Running out of time...

I am well and truly behind on the seed sowing and have empty pots standing where full ones should be. The large raised bed remains empty and forlorn but the girls are enjoying having a rummage in the soil where as it usually has canes and netting over to keep them out.

So far what has been sown appears to be doing quite well

The potatoes in their bags

The first strawberries are forming

When I get in from work tomorrow I am hoping to get the front garden weeded (it looks awful!) and sow some seeds. I am not sure what yet but will rummage in the seed box to see what can be sown now.

The girls have been enjoying their freedom today, dust bathing and digging and scrubbing around for grubs. When they have had enough they all come to the back door and Bell and Dory will often come into the kitchen looking for their seed box which is on the shelf just inside the back door and stand there and peck it.

waiting at the door

The sun has been shinning the past few days and the warmth has been most welcome. I just hope it is here to stay for a few more weeks.

Well that is it from me for now, I hope you have all been enjoying your gardens, until next time x

Mr Sun sun sun!

It has been the most glorious sunny weekend, everyone is walking round with the sun glasses on and short sleeved tops, a real feeling that summer is on it's way.

It has been yet another busy week and the weekend has flown by too. We were up and out and about early this morning, we had lots of jobs to get through before starting on things at home.

Jay is currently in the kitchen baking one of his manly pies, a steak and ale pie today and he is also making a chicken madras curry, a Chinese chicken & vegetable curry and a chilli all for the freezer. I think he was in the mood for a cooking fest!

The girls are meandering about the gardening casing their usual mayhem. As it is lovely and sunny I have taken out all removable parts and scrubbed them in diluted smite and they are now drying in the sun. 

Dory & Bell having their weekly dirt bath

The first of the rhubarb

Matilda taking some time out

A good weeks growth on the broad beans

I hope you have all had a wonderful sunny weekend and you have been able to get out and enjoy your gardens. 

One last thing before I end this post, over the next few weeks my posts may be few and far between, very short or even absent. Hopefully things will soon settle down again and we can both enjoy a weekly fix of Wigglywoo & Chickens too. Thanks all for being along on my journey and may you stay for more in the future. Until next time x

Nurse to Matilda

Thursday 6th December - Well what a day was had yesterday, Matilda has not been her usual self and was waddling about like a penguin and losing her balance. I concluded she was egg bound of had a problem in that area. Her bottom was down and she was making this sorrowful little sound.

I got myself organised as I could feel that this was not going to be plain sailing. I brought the big dog cage down from the summerhouse and set that up, lined it with newspaper and an old jumper to keep her warm and snug. 

I did not have anything that I could put some water in for her to have a warm bath and then I had a light bulb moment and remembered that mum had given me her foot spa! perfect for the job, I did not put the massage of bubbles on as it was far too noisy and would have probably scared her to death.

I set the footspa up and went out to fetch Matilda, she is normally a nightmare to catch, but I could get her quite easily mind you she did keep having a peck at me. I placed her in the footspa she did have a bit of a flap but I soon managed to hold her wings and and she sat down in the water. I kept her in there for about 20 minutes and she seemed quite content to sit in there. I have not been able to see or feel an egg but I am sure that this is the problem as she keeps straining. 

I kept her in the cage through the night I was not sure if she was going to make it until the morning, however when I cam e down she seemed quite content sitting on my old jumper in the warm. She has eaten and had a drink this morning, however her tail is still down and she is struggling to walk normally.

Friday 7th December - Matilda is still living in the study in the large cage and seems quite content and happy to become a resident house chicken! She ate and drank a bit yesterday and spent most of the day with her head tucked under her wing and slept. I came down this morning and she is walking about almost normally her tail is starting to go in an upward direction.

She has eaten some seed, broccoli and some other scraps and has been drinking, her eyes are bright her comb is still bright red and upright as it has always been. I am going to put her back with the others shortly before I go and help out Jay in the shop and then I'll check on her when I get back. Fingers crossed she will be fine and  is on the mend.

The lounge has come to a bit of a standstill, Jay is laying the floor at the weekend and then we just need the lights and window dressing sorted. I am so fed up of it all now that we will not be doing any more decorating until the new year.

I have been busy making new things for the weekend, I will post photos later when I have more time.

Must dash, have a great day, until next time x

Is it the compost?

