Growing pains.
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It’s been a tough growing season, I’ll not deny it. Between relentless raids by marauding chickens, a stretch of unusually hot, dry weather and a non-stop battle with mildew, I’m almost at the point of rethinking my life choices.
Honestly, it’s been the hardest year since I started growing food five years ago. If I didn’t expect imminent war and starvation, I’d give up, lie in a hammock and eat doughnuts.
I’ve always rescued ex-battery hens from the local sanctuary but the poor buggers don’t last too long, so in February I bought some point-of-lay pullets. God almighty what a difference. This lot are like Marco Polo and Attila the Hun rolled into one. Unlike any chickens before them, they broke through to the garden, not once, not twice but repeatedly, laying waste to peas, onions, cucumbers and potatoes. This, despite defences constructed with, I think you’ll agree, imagination and expert craftsmanship.
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One particularly intrepid explorer even managed to get herself locked in the greenhouse overnight when I feared she’d been foxed. Out she trundled next morning, her crop the size of a football and behind her, carnage.
The pea nets I bought must have been designed by one of those diversity hires, as they are completely unfit for purpose. Most of the plants fell over and died despite being tied to the net with 100 plant clips… but not before they produced 10 kgs of peas
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On the mildew front, neem oil mostly kept things in check, and though some of my cucumber plants look a little poorly, so far, they’re still producing. I grew five varieties this year: in order of appearance…Mini White, West Indian, Crystal Apple, Poinsett and gherkins.
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The self-seeded tomatoes are producing plenty and since only my twin-sized brother eats them, he’s inundated. There are Petite Gris de Rennes and Minnesota Midget melons lurking around every corner.
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The grapes are still producing, potatoes, carrots, and beets are thriving, and the leeks are coming along nicely in their buckets.
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The onions are drying out for storage
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The pears and apples are ready for picking, and the rhubarb has already featured in some delicious rhubarb crumble.
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And there’s basil aplenty to keep me in dairy-free pesto, made with nutritional yeast instead of cheese. I swear, it’s nearly as delicious as I am, and not one of my cheese-loving friends could believe it’s vegan.
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So, I think it's fair to say that alongside horticulturalist extraordinaire and master builder, I can now safely add kitchen goddess to my resume.
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What a wild and wonderful growing season! 😅 Despite the chaos, your determination (and humor!) really shine through. Love how you turned every challenge into a story — and that vegan pesto sounds amazing! 🌱👏
Holy sheets! I though I could speed read!.
Thanks, thanks and thanks!
Haha, right? Your post was a full rollercoaster — chickens, mildew, and melons! 😄
Woman of many skills! That fence is a work out art. All hail the mighty pallet!
The heirloom chooks last the best. Some have feisty personalities indeed and the Houdini chooks are the worst. Goodbye brassicas in one afternoon. Bitches. I swear I'm always asking Jamie to build fences and gates.
Despite your trials you've done alright. What's your water supply?
We have our own well. There's also a river running through our property and a 2km lake, so we're planning on a solar powered pump so we can take the water from there.
Who doesn't love a pallet. If it wasn't for pallets we'd have no floors or doors in any of our sheds.
Where do you get them from? I couldn't see any likely spots on your map:
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Oh wow that's amazing! Lucky you. Can you swim in it?
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Why would you let such a terrible pun go wasted?
Besides, that looks like a highly productive garden! 10kg of peas, that's awesome. And that basil... we had some problem getting our basil here, due to too much rain they said, but they always make excuses, and it's either too much rain or not enough rain or grandma died again. Anyway, I make my pesto based on lupin beans (called chochos here, and no, don't google that, it means something entirely different in European Spanish), which is quite perfect due to it's nutritional value, consistency and - flavor. And so much cheaper than nuts.
