Far Lands

(See blog 161 for the original post.) They all took - 14 out of 14 - amazingly. So much better than the T bud grafts where I was getting less than 10%. Photo shows the grafted saplings in general; the tallest one on the R is Katy. The scions were about 3 buds long, and the growing saplings have sprouted 1, 2 or 3 shoots. This suggests how I might use them. For step overs (1 tier espaliers grown about 40 cm horizontally from the ground, both left and right), then 2 shoots are ideal. At this stage they can be tied to canes in a Y shape. The Y shape is a Jupiter on an MM106, destined for a step over For cordons or bush trees, then 1 bud is all that is needed; and both of these can be tied vertically. Extra buds are pruned to 3 leaves above the basal cluster.

We tried the hot box experiment again this year. Hundreds of baby melons, but we gritted our teeth and thinned them to 7 (the books advise less, but a couple of them were hiding for a while). The hot box, for anyone who was not reading last year, is an old cold water tank, insulated on the outside, and then filled in January with layers of fresh horse dung and leaf mulch, finally topped up with 6 inches of topsoil. Almost forgot - we had coq au vin at the weekend:-

Not much, but a little. A few weeks ago when I dumped the entire hive at the bottom of the garden trying to get rid of the laying workers, I nicked a frame of honey. Not a huge frame, not one that was unwieldy through the quantity of oozing honey. But a small frame, and one that consisted of some pollen too (which you can also eat). We chopped it up in the kitchen - both of us prefer comb honey, and we certainly did not have enough to extract. Which is lucky as it is mostly comb, and not much honey. However, it is very tasty, and eating it is spurring me on to keep persevering with the hive.

It's been all change this week. We moved the chicks from our boiler room into the chicken house. A bit of a relief because they were beginning to stink! The plan is for them to have a week in the chicken house, then a week in the house and the run. Hopefully, they will be then ready for the big wide world.   Meanwhile the chickens are having a holiday in the turkey house (complete with temporary nesting box) - this has confused them somewhat, like Victorian factory-workers wondering what to do at the seaside. In two weeks the bantams will join the chicks, and the warrens will become coq-au-vin. The turkey house has made us think of Christmas - I phoned the breeder, and arranged to pick up the poults in about a month. So, orders for Christmas Day now being taken! Inspecting the bees this week was not so much fun. No sign of the Queen (green spot, number 19). Nor any brood. Just a few Queen cells with grubs in them. Not sure what the grubs are  - drones from layin...

Last week I helped out on the NFG (Northern Fruit Group) stand at the Tatton show. We were displaying an impressive selection of soft fruit. Far less impressive was my answering of the many questions from the people looking at the fruit. After being quizzed by seven consecutive people on figs I wondered whether I should have taken a hip flask. I quickly realised that the only things I knew lots about were strawberries and gooseberries. Unlike school exams however, copying from the next person was not just allowed but expected, and by the end of the day I knew quite a lot more than at the start. One question I had no trouble with was, 'My parents apple tree died last year, and my father died soon afterwards. Do you think the two things are connected?' I told her that 'I did not believe in that kind of thing.' When I later related the story to my mother-in-law she came up with would have been a far better reply:- 'Did he fall off the tree?'

My cousin got in touch to say that his rabbit was called 'Bertie' and that . . .  'We stayed in an Edinburgh hotel en route to Skye and while surreptitiously transporting Bertie up via a lift ( we weren't sure of hotel procedure for rabbits in rooms) we bumped into rappers NWA. As you can imagine they were a bit surprised....' I caught a squirrel and with the help of Fernley-Hughstall I skinned and gutted it. Fried up the offal (heart, liver, kidneys) for one supper and then slow-cooked the rest of it. Sternly-Whittinghall writes that it is tastier than rabbit, but I would need to eat a few more (my plan) to decide.   Chicks are getting bigger - we have built them an extension and added a roosting bar. The picking season has arrived - starting with a fab crop of blackcurrants.  All go!

A few years back my cousin visited us on his way North, and he brought with him his rabbit. His house-rabbit. I could hardly believe it; he was going on a two week holiday to Skye and taking his rabbit with him. I ribbed him mercilessly at the time, and regularly ever since. I will now have to stop. First, I would like to say sorry to him. (A public apology - all the rage with Chief Constables at the moment.) Sorry. I should probably add that at the weekend we took our dozen chicks to our friends in Northumberland. We would have missed them otherwise.