March 22, 2010
Let me bore you with more crop developments. Tomatoes and tagetes have been pricked out of their seed trays and potted on. Both were quite leggy, which troubles some folk.  potted on It occurs as we don’t have a greenhouse. Though the room with the propagators is the brightest in the cottage (which is on the dark side), there isn’t sufficient light. So those early leaves stretch, leaving long, stringy stems. With these two plants, as well as many others, it ‘s not a problem. Just gently bury up them to their seed leaves (ie, the first ones that develop and which lack any serration) when transplanting. Tomatoes are particularly forgiving as their young fuzzy trunks will send out roots at any spot below soil level.. In the background, broad beans have come up in the root trainers. They go into a cold frame to harden off and later straight into the ground – no potting on with them. Tomatoes will be transfered into larger pots at least once more before their final planting out under cover. This week's sowings are Brussels sprouts and courgettes (zuccini).
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
March 7, 2010
My first (yes, first) car . . .  Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
March 3, 2010
The first seeds of 2010. Up on Sunday 28 February. Sowed on Tuesday 23 February in a John Innes soil-based seed compost.
Two types of tomatoes, one red and one yellow: don’t know the variety as I saved seeds from fruits bought at the Stornoway farmers market last summer. Medium size. Will need to ask Les Brown of Balanstruthal, who grew them in his polytunnels.
Also, got a companion plant, tagetes or French marigolds, started. Again, I am not certain of the variety. Saved seed from my own sto...
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Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
February 25, 2010
I was meant to go the mainland today, but the ferries are off due to gales. Probably none tomorrow, either. Wasn't it Baudelaire who said, "When the going gets tough . . . the tough bake" ?  Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
February 25, 2010
 Got me a guitar . . . Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
February 23, 2010
Working together, local growers can overcome difficulties –– whether wind or waterlogged soil –– and return land to productive horticultural use. That was the message of a two-day horticultural training event held in Tarbert and Buonavoneader last week. Over 30 people, mostly living on Harris, attended the training, held 15 and 16 February. This group of current and aspiring horticulturalists heard a detailed and engrossing presentation from two experts in their fields: Scottish Agricu... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
February 8, 2010
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
February 8, 2010
Good news, relatively speaking, on the duck front. Though we had seven Indian Runners, four survived whatever accident befell the lot back on 13 January towards the end of the big freeze.
To recap: One, as you remember, was left behind. I moved the hut and her closer to the cottage. Then on Saturday 16 January, E found another one down at the lochside and we shephered her back. A week later, we got a call from the house up on the hill saying one drake was in their garden. Finally, 25 January, ...
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Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
January 19, 2010
Well, it's all melted and the ground's a soggy, sodden mess. Everyone moaned at the time, life was made a bit trying, but before we forget entirely, some images of the last month.  frosty fork  snowy drive  frozen loch  glazed front garden [yard]
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
January 16, 2010
Done a Runner? I wish that were the case. The other morning, 13 January 2010, I found no Runner Ducks in their hut. None to be seen in the dim Winter’s light. Checked the croft, all their usual spots, and the surrounding area. Nothing. Back to the enclosure and closer inspection revealed straw pulled out of their home, mixed with a few feathers.  what’s left In the improving light, I saw that one female was still tucked in the back of the housing. El Ultimo Pato? The last duck standing. I feel...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In :
Crofting
Colin Macleod - Local Lad + Landscapes:
Again in the music-videologue-of-Lewis-vein: this one features the rather frightfully handsome lad, Colin Macleod. Pal of Dotjr, apparently. New CD (on Geffen) due out soon.
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About Me
Barry Shelby, American-gone-native-Scotsperson, Journalist , Photographer, Author and....Crofter located now at Earshader on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Barry, based for years in Glasgow, is now with his wife Elizabeth on the Islands off the North-West Coast of Scotland.
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Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas, also Isle of Lewis) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides (an archipelago) of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).
Lewis is, in general, the lower lying part of Lewis and Harris, with the other part, Harris, being more mountainous. The flatter, more fertile land means Lewis contains the only town, Stornoway and three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles. Beyond human habitation, the island's diverse habitats are home to an assortment of flora and fauna, such as the golden eagle, red deer and seals and are recognised in a number of conservation areas.
Lewis is of Presbyterian tradition with a rich history, having once been part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is very different to elsewhere in Scotland with Sabbath observance, the Gaelic language and peat cutting retaining more importance than elsewhere. Lewis has a rich cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary and musical traditions.
(source Wikipedia)
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