03T00:55:16.676+01:00

I went up to the allotment early today,couldn't wait to see what the Chickens would do when they saw SNOW for the first time! I opened the hatch doors and they sort of rushed to the door to all fly out like they normally do every morning,and then all came to a halt as if to say "oh my god whats this on the floor"?, some stood on the duck boards and others came out slowly but flying from one

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-4992778714731054722008-01-30T15:49:00.000+01:002008-01-30T16:09:34.373+01:00

Home to Let in the Lancashire countryside,one bedroom with comfy nesting area,newly painted,easy access,would suite a small couple for their first home,great views accross the valley,surrounding area includes:a pond,lots of food available locally,very quiet area....no deposit required,available to move into right away,first to see will be let.Please see Pictures below... :-)Click on the

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-69073227012446034032008-01-21T11:42:00.000+01:002008-01-22T00:35:34.346+01:00

Havn't updated for a while due to not being able to do much around the allotment because my ankle is still sore, 'still?' I hear you say,It's been ages now since I broke my ankle on the allotment but it just wont go right,now its really swollen and cant find any shoes to fit me,apart from my old manky,muddy allotment boots. Anyway I have decided to go through my recent photos and post some on

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-11030379037758635712008-01-07T13:01:00.000+01:002008-01-24T12:15:56.334+01:00

Do you know about the life your fresh supermarket chickens led before they reached the table? Few people know about the conditions suffered by most broiler chickens - those reared for meat. For most UK broiler chickens, rearing conditions are unacceptably intensive, as farmers are put under pressure to produce poultry as quickly and cheaply as possible. These birds live short lives, in cramped

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-2533862674119294992007-11-13T10:39:00.000+01:002007-11-15T10:19:28.644+01:00

I have bought lots of different Bulbs over the last weeks from here and there,Tulips,Daffs,Narcissi(mini),Aliums etc, and after watching Monty on Gardeners World last Friday I thought it best to set about getting them in the ground,(well, me supervising whilst balancing on the crutches that is).Infact I have gone a bit mad with the Bulbs actually because in Spring I want to be able to collect

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-33756207582690712052007-10-22T16:26:00.000+01:002007-10-31T10:33:35.380+01:00

Me and Tanya finally picked the Pumpkins today,I was watching Jamie at Home programme the other night and he was making roasted Pumpkin with Salt,Black pepper,and olive oil,roasted in the oven for approx 45 mins,the Pumpkin wedges are now in the oven roasting for tea and Tanya has just informed me that they smell delicious! (I have no sense of smell ya see). The other 3 Pumpkins arnt quite ripe

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-20641964774270932862007-10-19T10:05:00.000+01:002007-11-13T11:12:13.202+01:00

The Hens have been laying really well this week and we collected an egg yesterday weighing in.. at are you ready?... 80g It's a huge egg the biggest so far, When we first got the Hens they were laying 55g and 62g eggs I thought they were big. So I am going to have the Egg for my dinner on toast today,Thankyou to whoever laid that one. UPDATE: The HUGE egg was a double yolker! and very

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-38178712412372232882007-10-18T08:39:00.001+01:002007-10-18T08:39:14.026+01:00

Funny snippets of people,ducks,geese,pelicans and other birds

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-64385812610155215692007-10-17T08:53:00.000+01:002007-10-17T09:05:25.401+01:00

The Pumkins are turning Orange now,very slowly albeit but they should be ready for Halloween. I don't think we did too bad for our first attempt. I watched the Programme Jamie at home last night and he was cooking Pumpkins and Squash so I picked up a couple of good recipes i will be trying them out when the Pumpkins are ready. Next year I am going to grow some unusual Squash see how I go with

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-85814192453762985382007-10-13T20:48:00.001+01:002007-10-13T20:48:36.412+01:00

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-64978996497668251982007-10-13T00:35:00.000+01:002007-10-13T01:02:26.581+01:00

Sign up for the chicken Out! Campaign ....Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (River Cottage) is fronting the chicken out! Campaign to change the way Broiler chickens are housed and treated prior to being slaughtered for cheap supermarket chicken.Do you know about the life your fresh supermarket chickens lead before they reach your table? Rearing conditions for most chickens in the UK are unacceptably

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-26067836902271650002007-10-07T20:02:00.000+01:002007-10-10T09:02:06.977+01:00

We went to pick 4, 8 weeks old ducks up from Southport yesterday,kindly given to us by my brothers friends relatives,lovely people who love chickens and ducks just like us,when we arrived at the house I thought the ducks would be tiny only being 8 weeks old but no they are huge,and gorgeous,they had a good car journey home and we got the food and water ready for them,we let them out of the boxes

