A normal day..... !!!!

So, it was a normal Saturday. The children got ready for school (Saturday school and sport matches being the norm for us...) The 12yo had a singing exam in a far off place, a mere 50 miles from home after dropping the 10yo to school, so off we went.

Exam went well (fingers crossed for good results) and by 1pm we Archers were all back home.

After a snatched lunch in the baking sun, it was time to see to the sheep. We rounded them up, stuffed them in the stables and brought them out, one by one, to a makeshift race where we each had a job: There were ear tags to clip in, worming injection to administer, feet to check and a spray paint brand to be given to the lambs who would stay on farm as breeding ewes.

It didn't all go to plan; two lambs escaped in the process but were eventually caught and sorted.

By 8pm family Archer had showered, (absolute necessity, in fact; thinking of burning the jeans I had been wearing!!!!) and were sat in the garden, surrounded by cats and chickens, consuming a take-out Chinese.

By 9pm my back insisted I go and lie down and so we all piled into our bed. I conked out, no doubt snoring over Harry Potter film, but all family members seemed quite happy.

This morning a cat, Tabby, woke me at 4.30am... Being as I'd slept from 9pm (a mere 7.5 hours) I was ok about this and duly followed him downstairs to give him biscuits and make myself a coffee. Turns out he was actually telling me (Lassie-style) that the sheep flock was in the garden eating my flaars!

In pjs and wellies I set about rounding up 30 sheep from the garden who had discovered that self-seeded rocket was delicious! Tabby looked on, not interested in auditioning as a sheep dog.

And now I am sat, coffee in hand, so many jobs to do: cleaning, ironing, washing, plant those blasted tumbling toms into the hanging baskets, check on the soon-to-be-mums in the alpaca fields, pack Poo for customers, water garden, pick strawberries before the blackbirds do, mend fence where sheep keep getting through, wash floors and bathrooms, finish a business plan, sort lunch for Grandma visit..... So many jobs, that I can't do any of them.

So I'll just sit awhile and watch the flowers grow.

Gardening in Pictures

Though the sun has been missing from this spring and the temperatures have therefore been reserved, the garden is still thriving thanks to Lou's Poo, Dried Alpaca Fertilizer and the lush rainfall. 

Our garden (ex paddock c1960 really,) has always been a tadge rough cottage garden; the grass is coarse and the moles have been very naughty. However, the Hubby is now an expert mole-catcher, ably assisted by the cats, and the mower is trying to tame the grass. In order to divert the eye from the rubbish lawn, I planted mini-meadows in wooden raised beds last year filling a metre square with our magical alpaca poo and tons of plants, mainly perennials or re-seeders. Eh voila! this year we have been rewarded by pretty mini-meadows that afford us tons of cut flaars for the house... win, win.

Garden Planning - Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea, an essential part of my garden year. Even sowing them is an act of optimism, being as I place the gorgeous satisfying pea seeds into a pot now, in Autumn, to be planted out in early spring. 

Here's my 'How To Guide'. You will need the following:

1. Sweet Pea Seed
2. Good sized pots
3. Compost (maybe some added nutrition from Lou's Poo, Dried Alpaca Manure) 
4. Toilet Roll insides
5. Plant Markers
6. Water

Choose your seed. Personally I save mine from the best of my plants.

Gather good sized pots and half fill with compost. At this stage I add a small handful of Lou's Poo, Dried Alpaca Manure as my seedlings will be in these pots for at least 4 months. Remember alpaca manure is not a hot manure, it's gentle and won't damage the seedlings, plus it will take a while for their little roots to penetrate to this layer.

Next add your toilet roll insides and fill these with compost.

Choose your seed, I like to grow the same colour in one pot and another colour in another pot.

I generally only add a few seeds per roll.

Label each toilet roll. This seems extreme but in the spring, when you gently separate these rolls into their own good-sized plant pot, you'll be glad they are already labelled.

Water well and place in a sheltered area. Personally I don't put them in the greenhouse, I treat them as meanly as I can, though I do afford them the shelter of the walled garden. They need protection from slugs and snails and if there was a sustained frost I might cover them but otherwise don't molly-coddle them.

