Last year spring was 1 week, from the first of May on. Then came summer. And no, I'm not only one who remembers it that way, most farmers confirm that.
This morning when I put shutters closed (because sun rises from east and our big dining/family room windows are facing east) I noticed all snow is gone! Even from the furthest corner of the field. There's usually snow even later on May, and now it's all gone.
But what is more important and much more worrying is that there has been no rain since March. Evereything is bone dry, ready to combust. Ten years ago garden magazines were bursting of advices to take benefit of spring moisture in ground to plant trees and bushes. Now they say "Keep an eye if moisture evaporates on the spring winds and start watering your plants sooner than later". Because now we have spring winds.
It was very warm spring 33 years ago. We (at boarding school) took showers under a gutter - that was the rain from Chernobyl. I haven't had my radiation levels measured, but I know people no more than 50 miles away have very high levels (if I remember right it's cesium they are monitoring). Now HBO has made mini series about that. because Chernobyl i don't let my children eat as much mushrooms they want, because radioactive materials are high amounts in some mushrooms my children love (in this area, so it is around the Scandinavia).
And we were able to shower in rain because of Stanislav Petrov, a man who didn't blindly follow his orders three years earlier.
Uuups, a bit far from my garden now. Have slept 3 hours last night, 5 hours prev. Not very bright eyed.
Anyway. I sowed carrots and parsnips yesterday, as well as beets. Carrots and parsnips are in one of cold frames, but beets I sowed in a tray in polytunnel. I have been told beets will bolt if seedlings get cold. I have brassica seedlings in polytunnel, and today I might sow some sunflowers. I have had very pool succes with sunflowers lately, but I'm not the one to give up. I didn't give up runner beans, and last summer I had the best harves ever.
I have some chili seedlings, but they will stay inside at least one more week, as well as melons and halloween pumpkins and giant pumpkins. I might need to sow zucchinis soon, hb promised me a heater to the polytunnel. Oh, I have sweetcorn in trays, not sprouted yet.
Glass greenhouse is empty atm, but I will fill it later with seedlings, beans did really well last spring there. maybe I'll sow some salads and peas in there, to make it look more lived in.
It will take six more weeks before I can plant most of my plants to the veg plot. Last frost day is 10th June, but I usually wait until 15th, i have witnessed -15C frost on 10th June. Our cherry tree froze to death.
Well, I guess I'll better get going, listing my works doesn't do them.
Saturday 27 April 2019
Tuesday 23 April 2019
Can't be summer yet!
Today it was about +20C, way too hot for April!
I tried to remember how was last spring. Snow didn't melt until late April, now most of it is gone, only some left behind the trampoline and at the end ot the field. Veggie plot is clear!
Cold frames/raised beds are still frozen, there is hard ice about 15cm below the surface. I could sow carrots there already?
I have now 4 frames, I build the latest one late autunm for garlics. And NOW I find garlics in the first one, which is ment for beans this summer... Those garlics are from the imported variety I sow autunm 2017, they vanished during last summer (when my Russian variety went wild), maybe it was too hot and too dry, even if I watered them almost daily. Well, they sprouted again last autunm, and I dug them up - there were no bulbs, just large cloves. Apparently I didn't dug all of them, there is about 10 plants left. I managed to dig uo two of them, but the rest are still below frozen layer of mulch. I started a new bed for them, build from broken bricks I found under some timber. I have also new good bricks, but those are intended to something else. I still need maybe 12 bricks for another layer, after that I think that bed is deep enough and I can fill it with compost (or mulch).
Garlics in their intended cold frame are also sprouting, but that bed is seriously frozen, it lost snow only last weekend.
I took car to garage for repairs and maintenance, just under 700€! I had to spend another 15€ for battery replacement fot the key fob, it's damaged and there is only one mechanic who knows how to tweak it after the battery replacement... Fortunately he was at work today. Now I need to take MOT, but couldn't do it today because of headache.
