Richard has built a box of electronics wizardry that will track the temperature of a number points around the farm. These are the first results from one of the polytunnels… interesting to see the temperature dropping below zero – too early for me to bring the tomatoes from my conservatory at home to the farm as they would be killed by the frost.
Overnight temperature in a polytunnel
We have a new attachment for the tractor, a potato lifter to get the potatoes to the surface where they can be bagged ready for storage.
Working out how the potato lifter works
Harvesting the potatoes was great teamwork -
bagging up the potatoes while the lifter gets them on the surface
Steve with a row of lifted potatoes
Frans found this fine toad which we moved from the path into the grass out of the way
Toad
I’m sat at home (ten minutes from the Oak Tree) here waiting for a bottle of specialist tractor oil to be delivered which I then have to get into an impossibly small looking hole on the rotovator fitting, and then put the whole thing back onto the tractor, which I am not sure if I am physically capable of doing.
The tractor has been out of action for nearly two weeks due to a part that is designed to break under strain breaking under strain, I’m glad it did, but then again I wish there hadn’t been a bit of string wrapped round it to do this in the first place. I know nothing about all things mechanical, but I am having to learn as I have had almost two weeks where I haven’t been able to plant much which is not good!
I’m slowly building up a selection of spare parts and useful things to prevent breakdowns from holding up work. A few weeks ago the wheel broke on my cart, and it took a tube of JB weld to do a temporary fix so I could finish spreading muck. It is really frustrating having to wait, but in the meantime I’ve been making sure everything else is carefully hoed and generally looked after.
One piece of completely obvious wisdom that I have gained is this: don’t try to lay out large sheets of horticultural fleece in windy conditions. Even if you really want to get it done. Wait for a calm day, it is better for the nerves and the plants!
Many people have admired our lovely coldframes. I’ll come clean and admit that I didn’t make them, Richard did! He’s written how he built them, in case anyone is interested.