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You can contact Sally via Empire Farm

Empire Farm, Throop Rd, Templecombe, Somerset, BA8OHR

sally (@) empirefarm.co.uk

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#Organic #gardener & #smallholder, writing on food, farming and gardening, living the good life #blogging at livingononeacreorless.co.uk

I spy .... Whitefly Damn! The kalette flowers lo

I spy .... Whitefly

Damn! The kalette flowers look lovely but lurking around the buds are masses of whitefly. Really don't want these flies getting a headstart on the predators so I have trimmed them off and given them to the chickens
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#whiteflies #whitefly #kalettes #kitchen garden

Colourful salad leaves - tree spinach - the young

Colourful salad leaves - tree spinach - the young magenta leaves really make a salad pop. Not hugely flavoursome but give interest.

The older leaves can be used like spinach and can be cooked in a similar way - steamed, stir fried or braised in butter.

It can reach 1m or more in height so I keep cutting it so there are lots of new side shoots.

And I try to stop it setting seed as they spread everywhere and you get tiny magenta seedlings popping up but at least they are easy to identify

#Treespinach #polytunnel #salad #saladveg

Poor tree peony - getting a real battering from th

Poor tree peony - getting a real battering from this crazy rain! The flowers don't last long so it's typical that we get torrential downpours just as the buds start to open

Salad for lunch - polytunnel delivering lots of ch

Salad for lunch - polytunnel delivering lots of choice, 8 different leaves today

Treated myself to some quadgrow pots with a self w

Treated myself to some quadgrow pots with a self watering system. Had seen some good reviews in @growyourownmag. Also, they performed well in trials by @pumpkinbeth when she got huge yields from her plants. So decided to test them out for myself. Keeping the tomatoes hydrated in the #polytunnel can be tricky during hot weather so this system may help to avoid water stress. ⁠
Its difficult to see in this photo, but the pots are stood above a water reservoir and there is a wick / feeder mat that carries the water from the reservoir through the soil (you can just see it sticking out of the compost). The reservoir is said to last for 14 days. ⁠
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I am using my own sieved compost and two of the four pots have added #biochar as a mini-trial. Will add a mulch too.

Another popping up along the bottom of our walls -

Another popping up along the bottom of our walls - ivy-leaved toadflax.

Considered by some to be a weed but I like to see it colonise the nooks and crannies that lack soil. Tough little 'mini snapdragon' with edible leaves.

Not sure if it has any particular benefits to wildlife, other than providing cover, but something must pollinate.

Spotted a tiny bee pollinating this strawberry flo

Spotted a tiny bee pollinating this strawberry flower. Honeybees and bumble bees get lots of attention, but these tiny bees are just as useful. It's not the best focus so not sure what type of solitary bee as there are so many.

🌸Shining cranesbill - we have lots and I can't

🌸Shining cranesbill - we have lots and I can't decide whether to leave it or not. I love to see it thrive in tricky corners like this shady wall but it can be quite invasive and carpets beds and lawns. It comes out easily but it's everywhere. So a little clump like this is great but it soon spreads. #balancingact

It looks like herb Robert but the leaves are different. Its not a great #pollinator and is the food plant of just one moth, the annulet, of which I see plenty.

It's method of shooting out seed means it spreads quickly. Not surprisingly it's classed as an invasive weed in some parts of the US where it was introduced.

Would you keep or leave?

Looking a bit raggedy but this 🐑 is shedding he

Looking a bit raggedy but this 🐑 is shedding her fleece naturally unlike her Dorset Down friends.

This is Layla, she is an Exlana breed which is a shedding breed that 'self shears' at this time of year. She's halfway through and leaving bits of fleece around the field which are very popular with nesting birds ( swipe)

🐞 Don't you just love ladybirds. Found this one

🐞 Don't you just love ladybirds. Found this one hiding amongst the nettles. One reason to have plenty of nettles on the plot is that they get aphids - and that not a reason to pull them up!. This early bonanza of food helps ladybirds and other predators at a time when food can be in short supply. This helps to boost their numbers so you have plenty of 🐞🐞🐞🐞 around when you put your veggies out.

In fact more than 50 different species of insect have been found on nettles so they are really important to boosting you garden #biodiversity
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#ladybug
#ladybirds
#naturalhistory
#wildlifeinthegarden

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