During repairs I walked to shopping center nearby, I had only my backbag so no big shopping. First I had to heat to the pharmacist, I had serious headache. After two painkillers and two mugs of tea (there is this big cafeteria/pizzeria/lunch buffet/hamburger joint) and 1 hour later I felt human enough to actually try to do some shopping. I found purple potato seedlings, and broad beans I needed.
I didn't found mini greenhouse I needed, I guess I have to head for the town center tomorrow and forgot about fleece covering for polytunnel. But I found decent sale on garden mulch 10€/5 sacks), so I popped back there once I got my car back. I'll be back there tomorrow, I can fit five or six sacks of mulch in the back of my car, no more. I think I'll need at least four trips, and then I have enough for some spare, too. One or two sacks for the new garlic beg, two sacks per each cold frames, and several for polytunnel beds.
Weather is going to be "hot" for the fer next days, and I'll try to take advance of that as much as I can. Veggie plot can't be tilled yet (still frozen below surface), but at least some of the cold frames will be ready for sowing. And I really want to build another bed for strawberries...
I found first small shoots of nettles, but they can't be picked yet, less than two cm height, so I'll have to wait.
Another two pills and my headache is finally eased to the point it doesn't hurt to breath. When I was young this was really bad, this headache is sometimes called shotgun headache, because all you want is a shotgun to get rid of that pain... I can't go to sleep until pain is gone, or it gets worse and worse. I have tried every trick, but only help is to get right painkillers once I feel the first pang of pain. And with the painkillers it might take a week...
There is some irony because sometimes I also have a migraine - painless one!
I tried to remember how was last spring. Snow didn't melt until late April, now most of it is gone, only some left behind the trampoline and at the end ot the field. Veggie plot is clear!
Cold frames/raised beds are still frozen, there is hard ice about 15cm below the surface. I could sow carrots there already?
I have now 4 frames, I build the latest one late autunm for garlics. And NOW I find garlics in the first one, which is ment for beans this summer... Those garlics are from the imported variety I sow autunm 2017, they vanished during last summer (when my Russian variety went wild), maybe it was too hot and too dry, even if I watered them almost daily. Well, they sprouted again last autunm, and I dug them up - there were no bulbs, just large cloves. Apparently I didn't dug all of them, there is about 10 plants left. I managed to dig uo two of them, but the rest are still below frozen layer of mulch. I started a new bed for them, build from broken bricks I found under some timber. I have also new good bricks, but those are intended to something else. I still need maybe 12 bricks for another layer, after that I think that bed is deep enough and I can fill it with compost (or mulch).
Garlics in their intended cold frame are also sprouting, but that bed is seriously frozen, it lost snow only last weekend.
I took car to garage for repairs and maintenance, just under 700€! I had to spend another 15€ for battery replacement fot the key fob, it's damaged and there is only one mechanic who knows how to tweak it after the battery replacement... Fortunately he was at work today. Now I need to take MOT, but couldn't do it today because of headache.
During repairs I walked to shopping center nearby, I had only my backbag so no big shopping. First I had to heat to the pharmacist, I had serious headache. After two painkillers and two mugs of tea (there is this big cafeteria/pizzeria/lunch buffet/hamburger joint) and 1 hour later I felt human enough to actually try to do some shopping. I found purple potato seedlings, and broad beans I needed.
I didn't found mini greenhouse I needed, I guess I have to head for the town center tomorrow and forgot about fleece covering for polytunnel. But I found decent sale on garden mulch 10€/5 sacks), so I popped back there once I got my car back. I'll be back there tomorrow, I can fit five or six sacks of mulch in the back of my car, no more. I think I'll need at least four trips, and then I have enough for some spare, too. One or two sacks for the new garlic beg, two sacks per each cold frames, and several for polytunnel beds.
Weather is going to be "hot" for the fer next days, and I'll try to take advance of that as much as I can. Veggie plot can't be tilled yet (still frozen below surface), but at least some of the cold frames will be ready for sowing. And I really want to build another bed for strawberries...
I found first small shoots of nettles, but they can't be picked yet, less than two cm height, so I'll have to wait.
