I could have cried for you when you found the rat damage. So disappointing. But your face when you harvested the red cabbage, absolute joy! 😊 I love seeing your plot, always so beautiful 😍
Thank you Linda. That red cabbage made 4 lovely jars of pickled cabbage for my husband and daughter, with some left over for me to steam on my Sunday roast. Yum! I really did give it the look of love didn’t I? 😂 I was so devastated when I spotted the damage. I couldn’t understand why other stems came out with the first few carrots. Realised afterwards it was because the carrots have been eaten, not me accidentally pulling knotted things out. Still got a great harvest and washed them well.
Amazing harvests even if somewhat shared with the rats 😢 Great job on tge hedge - a massive job well done 👍 I think we're all putting Pongo beans on our grow lists for next year!!!
I need to save some seeds and stop eating them. They’re so prolific and the beans grow so straight. Show beans for next season, Kerry! I made the hedge look such a quick job. Took me 6 hours 😂😅😅
I keep saying I need to get a bosch hedge trimmer for the plot! Those dreaded rats! What a great harvest Clare! It was better for you to take the brassica roots out. Keeping them in can encourage club root. Lovely update. Danny 🌱
I really want the Stihl hedge trimmer.. although the Bosch one did all the hedge (and the other side behind the greenhouses) from a single charge. They run for hours. Rats are such pests once they find you aren’t they ☹️😭😭
He did a FAB job with the rabbit netting didn’t he? Massive thanks to his cousin, Andrew, who helped him too. It’s worked as not seen a rabbit on the plot since. The main garden is mostly walled around it too. Spot his new cordless nail gun bought for the job 😅
Morning Clare, The plot is still looking fantastic. It always amazes me how just removing a few dead leaves can makes all the difference! You have a beautiful space and the harvest looked fabulous! Happy gardening! Annie 🐞🐝🌱
Morning Annie. Hope it’s drier where you are than up here. Grim day for us. Means I’m in for a RUclips catch up day. I love how tidying the plants up a bit can make them go from looking “done” to “good to go for a bit longer yet”. Thank you for the lovely words. I’m already planning what to change for next year. Hard to know what works best for you until you really start using a growing space. Have a fab week x
Gerald has a home made platform on wheels as we have a hedge a few hundred feet long and he has to do it twice a year. My teddy bears are just coming into full bloom now. I actually enjoy clearing out beds and making things look new for next season, it gives in hope for a new start. Yikes 😱 but at least it’s not a dead rat 🐀, I found one of those last year. Glad you harvested before the rats did. Have a super week ahead Clare, Ali 🌞🥵🇨🇦
I have another long hedge I have to do too, in a commercial field I use as my business from the farm. The hedge cutter flails it, and I can’t have all those pieces in the floor due to who is using the field. Impossible to clear it all away. It’s a big job isn’t it? We aren’t getting any younger. I can’t cope with being much higher up. I get dizzy 😅😅 I’ll be sad to see summer over. Not sure how much I’ll have growing outside over winter, with having the polytunnel.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. I do keep turning my compost and have seen no evidence of them in there yet. We do have rats living under tree roots etc in the main garden and obviously around the livestock sheds as we feed cattle in them
Enjoying watching the start of your video on my commute and look forward to watching the rest on my way home 😊 your hedge looks fantastic, well done! And thank you for the sunflower harvest reminder 🥰
Great video Clare. Those blueberries were amazing to say it’s a new plant. I think I might have to buy one as my two grandchildren love blueberries. Fab harvest too.
I’m so impressed with it, especially as I have it planted in the ground. I did dig a bigger hole and filled around the roots with ericaceous soil, but it’s probably got routesi in to the soil itself now. They are delicious too. The skins are so soft compared to shop bought. Label just says “Garden Insprations and Blueberry” on it. Got it from a local Blue Diamond Garden Centre. Have a great week Debra x
@@TheFarmyardGarden thanks for that Clare. Not sure it’s the right time of year for them but I’m going to go look for one today. I’ve not had much to shout about this year but I’ve got a massive pumpkin for the girls to pick for Halloween 🎃
@@Tea_and_thyme_2012 massive pumpkin sounds amazing! It’s been a tough season hasn’t it? You’re not alone. They had them in the one near us last week. I bought mine around this time last year. 🙌🏼
Can’t keep up 😂😂 did you change your thumbnail? Yes I’ve already watched this one 😂😂 I love a black cat and remember him/her. Obviously not a catcher 😂😂 Never far from a rat, still I’d say better the devil you know. God knows what happens to all the store grown veg!! Great job on the hedge too, lucky for us our neighbour is a gardener and keeps the home hedges (ours included) neat and tidy ❤
Black cat surprised us with 5 kittens (big kittens too) last weekend. We tried to find if she has an owner. Her and another just turned up earlier this year, likely dumped. They do look healthy rats when I see the odd one.. should they make me feel happier? Somehow it does but I’m not sure it should 😂😛 You are lucky yours get cut for you. You have a lovely neighbour (as do they with you and Tricia. )
Ohhh Clare, i feel your pain, the carrots were the last straw for me with the allotment! Surgery gone well, ill be one handed for a few weeks yet 🤦🏻♀️
I’m glad the op went well Anita. Here’s hoping that hand will feel brand new when it’s all healed up. Carpal Tunnel is so painful for sufferers. I was so disappointed to see they’d been in the carrots. Can’t blame them though. They’re so yummy 🫣 Get well soon ☺️
Lovely end of season vlog. You’ve inspired me to buy more sunflower seeds. Ordered from Premier seeds Sunflower Henry Wilde - Sunflower Red Desire Sunflower Polino Lemon Sunflower - Indian Blanket Sunflower Astra rose Thanks for the inspiration. ❤ ps do be careful on that platform x
They look like a great mix of sunflowers! I had no idea there were so many varieties, until this year. 🌻 I’m glad you’ve been inspired to buy some. I was pretty careful on the platform. It’s more stable than if probably looks. Only reason I have any difficulty is Achilles injuries preventing me from fully flexing my feet 😂😅
great harvests, Clare. I could have you over here with your trimmer and you could give me a hand with the hedges here, too. Its so much easier to watch someone else to do it 😅 Eek, the rats have really had a party there...🙈🙈
I knew when I put the plot there I’d have to manually cut those hedges.. it’s sooo tall and I’m soooo short. Big job, like your Clematis Montana was, but so satisfying to see it done isn’t it? I hope it’s been drier for you today than us here. Absolute monsoon conditions. 35mm of rain and counting. Rats.. pesky blighters 🙃
@@TheFarmyardGarden It is really satisfying to get it done, indeed. Cutting the hawthorn is challenging as I always get pricked by it and it is slightly toxic, so it always blisters and some pinches get infected... It was drizzly today, not heavy rain, but its cooooold 😀
We don’t have pigeons nesting in the hedges here. They nest in the big trees. All the songbirds seem to be out of the nests. I did only cut the new growth, not into the main body of the hedge. Was getting a bit tricky walking up the path. Hawthorn kept getting us.
