An allotment helper, still too many vegetables, making kimchi and ice cream

 

A helper at the allotment, July 2026

That little amphibian pictured above also has a friend, slightly smaller.  A female and a male maybe?  We don't have a pond at the allotment but instead an old pond liner smothering weeds;  it has a dip in the middle that has a continual puddle from watering--our little frog puddle.  This one had been lurking in the zuc patch that day and quickly made its way back to the puddle and the safety of the tomato overgrowth nearby.

Speaking of tomatoes, we (well, the husband mostly) have been picking a reliable 2# every other day this past week.  So far I've been making tomato heavy meals, but supply is starting to outpace demand.  I really want to bottle some--but have very few jars left.  The freezer is seriously full now, and the dehydrator is constantly packed with shredded zuc (we're going to be eating this for the rest of the decade I think).  What to do?

I had another kimchi marathon, making about 9 L over the course of three or four days.  I've got an additional 1.8 L of pak choi kimchi and another 1 L of komatsuma too.  And have been slicing up zuc for fresh/unfermented kimchi as needed.  To me it tastes less spicy when fresh, maybe because it doesn't have the sourness.  The zuc softens down so fast I think it would turn to mush if fermented;  I like the fresh texture, and it has a slight sweetness too.  The Savoy cabbage I used for the majority of the kimchi is much more robust;  I probably won't get to it till autumn or even winter--when the zuc gives up!  I've read that kimchi can last a year or more, although I doubt mine will--I'll eat it long before a year's over.  Unlike with the tomatoes, I don't have to have hermetically sealed jars for kimchi or other fermented vegetables;  the salt and acidity prevents spoilage, so long as the jars are kept tight shut.

The daughter and I are waiting for the figs to ripen, although I also have some trepidation:  it's loaded!  It's been such a hot dry summer, our dessert of choice has been homemade fruit ice cream--no doubt fig will be a delicious flavor.  She and I have gone out on our bikes to the local country park to pick wild blackberries, to tide us over.  They're big and juicy this year;  some years they're small and seedy.  

To make ice cream, I cooked them slightly in a pan with a tiny bit of water, just to soften--they really released a lot of juice.  After cooling down a little, I put the entire contents through my food mill with the smallest plate size to catch all the seeds.  Then refrigerated until cold, sweetened to taste, and gently folded with whipped cream.  I froze this mixture in a variety of containers (some silicone muffin cups and a plastic takeaway tub) and we enjoyed it the next day after dinner.

Gardening goals 2020 revisited

 1 Year Goals (by 1 Jan 2021)

• Extend vegetable self sufficiency by 1 month (7 months total) This goal is canceled for 2020
  
• Set up a chicken coop at the allotment

5 Year Goals (by 1 Jan 2026)

• Fully self sufficient in vegetables and seasonal fruit
• Greenhouse erected 

Other than that, I'll try to get a few other projects done in 2020, but won't put them on the official list:

• Revamp the pond to be prettier and easier to drain/refill (now that our ducks have made it disgusting)
• Set up a rotating firewood store and split all remaining sycamore branches
• Preserve some garden food every month during the Vegetable Challenge
  

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I wrote the above goals back in January 2020, back when life was simpler and no one in our little household had any ideas of any troubles ahead--I simply reduced the amount of goals because I was pregnant and unable to exert myself much.  While I did know Brexit was looming (and has now happened), little did I know there would be an ongoing worldwide pandemic.  

So.  I struck off the first goal!  We got the chickens up at the allotment full time in secure housing this summer.  They are currently not there, being subject to an enclosure order due to an avian flu outbreak:  they're at home in their old yard here.  Goal accomplished nonetheless.

The five year goals are still on unfulfilled.  I think we were close to self sufficiency in seasonal fruit with a lot of it still preserved, whether dried, frozen or bottled.

The unofficial goals--well, at least they were unofficial, because I didn't do them either.  The pond is prettier--as in less ugly.  It's not pretty, and while it's certainly easier to drain, it's a lot harder to fill:  it doesn't really hold water at the moment.  The ducks aren't actually on it--they're stuck with the chickens under cover--so at least it's not disgusting either.

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Goals for 2021?  Probably going to cancel them before I even start.