Another two pills and my headache is finally eased to the point it doesn't hurt to breath. When I was young this was really bad, this headache is sometimes called shotgun headache, because all you want is a shotgun to get rid of that pain... I can't go to sleep until pain is gone, or it gets worse and worse. I have tried every trick, but only help is to get right painkillers once I feel the first pang of pain. And with the painkillers it might take a week...
There is some irony because sometimes I also have a migraine - painless one!
Saturday 20 April 2019
Bunspiration
Easter break - can't say days off, because I'm working here at home. All the normal spring stuff: firewood, veggie path, greenhouse, polytunnel.
I finally got all branches off the trunks and managed to burn them on bonfire, just on time. Now there is danger of bush fires and I'm not taking risks with that. Our field has still a lot of snow, but as soon as it melts, exposed ground and dead grass starts to dry and in few days it'll be crisp and ready to combust.
Snow is finally gone around the polytunnel frame, so I pulled up the poly-part of it, I managed to do it on my own, last spring I needed OS's help. Experience I'll say, now I know how to do it so it's relatively easy to pull up. I stacked mulch bags around tunnel's hem, last summer it was a good strategy and prevented wind blowing it away. I do need buy several bags of mulch for raised beds and also for the polytunnel and glass greenhouse.
There's some herbs alive, thyme, sage and perhaps tarragon. Also oregano and majoram, but I can't tell them apart (not even by taste). Parsley seems to be gone, and rosemary is bone dry. No hope there.
Rhubarb is also alive, I was a bit worried because I moved it last spring and summer was so hot and dry, I feared I might had not watered it enough it to survive. Lovage hasn't sprouted yet, but it lost snow only three days ago, so there's still hope. As well as horse radish (which is in same bed as lovage).
Cold frames are also free from snow. I have found some garlic sprouts, but I should take off the leaves I put over them to protect from frost. There was some kale left, but after few really really cold night they are gone (or somebody ate them).
My cousing had her second daughter few weeks ago, and invited us to name revelation party. I was a bit loss what to give as a gift (not required actually), but sister told me to sew a book. But I thought a book is so small gift, so I wanted to make something more. And finally I got bunspiration - because I wanted to make something for the little big sister (she's 2,5), too.
These bunnies are something I have made several over the years, all my kids have their own (they were a bit smaller, because I have become bolder during the years, I don't follow instructions so carefully anymore). I can't find the original pattern anymore, link is broken.
I didn't do a big shopping for the easter, I'm trying to get food eaten from freezer, and been quite successful so far. Tomorrow I'll smoke a ham I bought after christmas, it's been in the fridge for three days now. Our smoker is way too big to be practical, we usually eat only one salmon or one leg of lamb smoked, and inside smoker I can fit six big hams! It was there when we bought the place, and I can't see reason to tear it apart just because I think we could do with smaller one.
I finally got all branches off the trunks and managed to burn them on bonfire, just on time. Now there is danger of bush fires and I'm not taking risks with that. Our field has still a lot of snow, but as soon as it melts, exposed ground and dead grass starts to dry and in few days it'll be crisp and ready to combust.
 |
| This is the beginning. Now they are all gone - most of snow also. |
 |
| Nearby pond is still frozen, but I do hope it'll be free after this weekend. |
Snow is finally gone around the polytunnel frame, so I pulled up the poly-part of it, I managed to do it on my own, last spring I needed OS's help. Experience I'll say, now I know how to do it so it's relatively easy to pull up. I stacked mulch bags around tunnel's hem, last summer it was a good strategy and prevented wind blowing it away. I do need buy several bags of mulch for raised beds and also for the polytunnel and glass greenhouse.
There's some herbs alive, thyme, sage and perhaps tarragon. Also oregano and majoram, but I can't tell them apart (not even by taste). Parsley seems to be gone, and rosemary is bone dry. No hope there.
 | ||
| Sage is already producing usable leaves, I'm really happily suprised! |
Rhubarb is also alive, I was a bit worried because I moved it last spring and summer was so hot and dry, I feared I might had not watered it enough it to survive. Lovage hasn't sprouted yet, but it lost snow only three days ago, so there's still hope. As well as horse radish (which is in same bed as lovage).