We’re allowed to do road side hedges any time of the year (only the side in the road) if it’s causing some obstruction to the lane. We tend not to have to do that, as we have decent embankments on our road side hedging We always like to get hedge cutting finished before the weather turns too wet (and we can’t get on the fields with the tractor) which is why we get started in mid-September around the farm. 250 acres of hedges takes so long to cut all sides/top (as they’re all tall hedges like this). Once it’s too wet to get on the fields, it’s also turned to hard wood after Christmas, and it’s too much of a rush to get it done before we have to stop on February 1st. (If it’s even dry enough by then anyway). When do you have to stop cutting hedges by in the late winter/early spring too?
You are so pragmatic about the rats- it really would freak me out knowing I had them by my food, lol! Great harvest again. You have done so well on your plot and it always looks fantastic. Not one of my sugar baby melons produced fruit but teh Emir has, so t least i hopefully will have some melons to look forward to. Keeping my fingers crossed for some more sunshine. Great video, thank you. Happy gardening 🙂
I scrubbed those carrots clean. I’m not much for eating directly off the plot, as I like to wash food first, for that reason. Thank you for the kind words. There really are weeds everywhere when you look closely enough though. I had no success with the Emir I sowed. They just kept going leggy and weak. Be interested to hear how yours taste when ready. So exciting. It’s been colder today. Yesterday was simply glorious. Like a mid-summer day. Let’s hope autumn isn’t too stark for us all. Have a lovely week xx
@@TheFarmyardGarden you too Clare. WE had rain all day yesterday. I believe it's going to get colder here in Wiltshire this week. Let's hope it warms up again to ripen my squash, tomatoes and melons. Happy gardening 🙂
Well you’ve certainly had some highs and lows this week. Very satisfying work on the hedge, big maintenance requires big tools and you’ve got those on hand with the farm equipment. I was anxious watching you on that platform with the trimmer though 😮 Sorry about the rats but your joy at the rest of the harvest more than balances out the disappointment. Have a great week 😊
I got nervous watching myself on the platform when editing, Clare 😅😂😂😂 The telehandler bucket saved me so many trips with a wheelbarrow. Also means I pass the buck in where to put the clippings. I don’t want spiky hawthorn and holly in my compost. The rats are such pests once they find your food sources. Most annoying. The red cabbage though.. four jars of pickled cabbage from a single head 😍😍 Hope all is going well with the new plot.. off to have a nose if there’s an update. Have a fab week x
Well done on the hedges Clare. Hubby normally does ours as i get too nervous on the ladder. Oh no those peas and carrots! Rats are pesky buggers! We had them making tunnels around our sprouts, earlier this year. We still see the odd one doing a loop around the garden. We sow spring onions in with the carrots to help with carrot fly. Last Christmas we went to get the carrots out and found a lot had been eaten from underneath. Turned out to be caterpillars hibernating in there! Some lovely crops there! I am hoping to grow swede to make branston pickle! Btw, i updated my bio page now as Ali also mentioned it. I think they changed it a while back as i do have my email on the page for the old capture bot. It is a shame they got rid of the anti bot robot verification. Hopefully i don't get spammed or trolled. The gaming community isn't as nice as the gardening one! Take care and have a great weekend! x
I can cope with the platform, as it’s wider under foot but I’m the same as you on ladders. I get all dizzy and weird. Not a ladder girl at all. If the telehandler could get close, we have a man box/basket to stand in safely. I’ve not tried that yet either. Duncan has though. I want to make Branson pickle too! I need to get on with that. Thank you for reminding me. Caterpillars, rats, mice, carrot root fly. It’s a wonder we get anything left to harvest isn’t it? You must have been so disappointed. 😞 I sowed those onions to help with carrot root fly but am wondering if they’ve also put the rats off a bit. We shall see. If any start getting eaten in there, I’ll harvest them all too. I’ve been quite lucky so far with not getting too many emails to the channel email. Just the odd collab request Have a lovely week x