Some almonds, some to come

Not every almond, Oct 2020

 My almond tree, like the grape vine climbing it, is getting away from me!  It's been producing 100-150 almonds a year for the last few years, and this year looks to be similar--only quite a few are now out of reach.  The husband and son went out and picked a sackful with a ladder;  the husband even climbed onto the garage roof.  

However, some almonds still remain.  We may still get some yet once they fall--if we find them, that is.  The tree is tucked away in a corner we don't visit very often this time of year, though the husband has made it slightly easier to access by putting down a little patio there, next to the newly enlarged duck pond.

New patio next to the duck pond (almond tree trunk at the very back), Sep 2020

Starting to make the pond pretty

Working on the pond, May 2020

Here I am, keeping it real.  I've been talking about a pond refurb for a while now, and while we've been on lockdown, the husband started digging.  The old pump broke (probably too much duck sludge) so the son and I emptied what we could by hand with buckets;  we watered the fruit trees with the disgusting water--it really perked them up after a hot, dry May.

The next day the husband and son took up the paving brick patio and other stones around the pond perimeter, and the pond plants and the old filters, and began to enlarge the hole.  Once it was the right shape and size, they took up the old liner and carefully allowed it to dry and stored it away for a future small fish pond nearer the house (no ducks allowed).

The remaining duck sludge was tipped onto the hole and spread around, and the duck watering tubs were moved down into it.  The next day, as the sludge was a bit drier, the son and I stomped it down and put the paving bricks around the new perimeter.  We also started tipping water into the hole to keep it wet and keep the ducks interested.

The idea is that the ducks will continue to poo and trample the bottom of this bigger pond and gradually seal it.  It does hold a puddle at the bottom now, but it may take all summer or longer.  The husband is a bit skeptical it will work, but I've promised that if it doesn't, we'll do it his way and get a bigger liner.  Either way, I'm also going to put an exit pipe low down in order to drain and refill when needed.  We'll see how it goes.

Too dry...

Like last spring (and the summer before), we have gone several weeks without any rain.  In fact, I think we've had one rain since the start of lockdown, 10 weeks ago;  it wasn't even enough to refill our rain barrels either--they're empty.

However, my other strategies for conserving water are in full swing:  the washing machine exit pipe has been directed to the bed nearest the house;  there is very little bare soil in any of the beds, and I continue to add organic material to the soil such as the contents of the chicken house.  Only the soil around the edges of my patio (nearest the house) is dry enough to require watering.  So far.

However, some of the fruit trees are showing signs of stress:  the Kordia cherry has dropped some immature fruit and the fig has lost some smaller branches.  I've been trying to give all my trees a big drink about once a week, so as not to lose any more fruit.

Today the son and I mostly emptied the pond with buckets and went around watering trees and vegetables with it:  the blackest, smelliest, grossest water ever (ducks are disgusting, honestly).  I'm still planning on revamping the pond both for looks and for ease of draining/filling (with an option to refill with rain water), which will incidently add another water source for my plants.

I really hope it rains soon!

Washing in a bucket, Apr 2020

Making the pond pretty

At least the water's nice and clear, Mar 2018 (last year)

I'm ready for a pond redesign!  We built this one a bit haphazardly, with the main intention of attracting wildlife, and keeping a few goldfish.  It's definitely fulfilled this function (though the goldfish keep disappearing--not sure we still have any).  It's just not that pretty.  But as I've always said, I'd rather have an ugly pond than no pond at all.  And now that I have an ugly pond, I'd rather have a pretty pond;  it's time for an upgrade.

The new pond will switch places with the patio next to it, so we will fill in the old pond as we go.  The filters will be integrated, and the edging will be a bit more formal and uniform, hiding the liner underneath.  We'll save as much of the old pond water as we can, pumping it into a container for temporary storage along with any fish still alive (there were only three last summer and I haven't seen any recently).  It needs to be done quickly, as the frogs and toads will be waking up soon and we don't want to disrupt the breeding season.  Time to get digging.

*A note on pretty:  I try to show pictures of my garden as it really is, not the "pretty" version, which I know goes against all the rules of the internet, and especially blogging!  However, I think always posting "pretty" sets an impossible standard which no one in real life can achieve--it implies that the garden is perfect, and by extension the life is perfect.  I'm not perfect, nor am I aiming for perfection.  I call it Not Pretty.  It doesn't mean Ugly, but rather Real.

