Author: Mark

  • Gathering Onions and Garlic

    Our 2015 onion and garlic harvest began in earnest. The onions and garlic had been pulled and left to dry on the soil but now it is time to dress them up a little and then store them in racks at the shed.

  • Mowing draws the crowds

    Yesterday proved to be quite an attraction for the residents of our coppice with both hens and geese needing to see if anything tasty was being uncovered. This field was partially planted with ash trees (all grown from seed ourselves) but after news of the breakout of ‘ash die back’ we planted the remainder of the field with…

  • The giant sunflower has flowered

    I don’t know if they stop growing once they have flowered so we thought it best to take a measurement…. 12′ 3″ (3.73 meters). Definitely a personal best but I suspect it won’t be enough to win the local competition. All the plants in the local competition were from the same source  so it was…

  • 15th Continental Beer Festival

    We are always on the lookout for logos that shows off our logs (and it makes a change from doing table numbers) and when the New Continental launched promotions for its 15th Annual Beer Festival it looked just the ticket.

  • Hydroponic Lemongrass Update

    A quick view on the progress of our fresh lemongrass being trialled in two simple hydroponic systems; both in a polytunnel that has no electrical supply. Pot Culture One is a very simple ‘pot culture’ system where the plants are in a soil medium with a capillary wick which dangles down into a reservoir containing…

  • My Country Business – Ian Mankin

    Nice short film by Country Homes & Interiors about the evolution of the iconic Ian Mankin tickings and fabrics business and the last traditional cotton mill in Burnley, Lancashire.

  • Make a twig star decoration

    MAKE A TWIG STAR Twig stars are easy to make and, with appropriate supervision, are a craft project suitable for a wide range of ages. The stars can be used as a decoration or as a rustic wreath base. Twig stars can be scaled up to make magnificent shop window displays or scaled down to…

  • Nantwich Show 2015

    Nantwich Show 2015

    A full day out at the Nantwich Show which includes the International Cheese Awards summarised in four pictures:

  • Rustic wooden tea light holders

    Today’s little ‘make’ was a set of tea light holders which were made from Alder that we have grown ourselves from seed. The trees are coppiced regularly to provide wood for crafts or wood chunks. The pictured three pieces were commissioned for use as a table decoration in a festive photoshoot for a magazine, hence the (red) candles…

  • Pumpkin Crowd Control

    I don’t think I can hold it back for much longer…