I have some cherry tomatoes out on my east balcony, they're coming along nicely. I still have to put some seeds in the ground, especially a new rocoto chili plant, as one of the older ones reached the end of its life. I make pots out of old oil canisters that they use in the restaurant downstairs, 20 liter buckets. Just the soil is sometimes hard to get by, my compost is not ideal, but I'm working on everything. Luckily, the compost goes through in 3 months here, thanks to temperatures and very hungry worms.
Anyway, great to read something else from you! Thank you for sharing :-)
Dammit! I missed that completely...Attila the hen. I can be so dim!
Lupin beans, eh. I use cashew nuts...expensive, but I deserve the best!
You do! Cashews are delicious. But so dang expensive. I don't recall how much it was here, but I do remember that I slowly and very carefully put the bag back into the shelf.
Marco Pollo and Attila the Hen 😂
I'm kicking myself that I missed that one! And I think I'm so bloody clever:)
Good work! I like chickens but I also like my garden so I don't keep them
In a toss up between eggs and cucumbers, eggs win hands down. Besides, another ten pallets or so and they'll surely not get through:) Build that wall!
Nutritional yeast pesto - must try!
I'm a basil pesto connoisseur and I've not tasted better, either with or without cheese.
You have a very productive and varied garden, I congratulate you, it has been a lot of effort for you, 5 years. I love growing basil, I have tried the vegan pesto and it really is delicious. Greetings.
Thanks. It’s definitely a lot of effort, but it’s worth it for the peace of mind that comes from knowing my food isn’t doused with chemicals.
The greatest happiness comes when a plant planted by our own hands bears fruit or a vegetable grows. We pick it and use it at home. A lot of time and effort is spent on these too.
A lot more effort than going to the supermarket, but worth it.
Ah chickens are way smart than people think, they are not stupid... But what the hell why they raid so much your plants lol? We had chickens too but they were never interested in plants... How about give them some salad? They shouldn't be interested in raiding the rest then
Are you still rescuing some battery chickens? Poor beasts they could pass some good time after the shitty battery life
The little blighters have the run of a 3 acre garden full of edible greens, but all they want to do is dig up my bloody cucumbers.
I'll definitely do more rescues in the future but I just needed a rest from all the funerals.
Yummy! Rhubarb crumble! 🍽️
And homemade custard. Come anytime!:)
Yummy. Hope you still got some left by the time @clareartista and I finally visit Ireland.
Once you've gotten over your fear for creepy crawlers, you're welcome to have plum jam and the like on our land.
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😂
and the pesto! It's actually the first time I've heard about a dairy-free pesto. I am looking up more recipes to try!
Thanks for appreciating my little joke!:) Sometimes I fear my witticisms fall upon deaf ears😜
Here's the dairy free pestorecipe if you want to try it
https://x.com/jewellery_all/status/1952731344112365744
It's been hot and dry here too. Luckily there aren't fires too close. Letting chickens run free is fun, but they go crazy eating sprouts! I've had an entire run of cannabis destroyed. And chickens are like escape artists. And they are sneaky! They will escape from their space when no one is looking and then jump back.
All the hens I've had up to now have been rescues and content to remain within their allotted couple of acres. I wasn't quite prepared for these sneaky little ninjas. I'll have to rethink my defence strategies before they eat me out of house and home.
https://x.com/lee19389/status/1952897938444959912
#hive #posh
Despite all the setbacks, your garden still sounds full of life. Grapes, root crops, leeks there’s still a lot going right, even if the road was rough.
Thanks. My back may be broken and my nails worn to the quick, but nothing compares to eating food fresh from the garden:)
Wow, what a rollercoaster of a growing season! Those chickens sound like a real handful-like little garden ninjas! 😂 But it’s impressive how you’re still managing to harvest so much despite all the challenges. That dairy-free pesto sounds intriguing too, I might have to try making some myself. Keep up the amazing work, kitchen goddess! 🌿👩🍳
Hahaha, thanks! I was surprised at how different these chickens were from the rescued ones, who are pretty sedate, though I suppose sixteen months in a cage would take the spring out of anyone’s step.
Looks like I'm going to have to build a higher wall:)