Long term projects

Two leeks, regrown from the previous season (sown 2016), Jan 2018

One day I'd like to live on a bigger property, and run it as mixed farm with livestock, orchard and crop gardens--and maybe more.  We're unlikely to be able to afford to buy land in this country, so to fulfill my dream we'd probably have to emigrate elsewhere--or hope we win the lottery (from our once a year ticket!).  We're tentatively planning it for the Long long term, but I accept that it might not come;  we have to weigh up all our needs as well as the available options--for one thing, the husband has a chronic health condition which needs regular monitoring, so a place with a national health service is a must.

But moving on to our (shorter term) long term projects, for the property we live on now.  We're scheduled to pay off our mortgage twelve years from now, although we hope to pay it off early.  There are some projects we want to do specifically to improve the house, but there are also some big garden projects including things which will help with our self reliance.  In no particular order:

Reshape the pond

We sort of threw our pond together over a weekend, and it's haphazardly finished.  Don't get me wrong, it's better than no pond at all and I like it, but I'd like to redig and level it so that the lining doesn't show, and the edges look pretty and professional--and so the filter is integrated and not quite so ugly!  The husband and I were talking about this recently, and I have a definite idea of how I'd like it to look. 

It's probably a job for next winter.

Erect a lean-to greenhouse or conservatory

I've looked online at kits for both of these, and although more expensive, I'm tending towards a conservatory simply because it'll be better for property value.  I want to put it against our house as an extra room leading off from our dining/kitchen.  I want it to grow lots of tomatoes and maybe citrus or other tender fruit.

Because of the prices, we'll have to save up for this one--at least a year or more.

Put up a permanent fence around the chicken yard

As mentioned in previous posts, our chickens luckily don't live permanently in their permanent yard!  They get to rotate through the rest of the property, but their yard is something they always have access to.  Right now, in winter, they're spending a lot of time there so as not to destroy the rest of the garden while it's dormant.  I've put up a slap-dash chicken wire arrangement and I'd like to replace this with a tall-ish picket fence to make it a bit more attractive.  It would still need two gates, and I would still continue my rotation system with them, using the chicken wire as usual. 

This is probably something we could manage to build this year.  In addition:

Put up an archway to the chicken yard

This may go up first, before a fence.  The current entryway to the chicken yard has a very beautiful, very thorny rosebush at the side.  I'd like to put up an arch over the gate, to contain both gate and rose.  I'd probably move a second rose or other climber to the other side.  It's a shady place due to the mature horse chestnut tree at the back, so not an optimal food growing place.

Extend the vegetable beds

In the back, we've had one of two mature trees felled.  If we ever get the horse chestnut done, or thinned into a v-shape (I'm not sure if I want it fully gone), I want to dig up the lawn and extend the veg beds.  We've yet to see how the loss of the first tree will affect light levels, but in any case, it wasn't really casting shade on that section of lawn. 

I don't have a time scale for this--we can't afford to pay for an arborist this year, so it'll be at least a year or maybe two.

Improve the front for future food production

I haven't written much about the tiny section of garden at the front of the house--mainly because I hardly ever touch it!  It usually gets a major weeding and pruning once a year, and the husband mows the little patch of grass during summer.  It's north facing and in shade most of the day;  in winter it's in constant shade.  It has a crabapple sapling, several ornamentals and plenty of weeds in addition to the little lawn.  This winter I've begun putting spare used chicken bedding on the main bed.  I'll carry on doing this throughout 2018;  the idea is to get the soil so soft and rich that the weeds' roots can't hold on any more and I can just pull them out for good.

This section will never produce a lot, and I won't bother with vegetables, but it can probably act as an extension of my perennials section with fruit bushes, rhubarb, etc.  I anticipate it needs at least a year or two of improvement, but I have a couple blackcurrants I can plant out now, in hopes for a better future.

Food for the soul

A welcome visitor

My garden is a beautiful place right now.  Apart from the abundance of vegetables and the promise of more to come--both fruit and veg--the whole property is at its peak just now.  Even the lawn looks glorious!