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-46836876766978694032007-10-01T08:10:00.000+01:002007-10-01T09:19:22.934+01:00

First of all I must appolagise for the absence of my updates,there is a very good reason for it,no,there is honest.Last Sunday I was pottering around the allotment it was about 3:30pm not a drop of rain insite,lovely day so I thought I would make scrambled egg on toast (the hens are laying really well now and we had quite a few that day). So I set everything up in my little shed,got the kettle on

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-9188504437426024892007-09-16T20:32:00.000+01:002007-09-16T23:57:30.102+01:00

Today me Tanya and Adam went to pick wild Blackberries,me and Tanya collected well over a pound and I decided to make Blackberry Pie! (I know,me cooking) this has to be a first,never made this in my life,the only pie I have ever made is Cheese and Onion pie (without the onions) and a meat pie years ago so here goes with the Blackberry Pie. I got a recipe off a website for a plain simple Pie 3

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-914152803285707512007-09-09T22:37:00.000+01:002007-09-09T23:09:10.844+01:00

The Pumpkin is 20" in diameter now,growing everyday,feeding every other day now...More soonB-J

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-11899049790316555612007-08-31T01:04:00.000+01:002007-09-09T22:37:27.476+01:00

Finally we have a pumpkin growing on one of the vines,I never thought I would see one it was taking ages to grow,but here it is. The vines are really long now and reaching right accross the other bed,hopefully there will be a Pumpkin growing on the other vines soon,I feed them 9 litres of water each a day (thats how big my can is) with Tomorite every 3 days,this seems to be working ok at the

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-19240086745820716472007-08-27T09:09:00.000+01:002007-08-27T09:54:55.805+01:00

Tanya found an egg this morning in the bigger hutch,its very big weighing in at 2.20oz (62g) this is alot bigger compaired to the egg we got a couple of weeks ago 1.90 oz (55g). The chickens are now on vitamins with their food to give them a boost after some of them have molted and they have been unwell.The Thoery is young hens lay more smaller ones in the first laying season and fewer bigger

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-52695031342592233812007-08-15T01:39:00.000+01:002007-08-15T02:36:43.064+01:00

On Sunday me Paul and Tanya went to West Bradford for a run out and came accross a car boot sale and a Village show,we wandered around a while and I picked up a nice egg basket and some pickling jars,after getting bored of the showers we went into the village hall to get a cup of tea and noticed there were some judges in the hall and a notice on the door saying "Do not enter judging in progress"

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-14998920154792598652007-08-10T22:06:00.000+01:002007-08-10T23:20:54.522+01:00

Today, me and Tanya cut down some Broadbean plants and shelled them sat in the sun on the allotment,I have left loads more Broadbean plants still growing for a while as the pods are still a bit small,the Spring Onions are lovely too and Tanya added them to her scrambled egg on toast,made with our own fresh eggs of course,

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-55649452383498972652007-08-10T11:41:00.000+01:002007-08-10T12:17:05.406+01:00

I collected this egg (on the left) yesterday weighing in at 1.90 oz (55g) flippin eck!the egg on the right is from one of the black and white chickens weighing in at just 1.25 oz this is her first egg,these will get bigger in time.and not a sound from the coop either,we will have to find some big slices of bread to go with these eggs! http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-30908646169817652822007-08-09T10:36:00.000+01:002007-08-09T10:41:32.398+01:00

I planted this tree in early Spring this year in the nature garden at the bottom of the allotment, it flowered soon after and as you can see we have Apples! They are starting to turn green underneath now,can't wait to eat one of these.

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-80313611706393948352007-08-04T10:14:00.000+01:002007-08-06T09:43:19.057+01:00

My First Pumpkin flower appeared yesterday and opened today,all say awwww...This Flower has a Pumpkin behined it,so this is the Female flower...I can't help with polination yet as there are no more flowers on the other two plants yet. any tips? Leave a comment..

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-91738528853324615402007-07-31T13:36:00.000+01:002007-08-03T16:59:42.682+01:00

http://www.rivercottage.net/SeasonalityTables/Default.aspx?fid=1This is a great Seasonality table of whats good at the moment in July and August,fruit,Veg, Meat etc...