@@TheFarmyardGarden We were clearing the cold frame box anyway to riddle the soil, add more compost and sand for better drainage for the carrots, which did much better this year thankfully we spotted them though. The sprouts did survive but are a lot smaller than the rest. Will see how they do but there is always next year and the greens are nice anyway. Fingers crossed those ones will be ok for you as the smell probably masks them. I was just closing the blinds in the utility area to the garden and spotted a toad! We had a big one for a few years but disappeared in 2022. This one is a teenager. One year i found a bunch of baby toads come out from behind the washing machine! Not sure how they got in there. I am so glad we have one again as hopefully they can help us with our slug and snail problem! I hope our rat leaves it alone too! It must be the heavy rain we have had recently. I can hear the thunder for the next lot of rain already. I am glad we picked a load of beans and tomatoes again today, so they don't split. Take care x
Wow what a fab harvest Clare ❤ So many blueberries on your plant, shame you don't know the variety. Did you plant them in ericacious compost? Your cabbages are fab especially that red one so pretty as far as vegetables go 👍😂 Nice swede but shame about your peas and carrots, blinking rats! 🙄 I always love the inside of your polytunnel it looks so pretty with the flowers in the middle 😍 Enjoy the sunny days coming up this week 🌞 🌻❤️ x
The label just says “garden inspirations Blueberry” on it. They’re in the ground but I did dig a big hole and fills that with ericaceous compost. I’ve given them an ericaceous plant lovely feed too (hydrangea feed pretty much) and will mulch soon with more ericaceous compost and some pine tree clippings of keep acidity up. The red cabbage made so many jars for a single head. I was very pleased with it. Had the white cabbage with our meal last night. Lovely ❤️ It’s hard to imagine the polytunnel will be so bare in less than a month. I’m not ready for summer to be over. You must be excited for your forthcoming new polytunnel project too. ❤️❤️❤️
Can sir Duncan of the shorts not get the flail attachment that fits onto a tractor, then he just drives along the hedge and it gets whopped down, save your poor little arms lol. My plot neighbours either side of me have had loads of rat damage, sweetcorn, turnips, peas, beans, radishes and potatoes. Luckily or unluckily for me they had every tub of potatoes i had outside, so i feel for you. I am loving your swede, the cabbages look great with nicely formed hearts. I think i would have been devastated if the rats got into my carrots or parsnips ( they ate my parsnips last year, so i think yes they do like them ) Great video Clare
Can’t get the hedgecutter in now as the tractor and it are significantly wider than the pathway we have there on the plot. I cut the other side of the hedge behind the greenhouses too. Didn’t film that. I hate the long reach hedge cutter. Just so heavy. Oh no.. I hope they don’t eat my parsnips! I’ll be devastated Jimmy! How utterly soul destroying to have so much damage by them. So hard to keep them out as they fit almost anywhere 😱☹️ My swedes do not rival your giant ones, but they’re so tasty. Stunned me how easy they add to peel and dice compared to shop bought too Have a great week Jimmy ☺️
@@TheFarmyardGarden yes those little buggers can get in anywhere Clare, you actually have a good point about your freshly pulled swede being easier to peel than shop bought. I am now dying for your video telling what you will be growing next in the poly tunnel. 👍
I'm growing a teddy bear next year so taking note 😊 Ahh blooming pests 🥺 I had an okay harvest of beans and can't wait to grow more next year What variety are those swede Clare? And I'm gutted I seem to have lost all the cabbages I've grown this year 😢 Romanesco, greyhound and spring... all eaten Well done 💚 lovely harvest hunni I like the idea of brown paper bags. 😇 My last carrots, disappeared 🙄 they were only seedlings so probs slugs not rats. Gutted for you though 😮
I’m gutted you’ve lost the cabbages, as all of your brassicas are usually one of the huge successes. 😭 The swede are Helenor. I’m growing Best of All next year I think. I have a few sizes of paper bags in the shed for harvesting. They’re hung up, so can just grab them easily. Carrot woes for us both 😭
Oh, rats! 😦 And I thought having cats would help, that cat didn't seem to care much, lol. Well done on the hedge, it's lookin very good now. We do them at my job and it's hard work, I know, both cutting and the tidy-up. Watched this out on the balcony while sorting out seeds I've collected. Time consuming but meditative. Geese flying southwards overhead.
It took me 6 hours to cut that hedge, Trude. Timelapse made it look so easy. You’re right, it’s very hard work 😅😂😂 Ooo what seeds have you collected? It really is lovely collecting your own seeds. Definition of self sufficient then. We have so many Canada Geese here. Winter is fast approaching
@@TheFarmyardGarden Oh, I've collected quite a few wild flower seeds while walking the dog, planning my future garden. I want a diversity with native flowers in-between vegs and other flowers. Then there are the seeds from things I've grown, like jalapeños, cosmos, zinnias (three different colours), chervil, dill, coriander, summer savoury, oregano, phacelia, tagetes, cornflowers and calendulas. For some of these I now have seeds for a lifetime, but I might meet someone who has none.
