Harvesting, preserving, eating July 2021

Mainly chard (and weeds), but also some carrots in the left foreground, July 2021

I've been using my wall calendar to tally up daily totals of garden food and this month, July 2021, has seen every day filled up--for those days with other appointments my writing has become very small to fit everything.  We've done a daily trek to the allotment for berries, first strawberries and now rasps; first broad beans and now peas.  I think the raspberries and peas are finally both slowing down a little.

Cherries, raspberries, redcurrants (and strawberries below) July 2021

So many berries this month!  We have eaten some fresh and made plenty of jam, but many have gone in the freezer as we simply can't keep up.  I even started a jug of redcurrant wine;  I anticipate it will be brewing all over winter.  It's the first time I've attempted it.

Also on the menu is plenty of leafy greens: we're daily alternating between cabbage and chard this month.  The globe artichokes at the allotment have suddenly taken off and I've been trying to keep on top of them too;  I brine the hearts after cooking and they go great in a salad.  Other allotment winners:  garlic and rhubarb.  We even got a little bit of tasty lettuce before the pigeons found it.  And those peas have just kept coming and coming:  we've been eating them daily and thankfully no one's sick of them yet.

And I've scored some free food from other allotmenters again this summer, though perhaps not as much as in the past;  maybe they think I've been there long enough to be growing enough myself!  But a couple of cucumbers were made into dill pickle relish (with our own garlic and dill), gooseberries became jam, and redcurrants joined my own in the wine jug.

State of the flock, July 2021

 

The inmates, July 2021

We currently have eight hens and six ducks (three females, two males, one undecided) spread around the property.  

First up are seven hens in their old yard and coop, mostly stuck behind bars.  They have had short free range sessions, but not very regularly.  My bad, really.  I haven't wanted to go out and supervise because of my hayfever;  the husband and son have their own excuses for neglecting them too.  My hayfever is thankfully abating (and was not quite as severe this year) so I really should get them out once a day.

Next are Cookie and the duckling whom we call Peep.  They get to free range on the lawn, to the chagrin of all the other birds.  We are still not sure if Peep is a boy or girl, but are tending towards boy;  the son says girl, but that may be wishful thinking, as he doesn't want us to kill Peep.  But if Peep really is a boy, he's going to be dinner as we just cannot have another drake;  even two is too many and three would be way too hard on the females.  I have promised to do the actual kill though to be honest, I'm hoping Peep is a girl myself.  July 31st is Judgment Day--less than two weeks away.

In better accommodation, July 2021

Our last flock are the above mentioned ducks.  Up until about two weeks ago, the new Cherry Valley ducks were still being mercilessly harassed and even attacked by our two drakes, but since the drakes have begun molting, they seem to have calmed down, and the white ducks have even been allowed to approach and even enter the pond, and come within a few meters of the other three.  Our older female, the Campbell, has been much less aggressive towards them and would no doubt accept them into the flock if the boys weren't around.  All of the adult ducks are in a large yard encompassing the Perennials section, pond, and Robot Club (the small section next to our garage).

Eggs?  Around 3 or 4 daily from the hens, and maybe one a week from the ducks--who don't lay in a dedicated nest, so could be laying more.

If Peep survives Judgment Day, she'll go in with the other ducks;  and either way, Cookie will be rejoining the chickens at that time, and all chickens will be returning to the allotment in the autumn, once the main harvest in their old yard there is finished (the growth is simply amazing!).

Weedy, July 2021

Should be veggies, but is mostly weeds, July 2021

Not only is my allotment a weedy haven, even my own vegetable garden at home is a bit overwhelmed.  The main difference between the two is the type of weeds.  At the allotment it's those difficult biennial and perennial weeds like grass, nettles and dock (among others).  At home it's the softer annual and biennial weeds, many of which are actually self seeded vegetables and flowers:  chard, poppies and celery to name a few.  But they have the same thing in common:  they are growing instead of the vegetables I planted/sowed.

At least something I sowed is growing! Kohl rabi, July 2021

 

I have a plan for both places, though I'm not in a position to implement it just yet.  However, here it is.  

For the allotment:

I will be sheet mulching all beds as they become vacant.  This means putting down cardboard and paper and topping with a thick layer of straw and manure from the onsite stables.  Even if I don't plan on replanting straight away, I will be sheet mulching.  I just finished harvesting the last sugar snap peas and gave that bed the sheet mulch treatment;  soon the broad beans will get it too.  When planting, whether this year or in spring, all beds will stay heavily mulched to keep the weeds from germinating again.

For the vegetable garden:

At the end of the season, chickens and/or ducks will be allowed to tidy up for an extended period.  When replanting in the spring, rows will be spaced further apart and a regime of hoeing will be introduced (unfortunately it's too late for effective hoeing this season).  For the present, hand weeding will continue as time permits.

Food totals, June 2021

Spring cabbages next to the house, June 2021

 

Vegetables

 

9.5 oz salad greens (lettuce, miners lettuce, chard, mizuna, escarole)

58.5 oz chard

4 oz lettuce

7.5 oz leeks

8 oz cabbage greens

16 oz garlic bulb and scapes

10.5 oz snap peas

5 oz rhubarb

Total: 119 oz, or 7 lb 7 oz

Fruit

 

27.5 oz strawberries

Eggs

98 eggs from 11 adult birds