Cold frames are also free from snow. I have found some garlic sprouts, but I should take off the leaves I put over them to protect from frost. There was some kale left, but after few really really cold night they are gone (or somebody ate them).
My cousing had her second daughter few weeks ago, and invited us to name revelation party. I was a bit loss what to give as a gift (not required actually), but sister told me to sew a book. But I thought a book is so small gift, so I wanted to make something more. And finally I got bunspiration - because I wanted to make something for the little big sister (she's 2,5), too.
 |
| All washed and dried. |
I didn't do a big shopping for the easter, I'm trying to get food eaten from freezer, and been quite successful so far. Tomorrow I'll smoke a ham I bought after christmas, it's been in the fridge for three days now. Our smoker is way too big to be practical, we usually eat only one salmon or one leg of lamb smoked, and inside smoker I can fit six big hams! It was there when we bought the place, and I can't see reason to tear it apart just because I think we could do with smaller one.
Wednesday 10 April 2019
Trying to make paneer for the first time or how I always end up eating too much
One day there were whole shelf of full milk reduced (someone had miscalculated the sell of said milk and it was near best before date). I bought 2 l because I have long time wanted to make cheese at home. As I said, I have made egg cheese previously (about 20 years ago... where has all this time gone?), but wanted try the most simple cheese, cottage cheese or paneer.
Turns out, only difference in cottage cheese and paneer (paneer means cheese, so paneer cheese, I was told, is just saying cheese cheese) is salt, paneer does not have it.
So the simplest is paneer.
Heat up milk, stir in some lemon juice (ot vinegar will do, as well as citric acid or even natural yoghurt or buttermilk), wait for the whey separate from the curds, drain it in muslin lined sieve and there it is.
Well, it's never so simple, is it?
First of all, I have fear of burning my milk when I'm heating it to boil. Some receipes say just heat the milk and take away from heat, some say keep boiling for 5mins or 10mins.
I took it away from the heat.
How much of lemon juice? Some say 1tbsp/500ml milk, some say 1 tbsp/1litre.
And then: keep stirring after you have added the acid - stir the acid in and leave it.
Wait until curd has separated, pour it to the muslin covered sieve (over a pot or something to collect the whey). Rinse it? Wait for an hour? Squeese curd with muslin and leave it to drain overnight? if you leave it for too long time, it'll turn hard?
I waited fot an hour and collected the curd - now cheese - patted it to nice flat shape and covered it with the muslin and put into fridge overnight.
On the next day I took it from the fridge to cut it, it was really soft. Oh well, you live and learn. I ended up making some kind of version of matar paneer.
I fried paneer (yes I know, some say never fry paneer) and I was suprised it actually hold some of it's shape when added to rest of my concotion.
But, it tasted fine, good actually. No, it was delicious even if it was more or less mushy. I ate first plate plain without any rice or naan or whatnot. Today I ate some of it with curried bulghur and lentils I found from freezer.
But I forgot to tell I made also some hummus (never done myself that either). It was really good, too. it was nice with carrot sticks, but we run out of carrots, so we had some tortilla crisps. And then I had a bun with hummus as breakfast. And as a little evening snack.
My co-worker suggested I should cooc porridge with rye flour and water. No salt.
Black hole today was beautiful.
Turns out, only difference in cottage cheese and paneer (paneer means cheese, so paneer cheese, I was told, is just saying cheese cheese) is salt, paneer does not have it.
So the simplest is paneer.
Heat up milk, stir in some lemon juice (ot vinegar will do, as well as citric acid or even natural yoghurt or buttermilk), wait for the whey separate from the curds, drain it in muslin lined sieve and there it is.
Well, it's never so simple, is it?
First of all, I have fear of burning my milk when I'm heating it to boil. Some receipes say just heat the milk and take away from heat, some say keep boiling for 5mins or 10mins.
I took it away from the heat.
How much of lemon juice? Some say 1tbsp/500ml milk, some say 1 tbsp/1litre.
And then: keep stirring after you have added the acid - stir the acid in and leave it.