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-28909899541687551202007-07-30T22:35:00.001+01:002007-07-31T13:31:08.552+01:00

Well this is my Trug of Vegetables from my allotment,the trug was bought from the Only Foals and Horses sale at the farm for 50p so I am well impressed with that bargain! lots of peas,broadbeans,broccoli,spring onins,a green pepper,beetroot,and some maris piper potatoes,collected yesterday. The Peas are lovely and sweet. The Sweetcorn is growing well now and already has a flower on one of the

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-26912160104833254642007-07-26T13:56:00.000+01:002007-07-26T22:50:18.911+01:00

It's time to start thinking about sowing and planting the Winter Vegetables,seems strange thinking of winter when we feel like we havn't even had a summer,I mean the Tomatoes havn't even turned red yet and it's already nearly the end of July!The Parsnips have gone in along side the Leeks and the swede,lovely long rows of them ready for picking around October-November hopefully,if the summer has

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-12507494790093446322007-07-22T23:29:00.000+01:002007-07-23T01:01:29.129+01:00

This is Rothwell........ The newest member of the Chicken family down at O.A.V!But wait it's a Rabbit! Yes it's Rothwell the Allotment Rabbit,(Rothers for short) found by Paul at the top of Rothwell Ave and this is how he got his name,he lives with the Chickens,eats with the Chickens and sleeps with the chickens,none of them mind at all, except Molly my white silkie Hen but she has gone broody

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-50344096094993283942007-07-11T12:10:00.000+01:002007-07-11T12:21:33.291+01:00

The Broadbeans (Sutton) are growing really well now and already some lovely big pods on them.Despite the rain and the flooded beds they have kept going through it all,well done the Beans.The Chicken's also have a new bigger area now,we have moved further into the next plot and extended the run for them,4 Cockerils went and I got 3 new pullets and 2 new little black and white spotted chickens,

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-68138320501364720612007-07-04T14:25:00.000+01:002007-07-11T12:09:55.497+01:00

Ok hands up who wants a green house like this?Me that's for sure,but let's face it most of us only have enough room and enough money in the bank for a humble 8x6 aluiminum one!I got a new Green House this week (Well new to me) and we have put it up on the new part of the allotment,a shed is being put up there too soon, but first we have to sort out the this flippin Green House,we bought it from

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-73411394706666275132007-07-01T21:42:00.000+01:002007-07-01T22:41:41.719+01:00

Well, the last few days has seen sooo much water on the allotment that I am begining to get webbed feet I think! The Chickens apparantly don't seem to mind the wet weather at all,they are still running around in the mud,clucking and crowing as usual but if the water gets any deeper they will have to learn to swim. The pen is soo muddy and slippy and yes, I did fall in there the other day and did

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-39812460684189010992007-06-16T02:23:00.000+01:002007-06-16T02:28:10.322+01:00

The Maris Piper Potatoes,gowing in,shooting up ,now being eaten. All took 8/9 weeks lovely!

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-66797454008856420192007-06-16T02:16:00.000+01:002007-06-16T02:21:13.709+01:00

Today we went up to the allotment to dig up some Maris Piper potatoes,we dug some up last week but they were small, so this week they have grown a bit more.They are lovely,boiled in a little salt water, then cut up with a bit of pepper and butter over them,great in a salad.

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-89071046189628180032007-06-12T22:37:00.000+01:002007-06-13T00:49:53.094+01:00

If you have plenty of broad beans growing (like me) you will need some recipes.....SPILLING THE BEANS ON BEANS Broad beans gravitate towards pork, and are often found mingling with bacon and luxurious hams like pancetta. Vegetarian beans like a bit of wine and butter, and maybe a sprinkling of parsley or mint. Baby beans are boiled for 5 minutes and eaten with the skin on, but older ones like to

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-88603534635789505472007-06-01T23:45:00.000+01:002007-06-01T23:55:14.613+01:00

I thought I would post these pictures ... Just coming back from getting the Manure and I spotted these lovely lambs in the field so I got a photo of them,they were really friendly and no Mum sheep around so maybe they have been bottle fed...all say awwwwwwHas Summer arrived? It make's ya think of all those lovely warm sunny days to come....Bless....B-J x

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-67912961166477379352007-06-01T10:47:00.000+01:002007-10-09T08:30:29.116+01:00

Well in May we decided this is where the pond is going to be,this area is in the nature garden at the bottom of the allotment,so let the digging comence!Next the pond liner went in then along came the....RAIN....So a bit of bailing out was required. Paul and Scott did a great job didn't even let Rain stop dig!Finally the pond was filled and the sun came out,we even have a little female mallard

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-12646435469361418542007-05-12T00:44:00.000+01:002007-05-12T00:57:22.892+01:00

Grow your own the movie starts June 15th....This is great a film all about life on an allotment,good old british comedy at its best,Check out the website its great,there is a trailer to watch too...It's pretty much what happens on an allotment...well it is at ours anyway,sat around drinking tea and eating biccy's,oh and then there is the odd bit of digging. update on the allotment soon,pond,