I love the forward thinking Trude. That’s such a lovely mindset to have. What a beautiful human you are.. and what a beautiful future garden you’re going to enjoy. 😊
Your brassicas are amazing! Mine just won't head up at all. And my swedes ("neeps" to me!) have done NOTHING (except now be yet another target for the caterpillars). I HATE those caterpillars. Not all of them come from the nice easy to spot clusters of yellow eggs. I detest the look of netting too, though, so maybe I'm doomed. Oh well. I have loads of big pumpkins and I dug up a parsnip yesterday and it was HUGE! Sorry, I had to laugh at the cat turning up, just as you were talking about rats and rabbits! My wee cat does his job really well (up to and including hares as big as he is!) and I don't usually get rodent damage until a bit later in the year. I hope you don't lose too much more. I have noticed my cat loves to hang out hidden in my parsnips, so maybe rats DO like them and he's waiting? Or maybe it's just nice and cool...
My brassicas didn’t do much last year either, Kirsty. I made four jars of pickled cabbage with one red cabbage. I didn’t make that many jars with all of my cabbages last year .. just didn’t head up like that. It’s why I was so surprised at how tightly packed and hard it was. Just so beautiful. I posted a photo of it cut open on Instagram 🥰 I haven’t struggled so much with caterpillars this year. Saying that, I spotted the telltale signs on my romanesco the other day. Savaged one plant. Like you, must have missed the odd egg on it when planted. Growing tip is ok, so hopefully it’ll come back 🙏🏻 I love that you call swede neeps. What a lovely word. My swede foliage seems to get eating my slugs more than cabbage whites though. Have you seen the black netting? It’s far less “in your face”. I think I’m going to swap everything to it next year. I dislike the white mesh so much… can’t see your crops through it Tibby is such a little cat. We found her with kittens yesterday. Had no idea! 5 kittens. She just appeared a few months ago. Can’t catch her, she is feral. Need to get to trap her to get her neutered soon (and the kittens) Maybe we’ll have ratters soon! 😂😅
Ooh! Kittens! How lovely. Mama cats are usually good and conscientious hunters, so hopefully next year you won't have so many rats! My Felix is only small too, under 3kg. He just turned up in my hedge as an 8 weeks old kitten, crying and hungry and has stayed ever since. Very friendly and sweet cat ... Except to other cats. He HATES other cats and growls like a huge panther if one dares to come anywhere near. I wish you luck in catching Tibby to get her neutered - there are SO many feral cats round here and despite the local volunteers, a lot of them don't get neutered. It's sad, because most of the kittens seem to fall victim to eagles, other predators, traffic etc. I'm just glad wee Felix found me! Thanks for the tip about black netting... I'll keep my eye out! My problem is the seedlings get eggs laid on them when in the trays, I'll need to cover them too from the start!
I think she’ll fall for a trap box (local cat rescue will loan us one) as she’s a hungry girl. Just need to make sure the kittens are old enough to cope with her away from them for a night. They’re quite big already. 3 tabby, 1 black and a black and white. Very cute! Tibby will brush around your legs but won’t let you touch her at all. Kittens currently more sociable though 🙏🏻 I have seen her stalk and run after a rat but she’s so tiny. They tend to hunt field mice here more than rats. The black netting is really so much nicer, in terms of visual impact on the garden and the fact you can see your crops through them so much easier. I am going to be converted next year 😅😅
We have to wait until the end of September to cut down the hedges. The sunflowers 🌻 are beautiful 🌻🌻🌻🌻 I have to build a fruit cage as well. This year we hardly had any because of the birds. Sorry about your carrots 🥕 🥕🥕 I've put a wildlife camera up and I was worried to see rats on the video but I saw racoons. They eat rats but they eat fruit from the trees as well. Nevertheless it's interesting to watch them.
It used to be middle of August here but was extended a few years back until September 1st. All of our garden songbirds having finished with babies now. Lovely seeing all the fledglings I am sure raccoons are hugely destructive but I am obsessed with following someone who keeps two hand reared ones as semi-pets in the house
I dread getting raccoons. They are about within 8km if not closer, so I heard. I don't think the cat could take them on and I hear they eat anything...
They’re much bigger than I thought. I hope you don’t suffer with them. The raccoon babies are ridiculously cute though. Mind you most babies are cute aren’t they?
Ooo the tarp was a very cleaver idea!!
I thought it worked a treat too. I outdid myself with that one 😂😘
Fab harvest...hope the rat problem gets resolved for you.
I have “relocated” two already. Not seen any more. 🙏🏻
It's the second year all the pests know your there now!
They need to cut me some slack on this plot. 😂😂😂
I could have cried for you when you found the rat damage. So disappointing. But your face when you harvested the red cabbage, absolute joy! 😊 I love seeing your plot, always so beautiful 😍
Thank you Linda. That red cabbage made 4 lovely jars of pickled cabbage for my husband and daughter, with some left over for me to steam on my Sunday roast. Yum! I really did give it the look of love didn’t I? 😂
I was so devastated when I spotted the damage. I couldn’t understand why other stems came out with the first few carrots. Realised afterwards it was because the carrots have been eaten, not me accidentally pulling knotted things out.
Still got a great harvest and washed them well.
Amazing harvests even if somewhat shared with the rats 😢 Great job on tge hedge - a massive job well done 👍 I think we're all putting Pongo beans on our grow lists for next year!!!
I need to save some seeds and stop eating them. They’re so prolific and the beans grow so straight. Show beans for next season, Kerry!
I made the hedge look such a quick job. Took me 6 hours 😂😅😅
I keep saying I need to get a bosch hedge trimmer for the plot! Those dreaded rats! What a great harvest Clare! It was better for you to take the brassica roots out. Keeping them in can encourage club root. Lovely update. Danny 🌱
I really want the Stihl hedge trimmer.. although the Bosch one did all the hedge (and the other side behind the greenhouses) from a single charge. They run for hours.
