This was supposed to be a daily blog documenting what was going on with my homestead and my prepping, but the busy summer growing days have rather overtaken that plan.
So I think Pennsif's Progress, at least for the timebeing, will be more of an occasional update 😊
In the 25 days since I last posted much has been happening here.
The big news is that after 3 years of saving and waiting we have finally got our polytunnel in place.
It's a fairly good size of 18 foot by 42 foot (5.5m x 12.8m) so it should allow us to grow quite a decent amount of food. And most imporantly we should be able to extend our growing season by at least a month at either end.
This photo was taken before we'd put the doors on. I've been so busy I've forgotten to take another pic with the doors in place.
Unfortunately our mountainside soil is too poor and too thin so we are having to plant in raised beds in the polytunnel. We will have four large beds, each 2.2m x 4.8m, in due course. The first two are in place and already filled with sweet potatoes, courgettes, melons and tomatoes. We've also got peppers, sweet corn, aubergines and tiger nuts in large tubs.
A key need for the polytunnel was getting a nearby water supply in place.
The polytunnel is about 300m from the tap in the yard so carrying watering cans back and forth was a bit of a drag.
The polytunnel is only about 3m from one of our streams that runs down the mountain. We had already built a small reservoir at the top to supply the old orchard chicken pen.
There is a drop of about 30m from the reservoir to the polytunnel so a good enough head to get some decent pressure. We laid some 20mm alkathene pipe down the gully of the stream and fitted a standpipe and tap.
Hey presto we have water right outside the polytunnel!
As well as getting the polytunnel in place, we have also been extending our raised beds.
In the old back garden we renovated and recommissioned three 4.8m x 1.2m beds that had become overrun by brambles and willowherb. They are now back in use and planted up with broccoli, cabbage, calabrese, cauliflowers, courgettes and pumpkins.
We've also built a brand new herb bed on the terrace platform where we plan to build a cob pizza oven next year.
I love herbs and managed to extend my collection with this second herb bed. As well as the 'usuals' (mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, lemon balm etc) I've got a few new ones - hyssop, curry plant, dill...
So a lot of time over the last few weeks has been spent on infrastructure projects to expand our growing capacity. Still more to come on this front - but that's for another day. The big plan is to increase the number of months each year that we have 'vegetable independence'. We went for 4 months last year without having to buy in any vegetables. By next year we hope to reach at least 6 months - maybe more with the polytunnel and greenhouses.
We have been harvesting aplenty - beans, peas, onions, potatoes, garlic, herbs, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflowers, broccoli, courgettes, cucumbers, tomatoes... There has even been surplus enough to start filling the freezer for later months.
And our chickens have kept us well supplied with eggs - and now meat. We dispatched the first two of our broilers last week. Five more to go.
That's assuming the foxes don't get them first. We've had this chap and his friend hanging around for the past week. They must be the great grandcubs of Jasmine the fox who used to help me feed the chickens about ten years ago. It is Jasmine who features in my profile picture.
As there are no fox hunts anymore foxes are quite prolific around here preying on lambs and chickens. Our neighbours regularly shoot the foxes on their land and they are trying to convince me to get a gun to do likewise.
The rest of the family are not so keen. They wonder if we could tame the foxes as pets instead - they really want a dog, but a fox might do. When I was at college my friend had a pet fox that she used to take for a walk on a leash. He was called Maurice.
So we are up to speed now. Lots more to come, but now it's sleep time.
Night all.
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This is amazing you have a beautiful homestead. I would love to try a polytunnel vs my green house. Thanks for sharing
Thank you, the beautiful Welsh countryside is one of the reasons we moved here. And because it was where my mother was born - in fact only a stone's throw from our property.
Really, how cool is that. You are an ocean away, and I can actually say that I have been where you are. I went to Scottland, Wales, and Britain as my 18th birthday gift. You are truly blessed with all the beauty for sure
That would make a good post - "My 18th birthday tour of Britain" - a look back piece.
Yes it is beautiful here. I work from home and it is a great blessing to be able to get up from my computer, walk to the front door and look out at green fields and a thousand trees.
Glad you are back. The tunnel is a great addition to your gardens. Anxious to know how many more months worth of food it will supply. Great post. Thanks . 🐓🐓
More posts on the polytunnel coming soon.
Great post! I enjoyed looking at your spring catchment system. I am in the beginning stages of building my own spring water catchment system. It was nice to see your pictures.
Thank you. We'll be working on something similar to get water to our other garden over the far side of the barn soon. Lugging heavy watering cans is a bit of a drag!
I always appreciate when Homesteaders take a minute to decide not to shoot a predator on sight and eveluate the situation fully. I'm at that stage with some coyotes we share the land with. They have yet to get the chickens, and if they show more signs of advances we may have to take measures. So far, doing our best to scare them off has been working, I suppose. I hope further measures don't have to be taken.
Your hoop house looks great and professional! I always wonder how something like that would hold up to our high winds. I don't have high hopes. Haha
Your raised beds look really nice! We will have to implement a raised bed system, hoping it will deter all rodents from eating EVERYTHING. Jerks.
Anyway, teverything looks so great! I can't wait to see how it all works out for you!! The water source is great too!
Thanks for this. It is progressing well in the garden but always so much to do. Been planting more fruit bushes today.
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STOPThat poly tunnel looks great! And awesome use of your land to have a good water source, too! We have two creeks on our land, but they're all the lowest point of the property. I look forward to getting to see inside the tunnel and what you do in there. I'd love a greenhouse... almost built one this year, but we opted for the Outdoor Kitchen instead. ;) Thanks @pennsif
Hoping to do a post on the polytunnel soon - want to get it a bit tidied up first 😊
It's coming along wonderfully!! I am in the same boat with the updates. Trying to stay on top of weeds & bugs in the garden and while I may win a small battle here and there it's looking like I'm losing the dang war. But, there's always the fall garden & next year. The fox will limit small pests like mice & rabbits that would make mince out of the garden, so I think it's wonderful that you're OK with it hanging around!
We have had a lot of rain the last few days so the slugs are coming out in force. They were invading one of my cabbage patches last night. I show no mercy - slug meet boot 😉
Ooooh not a fan of slugs, either. I try to pick them & feed them to the chickens. Sometimes they are pleased with my offering, sometimes they could care less. I think our chickens are spoiled, just a little bit!
Very nice!! I can see you have worked hard. It's exciting growing your own food as much as possible. Following you! Upvoted!
Thank you @suziescorner
I had no idea you could keep a fox as a pet. There are no longer foxes on the island I'm from. I do realise the can be a real nuisance, but I do think we should let every species exist. Jasmine looked like a fine fox. Did she ever go for the chickens?
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WOW!! I can see how you are busy as a bee!!! Excellent job with using that stream for your water source, just brilliant. I'm so happy you are planting such a tremendous variety of food there in the mountains. Great work!! Enjoy all the harvesting, and mmmm broiler birds too. We are just about to process 24 this weekend ourselves!
I think you'll be quite happy with how the polytunnel will extend your growing season. My greenhouse gives me about an extra month in the spring and in the fall.