Wait until curd has separated, pour it to the muslin covered sieve (over a pot or something to collect the whey). Rinse it? Wait for an hour? Squeese curd with muslin and leave it to drain overnight? if you leave it for too long time, it'll turn hard?
I waited fot an hour and collected the curd - now cheese - patted it to nice flat shape and covered it with the muslin and put into fridge overnight.
On the next day I took it from the fridge to cut it, it was really soft. Oh well, you live and learn. I ended up making some kind of version of matar paneer.
I fried paneer (yes I know, some say never fry paneer) and I was suprised it actually hold some of it's shape when added to rest of my concotion.
But, it tasted fine, good actually. No, it was delicious even if it was more or less mushy. I ate first plate plain without any rice or naan or whatnot. Today I ate some of it with curried bulghur and lentils I found from freezer.
But I forgot to tell I made also some hummus (never done myself that either). It was really good, too. it was nice with carrot sticks, but we run out of carrots, so we had some tortilla crisps. And then I had a bun with hummus as breakfast. And as a little evening snack.
My co-worker suggested I should cooc porridge with rye flour and water. No salt.
Black hole today was beautiful.
Tuesday 9 April 2019
A bit of this and a bit of that
Hb's new shift schedule is making our lives if not miserable, at least complicated. He works long weeks (6days work and 1day off) or really confusing weeks (2nights and two evenings and then some). There is no rhythm, and being nearly 50 he really can't adapt well. He can't sleep when he should and then sleeps during his day/s off and can't keep doing anything really. So annoying. And of course we had to turn the clocks which caused havoc to my inner clock.
And of course we all should be keeping silent when he tries to sleep...
I have tried to keep 'Suma occupied in the mornings, so we have had some amazing morning walks. We saw more swans moving to north, one couple stayed in our village for a while. Our cranes are back, they are wonderful big animals with very loud voices.
And geese! Neverending stream of geese flying back and forth - I just don't get it why some of them fly to north and some to south - and then there are simultaneously flocks flying to east AND west in the sky. Very confusing to my tired brains.
Mornings sound very summery already with skylarks, blackbirds and lapwings and of course (wood)pigeons. But fear not, there's still almost 30cm snow in our field and lower yard. Herb bed is almost free of snow and ice - i did give it some help with tossing ashes over polytunnel beds. Polytunnel itself is still folded in my greenhouse, I can't put it over the frame until snow has gone around the frame. Aaaaand my sister just made a video call to show they have got 25cm of snow so far and more is coming. Can't wait to have it here. Not.
Hb managed to fell down some trees which were growing on the back end of the field (alders, willows, few aspens) (some=30ish). They grow there because we don't actually farm that field, only small part of it is used as my veg path and polytunnel. The whole field hasn't been plought and harrowed for a very long time. Old man did most of it few years ago, but couldn't get to very edges, and therefore trees. Hb felled them and I lopped them with billhook and dragged trunks into a pile. Or as many of the trunks I managed, some of them overpowered me even after cut them in two. So there's some half a dozen trunks left in the end of the field and a pile of trunks next to my veg path. Saturday was easy, snow was hard and it was easy to walk on, because I didn't sink. By Sunday snow had thawed a little, so it was heavier to walk on. Yesterday (I had a day off) snow was soft and sinking; I felt I was walking on a quick sand.
And now I'm hurting. my back is stiff and my hands are swollen (that's what you get if you're a delicate office worker and keep hitting branches with billhook all day). My legs are so tired I didn't even have restless legs at night!
Now if someone just cuts and splits those to make us some firewood...
But yesterday was a nice day off. I managed to deal all trunks I could (now we have a nice pile of branches to have a bonfire or maybe to chip some of them), made pizzas (I made the dough myself; it's suprisingly hard to knead the dough if your hands are boiled spaghetti), made paneer (next time I will make just "cottage cheese" by adding salt); it was the second time ever I have made any kind of cheese, first time I made egg cheese (basically cottage cheese but with added eggs and then it's baked in the oven), wrote minutes of the last two village comittee meetings (had to send them to old man to print because my printer doesn't work). and attended another meeting. Late in the evening I decided I had had enough and sat in front of telly and watched some mindless reality tv and knitted sock for a while.
