Editor's view (From Smallholder)

Editor's view

10:32am Wednesday 24th August 2011 in Editor's Blog

September has always been one of my favourite month’s even though I was not over keen on school. Since the burden of returning to school was lifted many, many years ago I have been able to embrace September whole heartedly.

Even though I know that winter is just around the corner, that the bright berries are forewarning dark days, still I revel in September with its unexpectedly warm days and crisp mornings. The nights are drawing in but not so much to make life difficult, the reverse in fact. By 8pm the livestock is finished and there is an hour or so to enjoy the evening unlike the breathless haste of summer when I finally come indoors around ten at night and wonder what to eat.

It’s also time to restock the store cupboard, pickling, jamming and making chutney of surplus fruit and vegetables and to think about making the most of wild bounty too - I like using some wild rose hips and hawthorn berries.

I make sure I leave plenty for the wildlife who so depend on these berries. It’s a time to take stock as well, of what went well in the summer, what could have been different and start to make plans for next year. Time to look round your livestock especially any poultry that you have bred.

poultry throw up some difficult choices. It’s always hard to make the decision to cull cockerels, but it is very important not to go into the winter with surplus male birds especially drakes. There are some excellent specialist poultry sales at this time of the year and in our pull-out poultry section we give advice on buying and selling at them.

But also be prepared to put surplus cockerels and drakes in your freezer - bantams and older cockerels cook up particularly well if you use game recipes - or so I have found.

We have 19 assorted chicks at the moment, a mixture of layers and fancy bantams, but mainly layers. Our elderly incubator combined with the massive fluctuations in temperature outside, struggled to maintain an even temperature and I was extremely surprised that so many hatched off with only a few eggs being clear which wasn’t the incubator’s fault.

Due to being more short of time than usual, we reared them for the first couple of weeks in our back kitchen (fairly separate from other rooms I hasten to add) and they came on in leaps and bounds. I plan to sell the layers as POLs or nearly POLs and keep the few fancy bantams (Pekins).

In September's issue we’ve taken a long hard look at the price of animal feed and in particular hay and forage and asked if there really is a shortage and how it will affect smallholders. See if you agree and let us know how it is in your area - you can also Facebook or Tweet us.

Buzzy Bees The reluctant beekeeper that I am, has had to up her game this year quite considerably and I am bee-driven. As a result of feeding diligently last year and earlier on this one, I had an exceptionally strong hive which yielded no less than three supers of honey earlier on this year - mainly oil seed rape, but also asparagus. Lovely.

I love cooking with honey and we have been able to sell some too. But not content with that they carried on and the one hive became three strong colonies. So now I have two nationals and a WBC - not ideal as I now realise why the golden rule of beekeeping (one of many I fear) is to stick to one sort of hive. But I can manage between the two types as I do have quite a few spares for both types and the super (honey) frame WBCs are the same as for the national which helps.

Also just up road literally to me, is someone who makes frames and hive parts at a competitive price so I can just go and get what I want if I need something urgently. Having said that though, I have always found that on line bee equipment suppliers are really helpful and the stuff arrives quickly - I have to buy a new smoker so will be looking round for a large one that does not go out halfway through examining a hive. Not a very nice experience.