As soon as the seedlings get to be about 4" tall I pinch them out, nipping off any extra growth. I do this every so often, till early spring, I pinch them out again and again, letting them grow just a little bigger each time, to ensure strong, bushy plants rather than tall, sickly ones.

Go on, sow some sweet pea now, you'll be so glad you did next summer.

Lou
xx

Lou's Poo to the rescue.....

And here is the result - the power of Poo. A little goes a long way.

Repatriated hydrangea cuttings, from our last Cornish holiday at the fantastic Trevella Holiday Park, are doing well. A beautiful array of colours.

This Geranium (name anyone????) is so gorgeous, with dark maroon foliage and crazy purple flowers.

I love the jungle approach. The only way to contend with mass grass invasion.

Looking neat in the walled garden after a haircut last night. The broad beans have been very delicious this year.

Helianthus, pepper and rhubarb all on track and performing well

Raspberries are taking over the world (yum) and the lupin and shasta combo might stay in pots this year in order to make monumental plants for next year. I'll need to put them in a cooler spot but far from the slugs and snails.

The strawberry pots, filled with Poo and very little soil, are giving us fruit for breakfast every day now

Splendid delphinium

Globe artichoke: I only grow them as ornamentals... too much fiddle as a veg!

Bit of weeding to do Mrs Archer!!! (... in my spare time then..!.)

More borrowed cuttings... I did ask, honest.

This antirrhinum loves living in the wall. 

We found a way to contend with Mr Mole: eye-catching planted squares in the lawn. 

The cornflowers have been insane. So tall. I cut a few for the house and they last so well.

This bed is looking far better since I banned the children from jumping out the downstairs windows!

I do love a lupin

The bees love all the flowers but particularly the knautia

The grass is as high as an elephant's alpaca's eye

Sleepy sheep. Being shaved next week. 

Our planted Christmas trees seem very happy. They have solar, blue twinkly lights in the night... 

The arum lily is just beginning to show off

Land of wellies

Lou's Poo...

For those who read the blog regularly, you'll know I'm obsessed with gardening. Sadly I am also obsessed with poo! Not only does the word rhyme with my name but the merest mention of the word makes me smile. #sillysenseofhumour. It may be because most of my day is filled with stepping over poo, picking it up or finding a use for it: Breeding sheep, chickens and alpaca, means there's always a plentiful supply.

Anyhoo, for the past 16 months I have been putting my chicken poo, and occasionally the sheep poo, on my compost heap for use in a year or so when it is well rotted. There is no need for delayed gratification with the alpaca poo; I have been using that directly on my shrubs, flowers and veg because it's not a 'hot' manure and doesn't scorch the plants.

Good Lordy! The results are amazing in my garden this year. The growth on the roses is stunning, even though they are planted in a poor bed, with precious little soil thanks to a new soak-away! The sweet pea are bedded into a trench filled with alpaca poo and they are already almost 5ft tall with tons of flowers appearing. In the veg garden I'm already deluged by courgettes; ratatouille here we come! With all this nutrition I'm hoping for good results in the local horticultural shows this year!

Coming soon TheArchersAtTheLarches.com

My hand picked, air dried, alpaca poo is a wonderful slow release nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium soil enhancer, It is sweet smelling... in my humble opinion it smells like mowed grass and muesli, probably down to my clean paddocks and the great camelid food I feed the herd. All you need is a small handful in any indoor or outdoor potted plants or you can, like me, administer direct to soil or into a planting trench.

If you fancy a boost for the garden you can purchase the 550g dried version of Lou's Poo, Alpaca Manure, at The Plant Centre in Ludlow, Shropshire, UK. Open every day 9.30 - 5.30 Tel: 01584 856873. It comes, as per the pic, in a resealable, compostable, lined brown bag and retails at £9.99. A Gardener's Advantage!

Alternatively, you might like to buy it online from my new website, [launching in early August] TheArchersAtTheLarches.com.

Happy Gardening!

Lou