tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40936019860042173052024-03-16T01:09:50.833+00:00Life on Pig RowA garden and kitchen full of joyLife on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.comBlogger1505125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-42929433357611754032024-03-15T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-15T08:30:00.129+00:00Planting A Hawthorn Tree<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Get your gloves and goggles on for this one. This prickly, vicious native tree to the UK, has been a long staple in hedgerows and used by the equally brutal bird, the shrike (aka butchers bird), which impales small rodents on the thorns. That aside, the hawthorn is a beautiful tree full of blossom and berries, and this is a welcome addition to our new forest garden. Find out how to plant one <a href="https://youtu.be/7nTG8oiDPME" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbBEYHZctLMfCGrTU0KjjozLvU8UFF26yhdDY2aUF0W9o3gLXlgFZhTaoRUxFTJbW4pJnfZS7iatYyO3NOTc8elLYUTXSFrt_24MmcLJFT4F4jvaYyP8FP1mirq3I6QKoqQaUr85wBtBeKW10MiTXylf147ue4RkS7KD5LPLZ-tRFdbHfIGuOopW_LDa8/s1280/20240218_161430_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="hawthorn, soil, grass" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXbBEYHZctLMfCGrTU0KjjozLvU8UFF26yhdDY2aUF0W9o3gLXlgFZhTaoRUxFTJbW4pJnfZS7iatYyO3NOTc8elLYUTXSFrt_24MmcLJFT4F4jvaYyP8FP1mirq3I6QKoqQaUr85wBtBeKW10MiTXylf147ue4RkS7KD5LPLZ-tRFdbHfIGuOopW_LDa8/w640-h360/20240218_161430_0000.png" title="Planting a hawthorn" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-35438375651444904862024-03-13T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-13T08:30:00.145+00:00Seed List<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Every year we like to keep a record of what we are growing, sometimes we add things at the last moment but we start with a list and nine times out of ten, we stick to it. This year we are growing:</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RLc42YkQKWU4pVjDpLPw60hEHlcEGwxunMUZK4JG4Qu2T2v-ykDNawKs1DZXZFzc4ekUknoCW7Xa93MXJeTbjPitdENf71-bdYVDW4xjcsINXJ8bSSGqRocEfCbH90T4owLHU1ppyhmfhh6PnvJH6ePPWCX5sMvEmzAPEiCOvbYEbQfQ8ISv-tkYvL7T/s4160/IMG_20231202_180619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Seed packets" border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3RLc42YkQKWU4pVjDpLPw60hEHlcEGwxunMUZK4JG4Qu2T2v-ykDNawKs1DZXZFzc4ekUknoCW7Xa93MXJeTbjPitdENf71-bdYVDW4xjcsINXJ8bSSGqRocEfCbH90T4owLHU1ppyhmfhh6PnvJH6ePPWCX5sMvEmzAPEiCOvbYEbQfQ8ISv-tkYvL7T/w640-h480/IMG_20231202_180619.jpg" title="Seed List" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">TOMATOES: Gardeners Delight, Sweet Baby, Brad's Atomic Grape and Golden Sunrise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">AUBERGINES: Imperial Black Beauty.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">LETUCCE: Drunken Woman, Wheeler's Tom Thumb and Leny.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">CAULIFLOWER: All Year Round.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">SWEETCORN: Goldcrest.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">BEANS: Cannelini, Butterbean Fagioli di Spagna, Lazy Housewife and Tendergreen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">MELON: Blenheim Orange.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">PUMPKIN: Marina di Chioggia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">ONIONS: Bedfordshire Giant, Rose de Roscoff, Rossa di Firenze and Red Brunswick.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">SPRING ONIONS: White Lisbon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">POTATOES: Casablanca.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">CABBAGE: Omskirk.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We'll also be growing courgettes, leeks and myriad of other things but we wanted to get this list up now as we have had several requests. So, if you want to grow along, feel free to do so.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><p><br /></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-52467423234590409042024-03-08T08:30:00.002+00:002024-03-08T08:30:00.138+00:00Planting Hazel<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">There is still time to get bare rooted plants in the ground but time is ticking and the later you leave it the more likely you will have to buy your plants in pots. This is more costly, in terms of the initial outlay, and if the plants do not take. Rather than pennies we are into pounds territory, and costs ramp up quickly. Today, Andrew is planting hazel for make us self-sufficient in beanpoles but later, in firewood. Learn how to plant them <a href="https://youtu.be/5oiu2GNOTK8" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk4DkEOnTH49xTikVL85_88Q4lcCNVSwDfDVDzPtGZSbyM5eBUWjvUKYN6BKpxXaOXC09wrat5hzgiX_ZQewOO449pZIk9BQ2JjnyAwZpkP6ugDxqoVgO8OnYdTpdxmbrfRgWJgQNZoK6bdsLmftC2vY665rdXTT9wlt3tHbiQXL0dG-F5IKEq_u7-15L/s1280/20240218_160757_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hazel, hazel catkins, hazel flower" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXk4DkEOnTH49xTikVL85_88Q4lcCNVSwDfDVDzPtGZSbyM5eBUWjvUKYN6BKpxXaOXC09wrat5hzgiX_ZQewOO449pZIk9BQ2JjnyAwZpkP6ugDxqoVgO8OnYdTpdxmbrfRgWJgQNZoK6bdsLmftC2vY665rdXTT9wlt3tHbiQXL0dG-F5IKEq_u7-15L/w640-h360/20240218_160757_0000.png" title="Planting hazel" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></span><p></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-90206511376592776872024-03-06T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-06T08:30:00.250+00:00Get Raised Beds Ready<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Raised beds rely on you. Like all vegetable growing, and all flower growing, it starts with the soil. All borders, all beds, all pots, need you. The idea that a garden will keep on growing without a gardener is not rewilding, it is neglect. All gardens, even wild ones, need our help and understanding. Rather than detach ourselves from what we eat, we are in danger of detaching ourselves from the soil. It all starts there and we all end up there. No getting away from it, you too will be part of the fabric of this planet one days, buried or cremated, you return to the soil. So, make damn sure that it's a great place to spend eternity. If you have raised beds. It's that time of year to get to grips with. It's a simple process of adding more compost to your beds as a mulch. Raised beds and even borders sink after awhile as the worms do their business and pull it down. If the worms do their job well your depth of cultivation will keep on growing year after year. Some kitchen gardens have over four feet of great top soil, due to decades of cultivation by gardeners. Given time, so will your garden.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVTTStkjhMbBY80gMNj10BTg28JyNcTbWVbL0wXFbW0e-TtSzcfvB9z_BdBd2PR3D7ktD4FJXWjhSc1-IOpveZSc37DWduYHlDn48g8G8aVZKu3ZeUsafSYszOz3gVGi4K1SIxzOr6G4C7ZLsPWVgY4CcV9AVniMXqXKAc9-cBa92ozaAmklLV4-6-CEt/s4160/IMG_20240207_160132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="mulch, raised beds, greenhouse" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiVTTStkjhMbBY80gMNj10BTg28JyNcTbWVbL0wXFbW0e-TtSzcfvB9z_BdBd2PR3D7ktD4FJXWjhSc1-IOpveZSc37DWduYHlDn48g8G8aVZKu3ZeUsafSYszOz3gVGi4K1SIxzOr6G4C7ZLsPWVgY4CcV9AVniMXqXKAc9-cBa92ozaAmklLV4-6-CEt/w480-h640/IMG_20240207_160132.jpg" title="Get mulching" width="480" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">In the greenhouse, we are bringing in peat free growbags, mixed in with our own garden compost. You can see the difference between last years soil and this years. Our homemade compost is packed full of chicken manure that has rotted down well over the year and mixed in with some peat free creates a lovely, dark chocolate bed that any plant will want to grow away in. This process will be repeated across all our raised beds and eventually, our open borders, do not underestimate a good mulch which will rot down over the next few weeks, ready to be planted in. Remember, if the soil looks poor, then it is poor, if you wouldn't want to touch it, neither will any roots.