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-65019143352760742272007-04-22T11:39:00.000+01:002007-04-25T13:18:27.888+01:00

I was planning on sewing the Broad beans today but I think I will give it a miss as it is raining here but seems to be clearing slowly,if it fines up I think I will go up to the allotment and sew them,first we are going to Chorley to collect a ton bag of stone chipping from my friend Ann who has kindly donated them to us for the allotment,I am going to use them on the paths around the beds and

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-76371122217261996322007-04-22T11:10:00.000+01:002007-04-22T11:32:37.420+01:00

At 12:04 Thursday night one little Black Araucana Chick hatched in the incubator...We didn't think it would survive but it has and it is eating and drinking well now, cuddled up in the box all cozy and warm.Let's hope she will turn out to be a lovely little hen laying lovely little blue eggs for us....MOLLY AND HER CHICKSIs doing fine with her 9 chicks,eating a bit of porridge every morning with

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-2986201013512794592007-04-13T00:07:00.000+01:002007-04-13T00:09:50.388+01:00

A Great Tit on the bird table,they are getting tamer those birds,they jump on the table when your stood right in front of it.

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-19936228256612466432007-04-12T23:33:00.000+01:002007-04-22T11:35:46.394+01:00

WELL....Things have been happening here....We come back from a lovely week in Spain to visit our friends,and we though right we will get stuck into the allotment,so first thing was to manure the veg bed,I bought 4 bags of manure for £1 a bad well rotted I must say! they were from Only Foals and Horses animal sanctuary,were incidently Paul got attacked by a very grumpy looking Turkey,that will

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-59801027133576492982007-04-01T20:22:00.000+01:002007-04-01T20:38:45.883+01:00

This is a selection of seeds I am taking over to Spain tomorrow to give to Kay,she was telling me her soil over there is very dry and almost like an orange colour so I told her I had a soil testing kit and I would bring it,also I am taking some Kalvedon Wonder Peas,some Parsnips (tender and true) , Oinions (Brunswicker) ,and seeds for the poached egg plant (Limnanthes Douglasii) ,these flowers

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-67559181164769637572007-04-01T13:13:00.000+01:002007-04-01T13:17:34.851+01:00

Today we went up to the allotment and made a bird table...this is in the area that is going to be for nature right down at the bottom of the allotment.

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-61109580208618100322007-03-31T18:33:00.000+01:002007-03-31T18:56:44.168+01:00

Well we had a great day at the allotment today,we have been up there most of the day and came home about 6pm,the sun was shining it was lovely and warm and managed to get loads done.This Morning it was full of willow so Paul dug all of them out of the area where the raised beds are going and is planting the all around the perimeter of the chicken area for shelter and to make a willow hedge all

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-79606135866908355962007-03-30T17:05:00.000+01:002007-03-30T17:54:58.127+01:00

Look at these beautiful smooth perfectly formed greeny blue eggs! these are from a black Aracauna Hybrid chicken,and the other small white eggs are pot luck Batams,and one Frizzle. Tiny white eggs are lovely. The 4 eggs left in the incubator now are dark brown and are Rhode Island Reds.My friend was kind enough to send them to me today,BIG HUG SARAH! so they are going to sit here pointed end down

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-34290158076855887202007-03-29T15:06:00.000+01:002007-03-29T15:09:07.689+01:00

These 4 books are brilliant,the one at the right hand side bottom is my allotment bible and is telling me everything I need to know for when the allotment is up and running properly...and the Starting with chickens book is great too,very easy to understand for a beginner on everything chickeny!

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-87191515925702698222007-03-28T10:19:00.000+01:002007-03-28T10:27:18.429+01:00

Well today is day 6 of the incubation of the Rhode Island Red chickens..The temperature has been constantly between 37.4 and 37.6oC and the humidity between 30% and 35%,I candled one egg last night and saw 'the red spider' inside the egg which indicates the egg is fertile and there is an embryo growing in there at now 6 days old. The 'red spider' is the chicken and the veins coming from it

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-24931377734489601962007-03-25T13:16:00.000+01:002007-03-25T13:39:39.258+01:00

Black Sunflowers.I potted on 25 black sunflower seedlings today,also I potted on 10 single giant sunflowers,the single giant one's are seeds from last years sunflower,I dried the head out and took the seeds out and they came up a treat this year.They are now in the coldframe hardning off,after spending ages repairing the coldframe from all the wind it was in bits.Single Giant Sunflowers. (about

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-10301062518127913152007-03-23T15:14:00.000+01:002007-03-23T15:24:13.951+01:00

