Chepstow Wassail & Mari Lwyd
Once again, January came and went, before we actually put into action any of our good intentions to make an early start in the garden.
Not that it was all just lounging around in the house after Christmas drawing up planting plans and ordering seeds.
As the snowdrops started to emerge, we got down to making another year’s supply of marmalade, following the award-winning formula we accidentally hit upon last time round. Continue reading
In a Secret Acre first (and quite possibly last!) we thought we’d announce our first ever ‘Tool of the Year’ award.
And our totally just made up award goes to… the Wolf Garten KS2K Weeding/Planting Knife! Continue reading
If you were with us this time last year, you will know that Emma and I decide to dump the traditional first 24 wedding anniversaries – the rubbish ones like ‘paper’ and ‘glue’ which come before the serious bling – in favour of our own list of things we actually like.
So we wrote down 12 each and randomly assigned them into the 24 draws of a repurposed advent calendar, to be opened at the start of each year. Continue reading
The inevitable consequence of Apple Day in October is of course a new batch of cider making.
And this year our friend Derek was on hand to record it all on film, leaving me in presenting terms somewhere between Jack Hargreaves and Kevin McCloud I fear.
Anyway, grab your popcorn for the first (and quite possible last) Secret Acre movie…
August’s harvest rapidly flowed into the Sept/Oct apple crop (more on this in the next blog) and before you know it here we are in November!
But while this hectic period was on, we still found time to enter September’s traditional local Village Show.
Now, veterans of this blog will know we have form when it comes to Shows.
Well, I say we, but although we have both entered before, only Emma had actually triumphed. Continue reading
No sooner had we made our ‘Beauty Bath Spiced Apple Chutney’, than August’s harvest arrived en masse.
Suddenly every spare minute was taken up in the kitchen with the preserving pan. The Blaisdon Plums were our biggest crop, with Emma heroically creating over 100 jars of various plum based jams and chutneys for the storeroom. Continue reading
Just before Easter, the exhaust fell off the car.
Well, the rear silencer to be precise. A turn of events that leaves a sizable hole in your bank balance, with no discernible silver lining, beyond no longer sounding like Jenson Button is driving down the road.
But on this occasion, Emma had other ideas.
So we returned from our local tyre and exhaust place, not just quietly (thanks to the new rear silencer), but also with a car full of free olds tyres. Continue reading
We’re guest tweeters of the week all this week on Twitter @SmallholdersUK
Followers of this Blog get their updates in one of three ways. Either you’ve signed up on the website for direct email alerts, or you see posting on Facebook or Twitter. Continue reading
We didn’t just grow vegetables in our first year at The Secret Acre, we took time out to get married too. In our own field, at our own boutique, indie style festival for family and friends. But that’s a whole other story!
However, like many modern marriages these days, we met later in life. Which got us thinking about how we would celebrate our anniversaries. Continue reading
“A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself” – May Sarton.
Personally I like to think my life so far has fortunately been a series of triumphs set against a few disasters. But the jury is definitely still out when it comes to our new veg beds!
Certainly in this first year, there have been more triumphs than losses, which is nice. But this is probably mostly because we are still easily pleased! Continue reading
The Secret Acre 