There are some wonderful flowers (both perennial and annual) in the perennials section and the front postage stamp, including roses, sunflowers, dahlias, sweet peas and more.  I put lobelia in some of my tomato planters, giving a pretty splash of blue to entice the hoverflies--we've had swarms of these helpful little insects this summer. 


It's so nice to sit next to the goldfish pond, listening to the trickle of water, and watching the butterflies flocking to the buddleia nearby.  The above picture is of a peacock butterfly, recently spotted.  I planted the buddleia to screen the view of the neighbors, with the added benefit of attracting butterflies and bees.  It does me good to see it covered in these lovely little creatures.

Part of my Plan for the garden is to provide beauty and tranquility.  What with the flowers, lush greenery, helpful insects and fresh vegetables and herbs, my garden is a haven right now.

Four things I'm glad I did this year

Carrots in plastic tubs on my patio table, July 2016

1. Grew carrots in tubs

I haven't managed carrots for a few years.  I've never grown them successfully in the ground:  first it was carrot fly, then it was slugs.  Raised beds helped with the carrot fly--but not the slugs.  Plus I had more than one escaped chicken incident involving raised beds (raised beds make the best dust baths, don't you know).

Determined to get carrots, I filled a couple of old plastic storage tubs with a bit of chicken manure and straw, topped up with regular potting compost.  Around the rims I spread a layer of VapoRub (the advice was vaseline but we didn't have it on hand, plus the intended recipient of VapoRub, aka the six year old, hates the stuff) to repel slugs and other creepy crawlies.  The tubs were sown with seeds, placed on top of a table on the patio, and grew lovely 3-4 inch unblemished carrots. 

2. Spent 5 minutes every evening for a month rubbing out caterpillar eggs

Last year we had wholesale destruction of all brassicas because of cabbage white caterpillars.  They pretty much killed all the kale, and set the Brussels sprouts back so far that we only got one meal off the remaining six plants.  This year I was dedicated and nipped that problem in the bud in late July/early August.  No plants were killed or even set back due to caterpillars. 

3. Built a second composter

It's not pretty, but it's digesting my excess nettles, elder and blackberry vines.  The chickens helped me turn the contents of the first compost bin, making for some very nice looking compost.  Hopefully with a little more chicken help, this new pile will be ready for spring.

4. Put a second biofilter in the pond

The husband scored a secondhand filter and we filled it with a big piece of foam from an old cushion.  The water is pumped into this filter, forced through the foam which grabs any algae particles, before flowing into a gravel grow bed and back into the pond;  it cleaned up the water completely in about three weeks.  The pond has been crystal clear since, and its duckweed population has exploded;  our chickens enjoy eating the stuff so much we nicknamed it chicken salad:  free feed!

Suburban Permaculture Project: The Pond

Tiny frog pond in 2014

Worried about safety, we had filled in a deep garden pond in a shady part of the garden when our son was born in 2010.  For the next two years in spring I found many frogs and toads confusedly searching for their former home. After that, they left us entirely, and I realized the mistake we'd made in destroying their habitat: a huge increase in slugs. And truthfully, I missed seeing them hopping around in the rain, and hearing their chirping in the evenings; I felt very guilty for displacing such gentle, helpful little creatures. 

In 2014 we built a new pond, and I decided to make use of its heat storage and reflection of light to my advantage by situating it in a sheltered sunny spot near to the thermal mass of our garage wall.  It began as a simple sunken half barrel with two goldfish for mosquito control.

Later in the year we expanded it with a pond liner.  One edge has a gravel beach, to enable small creatures to access the water without danger of drowning.  I added a small brick patio to another side, giving us a nice place to sit and watch the goldfish, and also adding to the thermal mass and light reflection. It's a great microclimate for heat loving plants. And frogs and toads have been spotted once more.  This spring we've even seen a tadpole!

2014 pond newly expanded complete with goldfish.  Blue barrel is incomplete gravel filter

Finally, to improve water quality, we installed a pump and a gravel filter planted with bog plants and (a few) vegetables.  The pond itself has several different kinds of plants including some natives such as cattails and kingcup, a handful of goldfish, and possibly a swan mussel (we introduced two, and one is still unaccounted for).  We've even seen a water skipper--how on earth did it get there?

