Owlshire Year 2
May. 7th, 2022 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annofowlshire posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
gardeningIn November 2020, my family and I moved from London to a former equestrian property/woodland in the Forest of Dean looking to create a smallholding (which I’d done before) and do woodland management (which my partner had done before).
The 2021 growing year was a disaster. Most of my vegetables were devastated by the local pigeon and pheasant population (not to mention cabbage moths, and things I probably don’t even know about), the deer decimated the baby fruit trees my husband planted, the new chicken coop/run ended up being far more complicated than we expected and was postponed… and remember we’d done things like this before!
There were more unknowns: we knew that the garden had been neglected but it was beyond our wildest expectations, and the property is south facing but the garden gets a lot more shade from nearby trees than we could have known…
I also had gone in thinking I’d not be working the first year or two until my little one started school and would get a lot established before returning to the working world, and shortly after we moved in a great (full time) career opportunity practically landed on my lap (and it wasn’t likely to show up again when it was more convenient). So after much discussion I took it (and I’m still glad I did), but we had a lot less time on our hands!
So we didn’t get our chickens, the fruit trees mostly survived but were set back at least a year, and my flower and vegetable gardens were pretty much a total failure.
Bring on year two. A bit wiser, a bit more prepared, a bit more understanding of how much we can realistically take on.
This year, all of the garden vegetables have mesh covering. All of them. I’m not doing flowers this year, because I needed to prioritize and I prefer edibles.
Look at all those weeds. 😂
Weirdly, new things are coming up this year like the yellow greater celandine which wasn’t around last year. I’m guessing it’s partially about the climate, and partially about us pulling back a lot of competing plants and stirring up the soil.
It happened later this spring than we wanted, but now all of baby fruit trees are behind a deer resistant enclosure and we hope they’ll thrive better. And the preexisting fruit trees (apple, perry pear and fig) have all seen a good pruning back.
The things that didn’t do so great last year but survived the winter actually are doing quite well now. My herb pots are springing back to life, the artichoke is sprouting, and the chard and tree cabbages that didn’t get entirely demolished (pictured in earlier photos under mesh) are coming back well, too.
Plus… you might notice that we finally got our chickens! They are ex-commercial caged hens that we got from a rescue organization and now they have big, lovely space to pasture and we’re getting our daily eggs.
So, it could still all go badly in some way, but so far the year already starting off much better!
The 2021 growing year was a disaster. Most of my vegetables were devastated by the local pigeon and pheasant population (not to mention cabbage moths, and things I probably don’t even know about), the deer decimated the baby fruit trees my husband planted, the new chicken coop/run ended up being far more complicated than we expected and was postponed… and remember we’d done things like this before!
There were more unknowns: we knew that the garden had been neglected but it was beyond our wildest expectations, and the property is south facing but the garden gets a lot more shade from nearby trees than we could have known…
I also had gone in thinking I’d not be working the first year or two until my little one started school and would get a lot established before returning to the working world, and shortly after we moved in a great (full time) career opportunity practically landed on my lap (and it wasn’t likely to show up again when it was more convenient). So after much discussion I took it (and I’m still glad I did), but we had a lot less time on our hands!
So we didn’t get our chickens, the fruit trees mostly survived but were set back at least a year, and my flower and vegetable gardens were pretty much a total failure.
Bring on year two. A bit wiser, a bit more prepared, a bit more understanding of how much we can realistically take on.
This year, all of the garden vegetables have mesh covering. All of them. I’m not doing flowers this year, because I needed to prioritize and I prefer edibles.
Look at all those weeds. 😂
Weirdly, new things are coming up this year like the yellow greater celandine which wasn’t around last year. I’m guessing it’s partially about the climate, and partially about us pulling back a lot of competing plants and stirring up the soil.
It happened later this spring than we wanted, but now all of baby fruit trees are behind a deer resistant enclosure and we hope they’ll thrive better. And the preexisting fruit trees (apple, perry pear and fig) have all seen a good pruning back.
