I guess I should have been blogging during all the spare time I’ve had during lockdown but actually I have been very busy. Trees of course need watering, mostly twice a day,  and when the rain did finally come, the weeds came too! The polytunnel was emptied of pots to reduce the amount of watering to do, and in the hope of at least a bit of help from the clouds!

Next years trees had to be weeded, cut back and next years rootstocks tied up and weeded. I also potted up a lot of trees which have been selling well at the farm. Unfortunately I havn’t been able to get either paid or volunteer help this spring, so there were some tiring days!

Sarah took on the work of the herbs and has some very nice plants for sale at the farm. There are signs of the markets opening up again, so watch this space for Portabello and Logierait markets running this summer.

I have also been laying out a new orchard for myself, and experimenting with various crops and green manures between the rows. There will be more on agro-orchards in a later blog.

Those heavy frosts back in May destroyed a good number of fruits in Scotland, and even more so the very strong easterly wind which browned off a lot of new leaves especially along the east coast. I always recommend good shelterbelts in and around your fruit trees and that’s exactly the reason why.

Now’s the time to cover up your fattening fruits with netting, our Juneberries, Saskatoons, Jostaberrries etc. will all get a cloak very soon. Strawberries are in season, and soon there vwill be raspberries in the hedgerows.

I made several nest boxes earlier this year and am  pleased to report 2 blue tit’s and one great tit each took up residence in one!

The good weather and the quiet roads has enabled me to cycle most days so my carbon footprint is very low this year. Normally I would have been away to sunny France, but hey ho, there’s always next year…

Now the rooklets have hatched, its time for a good Summer Solstice bonfire!

oh btw I’m currently building a compost toilet as a break from weeding……