So today I only planted 8 trees, the eight remaining bare rooted ones and pottered for the rest of the day. Due to my back being bad, I’d skipped two day cleaning out the alpaca paddock. I got most of it cleared yesterday and it only took an extra 5 to 10 mins today to get it fully clear. It was no effort as again the sun was shining and it was warm. I then cleaned the water container. The water from the well here is very hard and leaves a calcium deposit on everything. The water also has a very fine silt in it that stains the deposit red brown. I’ve found that cleaning with a vinegar solution quickly cuts through the film on the side and also disinfects the container. I then refilled it with water and a tablespoon of cider vinegar.
Getting the alpacas water sorted inspired me to do the chickens water containers too. Both had a good scrub with the vinegar solution and then were rinsed and refilled. The smaller inside one got a dose of Poultry Drink in it while the large outside drinker got some cider vinegar. It’s so much nicer playing with water in the sunshine than in the frost :-D
I took my afternoon cuppa outside to sit in the sun but I find it far to difficult to sit and do nothing so I made a start on this year’s bamboo canes. I’d cut them back in October/November from the ditch where they grow on the other side of the cereal field.
Last year it was the first thing I did at the house here. It took me ages to clean the canes as I only had a small pocketknife. This year I have the serpe. In the time it took me to prepare one last year, I did three or four this year. The blade of the serpe just slices off the dried leaf covering of the canes with ease.
I did have to take care doing this not only to protect my fingers but also Snowy who decided it was a really good idea to sit underneath the blade. She didn’t seem to mind being covered in the leaf shavings either.
As you can see there is quite a lot of debris doing this but it did produce a nice nest for Snowy.
So here are the first of this year’s canes, they are still green and I will leave them in the sun for a month or so to dry out. 
8 comments:
Is there anything vinegar [i]won't[/i] do?
Yes, I consider this an informative comment. Also, I bought new jeans today.
That is all.
(took me 2 tries to get the piccy letters right. I'm [i]special[/i].
You're learning! Vinegar is the saviour of the world.
More new clothes, you sound like Christine - you'll exceed your weight allowance when you fly back.
I can't get the letters right either so I guess being 'special' runs in the family
Hi
Thanks for the lovely comment. I managed to knit about 2.5 inches last night!! Just plain knitting for now, when asked what it is going to be - the answer is "a square" lol.
Not sure if you know - but can you sucessfully grow raspberries in a pot??
Clare
xx
You probably could. They would need trellis to grow along and to tie the next year growth to. Preferably sited somewhere shady and would need frequent watering. I would also think that you would have to turn the pot out each year and discard the old fruiting canes in order to have room for the next year's growth
It's the watering and re-potting each that would stop me from pot growing if I had any space anywhere else in open ground to put them.
If I come across any more information I'll let you know
Have I told you I make my own cider vinegar? I have a 3 litre and a 9 litre vinaigrier.
If ever you need a piece of mother sent thru the post.....
Friend....
I'm trying to grow a red wine mother at the moment and it's taking ages.
I've a load of stuff that purports to be cider in a vat at the moment and will see whats going on with that this evening I'll e-mail you later Stew when I've seen whether it's cider or actually vinegar
I love reading your blog, you inspire me. My goodness you are a busy lady.
By the way, I always use white vinegar in the toilet. Not being able to use bleach, this does as well. I also clean my windows with vinegar water. The saviour of the cleaning world I think.
html tags aren't the same as bb script. Must remember that.
better.
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