Small Plot? No Problem!

I've just logged onto the Grow Your Own forum for the first time in absolutely ages and found a message saying that my bit of chicken-keeping advice had been chosen for the "Over to You" section of the December issue! Embarrassingly, I hadn't even gotten round to reading that issue yet, as I was busy in November with the launch of our big project at work. Lo and behold, there it is, slap bang in the middle of the page with a nice photo of a hen :)

Even better, the reward for publication is a ten-pound T&M voucher, which may well go towards some raspberry canes if we get the patch cleared in time...

On Saturday we went to the Potato Day at Ryton Gardens - mainly because I missed the boat when it came to ordering seed potatoes from the Organic Catalogue. We bought a dozen seed potatoes to try in pots/bags: four of International Kidney (aka Jersey Royals) and two each of Amorosa, Epicure, Rooster and Mayan Gold. They were only 18p each, and since you get to choose your own, you don't end up with the odd damaged one like you do with larger bags. The Mayan Gold in particular sound lovely, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a blight-free year!

The gardens are well worth a visit if you're a keen vegetable gardener or allotmenteer - there are "display" gardens showing different methods of pest control and composting, a biodynamic garden and a working allotment, as well as more conventional decorative gardens. Just beware the shop, which is full of yummy organic food as well as gardening supplies. I ended up buying a load of seeds, some loose shallots (very good value!), rootrainers and vermiculite. Now I just have to get sowing!