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Tuesday 08 May 2012
More of This Please
Tuesday was a much better day, far more like it should be in May, with some good sunny spells and temperatures up into the mid teens. Can it last?
Although it might not look like it from the picture above, the base for the new summerhouse is almost completed. Well the area for the summerhouse foundation is but there will still be plenty of work to do around the edges once the summerhouse is in place. Then we can finalise our ideas for the surrounding areas..
Wednesday 09 May 2012
At Least it’s Milder
Wednesday started off well with some bright sunny spells in the morning but it went rapidly downhill in the afternoon. The rain started mid afternoon and continued for the rest of the day. At least the temperatures seem to have risen a little with today's high once again reaching the mid teens.
Rainfall for the day was 8.8mm with a further 5.8mm falling overnight giving us a monthly total so far of 19.8mm. This is slightly above what we might expect at this stage of the month.
Thursday 10 May 2012
Very Slow Bread Making
Thursday was dull and mild following on from overnight rain. Despite the lack of sunshine it turned out to be the warmest day (19.8°C) since the 28th March when it reached 21.9°C.
Having watched the “Hairy Bikers” baking their way around Europe I was fascinated by the many specialist bread makers who left their dough to rise for 24 hours in the fridge. I had always believed that the dough needed to be left somewhere warm to rise and that the cold of the fridge would kill the yeast. I thought it might be worth seeing if dough would rise overnight in the fridge. If it did it could be knocked back, and left to rise in the morning before baking ready for lunchtime.
The dough was made around 19:00 and placed in a bowl. I reckoned it had plenty of room to double in size in this bowl, my usual check that the dough has risen enough, if indeed it was going to rise at all. After covering with cling film it went into the fridge to rise.
I did have a sneaky look in the fridge later in the evening and the dough had already just about filled the bowl. I was concerned that in the morning I would open the fridge door and be met with dough oozing out of the door!
I needn’t have worried as in the morning the dough had completely filled the bowl but not escaped around the edges. So now it would be more normal bread making. The dough was kneaded again and formed into some rather rustic looking teacakes which were left to rise until they had doubled in size.
These were baked in the oven giving them just enough time to cool for a lunch time treat.
Surprising my very slow rise dough turned out well. It’s pretty convenient to be able to make the dough, leave it to rise overnight, then bake the following morning. I wonder how long that dough would last in the fridge before use?
Friday 11 May 2012
Back to Cool and a Tomato Update
After the last couple of milder days it was back to cool on Friday. High temperature occurred at 00:05 (12.9°C) and it continued to cool down through the night continuing into Friday morning. The afternoon high was 9.8°C and there was a strong to gale force wind blowing most of the day.
Due to the cold weather, our tomato plants are certainly proving to be a challenge this year. At the rate we are progressing we might have some tomatoes ready for September time. It will be interesting to see if the plants do any catching up if, and it’s a big if, we have a good summer.
Saturday 12 May 2012
Sunny but not much warmth
Saturday was a lovely sunny day but it still wasn't particularly warm especially out of the sun and in the cool breeze.
On the plot we have eventually managed to sow some carrots. This year we’ve used some ground cover fabric to try and overcome the rapid growth of weeds under the environmesh.
I didn’t know whether to lay strips of fabric between the rows of carrot seed or to cut holes in the fabric and form seed drills in the spaces. In the end I decided on the later, thinking it might be easier to hold the fabric down.
So this is how it looked once our carrots were sown. There are 4 different varieties sown Early Nantes, Flakkee, St Valery and Autumn King. Actually sowing the seeds took only a few minutes but preparing the fabric took quite a while however, if this system proves successful I’m hoping to be able to reuse the membrane next year at least. I know this is a lot of trouble to go to for carrots but we have really missed not having a supply of tasty carrots over winter. The ones bought in the supermarket just don’t compare. There’s a little space left at the end of the bed where I may sow some more carrots without the fabric just as a comparison to see how the two methods compare under the same weather conditions.
Finally the whole area was covered with environmesh to protect from the dreaded carrot root fly. Using enviromesh is the only way we have managed to control this pest.
Sunday 13 May 2012
Not As Bad As It Looks!
Saturday was another day with some decent sunny periods. The temperature managed the mid teens, still nothing to get too excited about.
We spent the afternoon doing some more tidying up on the plot.
This bed with our old over wintering brassicas looks a complete mess with many of the old plants having gone to seed. On the positive side we have only just harvested our last of 12 cauliflowers “Jerome” from this bed . There’s also some spring cabbages that haven’t yet gone to seed which will provide some welcome fresh vegetables in the dreaded May gap. Some white and purple sprouting broccoli are still making valiant attempts to produce some tasty spears too.
Monday 14 May 2012
Will It Warm Up?
Monday wasn’t really a bad day as we had some long sunny spells and it remained dry but there was a fairly strong, cool breeze all day.
I did manage a small milestone as the base for the summerhouse is finished - well sort of. The actual area where the summerhouse will be constructed is done but there’s still plenty of tidying up to do around the edges but at least the summerhouse can be erected.
I also dismantled the last of the old pergola which had become a favourite perching spot for birds, particularly our collared doves, wood pigeons and blackbirds. It hasn’t taken “woody” very long to decide that our magnolia tree also makes an ideal roosting spot where he can keep an eye out on the garden.