Rats are such pests once they find you aren’t they ☹️😭😭
Lovely sunflowes
I’m so pleased with them. Can’t believe how much seed I have amassed
beautiful flowers!
Thank you ☺️
Great job Sir Duncan of the Shorts 👍👍👍
He did a FAB job with the rabbit netting didn’t he? Massive thanks to his cousin, Andrew, who helped him too. It’s worked as not seen a rabbit on the plot since. The main garden is mostly walled around it too.
Spot his new cordless nail gun bought for the job 😅
Good to see how the other half live love😊
In a crumbling, cold and very outdated farmhouse 😂😅🤗
Morning Clare,
The plot is still looking fantastic. It always amazes me how just removing a few dead leaves can makes all the difference!
You have a beautiful space and the harvest looked fabulous!
Happy gardening!
Annie 🐞🐝🌱
Morning Annie. Hope it’s drier where you are than up here. Grim day for us. Means I’m in for a RUclips catch up day.
I love how tidying the plants up a bit can make them go from looking “done” to “good to go for a bit longer yet”. Thank you for the lovely words. I’m already planning what to change for next year. Hard to know what works best for you until you really start using a growing space.
Have a fab week x
Gerald has a home made platform on wheels as we have a hedge a few hundred feet long and he has to do it twice a year. My teddy bears are just coming into full bloom now. I actually enjoy clearing out beds and making things look new for next season, it gives in hope for a new start. Yikes 😱 but at least it’s not a dead rat 🐀, I found one of those last year. Glad you harvested before the rats did. Have a super week ahead Clare, Ali 🌞🥵🇨🇦
I have another long hedge I have to do too, in a commercial field I use as my business from the farm. The hedge cutter flails it, and I can’t have all those pieces in the floor due to who is using the field. Impossible to clear it all away. It’s a big job isn’t it? We aren’t getting any younger.
I can’t cope with being much higher up. I get dizzy 😅😅
I’ll be sad to see summer over. Not sure how much I’ll have growing outside over winter, with having the polytunnel.
Rats ate half my broad beans last year. Turned out they were living nearby in the compost bin .
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that. I do keep turning my compost and have seen no evidence of them in there yet. We do have rats living under tree roots etc in the main garden and obviously around the livestock sheds as we feed cattle in them
Enjoying watching the start of your video on my commute and look forward to watching the rest on my way home 😊 your hedge looks fantastic, well done! And thank you for the sunflower harvest reminder 🥰
Oh goodness I have visions of rats sat in a huddle discussing their haul 🙃
Oh goodness I have visions of rats sat in a huddle discussing their haul 🙃
Ha!! Can just imagine them enjoying a midnight feast and a snooze on a bed of carrot tops 😂
So many seeds per flower head. I have been astounded
@@TheFarmyardGarden little devils
Great video Clare. Those blueberries were amazing to say it’s a new plant. I think I might have to buy one as my two grandchildren love blueberries. Fab harvest too.
I’m so impressed with it, especially as I have it planted in the ground. I did dig a bigger hole and filled around the roots with ericaceous soil, but it’s probably got routesi in to the soil itself now.
They are delicious too. The skins are so soft compared to shop bought. Label just says “Garden Insprations and Blueberry” on it. Got it from a local Blue Diamond Garden Centre.
Have a great week Debra x
@@TheFarmyardGarden thanks for that Clare. Not sure it’s the right time of year for them but I’m going to go look for one today. I’ve not had much to shout about this year but I’ve got a massive pumpkin for the girls to pick for Halloween 🎃
@@Tea_and_thyme_2012 massive pumpkin sounds amazing! It’s been a tough season hasn’t it? You’re not alone.
They had them in the one near us last week. I bought mine around this time last year. 🙌🏼
Can’t keep up 😂😂 did you change your thumbnail? Yes I’ve already watched this one 😂😂 I love a black cat and remember him/her. Obviously not a catcher 😂😂
Never far from a rat, still I’d say better the devil you know. God knows what happens to all the store grown veg!!
Great job on the hedge too, lucky for us our neighbour is a gardener and keeps the home hedges (ours included) neat and tidy ❤
Black cat surprised us with 5 kittens (big kittens too) last weekend. We tried to find if she has an owner. Her and another just turned up earlier this year, likely dumped.
They do look healthy rats when I see the odd one.. should they make me feel happier? Somehow it does but I’m not sure it should 😂😛
You are lucky yours get cut for you. You have a lovely neighbour (as do they with you and Tricia. )
Ohhh Clare, i feel your pain, the carrots were the last straw for me with the allotment! Surgery gone well, ill be one handed for a few weeks yet 🤦🏻♀️
I’m glad the op went well Anita. Here’s hoping that hand will feel brand new when it’s all healed up. Carpal Tunnel is so painful for sufferers.