Newly planter gravel filter, 2015

My original intent for the pond was frog habitat, to help with slug control.  Secondary uses include heat retention and light reflection to create a warm microclimate for my almond tree;  the possible extension to aquaponics with added gravel filter beds (hopefully this year);  the attraction for birds and insects.  It's a joy to sit by the edge of the pond in the sunshine, listening to the trickle of the fountain, watching sparrows and bees having a drink, seeing the fish sparkle and dart beneath the water.

Pond 2016

Suburban Permaculture Project: Fostering Wildlife

Dragonfly, a helpful insect predator

One of the three ethics of permaculture is Care for the Earth.  To me, this means living in harmony with all other creatures, as much as possible.  To this end, I have designed my garden to be a haven for local wildlife, as well as a food-producing engine.

Birds

Birds are one of the most helpful animals in my garden.  They eat all sorts of pests: from slugs and snails, to aphids and woodlice.  I have two mature trees at the edge of my garden, plus many different small trees, shrubs, and plants of various heights, to provide both cover and nesting sites for all kinds of local birds.  They drink and bathe in the shallow end of our pond.  I even have some plants and shrubs which I keep specifically with birds in mind, like guelder rose and berberis, both of which have lots of berries and provide good hiding places and shelter.

Of course, there is a small downside to having birds:  they can eat my food before I get a chance to!  However, for the most part, I have found having such a diverse amount of living bird food (both plant/seed/berry and insect), means the birds aren't much interested in my fruit and vegetables.  I keep my soft fruit bushes surrounded by other plants in a polyculture, and the birds don't seem to notice the berries.  However, I net my small morello cherry tree against birds, as those bright red cherries are simply irresistible;  I don't blame them for wanting to eat them all!  And after I have picked around 75% of them, I remove the net and let the birds have the rest.

This year we've had regular visits from many different birds:  goldfinches, robins, wrens, sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes, and doves.  The blackbirds and thrushes are particularly good for controlling pests, and I love to see them out and about teaching their children how to hunt bugs and slugs.

Frogs and toads

We dug our pond in 2014 to attract frogs and toads, first and foremost;  since then, we have seen one or two, hopping about the garden.  These gentle amphibians are great slug eaters, and I hope they build up a good population in our pond, which has a shallow end for getting in and out, and is deep enough for frogs and toads to hide at the bottom without being seen.

Hedgehogs

One of the cutest local predators are the spiky hedgehogs.  I have not seen any yet this year, but in past years have spotted them both in my garden and in the neighborhood.  I have plenty of low growing ground cover plants around the edges of my garden, as well as brush piles and loose leaf litter--all great places for them to sleep or hide.  I also have two or three small gaps in my fences to allow them to get into and out of the garden, as they like to range far and wide in their hunt for slugs and snails.

Helpful bugs

Lots of bugs are an asset in the garden.  Many, like ladybugs and hoverflies, are well known aphid-eaters.  To attract and foster them I actually leave the aphids alone, and simply let these predators handle it.  Since my garden is so diverse in plants and weeds, I have built up a regular population of these helpful predators over the years;  I really don't have much of a problem with aphids any more.  I've often seen sparrows delicately eating aphids, too.

Other bugs, like bees and butterflies, are needed to pollinate flowers for producing fruit.  I have many flowers in my garden, and try to have something flowering at all times during the year--even in the middle of winter.  I want bees in my garden at all times, to help pollinate my fruit trees, and vegetables like zuccini and tomatoes, and to help me in my seed saving adventures. 

There are more helpful creepy crawlies:  beetles to eat slug eggs, wasps to eat cabbage white moths and caterpillars, spiders to eat flies, dragonflies to eat mosquitoes, and so on.  All of these little creatures are welcome in my garden, and the abundance of plants and weeds means they have plenty of habitat.

Conclusion

All these creatures act together, along with their plant and micro-organism counterparts, to add to the health and vitality to the ecosystem.  Each creature provides a function, and some--like the pollinators--are absolutely necessary for my garden to grow and thrive.  Because of this, I operate on a live and let live policy, even for pests* and weeds:  they all have a role to play;  and my garden, and little part of the world, is more vibrant and productive for it.

*Disclaimer:  I will kill slugs, snails, and cabbage white caterpillars on sight, but I only step on the ones I see;  I don't put down slug killer/insecticide.  Every other pest gets a free pass--and they generally don't last long enough to become a problem.