<br /> </span><p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-6242770843989871282024-03-01T08:30:00.001+00:002024-03-01T08:30:00.137+00:00Lifting Snowdrops<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As the snowdrops fade, get in there, lift, divide and replant for bigger, better and more free clumps next year! Find out how to do it <a href="https://youtu.be/Hlml1i1r0a8" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_cVfcczw6zhmIWjtpG8Q5xAca-pxnhV_yZ8SO9jEtBAOAV7n7vPmPG94kiSV8_ibZsMa9MG2E6Iu_HAiPq0jTffb_VK8d0flmbewxNFgnI50Gp_DGygjJ4cVuSyILx_HfmkEijQkyZS8Hk0re-L3MdKdFnHK8Mmc1JZdq7BMrtkMF8vg8hQ0VH5lDR4T/s1280/20240218_162212_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Snowdrops, compost, pot" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_cVfcczw6zhmIWjtpG8Q5xAca-pxnhV_yZ8SO9jEtBAOAV7n7vPmPG94kiSV8_ibZsMa9MG2E6Iu_HAiPq0jTffb_VK8d0flmbewxNFgnI50Gp_DGygjJ4cVuSyILx_HfmkEijQkyZS8Hk0re-L3MdKdFnHK8Mmc1JZdq7BMrtkMF8vg8hQ0VH5lDR4T/w640-h360/20240218_162212_0000.png" title="Lifting Snowdrops" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-43576299345229861892024-02-28T08:30:00.001+00:002024-02-28T08:30:00.143+00:00Courtyard Garden<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Slowly, inch by inch the courtyard garden that was <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2012/07/front-and-back-gardening.html" target="_blank">once a ginnel so small</a> we could barely get pots in it has become a sizeable space since the retaining wall was <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-steps-film.html" target="_blank">completed back in 2021</a>. Since then we have been levelling, clearing and generally deciding what to do. Now the space is starting to empty as the last of the spoil is moved. You can see how much we have shifted in the photo below. Do you see the line on the wood behind the camelia? That's how high the spoil pile was.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4AwSXIvmP8DkultjaGhQ5MGdkoU5vih0OX1NKSH8dxXUka7fyygiOa8we0i-FRj71PBK-lFYjnTmNlzYSaifGDfXPLON1kk8oyJq8i24Yyrr-0QSoP6f8oV2BjsTw8RJAjvKYPrtFS4UBUl0_q_rmA9N5hjgEpWcCG7TDZ8CIZ080BHmGO8HE2_BQfg6/s4160/IMG_20240127_145913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Courtyard, camelia, stone wall" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4AwSXIvmP8DkultjaGhQ5MGdkoU5vih0OX1NKSH8dxXUka7fyygiOa8we0i-FRj71PBK-lFYjnTmNlzYSaifGDfXPLON1kk8oyJq8i24Yyrr-0QSoP6f8oV2BjsTw8RJAjvKYPrtFS4UBUl0_q_rmA9N5hjgEpWcCG7TDZ8CIZ080BHmGO8HE2_BQfg6/w480-h640/IMG_20240127_145913.jpg" title="That's how high the spoil pile was" width="480" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Most of this has gone into <a href="https://youtu.be/4tGQOG2jJGQ?si=tS0rObtmIWZxeWKM" target="_blank">new paths as hardcore</a>. The remaining pile has been left for the final levelling as there are still areas that are settling in this courtyard. Looking east and the courtyard looks like this.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGd510cJho8gBot6_vTfgxORDI1yYDpsmdMo79_nvYcybBX4jHbGIeeQnpl3160Jibo6jS7RgdZF-Ig848SIsxdqdsp2S8TF6RxQC3ov-T1NwjHUuWp5n1NlRQpa3J0XUXxPS2leSCA8yjfVtgjpG8u8Gh_Hdpg9qgEzeechR33ViCgDcP0VqViCJ2C1U/s4160/IMG_20240207_155056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Wood, camelia, stone wall, courtyard garden" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFGd510cJho8gBot6_vTfgxORDI1yYDpsmdMo79_nvYcybBX4jHbGIeeQnpl3160Jibo6jS7RgdZF-Ig848SIsxdqdsp2S8TF6RxQC3ov-T1NwjHUuWp5n1NlRQpa3J0XUXxPS2leSCA8yjfVtgjpG8u8Gh_Hdpg9qgEzeechR33ViCgDcP0VqViCJ2C1U/w480-h640/IMG_20240207_155056.jpg" title="Courtyard garden plans" width="480" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Theres still plenty of wood to chop up and we plan to have a shed against the house wall to store in all the garden bits and bobs. Looking east and the courtyard looks like this.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8wxo1dXChOhz1V2StP5w209uVF-hWKKOsQOYSHpm-wGwbDJF0Iw2h2Yg43BNK7YlXjlj1iXMFHkQcMriD708l59sLFSyHWpWtwuciqMNcZICJnWuN0AB2hIMcIUPJa8BiYsltn8hZHdPmDrvR1mn13vwC2qv8XO0A8jBwhOeWOPdQteZPXuQmHoxR__8/s4160/IMG_20240207_155115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Courtyard" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI8wxo1dXChOhz1V2StP5w209uVF-hWKKOsQOYSHpm-wGwbDJF0Iw2h2Yg43BNK7YlXjlj1iXMFHkQcMriD708l59sLFSyHWpWtwuciqMNcZICJnWuN0AB2hIMcIUPJa8BiYsltn8hZHdPmDrvR1mn13vwC2qv8XO0A8jBwhOeWOPdQteZPXuQmHoxR__8/w480-h640/IMG_20240207_155115.jpg" title="should the wall be pink?" width="480" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We need to clear off the render and repaint it. Part of me thinks pink as this moment, something vibrant in what is a north facing garden. What do you think? I have been storing trees here ready for planting: a walnut to go in the flower garden, a greengage and damson for the veg plot, and numerous herbs in pots. We need a new back door, this one used to be part of a back porch that was once on the back of the house. For some reason it had been built over the sewage access cover, and my late Dad helped reuse the UPVC door as a make do and use it door, that was over 14 years ago and part of me wants to keep it. It was one of the few jobs my Dad did at this house with me before his death but I know it was only supposed to be temporary, and my Dad would say get rid. So, with heavy heart I will but will more than likely save the glass and make it into a cloche. I am proud of the wall at the end too, which I had to rebuild on my own back in 2022. <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2022/08/green-man-in-courtyard.html" target="_blank">It houses a green man which I added.</a> I am considering having a curved bed by the house for hostas but I am cetainly putting down a path to the back door to stop us slipping.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-19714690892070289292024-02-23T08:30:00.001+00:002024-02-23T08:30:00.252+00:00Sowing Aubergines<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">On your marks, get ready, go! It is time to get sowing, so if you do onions, chillies and aubergines from seed, these are the things you can grow now! All else, be patient if you are in the northern hemisphere and especially the UK. Do not be lulled by a false spring. Learn how to sow aubergines <a href="https://youtu.be/TRt6tbZx5RY" target="_blank">here</a>, and for the love of gardening, if you like what we do, subscribe for free. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4WA9vK8dzrkDwwP30IordMziO1ra6mQLScDaz5Yz__eqUufXjnJFxz43JMN0E-I3YDLhigHtFALE3n9LTzk7UKe2L92oRBt7EQ2Q-SeJLtsA9yj3laLhL9aUuIV0kbA2qi2CFF9ZEHlPjRydymDkP2hsI_tlNzd6haTy4U_qiM1xeeV2PnbJXE1kzQnO/s1280/20240211_103902_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="propagator, heated propagator, aubergine seed" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP4WA9vK8dzrkDwwP30IordMziO1ra6mQLScDaz5Yz__eqUufXjnJFxz43JMN0E-I3YDLhigHtFALE3n9LTzk7UKe2L92oRBt7EQ2Q-SeJLtsA9yj3laLhL9aUuIV0kbA2qi2CFF9ZEHlPjRydymDkP2hsI_tlNzd6haTy4U_qiM1xeeV2PnbJXE1kzQnO/w640-h360/20240211_103902_0000.png" title="Sowing aubergines" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-48542324406757720752024-02-21T08:30:00.001+00:002024-02-21T08:30:00.139+00:00Get Your Chit Together!<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's that glorious time of year that gardeners reach for the potato catalogue, or in my case, get the potato order I put in months ago - and I mean months ago! And peruse the different varieties. Sure, you can plant that spud that's under the sink, though I would question why you keep potatoes under the sink. I mean, surely that's where you keep all the cleaning stuff? I would also question why you think a supermarket potato, sprayed in goodness knows what, coming from goodness knows where, is something you want to put in your soil. I mean, I am super protective of my soil. I few years ago a 'friend' of mine was smoking in my garden and threw, yes threw, as in chucked, hurled, tossed, his cigarette butt in one of my cottage garden borders. Well, five hours later, fingers raw from weeding, he had learnt his lesson. That's the level of protection I afford my soil. It's a level we should all embrace. For the soil is life and without it there would be no life, just a barren rock orbiting a sun at the spiral end of a galaxy. It is rare stuff. It is worth more than gold, platinum and crypto put together. It is priceless. So, don't mess with it unless you know where that spud is from and have written references from at least one previous employer. </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4UiBOUQdhhHza0oHlI_MH8WKcRGscu8vaQGyqWtHRBOf4XXhLxnycH6CuWcHlBNn9TmC7LKdbBPdI6rLvv12myHd2aAenxdYjjq_Q_Ogbt_cuwJhCdlIaxQwkK9Ak3nQQzt5Iiqm3G1E-qBD-0ZiXCYaJRPK234TqhG8GnJOcwKtep-tUb9MQwDPHD9c/s512/169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Spuds" border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4UiBOUQdhhHza0oHlI_MH8WKcRGscu8vaQGyqWtHRBOf4XXhLxnycH6CuWcHlBNn9TmC7LKdbBPdI6rLvv12myHd2aAenxdYjjq_Q_Ogbt_cuwJhCdlIaxQwkK9Ak3nQQzt5Iiqm3G1E-qBD-0ZiXCYaJRPK234TqhG8GnJOcwKtep-tUb9MQwDPHD9c/w640-h480/169.jpg" title="Growing potatoes, chitting" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">However, this