The things that didn’t do so great last year but survived the winter actually are doing quite well now. My herb pots are springing back to life, the artichoke is sprouting, and the chard and tree cabbages that didn’t get entirely demolished (pictured in earlier photos under mesh) are coming back well, too.
Plus… you might notice that we finally got our chickens! They are ex-commercial caged hens that we got from a rescue organization and now they have big, lovely space to pasture and we’re getting our daily eggs.
So, it could still all go badly in some way, but so far the year already starting off much better!
(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-07 03:08 pm (UTC)Good luck this year!
(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-07 03:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-08 08:37 am (UTC)Hope you have a bountiful harvest and continue to enjoy your fresh egg supply. 🥚 🙂
Thoughts
Date: 2022-05-12 04:43 am (UTC)Things I have found helpful:
* Use tree wraps for saplings, or water jugs with the bottom cut out for seedlings, to protect from herbivores.
* Choose species that taste bad. I have become very fond of alliums both as ornamentals and herbs/vegetables. We had a lovely stir-fry with the garlic chives earlier. Some plants, like tomatoes and potatoes, have toxic leaves and stems but other parts are edible.
* Choose species with thorns or other means of defending themselves. My blackberries are ferocious, and I haven't even found wild ones yet. My wild black raspberries do much better than the tame ones though. I read about one gardener who planted a thorny outer hedge and fruit as an inner hedge. Deer would nibble along the outside and leave the fruit alone.
>>There were more unknowns: we knew that the garden had been neglected but it was beyond our wildest expectations, and the property is south facing but the garden gets a lot more shade from nearby trees than we could have known…<<
Leaf and stem produce sometimes grows well in the shade. Fewer fruit or root ones do, but there are forest versions of strawberries and raspberries, etc. Some historic vegetables are also much less fussy.
>>I’m not doing flowers this year, because I needed to prioritize and I prefer edibles.<<
I grow flowers not just for appearance, but to attract pollinators, deter pests, and as food. Bergamot and marigolds are favorites. It makes sense to prioritize though.
>>Weirdly, new things are coming up this year like the yellow greater celandine which wasn’t around last year. I’m guessing it’s partially about the climate, and partially about us pulling back a lot of competing plants and stirring up the soil.<<
If you treat a landscape well, sometime it'll sprout cool things you didn't plant. I've gotten elderberries, wild grape vines, and cup plants that way. :D
>>My herb pots are springing back to life, the artichoke is sprouting, and the chard and tree cabbages that didn’t get entirely demolished (pictured in earlier photos under mesh) are coming back well, too.<<
Yay!
>>Plus… you might notice that we finally got our chickens!<<
I like watching chickens forage. When we can, we buy eggs from Amish territory. It's nice to see the hens out pecking around the pastures behind the cows or horses.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-05-12 10:38 am (UTC)Our solution for the trees has been a very large enclosure around it, and it can double as an occasional chicken run!
There are tons upon tons of wild flowers already in the area that I don’t feel a need to add more just for pollination. I do have some edible flowers I’m growing, but the purely ornamental ones are getting a pass this year.
Chicken TV is one of my favorite things. My partner didn’t understand it until we got them and now he goes out there and just watches them ^_^
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-05-12 05:48 pm (UTC)That should work if the fence is over 8 feet high or has a wire roof.
>> I do have some edible flowers I’m growing, but the purely ornamental ones are getting a pass this year.<<
Sensible.
>> Chicken TV is one of my favorite things. My partner didn’t understand it until we got them and now he goes out there and just watches them ^_^
They're such fun to watch scratching and pecking around. Some are voracious insectivores. There are even a few breeds that will eat mice occasionally. It's a reminder that they are tiny dinosaurs.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-12 07:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-12 07:45 pm (UTC)Ha, yeah. It’s basically our weekends and evenings and lunch breaks (husband and I both mostly work remote which helps). And our holiday time is usually “staycations” so we can work on projects.
I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it, but it’s definitely a big commitment!
(no subject)
Date: 2022-05-19 10:08 am (UTC)