Today I'll make something out of the paneer I made ( I don't have spinach so no saag/palak paneer). Kids have some leftover pizza so I can use as much ginger I want.
I finally made through ST Discovery first season (knitted rainbow socks for d, she is finally over that all-black teenage phase) and now I've catched up this new season. So I binge watched Night Flyer and once that was over I started on Firefly (I saw it in 2002/2003 but as with everything else in 2002 and 2003 I can't remember a single thing, even 2004 is a bit hazy). Soon that's done, Serenity (the film) is left and then I might have to return to Star Trek. Seen the original series, the animated series and Enterprise, and all the films. Now I "only" have Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager (which I have seen before)...
And of course we all should be keeping silent when he tries to sleep...
I have tried to keep 'Suma occupied in the mornings, so we have had some amazing morning walks. We saw more swans moving to north, one couple stayed in our village for a while. Our cranes are back, they are wonderful big animals with very loud voices.
And geese! Neverending stream of geese flying back and forth - I just don't get it why some of them fly to north and some to south - and then there are simultaneously flocks flying to east AND west in the sky. Very confusing to my tired brains.
Mornings sound very summery already with skylarks, blackbirds and lapwings and of course (wood)pigeons. But fear not, there's still almost 30cm snow in our field and lower yard. Herb bed is almost free of snow and ice - i did give it some help with tossing ashes over polytunnel beds. Polytunnel itself is still folded in my greenhouse, I can't put it over the frame until snow has gone around the frame. Aaaaand my sister just made a video call to show they have got 25cm of snow so far and more is coming. Can't wait to have it here. Not.
Hb managed to fell down some trees which were growing on the back end of the field (alders, willows, few aspens) (some=30ish). They grow there because we don't actually farm that field, only small part of it is used as my veg path and polytunnel. The whole field hasn't been plought and harrowed for a very long time. Old man did most of it few years ago, but couldn't get to very edges, and therefore trees. Hb felled them and I lopped them with billhook and dragged trunks into a pile. Or as many of the trunks I managed, some of them overpowered me even after cut them in two. So there's some half a dozen trunks left in the end of the field and a pile of trunks next to my veg path. Saturday was easy, snow was hard and it was easy to walk on, because I didn't sink. By Sunday snow had thawed a little, so it was heavier to walk on. Yesterday (I had a day off) snow was soft and sinking; I felt I was walking on a quick sand.
And now I'm hurting. my back is stiff and my hands are swollen (that's what you get if you're a delicate office worker and keep hitting branches with billhook all day). My legs are so tired I didn't even have restless legs at night!
Now if someone just cuts and splits those to make us some firewood...
But yesterday was a nice day off. I managed to deal all trunks I could (now we have a nice pile of branches to have a bonfire or maybe to chip some of them), made pizzas (I made the dough myself; it's suprisingly hard to knead the dough if your hands are boiled spaghetti), made paneer (next time I will make just "cottage cheese" by adding salt); it was the second time ever I have made any kind of cheese, first time I made egg cheese (basically cottage cheese but with added eggs and then it's baked in the oven), wrote minutes of the last two village comittee meetings (had to send them to old man to print because my printer doesn't work). and attended another meeting. Late in the evening I decided I had had enough and sat in front of telly and watched some mindless reality tv and knitted sock for a while.
Today I'll make something out of the paneer I made ( I don't have spinach so no saag/palak paneer). Kids have some leftover pizza so I can use as much ginger I want.
I finally made through ST Discovery first season (knitted rainbow socks for d, she is finally over that all-black teenage phase) and now I've catched up this new season. So I binge watched Night Flyer and once that was over I started on Firefly (I saw it in 2002/2003 but as with everything else in 2002 and 2003 I can't remember a single thing, even 2004 is a bit hazy). Soon that's done, Serenity (the film) is left and then I might have to return to Star Trek. Seen the original series, the animated series and Enterprise, and all the films. Now I "only" have Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager (which I have seen before)...
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