I was so disappointed to see they’d been in the carrots. Can’t blame them though. They’re so yummy 🫣
Get well soon ☺️
Lovely end of season vlog. You’ve inspired me to buy more sunflower seeds. Ordered from Premier seeds
Sunflower Henry Wilde -
Sunflower Red Desire Sunflower Polino Lemon
Sunflower - Indian Blanket
Sunflower Astra rose
Thanks for the inspiration. ❤ ps do be careful on that platform x
They look like a great mix of sunflowers! I had no idea there were so many varieties, until this year. 🌻
I’m glad you’ve been inspired to buy some. I was pretty careful on the platform. It’s more stable than if probably looks. Only reason I have any difficulty is Achilles injuries preventing me from fully flexing my feet 😂😅
great harvests, Clare. I could have you over here with your trimmer and you could give me a hand with the hedges here, too. Its so much easier to watch someone else to do it 😅
Eek, the rats have really had a party there...🙈🙈
I knew when I put the plot there I’d have to manually cut those hedges.. it’s sooo tall and I’m soooo short. Big job, like your Clematis Montana was, but so satisfying to see it done isn’t it?
I hope it’s been drier for you today than us here. Absolute monsoon conditions. 35mm of rain and counting.
Rats.. pesky blighters 🙃
@@TheFarmyardGarden It is really satisfying to get it done, indeed. Cutting the hawthorn is challenging as I always get pricked by it and it is slightly toxic, so it always blisters and some pinches get infected... It was drizzly today, not heavy rain, but its cooooold 😀
@@spudsandroses oh wow. That is an added reason to get someone else to do it! I hate prickly hedges. 😅😅
I wait till the end of September to do hedges the pigeons were late nesting this year as always happy gardening Richardx
We don’t have pigeons nesting in the hedges here. They nest in the big trees. All the songbirds seem to be out of the nests. I did only cut the new growth, not into the main body of the hedge.
Was getting a bit tricky walking up the path. Hawthorn kept getting us.
It's October before we here in Germany are allowed to do major hedge trims! Brrrrr.
We’re allowed to do road side hedges any time of the year (only the side in the road) if it’s causing some obstruction to the lane. We tend not to have to do that, as we have decent embankments on our road side hedging
We always like to get hedge cutting finished before the weather turns too wet (and we can’t get on the fields with the tractor) which is why we get started in mid-September around the farm. 250 acres of hedges takes so long to cut all sides/top (as they’re all tall hedges like this). Once it’s too wet to get on the fields, it’s also turned to hard wood after Christmas, and it’s too much of a rush to get it done before we have to stop on February 1st. (If it’s even dry enough by then anyway).
When do you have to stop cutting hedges by in the late winter/early spring too?
You are so pragmatic about the rats- it really would freak me out knowing I had them by my food, lol! Great harvest again. You have done so well on your plot and it always looks fantastic. Not one of my sugar baby melons produced fruit but teh Emir has, so t least i hopefully will have some melons to look forward to. Keeping my fingers crossed for some more sunshine. Great video, thank you. Happy gardening 🙂
I scrubbed those carrots clean. I’m not much for eating directly off the plot, as I like to wash food first, for that reason.
Thank you for the kind words. There really are weeds everywhere when you look closely enough though.
I had no success with the Emir I sowed. They just kept going leggy and weak. Be interested to hear how yours taste when ready. So exciting.
It’s been colder today. Yesterday was simply glorious. Like a mid-summer day.
Let’s hope autumn isn’t too stark for us all. Have a lovely week xx
@@TheFarmyardGarden you too Clare. WE had rain all day yesterday. I believe it's going to get colder here in Wiltshire this week. Let's hope it warms up again to ripen my squash, tomatoes and melons. Happy gardening 🙂
@bewoodford2807 I can’t even look at the forecast again for next weekend. It said 5°c overnight!! 😱😱😱😱
Well you’ve certainly had some highs and lows this week. Very satisfying work on the hedge, big maintenance requires big tools and you’ve got those on hand with the farm equipment. I was anxious watching you on that platform with the trimmer though 😮
Sorry about the rats but your joy at the rest of the harvest more than balances out the disappointment.
Have a great week 😊
I got nervous watching myself on the platform when editing, Clare 😅😂😂😂
The telehandler bucket saved me so many trips with a wheelbarrow. Also means I pass the buck in where to put the clippings. I don’t want spiky hawthorn and holly in my compost.
The rats are such pests once they find your food sources. Most annoying. The red cabbage though.. four jars of pickled cabbage from a single head 😍😍
Hope all is going well with the new plot.. off to have a nose if there’s an update. Have a fab week x
@@TheFarmyardGarden I’m just doing a monthly video for a while, life is a bit hectic and it’s hard finding the time.
@Littlesheddiaries it’s very time consuming, that’s for sure x
Well done on the hedges Clare. Hubby normally does ours as i get too nervous on the ladder.
Oh no those peas and carrots! Rats are pesky buggers! We had them making tunnels around our sprouts, earlier this year. We still see the odd one doing a loop around the garden.
We sow spring onions in with the carrots to help with carrot fly. Last Christmas we went to get the carrots out and found a lot had been eaten from underneath. Turned out to be caterpillars hibernating in there!
Some lovely crops there! I am hoping to grow swede to make branston pickle!
Btw, i updated my bio page now as Ali also mentioned it. I think they changed it a while back as i do have my email on the page for the old capture bot. It is a shame they got rid of the anti bot robot verification. Hopefully i don't get spammed or trolled. The gaming community isn't as nice as the gardening one!
Take care and have a great weekend! x
I can cope with the platform, as it’s wider under foot but I’m the same as you on ladders. I get all dizzy and weird. Not a ladder girl at all. If the telehandler could get close, we have a man box/basket to stand in safely. I’ve not tried that yet either. Duncan has though.
I want to make Branson pickle too! I need to get on with that. Thank you for reminding me.
