Rooster killing

Favourite Handyman killed and plucked two roosters this afternoon. I gutted them and they are now hanging inside pillowcases in one of our outdoor sheds. Given the very cold weather, we have no concerns about them hanging overnight. Last time we killed roosters was a hot summer's day and we only hung them for an hour that time. The pillowcases mean flies cannot get at them.

When I went around to Raelene's to collect the roosters, she also had a big pile of "Lifestyle Farmer" magazines for me to borrow. Interesting reading so far. I took particular notice of an article on gardening through carpet, where the author laid manure over lawn/weeds and then laid wool carpet over that. Then she cut holes in the carpet and planted seeds or seedlings through the hole. She was very impressed with the results. I've ignored advice relating to recycling carpet before because I never come across any old carpet. But in a lightbulb moment this evening, I remembered that our childminder's husband is a carpet layer. I'll have a chat to Pete next week and see what my prospects are.

We don't get a lot of sub-zero temperatures where I live, but this week Jack Frost has definitely been calling. I think the tamarillo is going to become compost rather soon. Everything else is surviving okay.

At the end of this month I will have been blogging for one whole year. So now that a year of haphazardly labelling or not labelling my posts, it has finally dawned on me that I want a better system. Specifically, I want to be able to use my blog as a resource to check on what worked and what didn't for particular flowers/herbs/vegetables/fruits in previous years. So I'm in the midst of puddling round pushing some order into my labelling, even gunning for a system. This is a typical pattern for me for almost all ventures I undertake.

These are the labels I'm thinking of reorganising into: community, politics, vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, food, compost, recipes, gardening techniques. Could be a few more, such as my using up the cupboard project. But maybe I no longer need a label for Monty Don just because I mentioned him once which was really just because I fancy him, in an idle hot-garden-knowedgeable-man kind of way. Maybe.

seed sowing, local shopping, organic eating

blah blah. I'm feeling quite the earth mother today.

This evening I sowed eight different kinds of seeds:
1. arugula - which is like rocket but apparently is less inclined to bolt. My understanding of the catalogue description is that I can get growth year round with this seed.
2. calendula - I bought a dwarf mixed colour packet to add to my colour splashes as last year's calendula was so kind to me and flowered all through winter despite total neglect on my part.
3. violas - Heartsease Miss Helen Mount which I've been coveting a while..
4. Welsh Bunching Onions
5. Radish - a gourmet blend apparently
6. broccolli
7. kale - hopefully I won't throw a tantrum and destroy the broccoli and kale if I find a caterpillar like last time.
8. marjoram - cos we haven't got any and I want to see how different it tastes to our Greek Oregano.

Zucchinis are growing more strongly again which no doubt has nothing to do with me throwing wet piles of horse manure around the plants last week. Last August I made some horse poo brew and last August is really a long time ago now. I'd used the brew a few times and then forgot about it as the tree growth covered the brew bin. But since Favourite Handyman cut all bar one of the trees down and let in the light, the brew bin looked silly and like it should be used UP. So I sloshed it in lots of places and we'll see what happens next.

Today I collected a bulk order of sausages from the fabulous Blackball Salami Company, took delivery of some avocadoes from Doug at Eco Avo and discussed a first delivery with Dieter of Treedimensions.

Cos I'm on a foodie roll at the moment, chicken stock is bubbling gently as I write.

Exciting news also came in the form of an email about an organic co-op in the next town which is only 30 minutes' drive from me. It's up and running now and I'm itching to check it out.