Yet another glorious hot day here in Suffolk. I went to the garden center earlier to purchase some more compost and some grow-bags and another bag of seed compost. Whilst there I started to wonder that perhaps it is the compost that I had been using that was the cause of my poor germination results.

In January I was using John Innes No1 seed compost which contains peat and for my second lot of sowing's I was using a peat free seed compost. The seeds sown in January done much better than my later sowing, which you can read the results in earlier postings. There is much debate over the use of peat and how gardeners should seek to use peat free alternatives. From my results the peat free alternatives do not appear to be much good if germination results are so poor. Not only were the results poor but the soil also grew mold on it unlike the John Innes. I have now purchased a bag of the compost that contains peat and I have sown some more courgette, pumpkin and squash seeds. I will keep you posted on my results.

I had a few hours in the garden and I planted out the leeks, and some cauliflowers. I have sown some more broccoli and brussel sprouts. I also bought two large planters today which I have potted the rest of the sweet peas in to, which I have put outside the front door.

The girls spent an enjoyable couple of hours out in the garden today, they squabbled over the three snails that they found. Matilda has dug a nice big hole next to the fence, her head was down and her bottom was up in the air, stones and dirt flying out from beneath her. Octavia went over to investigate and got a peck for being so nosey! Clyde does not care for the hot weather so he has been mooching around huffing and puffing looking for somewhere cool to lay and snooze where as Max on the other hand loves to lay in the full sun.

The wasps and bees have been out in force today so I have spent several minutes flapping and screaming running up and down the garden! They have the whole world to fly around in yet they always want to be in the same spot as I do!

And finally.....It has started to cool down a little so I am going to take the dogs for a walk. I hope you all have a pleasant day/evening where ever you maybe x

Scarf, gloves and hat at the ready!

Everything is wrapped and protected now as we sit and wait to see what comes. Parts of the country has seen snow and sleet and in large areas rain. So far I have just had a few drops of rain but it has turned rather cold. I have my hat, scarf and gloves on the table in the lobby ready for walking the dogs tomorrow and I always wear my wellies even if the sun is shining!

The girls laid two eggs today, I think they spent most of their energy on emptying out the coop! There was bedding and newspaper scattered all in the run. I cleaned out the coop and cleaned up the mess they had made. They sure are a mucky bunch.

I sowed a few more seeds today some sweetcorn and a couple more of tomato. I will need to sow some more cabbages and peas but I think I will give it a week or two before doing anymore sowing and hope that the weather improves.

I removed the flower from the rhubarb today and hope that by doing so this cold weather will not cause any damage to it. The little round ball behind the pinkish flower looks like it is going to be another flower. I only planted the rhubarb last year so we did not get to have much from it as you are not supposed to take anything from it during it's first growing year. It seemed such a waste that I did take four stalks and made a small crumble with it. It looks like there is going to be plenty this year though.

And finally.....Just as I am finishing this the heavens have opened and my water butt will be filling up nicely. I bid you a good evening or day x

An oddity among the rhubarb!

Well the sun was still shining today, all gardeners are talking weather in the forums. It is supposed to change mid-week. Everyone is busy placing fleece and cloches on everything in a vain hope it will survive. We had a very warm spring last year followed by a wet summer, throwing everything in the garden out of sync. I wonder what this year will hold for the humble gardener.

Whilst having my daily wander around the garden doing my inspections this evening I noticed something rather odd looking growing out of the rhubarb. The only way I can describe it is that it looks like a head of broccoli. After a quick look on the web I have since found out that this is in-fact a rhubarb flower and needs to be removed as it takes all the goodness away from the production of the rhubarb. My battery had run out on my camera so I will post a photo tomorrow before I remove the flower.

Two of the pepper seeds have started to emerge today, however my seed germination does not appear to be as good as last year due to the much cooler weather we have had this year compared to this time last year. It has obviously had an effect on seed germination. I think I will look into getting a heater for the greenhouse for next winter to help speed things up a bit.

The girls laid two eggs today, Matilda has been busy jumping for flies, whilst Octavia was contending in the cabbage leaf chuck! She would take a peck at the leaf then fling it over her head. It was quite comical to watch and Dory and Bell were having a tug of war with a cabbage leaf stem. They sure will make great contenders for the chicken Olympics!

And finally..... It's getting late and my bed is calling. I'll bid you goodnight and good day x