Caterpillars, rats, mice, carrot root fly. It’s a wonder we get anything left to harvest isn’t it? You must have been so disappointed. 😞
I sowed those onions to help with carrot root fly but am wondering if they’ve also put the rats off a bit. We shall see. If any start getting eaten in there, I’ll harvest them all too.
I’ve been quite lucky so far with not getting too many emails to the channel email. Just the odd collab request
Have a lovely week x
@@TheFarmyardGarden We were clearing the cold frame box anyway to riddle the soil, add more compost and sand for better drainage for the carrots, which did much better this year thankfully we spotted them though. The sprouts did survive but are a lot smaller than the rest. Will see how they do but there is always next year and the greens are nice anyway.
Fingers crossed those ones will be ok for you as the smell probably masks them.
I was just closing the blinds in the utility area to the garden and spotted a toad! We had a big one for a few years but disappeared in 2022. This one is a teenager. One year i found a bunch of baby toads come out from behind the washing machine! Not sure how they got in there. I am so glad we have one again as hopefully they can help us with our slug and snail problem! I hope our rat leaves it alone too! It must be the heavy rain we have had recently. I can hear the thunder for the next lot of rain already.
I am glad we picked a load of beans and tomatoes again today, so they don't split.
Take care x
Wow what a fab harvest Clare ❤
So many blueberries on your plant, shame you don't know the variety. Did you plant them in ericacious compost?
Your cabbages are fab especially that red one so pretty as far as vegetables go 👍😂
Nice swede but shame about your peas and carrots, blinking rats! 🙄
I always love the inside of your polytunnel it looks so pretty with the flowers in the middle 😍
Enjoy the sunny days coming up this week 🌞 🌻❤️ x
The label just says “garden inspirations Blueberry” on it. They’re in the ground but I did dig a big hole and fills that with ericaceous compost. I’ve given them an ericaceous plant lovely feed too (hydrangea feed pretty much) and will mulch soon with more ericaceous compost and some pine tree clippings of keep acidity up.
The red cabbage made so many jars for a single head. I was very pleased with it. Had the white cabbage with our meal last night. Lovely ❤️
It’s hard to imagine the polytunnel will be so bare in less than a month. I’m not ready for summer to be over. You must be excited for your forthcoming new polytunnel project too. ❤️❤️❤️
I’ve had it too tho but mine was a mouse … buggers! Plot looking fab tho 🎉
Pesky critters. They sure can munch a lot can’t they? Sorry about your corn. I’m gutted for you. 🥲
Can sir Duncan of the shorts not get the flail attachment that fits onto a tractor, then he just drives along the hedge and it gets whopped down, save your poor little arms lol. My plot neighbours either side of me have had loads of rat damage, sweetcorn, turnips, peas, beans, radishes and potatoes. Luckily or unluckily for me they had every tub of potatoes i had outside, so i feel for you. I am loving your swede, the cabbages look great with nicely formed hearts. I think i would have been devastated if the rats got into my carrots or parsnips ( they ate my parsnips last year, so i think yes they do like them ) Great video Clare
Can’t get the hedgecutter in now as the tractor and it are significantly wider than the pathway we have there on the plot.
I cut the other side of the hedge behind the greenhouses too. Didn’t film that.
I hate the long reach hedge cutter. Just so heavy.
Oh no.. I hope they don’t eat my parsnips! I’ll be devastated Jimmy! How utterly soul destroying to have so much damage by them. So hard to keep them out as they fit almost anywhere 😱☹️
My swedes do not rival your giant ones, but they’re so tasty. Stunned me how easy they add to peel and dice compared to shop bought too
Have a great week Jimmy ☺️
@@TheFarmyardGarden yes those little buggers can get in anywhere Clare, you actually have a good point about your freshly pulled swede being easier to peel than shop bought. I am now dying for your video telling what you will be growing next in the poly tunnel. 👍
@@Jimmy.Plot.41.b if I don’t hurry up and get sowing, I won’t be growing much at all 🤪🫣😂
@@TheFarmyardGarden I havent decided what to sow yet, i just know garlic for the 1st Oct up to now lol
@Jimmy.Plot.41.b I plant to plant the garlic on my birthday again and harvest it on Duncan’s next year. 😊
I'm growing a teddy bear next year so taking note 😊
Ahh blooming pests 🥺
I had an okay harvest of beans and can't wait to grow more next year
What variety are those swede Clare? And I'm gutted I seem to have lost all the cabbages I've grown this year 😢 Romanesco, greyhound and spring... all eaten
Well done 💚 lovely harvest hunni
I like the idea of brown paper bags. 😇
My last carrots, disappeared 🙄 they were only seedlings so probs slugs not rats. Gutted for you though 😮
I’m gutted you’ve lost the cabbages, as all of your brassicas are usually one of the huge successes. 😭
The swede are Helenor. I’m growing Best of All next year I think.
I have a few sizes of paper bags in the shed for harvesting. They’re hung up, so can just grab them easily.
Carrot woes for us both 😭
Oh, rats! 😦 And I thought having cats would help, that cat didn't seem to care much, lol. Well done on the hedge, it's lookin very good now. We do them at my job and it's hard work, I know, both cutting and the tidy-up. Watched this out on the balcony while sorting out seeds I've collected. Time consuming but meditative. Geese flying southwards overhead.
It took me 6 hours to cut that hedge, Trude. Timelapse made it look so easy. You’re right, it’s very hard work 😅😂😂
Ooo what seeds have you collected? It really is lovely collecting your own seeds. Definition of self sufficient then.
