2 minute read
Hen Corner
Brighter DAYS AHEAD
Sara Ward
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Already we are enjoying the longer days that bring with them signs of spring: tulips and daffodils, bird song and the feeling of sun on our backs. This year has started with a slower pace, and sometimes that’s not a bad thing. Time to reflect, learn, appreciate and plan is a real gift. It’s time to get our planting plans together, and this year I have two growing spaces to prepare for, here in the garden and down at the allotment. I was thrilled with all that we achieved on the plot last year. There’s still a lot to do, but with good planning and hard work, we can have food ready to harvest right throughout the year. I’m using the allotment for crops that need time and space, such as brassicas, root vegetables and squashes. In the garden I’m growing easy to pick salads, herbs and tomatoes. With more sunlight to encourage them, the hens are back in lay and it won’t be long before one or two of them become broody and attempt to hatch their eggs - even though I continue to remind them of the futility of the idea since we have no daddy chickens here. Collecting warm eggs from a bed of straw on a sunny morning is a life experience I will never grow tired of. As the early blossoms open and spring bulbs unfurl their petals, our honey bees send armies of foragers out of the hives searching for precious pollen and nutritious nectar. The kiss of the bee is the Let’s focus on that which is certain, the changes of the seasons, the promise of spring, and that fruit will come in its proper time.
beginning of pollination and very soon we will see baby peaches, apricots and almonds forming on our trees.
Last year we secured our first full harvest of figs and made some delicious jam. When the squirrels decided to nab all our olives I managed to pick the remaining kilo which was promptly cured with salt to remove bitterness and preserve them. Back in the kitchen, we continue with our Friday Micro Bakery and look forward to welcoming guests for in-person courses sharing skills such as chicken care, bee keeping, baking and preserving. Whilst there is still uncertainty in many other areas of life, let’s focus on that which is certain, the changes of the seasons, the promise of spring, and that fruit will come in its proper time.