year there's a major spanner in the works - </span><a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2023/03/diabetes-and-class-war.html" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">type 2 diabetes</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">. Though I have come to term with it and losing around 6 stone in weight, it has meant me giving up many types of food and one of them has been the humble spud. Last year, I had </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Shetland Black, Arran Victory </i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">(oh, the glorious spud of spuds) and </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Casablanca </i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">waiting to go in the ground and then the doctor told me the news, I told her about my potatoes, she asked me how much I loved my feet. Now, don't get me wrong, spuds are not off the menu, they're just not on it everyday of the week. Heck, I go weeks without a potato and no longer miss them, or write them love letters, poetry and weep about them in the car at red lights. That has passed. I have found other addictions, like salad - I know how miserable that sounds but it isn't - really, I am not lying, honest, a salad can be really exciting. I am being bloody honest! Everytime I type it though it sounds like an excuse, as if I am saying, 'It was like that when I got here.' </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVqLhQyiOMEPBW-dtNjQLpz432CrdkMTEqaRU0NigDlge1NUJCDTlBGjL_vmq7LuLK7UzTu_l7YM748HJVfjpYTP-LuV7ruTq2G6bf04nHOXEk8KnLR2geZaeFE6-5SuccZhZJmI9XNJsxcI-dWPdfCuZa31cqSkEUYzDAGqo40CyFUYQ63hyphenhyphenJHCcLYme/s4160/IMG_20240203_083915.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chitting, potatoes" border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFVqLhQyiOMEPBW-dtNjQLpz432CrdkMTEqaRU0NigDlge1NUJCDTlBGjL_vmq7LuLK7UzTu_l7YM748HJVfjpYTP-LuV7ruTq2G6bf04nHOXEk8KnLR2geZaeFE6-5SuccZhZJmI9XNJsxcI-dWPdfCuZa31cqSkEUYzDAGqo40CyFUYQ63hyphenhyphenJHCcLYme/w640-h480/IMG_20240203_083915.jpg" title="Chitting potatoes" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>Anyway, back to spuds. After a year of </span><a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2023/07/type-2-diabetes-update.html" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">type 2 diabetes, and controlling it through diet</a><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> - I hate that word but it's better than saying, controlling it through the food what I eat, let's call it a lifesstyle change. Though my lifestyle change I discovered that most root vegetables were verbatim, too many sugars, way too much starch and so on but the spud, well the spud, is a funny thing. If you eat them fresh, as new potatoes, the carbohydrate is less in them then let's say getting in the car, driving a few miles, and buying the same spuds in a supermarket - well, not the same spuds because that means you took them there and got charged for them but I mean, new potatoes. New potatoes on the shelf literally sit there turning into a carbohydrate nightmare, replicating and replicating all the building blocks to knacker your pancreas. The older the spud, the worst it is but fresh from the open ground, it's lower and means I can eat it but what choice do I have? The older the spud, the worse it is, so maincrop is a no-no, second earlies are a no-no but first earlies, new potatoes, well they're a maybe-maybe in moderation. Enter, </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Casablanca, </i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">a first and second early, chitting away on top of my yet to be constucted shed. What is chitting? Well, if you have had a few glasses of wine, and are in mixed company, around 120 community pay back hours but in the land of gardening, it's the act of getting egg boxes (they're always the best) and setting out your potatoes, eye side up - that's the place they shoot from with that spindly growth you discover under your sink - honestly, why do they say that on social media? Who admits to being so lazy and house slovenly? Anyway, you put them in egg boxes, then googly eyes are optional but are fun for kids and adults, and then you leave them. That's right, leave them. I find playing romantic music to them does nothing. Not even Michael Ball. Just leave them. Make the odd joke about them when people you don't really know wonder why you have a potato centre piece on your table. I always tell them that it's leftovers from Christmas. After a few weeks of this, you will have stubby little shoots. The idea behind this is that when you plant them - I normally plant around Good Friday - you are ahead of the game by a few weeks. They're going in half cocked, try telling that to a neighbour without smirking, into the soil and they'll burst through the soil earlier than those spuds who weren't warmed up and ready. Think of it as spud foreplay. Are you allowed to be so down and dirty? Yes, it spuds not rocket science. That's a whole different level of filth.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-39314786758708470632024-02-16T08:30:00.001+00:002024-02-16T08:30:00.157+00:00Sharpening Secateurs<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Get those sheds ready! Get those propagators ready! Get those gladiators ready! Sorry, wrong one. Get those compost bins ready! It's that time of year that my attention turns to the tools in my life, this is not time to start insulting someone, but the actual tools in my life: hoe, spade, knife and secateurs, and today, it's all about the latter. Secateurs are a great invention, you spend half your life searching for them and half your life buying new ones. So, to prevent at least one of these, get those sharpening stones ready! Time to show you how to sharpen your secateurs. Find the film <a href="https://youtu.be/iL4Yf4qIZOo" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1xvrMZSiqg60DUbo6f_pXIyz4Ol88V96w1_LaDiouiE3cq93IRcOMwS28GG7UbKPmwxiOTNIWxUWpMjRMAF0bIT-ZpiVWSpLH8PFFP3f4QDo0FldCrbGc1L6r_qABg3IHnqEEGF9cWA9LrAoRnHC88pkgp4rtkQvYyIkxI94Qi5dRGBPfeU7w8mvKlMw/s1280/20240204_124554_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Secateurs, sharp stone, niwaki" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1xvrMZSiqg60DUbo6f_pXIyz4Ol88V96w1_LaDiouiE3cq93IRcOMwS28GG7UbKPmwxiOTNIWxUWpMjRMAF0bIT-ZpiVWSpLH8PFFP3f4QDo0FldCrbGc1L6r_qABg3IHnqEEGF9cWA9LrAoRnHC88pkgp4rtkQvYyIkxI94Qi5dRGBPfeU7w8mvKlMw/w640-h360/20240204_124554_0000.png" title="Sharpening tools" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-38423050399395822782024-02-14T09:30:00.001+00:002024-02-14T09:30:00.136+00:00Come read with us<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Don't worry, this is not like that scene from <i>The Shining </i>with the twins and Danny, and they keep saying, 'Come play with us, Danny, forever and ever.' This is just a little catch up on how I have grown as a garden writer from this blog to today, <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2011/09/testing.html" target="_blank">how that first post back in 2011</a> spawned a lovely movement full of food and growing. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84_GtKDYH3_hsWvfyMEnhXpnwMhh3cVv8A5hap2t0bnUz_0PIZ9Iq54m11M0SWmZ6MFzVzSfk5cKU1rN4cQpfyn-iuhEcCHJikaTP2PTR15TZARj6GYNe8HLHHJlL0vf4qTFkE20xi9Xyb0hSOOXvzY-wrllFfF2Vu9WVDzc4IEOmzTXoNhY7AFVrmBPj/s4160/IMG_20240123_215616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Amateur gardening" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84_GtKDYH3_hsWvfyMEnhXpnwMhh3cVv8A5hap2t0bnUz_0PIZ9Iq54m11M0SWmZ6MFzVzSfk5cKU1rN4cQpfyn-iuhEcCHJikaTP2PTR15TZARj6GYNe8HLHHJlL0vf4qTFkE20xi9Xyb0hSOOXvzY-wrllFfF2Vu9WVDzc4IEOmzTXoNhY7AFVrmBPj/w480-h640/IMG_20240123_215616.jpg" title="Andrew Oldham in amateur gardening" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">It's safe to say those early post were a bit haphazard, erratic and veering between gardening, cooking and reviewing but as the blog developed, I became more and more about doing it in away that meant you didn't have to go out spend a fortune - I am not going to discuss my own seed catalogue addiction. The Wartime Garden was a massive hit for us and catapulted us onto a national stage. I never expected that or the hunger for such information - it's still one of my most popular talks for garden societies though we have not done it since 2016 - yes, we did have a relapse during Covid but not to the same extent where we lived, breathed and grew our way through Dig for Victory for four years. The world changes and so do we. Nearly 1,500 posts later and with around 75,000 people passing through this blog every year - we are looking again to the future. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUOQDt7sQ12wGP3aejnkWHK5eTACzjRWV1zTZdOOSps9FmJHC-MVyRMIKBkcgAwhjQh4X4Bd0it-XVT2LC2Si8evPumB2IABA9lBbAU3aSBzN5VeKJowgTPDiQbLs7n_xDTsHLEYRRx6tZP7e5kVMIj31wTbI2GGQ8U9xmMpngOpIFzxOI0KHru7FC6cc/s1504/Screenshot_20240106_230131_com.triactivemedia.pocketmags_edit_1314086532706774.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="country smallholder" border="0" data-original-height="1504" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUOQDt7sQ12wGP3aejnkWHK5eTACzjRWV1zTZdOOSps9FmJHC-MVyRMIKBkcgAwhjQh4X4Bd0it-XVT2LC2Si8evPumB2IABA9lBbAU3aSBzN5VeKJowgTPDiQbLs7n_xDTsHLEYRRx6tZP7e5kVMIj31wTbI2GGQ8U9xmMpngOpIFzxOI0KHru7FC6cc/w460-h640/Screenshot_20240106_230131_com.triactivemedia.pocketmags_edit_1314086532706774.jpg" title="country smallholder" width="460" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>In the last year I have gone from local newspapers and this blog to national publications in the wonderful </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Country Smallholder </i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">where I won the Dr David Hessayon Gardening Columnist 2022, and in the last few months I have become a regular contributor to </span><i style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Amateur Gardening</i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">. Today, I have been approached with even more exciting news, more on that soon. I am grateful for everything everyone has done for us, all the support, all the love and kindness. I hope you do carry on reading us, here, or in magazines and newspapers. I hope you continue to enjoy what we do and how we develop and that you garden with us, forever and ever.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-68790900401948315252024-02-09T09:30:00.001+00:002024-02-09T09:30:00.148+00:00Heeling In<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Tis the season of the bare root. Like the age of Aquarius but with less fish and nudity. Well, there may be some of the latter. Time to get the last of those fruit trees, bushes, roses and hedging ordered but don't panic when they come, there's still plenty of time to get them in the ground. Until then, here's a little trick on how to keep them happy with no cost to you. Find out <a href="https://youtu.be/dpVaD3kvh5Y" target="_blank">here</a> and do subscribe, if only for the promise of possible nudity*</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H_-06vmEX7Hh3PQIhd0eb8V9WrLFqgHqJyJnAmUr-wD8QSBijZOiZEXA3Erj8FzKjKu5uxkqdz_lB369rZFklofzANDUwTBnRyaBsTw_kcpSogJUaj_YQSJtM2oKk_Rfq3emUKnfEQqoUzzqLQO1J3VT39_u4zyNBP59ydO5TpJI7EhS9TLfhcI-kPOY/s1280/20240120_144242_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hazel, soil," border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H_-06vmEX7Hh3PQIhd0eb8V9WrLFqgHqJyJnAmUr-wD8QSBijZOiZEXA3Erj8FzKjKu5uxkqdz_lB369rZFklofzANDUwTBnRyaBsTw_kcpSogJUaj_YQSJtM2oKk_Rfq3emUKnfEQqoUzzqLQO1J3VT39_u4zyNBP59ydO5TpJI7EhS9TLfhcI-kPOY/w640-h360/20240120_144242_0000.png" title="Until then, here's a little trick on how to keep them happy with no cost to you." width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">* LOPR does not accept any responsibility for nudity and the after effects of seeing anything or in the case of seeing nothing.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-50671882995318933182024-02-07T09:30:00.001+00:002024-02-07T09:30:00.136+00:00Here Comes Some Planting<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This week I will show you how to heel in some bare rooted plants but today, let's talk about the delivery of a part of the garden that will shelter the new vegetable plot. At the top of our hill resides the orchard. Over the years I have toyed with making this into a wild flower meadow but the nature of the soil here is that it is too rich. I am literally on peat. Also, though wild flower meadows are lovely to look at, they don't actually give you any wind breaks. A wind break is literally what it says on the tin, it breaks the wind: fences, hedges, bored teenagers, all do this, especially if you position them right. Last year, <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2023/04/dead-hedge.html" target="_blank">we built a dead hedge</a> and this did wonders for the new vegetable plot area. Yet, to the north of it, still sat the orchard with the remains of Carol's shed in it, the glass for my new greenhouse and a ton or two of gravel - purchased in the days before you had to take a loan out for gravel.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pybve_w6dw_roqx2MQcx1u2yeNeEUXv34Ol4SD2-pZq5Qiq5cvpYFUYrKZVPGV8vb08sWlNRv2laIzR3uG92iY7C5Ex58UgaPswDjvmglQwnEtYwbwJHHfrepZZSFqTnaPzmpVgPZGJdACRQLi_JMy11qOxqbmbL7UYgH9mB7B-bOZpqNHgIRlA9zux6/s4160/IMG_20240120_141034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="hazel, bare rooted" border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pybve_w6dw_roqx2MQcx1u2yeNeEUXv34Ol4SD2-pZq5Qiq5cvpYFUYrKZVPGV8vb08sWlNRv2laIzR3uG92iY7C5Ex58UgaPswDjvmglQwnEtYwbwJHHfrepZZSFqTnaPzmpVgPZGJdACRQLi_JMy11qOxqbmbL7UYgH9mB7B-bOZpqNHgIRlA9zux6/w640-h480/IMG_20240120_141034.jpg" title="let's talk about the delivery of a part of the garden that will shelter the new vegetable plot." width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">I decided that I hated the clear view from this part of the garden to the back drystone wall. I wanted mystery. I wanted excitement. I wanted woodland. Now, I don't have to get rid of my fruit trees to achieve this but have instead just received: 1 x mulberry bush, 12 x hazel, 1 x hawthorn, 1 x damson, 1 x walnut, 1 x greengage. I have waiting in the wings, 1x crab apple, and 1 x clematis, 4 x hydrangeas, 4 x honeysuckle, all from cuttings. Here's the plan. I am going to plant the hazel in groups of three, next to each other to give me large focal clumps that I can coppice in later years. The hawthorn will stand alone in the orchard area away from any path, so that it can grow nice and large, the same with the mulberry. The walnut will be planted in the potager to shade the chicken run and a new bench, then the greengage and damson in the new vegetable plot, the crab apple in the orchard as you enter. All this will be along a sinuous curving path in the orchard, as the trees grow, I will underplant with the hydrangeas and rhododendrons (not purchased yet), blueberries, blackcurrants, with ferns and within the next decade I should have something rather resembling a food forest as the dead hedge rots to nothing, this will take over as a massive windbreak for winds from the north and more wonderfully, a whole new type of garden that will, as I age, and I am unable to do vegetable growing, creep closer and closer to the house. As if the wild things were returning home.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-236217887030125402024-02-02T09:30:00.001+00:002024-02-02T09:30:00.148+00:00Join Us In Sowing This Year<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">What are we growing this spring and summer? Well, click <a href="https://youtu.be/OGUWnfUAXQI" target="_blank">here</a> to find out and do join us being lazy housewives (you will never know this reference, unless you click on it).</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3qoObArbzDMynH94V5qg47fs6G8m0_zMDnPpZKGxgKLkSRGnpjngF8ImGIOC5_3QjklzbmOX4zFoTkpYHvd0MGkGVwbDwSbZef8hoNE-Qq7Jy_B8mZf1cY5FnnGBFgx3gIUYjGzYxv_6ItFwN4N-HIRd0q0kTJygtlmVVmB3vszpiqUmM-ccGdp7Iruy/s1280/20240116_153536_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Man, seeds, franchi, kings, thomas etty" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3qoObArbzDMynH94V5qg47fs6G8m0_zMDnPpZKGxgKLkSRGnpjngF8ImGIOC5_3QjklzbmOX4zFoTkpYHvd0MGkGVwbDwSbZef8hoNE-Qq7Jy_B8mZf1cY5FnnGBFgx3gIUYjGzYxv_6ItFwN4N-HIRd0q0kTJygtlmVVmB3vszpiqUmM-ccGdp7Iruy/w640-h360/20240116_153536_0000.png" title="What are we growing this spring and summer?" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-60392814906998957432024-01-31T09:30:00.001+00:002024-01-31T09:30:00.148+00:00Emergency Garlic Planting Away!<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Just before Christmas - see how I got it in nice and early for next time - I managed between every storm from A to J, and every rain belt named every four lettered word I could think of to get the garlic in the ground. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7m7-D3mDsCjjquheRs3anSfJMKEQgLx_EPh_Vx0rFHLXf26oJDwpDM__5nmBETZMkvgyKIPdPz9rgdou8pXZw1XPW9PG_rEZNU_UcjQVU6ebYUYXHEZC_D9ekCh5Ks1In0eKV-k_snFynnWVPu8bM9D62Fb9I_hZcsq3ocKDM-mO-ZeCo0fU_tBHsCn6b/s2160/Collage_20231217_143943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Potager" border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="2160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7m7-D3mDsCjjquheRs3anSfJMKEQgLx_EPh_Vx0rFHLXf26oJDwpDM__5nmBETZMkvgyKIPdPz9rgdou8pXZw1XPW9PG_rEZNU_UcjQVU6ebYUYXHEZC_D9ekCh5Ks1In0eKV-k_snFynnWVPu8bM9D62Fb9I_hZcsq3ocKDM-mO-ZeCo0fU_tBHsCn6b/w640-h640/Collage_20231217_143943.jpg" title="to get the garlic in the ground." width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">It was meant to go in the <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2023/11/building-new-vegetable-patch.html" target="_blank">new vegetable plot</a>. I feel like I have been talking about the new vegetable plot longer than I have been building it. Thanks to all those storms and months of flipping rain it hasn't really got going and it became a distinct emergency that the garlic wouldn't get planted. I decided to press the potager back into use. Last year, this was handed over to a flower garden and it needed all the old stalks clearing out and a top dressing of compost. I then got the garlic into four beds. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Since then, I have been patiently waiting, even when I found the remains of a rabbit on top of one of the beds after the snow. Eaten by a cat that had retreated under the glass cloche I made. Well, we assume it was a cat due to the imprints in the snow. I mean it could have been some sort of mythical creature, somewhere between a borrower or a goblin, a gobbler. Who knows? There's not much of the rabbit left and in the snow, the rain and the winds, has more or less rotted to nothing. In my book, that's a win because I don't have to scoop it up and run down the length of the garden going, 'Ewww, ewww - ewww!' And, it will probably feed the garlic. Though I doubt there's a cross between garlic and rabbit that I can grow, who knows? Maybe when it starts to sprout the leaves will be green and furry, and the bulb will twitch. Sorry, but ewww! Where did that come from? This is the problem with this time of year, in the dark days your imagination goes into overload when all you want to do is get planting!</span></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-71510669928114697232024-01-26T08:30:00.001+00:002024-01-26T08:30:00.133+00:00Unboxing Vonhaus Extendable Pole Hedge Trimmer<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Andrew has a new toy and this week he unboxes his new extendable hedge trimmer from Vonhaus. Watch the film <a href="https://youtu.be/ZJWR_k7Osqk" target="_blank">here</a> and do not forget to subscribe.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKgOGfDLB_WdVE2Q-a_ZnnoIM_PCTde8_9fmkozr8rcR2JdYrHOMe-u1pgt1tmPXqUmYzOCF2BQmKIndPjeCSgh8yqWaZXBa7RBkPPXYmJ9VdHsvZDY_5KQbTY92O6SUwdN-E7Ujnb4z7cQai0w23LLzvOnBcSnl5x34qdTEv_IA8u6h6zaQYbhpMQaVl/s1280/20240108_201409_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Vonhaus hedge trimmer" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKgOGfDLB_WdVE2Q-a_ZnnoIM_PCTde8_9fmkozr8rcR2JdYrHOMe-u1pgt1tmPXqUmYzOCF2BQmKIndPjeCSgh8yqWaZXBa7RBkPPXYmJ9VdHsvZDY_5KQbTY92O6SUwdN-E7Ujnb4z7cQai0w23LLzvOnBcSnl5x34qdTEv_IA8u6h6zaQYbhpMQaVl/w640-h360/20240108_201409_0000.png" title="unboxes his new extendable hedge trimmer from Vonhaus" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><p><br /></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-39682019890820663602024-01-24T08:30:00.001+00:002024-01-24T08:30:00.130+00:00Lifting the Dahlia Curse<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">I have grown <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ5OZmd5Zi8" target="_blank">dahlias from seed</a> successfully, producing year after year of <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2021/09/dahlia-harvest.html" target="_blank">glorious displays</a> and then a few years ago things started going wrong. Tubers which I normally succeeded in bringing through the winter month turned to mush, fungus abounded in my stored dahlias and fresh dahlias grown from seed sulked in open ground. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwXaBqmpv7Eg6P1Gl9vU79O9nX1apaVKgos9TD5dNzEVJTMfBLi2C-GUSeIQuhwHTFLMOwnkqfknB0Bf_jORSWiPSo8Y7ytOg9o0Sg0_ZUo6oeIMlI2Sr-HIazFmw2Q9Hi5zNfyTcAAFAnT2pibo8oBisMBD_XzYQj6Gl4vuc1h1Juakvnx-J7L2xVipe/s400/111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="dahlias" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwXaBqmpv7Eg6P1Gl9vU79O9nX1apaVKgos9TD5dNzEVJTMfBLi2C-GUSeIQuhwHTFLMOwnkqfknB0Bf_jORSWiPSo8Y7ytOg9o0Sg0_ZUo6oeIMlI2Sr-HIazFmw2Q9Hi5zNfyTcAAFAnT2pibo8oBisMBD_XzYQj6Gl4vuc1h1Juakvnx-J7L2xVipe/w480-h640/111.jpg" title="producing year after year of glorious displays and then a few years ago things started going wrong." width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">I decided this winter to change tactics and left the dahlias as long as I could in open ground. There have been no significant frosts and I made sure the tubers were buried under a thick mulch. A few weeks ago, I decided to lift them but this time they did not head to the greenhouse to dry off. They came straight indoors and sat on my, yet to be built, flatpack shed. All over Christmas they soil on them dried out to the point where I took a soft paintbrush and cleared them off.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-xbT5vDcSQIYPTMzGxGaFdMDxFunc2jQ7gXysJpzCP9HnowDq5sx1ULFkKUjhXVu7KeFEF_RX59gnkJnF4d2jSbGnIFC4Al-LOW58ZrP6IoEYkWXQOAzL-7e23w6r9Ivy8M_maMhgm_me1kl4_WcdlK_t78Z382Wki8LBC95IMIowli0gOMB9-MWbbhC/s4160/IMG_20231229_152908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="dahlia tubers" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-xbT5vDcSQIYPTMzGxGaFdMDxFunc2jQ7gXysJpzCP9HnowDq5sx1ULFkKUjhXVu7KeFEF_RX59gnkJnF4d2jSbGnIFC4Al-LOW58ZrP6IoEYkWXQOAzL-7e23w6r9Ivy8M_maMhgm_me1kl4_WcdlK_t78Z382Wki8LBC95IMIowli0gOMB9-MWbbhC/w480-h640/IMG_20231229_152908.jpg" title="All over Christmas they soil on them dried out to the point where I took a soft paintbrush and cleared them off." width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;">Leaving behind pristine and mould free tubers. I have several more still in open ground that I will lift soon to carry on this experiment and I will store these in dry chicken dengi bedding - just to see what happens - because dengi bedding has added bacterial control to keep down mildew. I mean, what's the worse that could happen. I even purchased more seed and I am being optimistic in returning to a high summer with wonderful dahlias rather than last summer which saw them sulk once more. I will keep you in the loop on how they do, if they survive and more importantly how they grow.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbE_OH7qjaOYS1hdkpjE8_S8yKDMuJXJkc4PS5bdIeskPfmQ9Ql5DK-StFE4vP6AJsXJLHU6fscB9wFh6xXxOsAndIlSVXTx40a9cE6HdzbZXS6ac7CADpHyb0PnAAX2IaLgoDue-CokoXIwpMjmnYcz7J96Ggs5JO4amgH7fzBO6b4YHrMO8HSm_MW5KA/s4160/IMG_20231229_152857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Dahlia tubers" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbE_OH7qjaOYS1hdkpjE8_S8yKDMuJXJkc4PS5bdIeskPfmQ9Ql5DK-StFE4vP6AJsXJLHU6fscB9wFh6xXxOsAndIlSVXTx40a9cE6HdzbZXS6ac7CADpHyb0PnAAX2IaLgoDue-CokoXIwpMjmnYcz7J96Ggs5JO4amgH7fzBO6b4YHrMO8HSm_MW5KA/w480-h640/IMG_20231229_152857.jpg" title="Leaving behind pristine and mould free tubers." width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; text-align: left;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-22031271444022694452024-01-19T08:30:00.003+00:002024-01-19T08:30:00.131+00:00Making Paths<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The New Year is upon us and that means new projects. This week let's look at <a href="https://youtu.be/4tGQOG2jJGQ?si=XM1UE9ejHIT6B1YK" target="_blank">how to construct new paths in your garden</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBdlYk0b-BIUmync2QQoaRx3hkKX3fdZwcHgXPO0qmzF7ZbsUblFop_Q7OL0fiVePxoos6bsHakDiWajN2EtPKFVuIWfUSDX5D3qeBdYeY3WFnp8GXum5rmMnCL-km_RrDK1r0L8GXfi3bNwai9AW4fZbAn3UM2ThtF_E7tG9OTznP4uNZkhAXK68yFT2/s1280/20240107_131912_0000.