I was having a look on the net and I came accross this!To me I think this is wrong even though no chemicals are used and it doesnt harm the Hens or the chickens,it's just a gimmick to sell chicks that maybe people will buy because they are coloured and cute,but what do you do with a chick when it gets to a certain age and gets big?Mmmm just thought I would post this as it did shock me

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-46027603947866500072007-03-23T14:31:00.000+01:002007-03-23T14:49:42.280+01:00

This is day 1.The 6 Eggs are in and steady temp of 37oc,turned 3 to 4 times a day more if I can,the temp and water is checked and charted by me or Tanya,she's really good at it,although she stands at the incubator saying 'oh why wont they hatch now'? and 'OMG I can't wait Mum'! so hopefully (pray to god) the 4 I think will hatch actually do!Tanya is choosing two for herself when they hatch so

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-54173882025193574452007-03-22T19:15:00.000+01:002007-03-22T19:29:33.137+01:00

The Incubator and Rhode Island Red fertilised eggs have arrived!The eggs stood for 6 hours first to settle pointed end down and to bring them up to room temperature,and the Incubator was running empty for the same amount of time to see if everything is working properly.The temperature inside the Incubator has to be 37oC constantly and all that is working fine.Even though the eggs went in today

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-39962669536587523122007-03-21T12:44:00.000+01:002007-03-21T12:59:45.927+01:00

These are the Radishes planted in lovely rows in a wooden box growing nicely,at night I cover them with a fleece as they are outside now and it's Cold, although they are a cold season veg I still want to keep a warm a bit (all say awwww). When the Radish have been pulled and eaten I will plant Carrots in there and keep the box going with veg.Kalvedon Wonder Pea update,These are the peas today

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-87333643430165143452007-03-20T17:27:00.000+01:002007-03-21T12:08:55.842+01:00

We have bought our first Hen house this will fit 6 to 8 Hens in nicely,all the way from Barnsley and we are picking it up Saturday. I decided that we are going to raise 6 chickens from scratch,I have bought the Incubator and some chick crumb and going to start it all soon,all we need now are some eggs to incubate,although we are not guarenteed to hatch all hens we will see what we get.It's all

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-42775713440339464632007-03-17T22:24:00.000+01:002007-03-18T11:59:38.992+01:00

We have Germination!Germination is the first stage of the making of the seedling. The seed of a higher plant is a small package produced in a flower or cone containing an embryo and stored food reserves. Under favourable conditions, the seed begins to germinate, and the embryonic tissues resume growth, developing towards a seedling. Requirements for seed germinationSeed germination depends on

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-52899326812717612422007-03-14T01:43:00.000+01:002007-03-14T02:17:40.483+01:00

Just wanted to let you know that we are on the lookout,we are now looking for wood in the way of boards,planks,doors,struts,floorboards,3x2,floorboards,basically anything that came from a tree we need (the chucks do need somewhere warm to sleep ya know!). We also need a waterbutt and hinges ect...anything you have spare you dont need we will gratefully recieve for the allotment.In return (when we

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-31279100320230093952007-03-13T09:42:00.000+01:002007-03-13T20:39:34.808+01:00

Tumbling Tomato seeds just arrived....SuttonsI had 3 of these plants in an hanging basket last year in full sun at the top of the yard,and they provided little red juicy tomato's all summer,I bought my plants off a lady on a plant stall on a car boot sale and they did great,this year I am growing from seed,so lets see how that goes. Ya can't go far wrong with these though,no pinching out or tying

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-67585594252787496792007-03-12T20:23:00.000+01:002007-03-12T20:32:14.951+01:00

This is the plot courtesy of google Earth....It is huge,but we have big plans.

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-83042540104974308442007-03-11T23:49:00.000+01:002007-03-18T21:50:53.229+01:00

As Head Gardener of O.A.V (that's Our Allotment Venture if you were wondering), I thought it only organised to draw a plan of what is going to go where,so here it is....I know,I know,it's very ambitious! but Rome wasn't built in a day and my Allotment certainly won't be...Well the area is approx 120ft long by 25ft wide!!,Heck! The chicken shed is going at the bottom where the compost stalls will

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6900584382999348255.post-63705284126758158222007-03-11T13:53:00.000+01:002007-03-13T13:54:52.506+01:00

Went to the allotment yesterday (Sat) to see which bit we can stake,we were told we can half of the plot which is good news as we want Chicken's and grow Veg,oh and Paul wants to potter around doing Ray Mears and Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall type things whatever they may be? NOT necking my chickens hopefully! (I love H.F.W he is a cool guy!)This Allotment has a community who are coming from another

Billie-Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14629536065882777247noreply@blogger.com4