| Dunbeag Blog |
Hello visitor or friend! Come and learn a little of life at Dunbeag. We are avid weather and dark sky watchers, the bright lights of Rothesay are behind the hill! The local wildlife and locals enjoy the laid back living here. Check out our photos from daily walks up the Duin and theres lots happening in the garden and in the forest. Just add us to your favourites and get asking questions, we are never that far away...
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 | Summer is here! | | Added: 12 Jul 2010 | Weve been busy in our brand new community forest and in the garden. Its now habitat management rather than gardening, but all the luscious veggies are doing well. A very dry spring and early summer has kept me fit, watering and feeding newly planted crops, but already the garlic is ready for lifting, onions will be next and peas abound in their supports.
We grow approx 70-80% winter veg as that what we need up here in Scotland. But a couple of lazy beds are reserved for florence fennel, peas, runner beans and climbing beans (my fav!). The tomato plants are looking great, moneymaker, big beefsteak and lots of plum are growing nicely, still awaiting the ripening... not had a tomato since our crop last year... canny wait!
The predators this year have been mice, deer, slugs and snails and now its the cabbage white butterfly laying eggs in the curly kale. Fortunately the slow worm population helps, spotted a weasel last week and weve netted everying against the cabbage white and the buck whos taken up residence.
| | |  | Germination at last! | | Added: 10 Mar 2010 | At last, some warmer weather, the greenhouse in the polytunnel is truly inspirational in adding about 2 weeks to our growing season.
Italian tomatoes are on and up, as well as the auld favourites, Gardners Delight and Moneymaker - the latter big luscious tomatoes - ideal for brushetta, passata or roasted in the oven... hmmmmmmm.
The brassica range are all in early, they need lots of time to get prepared for overwintering here. So kale, cauliflower, perennial broccoli, early purple and late purple broccoli, brussel sprouts and .... oh yeh, celeriac.
First sowings of lettuce have begun to show and basil sown today (lettuce leaved and genovese) are our all time favourites. We do succesional sowings of lettuce every two weeks.
Pick a nice warm day, mid morning to sow seeds which gives them the rest of the day to aclimatise and chill out. Cover in big duvet also known as horticultural fleece at night. We cosy in all the plants every night at least until the last frosts are over.
Water containers are kept in the greenhouse so the water is roughly at the same temperature as the plants, nothing like an icy cold shower in the morning to frighten yer seedlings!
Best of luck maties, Im doing seed sowing workshops for friends and family - scary to start off with but they are very like children, they like a bit of mollycoddling but they are pretty resilient.
Happy sowing! | | |  | More cold weather! | | Added: 23 Feb 2010 | A few warmer days allowed a little progress in the garden. Neil Davidson came to help rebuild the previously listing greenhouse and its shelfs - all brand spanking new now! Time to get some seeds sown for the early lettuce. Our garlic, sown in November is now showing dark green shoots - so some things are growing in the early spring sunshine. Hazel catkins are blowing in the wind and the sun is getting warmer during the day.
We are keeping plenty of wood in for the stove, once the sun sets the windchill bites in. The hens are enjoying the sunnier days and its a race to find their wild nests before crows, stoats, dogs and the rest of the wildlife. They just love to lay deep in the forest rather in their henhouse. The crows recognise their laying call now and flock in to guess the location of the nest.
We are just back from a lovely clear and sunny weekend on the bonny Isle of Eigg. A lot of friends, a bothy and fine fires, whisky and food made for an excellent birthday celebration with the local Eigg community. Many thanks to Maggie, Wes, Eddie, Dean and Stuart Ferguson with Donna and Grace accompanying. A most welcome place to visit, particularly in a clear frosty and snowy week. We thoroughly recommend a visit there anytime of the year.
| | |  | Mid January 2010 | | Added: 21 Jan 2010 | The days are lengthening already! About time too, here is a pic of sunrise around this time. And the increasing light means... ta da... the hens have started laying! whoopdeedoo!
Winter restructuring in the garden continues: planning lazy beds; rotation of crops; ordering seeds and negotiating plant varieties already. The greenhouse is leaning dangerously and needs readjusted. Time to sweet-talk the local handyman at Dunbeag! Just the chance to rejig shelves and a new potting up area and perhaps move the comfrey bath! Time to check on the tatties after such a frosty time. Thankfully after 6inches of permafrost for the last 8 weeks, they are still cosied up and edible - miraculous! Starry nights are the order of clear nights, Orion and Canis minor are fully resplendent in the milky way. We have been seeing quite a lot of shooters, mainly in Orions direction in the South.
With short days and long nights were working away at the kilfinan community forest project. if you are interested in finding out more the please check out the link.
Oh... did you know Cowal is now the hotseat of UFO sightings... Tighnabruaich Gallery is doing a hot sell on Chinese lanterns for celebratory occasions - better inform the MOD!
Website: http://www.kilfinancommunityforest.com | | |  | Merry Christmas Everyone | | Added: 28 Dec 2009 | We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year (when it comes).
Well its been very cold, very snowy with amazing sunrises and sunsets. David has been relaxing by stomping up the hill, sledging with nephews and nieces and capturing beautiful landscape features on our dinky wee camera. Check them out in the photos page.
Not much to do in the great outdoors, shovel snow, feed and water the hens and ducks, oh... and get the firewood in. The woodstove has not been out since the Solstice, keeping us all cosy and warm (too warm?). Dogs start to melt at 25 degrees weve noticed.
Neer Day is nearly upon us, and plans are afoot (excuse the pun!) for its celebration! Doon the waater on the shores of the Kyles of Bute - weather permitting! See you there...? | | |  | Winter Solstice | | Added: 21 Dec 2009 | Happy winter solstice, the 3 shortest days of winter from now until the 25th. Its a bit early for Lang May Yer Lum Reek, but get the fire on because its clear, bright and beautiful outside, but man and beast need the warmth of a fireside to come intae.
It is a snowy Dunbeag, we awoke to a Winter Wonderland yesterday morning, the woodland was glistening with icicles, trees burdened with heavy loads of thick snow and it was sparkling with the sunrise.
Check out the photo gallery for some very lovely views of the snow and ice.
| | |  | Tis the winter season... | | Added: 19 Nov 2009 | ...for raking leaves and clearing ditches
for nights by the fire and a drams to lifes riches! Twa dugs crashed oot by the fire, while we battle outside in the muddy mire.
Wintertime here at Dunbeag, and the squishy season has arrived, but a great time to watch out for sunrises at a hospitable hour.
| | |  | A day in Dunbeag... | | Added: 31 Oct 2009 | Hello, and welcome to Dunbeags new swanky website! Its Halloween, its a full moon and its Saturday night. Today we cleaned out the hens because the day was dry, then packed a picnic and went over to Coille Beag (it is the weekend afterall) to eat it! Clear skies, slightly breezy and the spaniels springing around in the heather. The rhododendron is nearly gone, you can see right through the woods and we can see red squirrel drays and evidence of cross-bills hurling empty cones onto the forest floor.
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