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Trench" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEBdlYk0b-BIUmync2QQoaRx3hkKX3fdZwcHgXPO0qmzF7ZbsUblFop_Q7OL0fiVePxoos6bsHakDiWajN2EtPKFVuIWfUSDX5D3qeBdYeY3WFnp8GXum5rmMnCL-km_RrDK1r0L8GXfi3bNwai9AW4fZbAn3UM2ThtF_E7tG9OTznP4uNZkhAXK68yFT2/w640-h360/20240107_131912_0000.png" title="This week let's look at how to construct new paths in your garden." width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-76781840293120005242024-01-17T08:30:00.001+00:002024-01-17T08:30:00.237+00:00Sheep's Arses<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">The year shuffles in like the end of the last year, damp and cold to the point where the sheep that normally litter the hills around us like giant mushrooms in the distance are down in the lower fields watching us each day when we open the curtains. Carol refers to us as their 'EweTube' and it is clear that many the sheep out there have been tupped between looking in our windows - if you don't know what tupped means, it involves a male sheep, known as a ram, who puts on a Barry White cassette, and gets together with a female sheep, which are called ewes and they make babies, known as, lambs. At this time of year you can spot which ewes have been listening to Barry White by the colour on the backsides. Many farmers still daub their rams to keep track of where they have been and with whom. Lot's of red arses from our window. Thankfully, this time around the farmer has put up an electric fence so we won't have a re-ocurrence of when the cows called or when the ram got randy with a neighbour. She was literally red faced.</span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AlrVDF4dhHTAAkBnc7K5tFKhjnPj3Ta0Vqowtvywf5yAHiqExwDfQrBUM-UIF16vf_IFrpJlqWlYSNeLqSx4QXEWo87G375jDn-mlJiS3fA-FoY82ke5Prl2-bcp02ClFJdnbiNDLsa5NxdVFRgeLVlv3OwaiLS6oxjxvcz8qzSQtHSQQ1UpKa_n9uMb/s3264/IMG_20231227_150159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Sheep, Saddleworth" border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-AlrVDF4dhHTAAkBnc7K5tFKhjnPj3Ta0Vqowtvywf5yAHiqExwDfQrBUM-UIF16vf_IFrpJlqWlYSNeLqSx4QXEWo87G375jDn-mlJiS3fA-FoY82ke5Prl2-bcp02ClFJdnbiNDLsa5NxdVFRgeLVlv3OwaiLS6oxjxvcz8qzSQtHSQQ1UpKa_n9uMb/w640-h480/IMG_20231227_150159.jpg" title="Carol refers to us as their 'EweTube'" width="640" /></span></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's easy at this time of year to slip into a funk, I mean, even the sheep are having more fun than me locked in doors with all this rain but there are dry days but the ground is so wet that it would be wrong, stupid and downright dangerous for me to work on it. So, I look on at the sheep and tend my raised beds and start to order additions to my orchard that will transfer it slowly into a forest garden, think hazel, think mulberries, think ferns, rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries; then I go lie down in a dark room when I realise I can't afford the shipping on the rhododendrons and azaleas - over £100 for a pallet! - cuttings ahoy! No matter. Patience is the key here and there are other things doing well in the garden, and not just the weeds, the kale has survived the damp and tastes, as usual, fabulous. Even though I feel awful being indoors. Nevermind, spring will be here soon. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs64-BXJmPo8J_yNOrwW98OeEnWDqaEdjCYlOvAemuwO9o8osjuUCx8jjIwbEENcvi-076DXpQ9wFK5y-H07Odydnide7sWqa6p7jm4_QlYNjesWRHOy0mBXbqy6xftOhG5cgH0rMK0u52eVHMDVVPoVjNFUvust-lSD96DXSHP1vew6Nw1rDSy_C4F02/s4160/IMG_20231231_142004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="kale" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs64-BXJmPo8J_yNOrwW98OeEnWDqaEdjCYlOvAemuwO9o8osjuUCx8jjIwbEENcvi-076DXpQ9wFK5y-H07Odydnide7sWqa6p7jm4_QlYNjesWRHOy0mBXbqy6xftOhG5cgH0rMK0u52eVHMDVVPoVjNFUvust-lSD96DXSHP1vew6Nw1rDSy_C4F02/w480-h640/IMG_20231231_142004.jpg" title="the kale has survived the damp and tastes, as usual, fabulous." width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="" style="font-size: large;"></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /> </span></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-50617617247319886022024-01-10T09:30:00.001+00:002024-01-10T09:30:00.134+00:00Another Finished Room<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Back in those early heady days of Pig Row when the walls where crumbling and the ground was a matted thatch of thirty plus years of neglect. D's bedroom looked like this.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtUw3Sfs3ED1EHUWCxShhyphenhyphenHgYC1pu0t1dAjy7LkQPkJNc3B-2WaSnAUkOlX8W5fKzmP_stK6H5r3OC7CIZAXHxHyPGEGuKIn2C6ZYoYxBp0azIISA-KOwHYImdYKkgHUALzllO7NXSRnMnnrhK1xOha1rg7B6FKUYCmH13aCXcS7TgP_UEjah2nzvAuQ8/s400/FB_IMG_1702392886043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Old bed" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtUw3Sfs3ED1EHUWCxShhyphenhyphenHgYC1pu0t1dAjy7LkQPkJNc3B-2WaSnAUkOlX8W5fKzmP_stK6H5r3OC7CIZAXHxHyPGEGuKIn2C6ZYoYxBp0azIISA-KOwHYImdYKkgHUALzllO7NXSRnMnnrhK1xOha1rg7B6FKUYCmH13aCXcS7TgP_UEjah2nzvAuQ8/w640-h480/FB_IMG_1702392886043.jpg" title="little old lady land" width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This was before we moved in and it looked like the attack of the little old ladies. Grumbling, mumbling and snapping shut biscuit tins on unsuspecting fingers they moved through this room leaving a hotch potch of rotting wool carpet, eiderdowns and old storage heaters, and layers and layers of paint and wallpaper. Sadly, even when this photo was taken by the estate agent, no one had lived in this room for awhile. It was cold, soulless and was no better than a blank canvas. After a replaster, then the years of it being a dumping ground for toys, books and a toddler. D made the decision what he wanted and though we have to find a wardrobe, the final result is pleasing as old walls made way for new wallpaper.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippZxypRaISAOsSGVPEPPjoxFzhsaEpRDl_JINFT0_SB7u9o4Mo55AyhSxkCBGaehnomEDR3RmKSjF_13-Lw5G85AVJoJKNjoXboYZCI31C-wuplDIxhcl_HtU817tG8cc35x_DRyv1m7egWwbzMUMvf3gtffEzz3YniGBz8AlEUiDr65BKBVkFzQU_EbM/s4160/IMG_20231125_124709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Holden wallpaper" border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippZxypRaISAOsSGVPEPPjoxFzhsaEpRDl_JINFT0_SB7u9o4Mo55AyhSxkCBGaehnomEDR3RmKSjF_13-Lw5G85AVJoJKNjoXboYZCI31C-wuplDIxhcl_HtU817tG8cc35x_DRyv1m7egWwbzMUMvf3gtffEzz3YniGBz8AlEUiDr65BKBVkFzQU_EbM/w640-h480/IMG_20231125_124709.jpg" title="the final result is pleasing as old walls made way for new wallpaper." width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Old floors became host to new rugs after the old boards were sanded and waxed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfX0ldeciyE4TgGtc10d5Xr_UWaNtnqrWEWmFgp4Z8_wT7Y-ar4Pnbc4b9AYyYTich1UjZ0ByMkLyfpQYE-k0QWu5EeWLSLeU3WiV8_m61tlKyRzIR-I24qjLHUgmvYfUWaMMKr8-AuqwQZkPRyIwBt5eg5VcFErZ96txkh3qlfVebwzu1cdDNPSH3Qo_/s4160/IMG_20231212_144838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Suraya rug" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfX0ldeciyE4TgGtc10d5Xr_UWaNtnqrWEWmFgp4Z8_wT7Y-ar4Pnbc4b9AYyYTich1UjZ0ByMkLyfpQYE-k0QWu5EeWLSLeU3WiV8_m61tlKyRzIR-I24qjLHUgmvYfUWaMMKr8-AuqwQZkPRyIwBt5eg5VcFErZ96txkh3qlfVebwzu1cdDNPSH3Qo_/w480-h640/IMG_20231212_144838.jpg" title="Even if the shabby-chic still got in on the act." width="480" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Even if the shabby-chic still got in on the act. It was glorious day to get all those books out of boxes and off the floor and into somewhere more permanent.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgehSuLoRTdW0FsU4iicXhfbTB1XJ3S7EGNXbZ8qymy3mBNlh6v2YwrlY_FZ7M-gDC2Dzp7yWayy24SGH2Yfjsl_r85ca_GUuHPSoD_JB2kwHDJkVZjvcQVxOdpVHvoo6fnWX142TQB3Hr1q_4SQm1kOXhYpFfZu7Dn7a866-e7nTKhyciYeHSIgcElNj/s4160/IMG_20231212_144909.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Book cases" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgehSuLoRTdW0FsU4iicXhfbTB1XJ3S7EGNXbZ8qymy3mBNlh6v2YwrlY_FZ7M-gDC2Dzp7yWayy24SGH2Yfjsl_r85ca_GUuHPSoD_JB2kwHDJkVZjvcQVxOdpVHvoo6fnWX142TQB3Hr1q_4SQm1kOXhYpFfZu7Dn7a866-e7nTKhyciYeHSIgcElNj/w480-h640/IMG_20231212_144909.jpg" title="It was glorious day to get all those books out of boxes and off the floor and into somewhere more permanent." width="480" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">And though there are tweaks to be made and old toys to be donated. D moves into the new year with a room that will help him step from child to adulthood. If only we can skip over the teenage bit.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNJB5QFA_Eu9rYeDTj9JGhXjPCN1aW4BSgvHz9yBhT-nVqU9U6fgGHJpN9G_U_acngcl0ed7nG3VI8iwhNNahWHY0I9IV-j14jBhiucIfYgzYA28je_o-kNJ7io0NgYSvabirSPk0uPb7d3jz0n4OTAFuwLv80U8c_8J_uOWdqNR42_vm2EgzQ7Z0rCE6/s4160/IMG_20231212_144816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="Computer chair" border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNJB5QFA_Eu9rYeDTj9JGhXjPCN1aW4BSgvHz9yBhT-nVqU9U6fgGHJpN9G_U_acngcl0ed7nG3VI8iwhNNahWHY0I9IV-j14jBhiucIfYgzYA28je_o-kNJ7io0NgYSvabirSPk0uPb7d3jz0n4OTAFuwLv80U8c_8J_uOWdqNR42_vm2EgzQ7Z0rCE6/w640-h480/IMG_20231212_144816.jpg" title="It's a long way for little old lady land." width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's a long way from little old lady land.