Time to get back in to the swing of things,
August is a busy month, as things take off growing and producing, lots to harvest, lots of preserving.
I have been watching the grapes over the past few weeks in the poly tunnel as they started to ripen
Today they were harvested, 6lb in total, this vine is 3 years old and started off as cutting I brought with me when we moved.
I have been extracting the juice this evening with the steam extactor.
I am going to make some wine with this juice, if it turns out not drinkable it will be used for cooking.
Remeber the Hop I planted back in April, it has grown away lovely and is now in flower, it is not suppose to flower until year 2, there wont be enough to do anything with, I will proberbly just hang them in the kitchen.
The melons have come on a storm this year, there are 9 lovely sized ones, they have been netted using old tights to keep the weight off the stems.
Blueberries have also been brilliant this year, so far 7lb have been harvested, there is still one bush of late season to harvest, I did make a couple jars of Blueberry jelly, the rest have gone in the freezer until I have time to do something with them.
I will end my return to blogging with the result of tonights juicing
Nice to see you back. You have done well there. I bought a vine which I planted in my herb bed about three years ago. It has never really amounted to anything but this year has gone crazy no end of leaves. I have not checked but I thought it had set a couple of bunches of grapes which is exciting as it has never happened before so we shall see. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the plant so I am not sure whether it is black or white. You have done really well on the fruit front.
ReplyDeleteTake care
Pattypan
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Grapes I have grow before I have not really done anything with and usually end up feeding them to the chickens or making a bit of grape jelly, I have no idea what the original grape was called.
DeleteLovely to see you back blogging Dawn! That juice looks stunning!
ReplyDeleteNice to be back, the juice is a little on the sharp side it will be intresting to see what the wines comes out like
DeleteGlad to see you are back. I'm sure you've been VERY busy with your harvest. Look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteIt is just that busy time of year :-)
DeleteWelcome back Dawn, I've missed your posts and pictures, you always give me good ideas for our own kitchen and garden (on a smaller scale though!). We won't be growing grapes or hops though, not enough room here (and I don't drink, husband not much). Hope your grape juice turns into a nice wine.
ReplyDeleteThe hop was to help cover up the shed, I was also thinking as Martin likes to do home brew he might want to have a go at some beer.
DeleteLovely to hear from you again!
ReplyDeleteAnd lovely to hear from you
DeleteHi there and hello again. Great to have you back but you are right a break from things is needed some time. Lovely fruit catch up.
ReplyDeleteHaving a break helps you look at things with fresh eyes again.
DeleteI am dping something wrong as our grapes produced very little last year. Obviously to do with my pruning. Care to share your pruning tips...?
ReplyDeleteI dont really know what I am doing pruing wise, I take off lots of the side vines and feed them to the goats, otherwise it just ends up as a big mass of foilage, I did remove lots of the bunches as they were forming, it seemed to have worked.
DeleteI love your post's, nice to see you using the results of all the hard work. Your country ways always remind me of my mum, like you she knew so many things, which the rest of us have lost the knowledge.
ReplyDeleteThere is lots of things I want to try, I find it all very interesting :-)
DeleteLovely to have an update from you, nine melons, how great!
ReplyDeleteI am really pleased with the melons this year last year it was a failure
DeleteYaaay!
ReplyDeleteGood sound common sense and no winging. So pleased to see you back.
nice to be back and me winge :-)
DeleteNice to read you again Dawn.
ReplyDeleteand you Jean.
DeleteGreat post Dawn! I'm so happy to see your hops doing well. I've tried twice and each time was a fail. But I'm going to keep trying. Brilliant to net the melons. I zeroed out on them as well this year, but that's how it goes.
ReplyDeletesome years are better than others we have to keep trying
DeleteI have not checked but I thought it had set a couple of bunches of grapes which is exciting as it has never happened before so we shall see. Unfortunately I forgot the name of the plant so I am not sure whether it is black or white. You have done really well on the fruit front.
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good luck with your grapes
DeleteSo glad you're back. I learn a lot from your posts. Thanks for the effort you put into them. It's lovely to follow the development of a small holding though I imagine yours is quite a large one. I don't really know how various sized rural ventures are classified,if at all.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to travelling through autumn and winter with you. Sue
We started with 5 acres and are mainly still working on 5 acres, we bought another 15 that backs onto ours working on reclaiming hedgerows and fencing over there at the moment, I did read that 25 acres or less is a smallholding, but I think its more on what you do with the land rather than size
Deletethanks for sharing the nice article.
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I am so relieved to see you're back. I enjoy your posts hugely but want to say don't feel any pressure - even just seeing what's going on is fabulous to read. Educating us as you go is a bonus!
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back and you are busy as ever too. I hope your grapes make a drinkable wine (but brill for cooking if not). See you Friday. Will send message via FB.
ReplyDeleteI just located your blog via another blog. I do enjoy it! Have a nice week!
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