We have so many Canada Geese here. Winter is fast approaching
@@TheFarmyardGarden Oh, I've collected quite a few wild flower seeds while walking the dog, planning my future garden. I want a diversity with native flowers in-between vegs and other flowers. Then there are the seeds from things I've grown, like jalapeños, cosmos, zinnias (three different colours), chervil, dill, coriander, summer savoury, oregano, phacelia, tagetes, cornflowers and calendulas. For some of these I now have seeds for a lifetime, but I might meet someone who has none.
I love the forward thinking Trude. That’s such a lovely mindset to have. What a beautiful human you are.. and what a beautiful future garden you’re going to enjoy. 😊
@@TheFarmyardGarden 🥰
Your brassicas are amazing! Mine just won't head up at all. And my swedes ("neeps" to me!) have done NOTHING (except now be yet another target for the caterpillars). I HATE those caterpillars. Not all of them come from the nice easy to spot clusters of yellow eggs. I detest the look of netting too, though, so maybe I'm doomed.
Oh well. I have loads of big pumpkins and I dug up a parsnip yesterday and it was HUGE!
Sorry, I had to laugh at the cat turning up, just as you were talking about rats and rabbits! My wee cat does his job really well (up to and including hares as big as he is!) and I don't usually get rodent damage until a bit later in the year. I hope you don't lose too much more. I have noticed my cat loves to hang out hidden in my parsnips, so maybe rats DO like them and he's waiting? Or maybe it's just nice and cool...
My brassicas didn’t do much last year either, Kirsty. I made four jars of pickled cabbage with one red cabbage. I didn’t make that many jars with all of my cabbages last year .. just didn’t head up like that. It’s why I was so surprised at how tightly packed and hard it was. Just so beautiful. I posted a photo of it cut open on Instagram 🥰
I haven’t struggled so much with caterpillars this year. Saying that, I spotted the telltale signs on my romanesco the other day. Savaged one plant. Like you, must have missed the odd egg on it when planted. Growing tip is ok, so hopefully it’ll come back 🙏🏻
I love that you call swede neeps. What a lovely word. My swede foliage seems to get eating my slugs more than cabbage whites though.
Have you seen the black netting? It’s far less “in your face”. I think I’m going to swap everything to it next year. I dislike the white mesh so much… can’t see your crops through it
Tibby is such a little cat. We found her with kittens yesterday. Had no idea! 5 kittens. She just appeared a few months ago. Can’t catch her, she is feral. Need to get to trap her to get her neutered soon (and the kittens)
Maybe we’ll have ratters soon! 😂😅
Ooh! Kittens! How lovely. Mama cats are usually good and conscientious hunters, so hopefully next year you won't have so many rats! My Felix is only small too, under 3kg. He just turned up in my hedge as an 8 weeks old kitten, crying and hungry and has stayed ever since. Very friendly and sweet cat ... Except to other cats. He HATES other cats and growls like a huge panther if one dares to come anywhere near.
I wish you luck in catching Tibby to get her neutered - there are SO many feral cats round here and despite the local volunteers, a lot of them don't get neutered. It's sad, because most of the kittens seem to fall victim to eagles, other predators, traffic etc. I'm just glad wee Felix found me!
Thanks for the tip about black netting... I'll keep my eye out! My problem is the seedlings get eggs laid on them when in the trays, I'll need to cover them too from the start!
I think she’ll fall for a trap box (local cat rescue will loan us one) as she’s a hungry girl. Just need to make sure the kittens are old enough to cope with her away from them for a night. They’re quite big already. 3 tabby, 1 black and a black and white. Very cute! Tibby will brush around your legs but won’t let you touch her at all. Kittens currently more sociable though 🙏🏻
I have seen her stalk and run after a rat but she’s so tiny. They tend to hunt field mice here more than rats.
The black netting is really so much nicer, in terms of visual impact on the garden and the fact you can see your crops through them so much easier. I am going to be converted next year 😅😅
We have to wait until the end of September to cut down the hedges. The sunflowers 🌻 are beautiful 🌻🌻🌻🌻 I have to build a fruit cage as well. This year we hardly had any because of the birds. Sorry about your carrots 🥕 🥕🥕 I've put a wildlife camera up and I was worried to see rats on the video but I saw racoons. They eat rats but they eat fruit from the trees as well. Nevertheless it's interesting to watch them.
It used to be middle of August here but was extended a few years back until September 1st.
All of our garden songbirds having finished with babies now. Lovely seeing all the fledglings
I am sure raccoons are hugely destructive but I am obsessed with following someone who keeps two hand reared ones as semi-pets in the house
I dread getting raccoons. They are about within 8km if not closer, so I heard. I don't think the cat could take them on and I hear they eat anything...
They’re much bigger than I thought. I hope you don’t suffer with them. The raccoon babies are ridiculously cute though. Mind you most babies are cute aren’t they?
Good night for a rat
They had a party didn’t they?
Well, your local rat population will be very healthy!
I think they’re taking having their five a day too seriously Tamsin 🤣🤣
@@TheFarmyardGarden 😂😂😂
Oh Clare I didn't like how wobbly that step is 🫣 made me nervous
But your given me a great idea for a tarp to keep the street clean 😂
Looks fab 👍🏽
It made clean up so much easier! Tarp all the way
Wibble wobble … all part of the fun 😂
@@TheFarmyardGarden I'd fall off or Eric definitely would 😆
@ericandrachallotmenteers eeep… well thankfully I avoided falling 😅😅