A Round Up For August

Here is a round up of whats been happening on the ranch through August

A Cucumber glut 

To date we have picked 72 cucumbers, they are eaten in sandwiches, made into pickles, given away, sold, fed to the goats, fed to the chickens and fed to the tortoise, I have also dehydrated some

 The cut flower beds have produced gluts of Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Gladioli and Lily's, every room has had flowers including the 

Ti pee when we had visitors, given bunches away and sold some.

 Corn on the Cob not a glut but they have done excellent in the poly tunnel again

 I have pulled 14 cobs so far and there is still a few more

roasted in the green over a fire is the best way to enjoy them

Peas once again have done well this year, so far 18lb

 Unexpected crops of mushrooms from the poly tunnel were spent mushroom kits were emptied

 A couple of pickings a week

The Ross Cob meat chickens are coming on great, now 16 weeks old, they spend there time free ranging the fields, we had the second one to eat, oven weight was 5lb 10oz, it served us well, with a roast dinner, rissoto, a couple of lunches and I used the last of the meat for pies, chicken and mushroom ones, the carcass was made into stock.

 

 Tomatoes I thought I was going to loose them last week to blight, but prompt action seems to have saved them, so far we have picked 9lb

 Onions have done well this year, the brown onions were taken up over the week end,

 and have now joined the red and white onions on the drying rack

 An unexpected addition arrived on the ranch, he has been name The Bolt, he arrived soaked through and exhausted, I popped him in a cage where he would be safe and he tucked into some food, I traced his owner in Blackburn through the numbers on his rings, he was released up into the air after two days rest, later that day he arrived back again, he now spends his days hanging about with the doves then takes himself off to bed in the barn in the evening, looks like he has decided to stay.

Departures, we sold our two young does, now 5 months old, they were collected at the week end, our first livestock sold.

 That's the round up for August, lets see what September brings.