We are currently in the time of year known to vegetable gardeners at the ‘hungry gap’ – when we’ve planted our seeds (or at least some of them) but there’s nothing to harvest yet.
However, we don’t seem to be suffering too much this year… the purple sprouting broccoli and kale are both doing well and there are still leeks to be harvested. In addition, as we prepare vegetable beds for future planting, we keep finding overlooked potatoes – not enough to supply all our needs, but still a welcome addition to our supplies. We are also starting to be able to harvest some leaves – blood-veined sorrel seems to have established itself around the garden and the Claytonia is growing in profusion in one of the planters… in combination with some young kale leaves, these make a very acceptable leafy salad. Indeed, combined with hard-boiled egg and the surprise potatoes, I have been able to rustle up a meal or two completely out of the garden.
Because I was careful to store as much as possible from last summer’s harvest, we are also enjoying a wide variety of home-grown produce. There are still bottles of apples and a few frozen raspberries and blackberries. Plus, in the freezer I can find roasted courgette, passatta, pesto, vegetable soup, roasted squash, chilli and redcurrants and there are more bottles of passatta in the cupboard. We are by no means close to being self-sufficient, but I love to be able to eat something we have grown at least once every day.
However, it is the promise of crops to come that really excites me. The herbs are starting to perk up now – mint, chives and lemon balm producing fresh shoots. Plus rosemary and sage beginning to wake up and grow again. I’m restraining myself from picking any rhubarb yet – but there are now lots of tender shoots. The lettuce and mizuna seeds that I planted a week or so ago are germinating and the chilli and pepper plants need potting up. Some more compost translocation is required before we can plant potatoes and various seeds directly into the garden, but the weather forecast for this weekend is good and my labourer is home, so we should be able to achieve something.
I’m also delighted to report that, although Anna is still doing more sitting down than usual, she is no longer limping. At 3.1kg she is a big chicken, so physical injury (literally falling off her perch!) is a distinct possibility. I think she’s even laying again, although distinguishing eggs is quite a challenge… and Lorna keeps sitting on them whether she’s laid or not!
Anna (l) and Tiffany enjoying the sunshine (yes, there are two hens there)
nerdinthebrain
/ April 9, 2015Your chickens are so adorable! I keep thinking that I’d like to get 4 or 5 chickens, but I worry about what we would do when we go out of town. How long can they be self-sufficient?
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 9, 2015They can be left for a few days if they are in a secure run… you can even have an electronic door that will open and close for them automatically a dawn and dusk… techno-chickens! Actually, we just ask the neighbours to keep an eye on them, which also works well.
Nice piece of work
/ April 9, 2015pity the chickens can’t label their own eggs. eg. laid by Tiffany. 🙂
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 9, 2015Now that would be useful!
katechiconi
/ April 9, 2015It can sometimes be useful having several different breeds, because their eggs do differ. My Australorps used to lay huge pale brown eggs, and the Isa Browns laid smaller darker brown eggs, so I knew which was which. Glad Anna is slowly getting back to normal; it’s a worry when animals are sick – they can’t tell you where it hurts or how they’re feeling.
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 9, 2015Esme’s eggs are very distinct and you would think that Lorna’s (a brown Calder Ranger) would be completely different to the Bluebell’s, but they are remarkably similar!
cambridgearomatherapy
/ April 9, 2015We still have quite a lot to eat from the garden/pollytunnel. I think of the hungry gap as starting more the end of this month, though there are a few more things showing by then.
nanacathy2
/ April 9, 2015Lovely grub! We had our first garden rhubarb on Saturday. Delicious.
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 9, 2015Oooh yum!
scythecymru
/ April 10, 2015After many years of aiming for self sufficency, at least in veg, we too find that the hungry gap starts a bit later, May, into June even. When all the stored roots are eaten and the garden is planted but there is not a lot to harvest yet. We are hoping dairy produce from our milking animals will help make this time of year a bit more exciting, food wise.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ April 10, 2015I think you are right… at least we have eggs during that bit of the year! We are too small for dairy, sadly, so eggs and lettuce it will have to be!
narf77
/ April 10, 2015There is nothing as satisfying as picking something from your garden and making a meal with it. There is something deeply and fundamentally natural about it. It’s one of those primal moments in life where you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you did something right 🙂
arlingwoman
/ April 11, 2015I’m looking forward to radishes, lettuce and spinach. Carrots. Oh my. So glad your hen is better. She looks very dignified.
The Belmont Rooster
/ April 12, 2015Awesome post as usual!
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 12, 2015Thank you and welcome back… looking forward to seeing you blogging again
Lori Fontanes
/ April 12, 2015We have same problem identifying which duck laid which egg. Except our Cayugas’ eggs are slightly different color. Hope your chicken is on the mend!!! 🙂
The Snail of Happiness
/ April 12, 2015She seems to be fully recovered now – I think she’s produced one egg, but she hides them round the garden, so I can never be sure that she hasn’t found a new spot to use… I have occasionally come across half a dozen in some secluded corner!
Lori Fontanes
/ April 12, 2015She’s on to you! 🙂
insearchofitall
/ April 15, 2015It’s a good day. You’ve gone and sent me to research the names of some of your store I have not heard of. The passatta and the courgette are new terms for me. It will be several years before much of anything is grown here that feed anyone but the bugs. I am delighted your Anna is healing. I love being educated about things so this has been an excellent post. Thank you.