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><br /></p></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-79657168248094907242023-12-20T09:30:00.001+00:002023-12-20T09:30:00.137+00:00Merry Christmas<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's that time of year that we shut down shop for a fortnight. Come Friday, and the final film of the year, you won't see us back until the 10 January 2023. If we can say one thing this season, after a strange year in the garden, due to the weather, after a strange year in the world after countless atrocities and cruelties, if we can say one thing, be kind to one another. Remember, that Christmas is about family, community and kindness. You don't have to get yourself into debt to enjoy it. You don't have to spend a fortune. You just need to be kind, to be with one another. Remember, you have that gift, and that gift is free, it is your time with others and it is the best gift you will ever have in this life. No one remembers the presents, but we all remember the people, living and gone, we all remember their stories, and the love we feel for them. So, be kind, be together, be truly rich in a way that no one can ever take from you, the joy of company. Merry Christmas wherever you are, whoever your God is or isn't, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's to 2024, see you then, folks.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1H5a711R-3k4N7VVzOiF4LqeLckg7ePrvGwSFLkLGo2SSszN26a9u0J6RP01qigJIU-DCJsWttepmEDFUpCooDW2Kl0fCfp7czs3I314LCRFAftOfgc3qJQ4_Z8C1TZS3Cw9CItP3KTCGRZW66nI41Kt37CX9nWMhhjXGqNDEJf3GeZJ5aHBM9OOXszd/s1997/045.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Christmas" border="0" data-original-height="1997" data-original-width="1997" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz1H5a711R-3k4N7VVzOiF4LqeLckg7ePrvGwSFLkLGo2SSszN26a9u0J6RP01qigJIU-DCJsWttepmEDFUpCooDW2Kl0fCfp7czs3I314LCRFAftOfgc3qJQ4_Z8C1TZS3Cw9CItP3KTCGRZW66nI41Kt37CX9nWMhhjXGqNDEJf3GeZJ5aHBM9OOXszd/w640-h640/045.JPG" title="whoever your God is or isn't, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-28565786064492202122023-12-15T09:30:00.000+00:002023-12-15T09:30:00.140+00:00Scented Pelargoniums<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">It's time to bring those scented pelargoniums undercover, into a warm greenhouse or a windowsill indoors. Today, on the #fridayfilm we look at how to prep them for winter <a href="https://youtu.be/T6uLzE5F008" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqM6ORp4468alebkX40eUXPsxq_zFelFz84pOI3wFFRpNjxUITBr-uqCJa-tXhnYHAxe7NeTBHCYk1XvetY7U-DEH5vOzaXWTDf9kDaWO3e7T8Z57Ily8ae8Ypjnr_JC4qzRkr3pFxFs-k3BWzKtyAhWwm4Y6K7botfuh_fHd9b6TSHHdU2d6dbBBiuaAZ/s1280/20231115_115708_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="scented pelargonium, atar of roses" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqM6ORp4468alebkX40eUXPsxq_zFelFz84pOI3wFFRpNjxUITBr-uqCJa-tXhnYHAxe7NeTBHCYk1XvetY7U-DEH5vOzaXWTDf9kDaWO3e7T8Z57Ily8ae8Ypjnr_JC4qzRkr3pFxFs-k3BWzKtyAhWwm4Y6K7botfuh_fHd9b6TSHHdU2d6dbBBiuaAZ/w640-h360/20231115_115708_0000.png" title="It's time to bring those scented pelargoniums undercover, into a warm greenhouse or a windowsill indoors" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-34535193753114247112023-12-13T09:30:00.002+00:002023-12-13T09:30:00.131+00:00New Hens<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Sometimes, the nature of a blog is that we don't always get to share everything we want with you. Day to day blows and successes are boiled down to helpful advice and information, and things get lost. We tend to treat our <a href="http://facebook.com/lifeonpigrow" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> as a community and the blog like the front of a shop. So, back at the start of November/late October, we had a particularly bad fox attack which wiped out all our chickens bar one, Claudia Clinkerbutt. Here she is shortly after the attack in a smaller run and coop, nursing her pulled out tail feathers where the fox tried to grab her before she flew off and ran the length of the garden to the backdoor of our house - she's a clever hen.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLPs9lVg0OFHHKoib_z7FgPm4QHh3GIwr_ddrhciKp93ohvNIPcx40BGCOiUvV93LsFSCPnxSLg83rLHAFupiHo4AkDCgCFe1sMginpCTkR2F04vQyy4kJct4r4VDpUXiCCFlWKkeLwWIqu4eJBfprH88lanb8CE10h-BalXraDuW_sk82ADGehcgczSp/s4160/IMG_20231007_110201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="brown lohmann hen" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLPs9lVg0OFHHKoib_z7FgPm4QHh3GIwr_ddrhciKp93ohvNIPcx40BGCOiUvV93LsFSCPnxSLg83rLHAFupiHo4AkDCgCFe1sMginpCTkR2F04vQyy4kJct4r4VDpUXiCCFlWKkeLwWIqu4eJBfprH88lanb8CE10h-BalXraDuW_sk82ADGehcgczSp/w480-h640/IMG_20231007_110201.jpg" title="nursing her pulled out tail feathers where the fox tried to grab her before she flew off and ran the length of the garden to the backdoor of our house" width="480" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">We were going to do her wing feathers the week before as she has tendency to get out of the outdoor run into the rest of the garden but it slipped our minds, and thank goodness for that. After this attack, and with <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2023/11/deterring-foxes.html" target="_blank">several foxes on the prowl</a>, we have made the decision to not let them out from the large run into the outdoor, open run. This means the pop hole remains closed at all time and there is no access for a fox or anything else. We have upgraded the wire around this run and set out to get Claudia new friends - for husbandry reasons, as space was cut by half, so have our flock, and we have decided from here on in to only have five hens in this area but to have plenty for them to do. They will still have access to the wider run but only when we are there. A week after the attack, the fox in question was killed on a nearby road but we are still remaining vigilant with the coming of bird flu season. Avian flu has never gone away and if you need any advice, find it <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2022/11/feeding-birds-protecting-hens.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Hens, like any domesticated or agricultural animal, mean you have a legal duty of care to them. They rely on you. So, don't be a jerk. Feed them. Protect them the best you can. Accidents happen but avian flu is one accident you won't recover from if <a href="https://lifeonpigrow.blogspot.com/2016/12/avian-flu-warning-uk.html" target="_blank">Defra step in</a>. So, thankfully, Claudia now has several new henny friends and they are, from Claudia - Brown Lohmann - in a circle, left to right: Dolly Parthen - White Star (part hen, part parrot, who loves the swing in the coop), Dora the Eggplorer - Bluebell, Stevie Chicks - Black Rock, and, Hendwig - White Sussex.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheh_K2kRnNDieVZiqmFAEPBrJb7jyjLlEoAsyQv9GeM6IFGztR6ljqqz9OxZ9sEoP3tRjqExyOMB1GYy_fxGejPc-C8YFIZZAsUJfwuYkiBVICYpsjeXq_keEHTG1O9_3q5TXsQ7IWDcPX9N4xOrfURf2uAdhBS7fzlT8zW4ulKS1ijiES1cR9wYXRvGjB/s4160/IMG_20231108_112928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="hens" border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheh_K2kRnNDieVZiqmFAEPBrJb7jyjLlEoAsyQv9GeM6IFGztR6ljqqz9OxZ9sEoP3tRjqExyOMB1GYy_fxGejPc-C8YFIZZAsUJfwuYkiBVICYpsjeXq_keEHTG1O9_3q5TXsQ7IWDcPX9N4xOrfURf2uAdhBS7fzlT8zW4ulKS1ijiES1cR9wYXRvGjB/w640-h480/IMG_20231108_112928.jpg" title="Dolly Parthen - White Star (part hen, part parrot, who loves the swing in the coop), Dora the Eggplorer - Bluebell, Stevie Chicks - Black Rock, and, Hendwig - White Sussex." width="640" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">They have all settled in nicely, after quarantine, and Claudia keeps laying eggs as does one other, we haven't discovered which one yet. Stevie Chicks - Black Rock - is actually one of the most stupid hens going and doesn't understand how a chicken coop works. Dolly Parthen - White Star - seems to be channeling a mongoose, and anytime we go to pick her up, she plays dead; then as soon as your back is turned is back on the swing flying back and forth. The plus side is that Claudia - Brown Lohmann - is now the top hen, survivor of a dog fox, she often stares them down with her beady eyes like she was in the film Shane, playing Jack Palance, telling that yokel to 'Pick up the gun.' Thankfully, at that point Dolly Parthen, falls off her swing and plays dead. This is the lie about hens, that they have no personality, they all do, and each one is different.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><p><br /></p></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-9073325049230741002023-12-08T09:30:00.001+00:002023-12-08T09:30:00.140+00:00Greek Oregano<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Greek oregano is often one of those herbs that don't make through our winters, Greek oregano is a smaller plant than the traditional oregano grown in British gardens - often marjoram in disguise. So, save that Greek oregano this winter and pot it on. Learn on this #fridayfilm how to do it and subscribe to our channel after watching it <a href="https://youtu.be/d8N0OCNoXK4" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiG7ZsUnRcJtZVbV2fYeT1Cayi9iQN4TSQPYc9bogn-vHesF7_RjuGnz_ZN8kEvRsD42ukWR1OBkXZNTjeTnzE6e7MNGNCamRP9lwS60hypZzPxWuiDFYU_ZgaMD-IqKMKBG65xTDm60oBqutfj0Arczcb2MbZ3djJb-qmZj8YiV6jmRs_zAvOETchmfWy/s1280/20231115_114827_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img alt="Greek oregano" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiG7ZsUnRcJtZVbV2fYeT1Cayi9iQN4TSQPYc9bogn-vHesF7_RjuGnz_ZN8kEvRsD42ukWR1OBkXZNTjeTnzE6e7MNGNCamRP9lwS60hypZzPxWuiDFYU_ZgaMD-IqKMKBG65xTDm60oBqutfj0Arczcb2MbZ3djJb-qmZj8YiV6jmRs_zAvOETchmfWy/w640-h360/20231115_114827_0000.png" title="Greek oregano is a smaller plant than the traditional oregano grown in British gardens - often marjoram in disguise" width="640" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-41178873443068255312023-12-06T09:30:00.001+00:002023-12-06T09:30:00.345+00:00How to make a seed packet<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Making and collecting your own seed is much easier than you think. Making an origami seed packet is simply a delight to do at this time of year and <a href="https://youtu.be/Cmu0lFynsLM" target="_blank">we love making these seed packets</a> for gifts at this time of year. Here's one from 2020, full of Rose Campion (lychnis coronaria); one of our favourite cottage garden plants as it always seems to self seed where you'd want to plant it. As a perennial it can be short lived, eventually getting woody and then rotting away. So, it's good to collect seed from them. Collecting seed is so easy and if you have not done so this year, then try to do it next year - this is not to be smug but to give you a feeling that is indescribable. The joy of growing your own plants, then collecting the seed off them, then growing more for yourself, your neighbours, your friends, your community, then teaching them to collect seed and repeat, and repeat, and repeat, is such a warm, all encompassing emotion. You feel that this is what it is all about, not the 9 to 5, not all the bad things that are happening around the world, that in one packet, is life, is joy, inclusion, education and love.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1aj9fKmZi1HwoJUgghC8dE_gl4IyXXXNteNzVh54O2_bufdBd2ZOhXFFNMXHWOZEy91UqvI3YaC-1S1w8zT2uGTHD5Afk5gMcszA9yerIQ5lwmDGXwI4higjh87DrcWNC7LofELO0bI8jd2M-Pm5kjIvX3hrYZ5ruMDzesk80Ii1uCtx-jSgsZCc83v7/s4160/045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="seed packet" border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1aj9fKmZi1HwoJUgghC8dE_gl4IyXXXNteNzVh54O2_bufdBd2ZOhXFFNMXHWOZEy91UqvI3YaC-1S1w8zT2uGTHD5Afk5gMcszA9yerIQ5lwmDGXwI4higjh87DrcWNC7LofELO0bI8jd2M-Pm5kjIvX3hrYZ5ruMDzesk80Ii1uCtx-jSgsZCc83v7/w480-h640/045.jpg" title="that in one packet, is life, is joy, inclusion, education and love." width="480" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Now, you may not be great at origami - don't worry, we have your back - then there is a simpler way to save seed and make seed packets. Folks, we give you the paperbag seed packet.</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6uTNNMtnrMPaIaxQ9-tCU8GhdGIcMWk2BfPo4Ifom9JgqWzvlwiWltowpA3Kxm86aTLGHSRoAFRAH09vY0VZyWXElvub8Po6COVK06c3zcuMNSRGi32k8HBy8TSWUa3O1y2q2pwwzeW-rt1M8Qn6F1LJPLab3mWVAWZpq8yUlSbBx__sucr9mo4kSE0v/s2880/Collage_20231028_181037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><img alt="how to make a seed packet" border="0" data-original-height="2880" data-original-width="2160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD6uTNNMtnrMPaIaxQ9-tCU8GhdGIcMWk2BfPo4Ifom9JgqWzvlwiWltowpA3Kxm86aTLGHSRoAFRAH09vY0VZyWXElvub8Po6COVK06c3zcuMNSRGi32k8HBy8TSWUa3O1y2q2pwwzeW-rt1M8Qn6F1LJPLab3mWVAWZpq8yUlSbBx__sucr9mo4kSE0v/w480-h640/Collage_20231028_181037.jpg" title="we give you the paperbag seed packet." width="480" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"> </span><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">1. Take any paperbag - this one is from buying a birthday card for Carol (happy birthday, my love, 2. Cut in half, straight up from the bottom of the bag to the opening, leaving you with two open sides, 3. Take some tape and stick together the longest side, you don't have to do it all the way, I do it 50% of the way, 4. Open up and tip in your seed, 5. Have a cup of tea, 6. Fold over the top of the seed packet, and; 7. Write on what the seeds are. That's it, two types of seed packet. We love both of them and maybe you love a way of collecting seed that we don't know - let us know in the comments below or come on over to our Facebook page and join in the chat <a href="https://facebook.com/lifeonpigrow" target="_blank">there</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div>Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p><br /></p></div></div>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4093601986004217305.post-17180670561419457382023-12-01T09:30:00.001+00:002023-12-01T09:30:00.132+00:00Windowsill Herbs<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">This time of year and a Friday film may concern putting your feet up and cutting a slice of cake but with the anniversary of my type 2 diabetes diagnosis just around the corner, I now have way more energy and I am actually bringing the outdoors in this week. Find out more <a href="https://youtu.be/dFIHgOdzzbg" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzVLuianNOsp8Nd9gTNthavvqaamkJEjItU7KUo628juBEWswTB0vFtcg8ImHcwd4VMKV1fGn9o8XT9eN5s4-MPlMXJ17Xw9SvpaZFxq9BO6p_9VJtl4SOE9HQbEAZ12khiIilKWTdM9Y8dE_QjZ58LN-wdK74L9fxh8VBDqQBx6XJBwY4B1tFOiemgtb/s1280/20231115_114405_0000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="herbs" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzVLuianNOsp8Nd9gTNthavvqaamkJEjItU7KUo628juBEWswTB0vFtcg8ImHcwd4VMKV1fGn9o8XT9eN5s4-MPlMXJ17Xw9SvpaZFxq9BO6p_9VJtl4SOE9HQbEAZ12khiIilKWTdM9Y8dE_QjZ58LN-wdK74L9fxh8VBDqQBx6XJBwY4B1tFOiemgtb/w640-h360/20231115_114405_0000.png" title="bringing the outdoors in this week" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s537/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="537" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5nMGmaMQ0lvkEvur2esu3yeS66HZr6kPkcqYvivtFgO4RkpkvcbShtbd3DVIDPYd46esiULpSUcPxOwjTx31_xXyy3JyI1lCTJXXoPMDyjuD-mtAakfoLaV81CkUaozbCoy39bJV-UWHD3512FFBdYEZ7l1OzLF6eW4l_jSDQ-ZHb6zXjwaFH4POtA/s320/Dr%20David_winners4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="1392" height="50" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtJtlhME1JUBRbZSPJn4ud1s70oMCIguwKYRicubdEcLmz0mD-ujgIB2tmgxr6EpyXcX00qTRt-iVD8Bkl-1KdBnMsjQOWm008D5Mo8Bvwl27zPXFQhYi2SMIwvv-Wzd6XzABuxEAJ7UXwWVdb7Vf5q9aOg0_1OenKGMXtccBfTs25OjgpbzOKP7MMeA/s320/kofi_button_blue.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you for taking time to read this post. We'd be grateful if you would support us by donating to us <a href="https://ko-fi.com/T6T3BFRF2">here</a> so we can carry on producing free content.</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face=""></span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span face="">You can drop in for free on our </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Facebook Page</a>. A<span face="">sk us any question via</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">twitter</a> or watch, subscribe and like our free content o<span face="">n our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">YouTube Channel</a><span face="">. If you like to scroll through photos you will enjoy our</span><span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Instagram account</a><span face="">. We are the Oldham family, with over ten years of blogging, growing and cooking under our belt.</span><br /><br /><span face="">All our posts comply with our disclosure statement on our website. Please take time to read this if we mention products.</span></span></div><p><br /></p>Life on Pig Rowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01307497221177763889noreply@blogger.com0