Boxes.

Now that January is February things seem to be moving at pace here on Croft 5, interrupted by a special delivery.

My belongings have arrived from the mainland! A shipping container full of stuff that I had done without, memories trapped in a box of tremendous size, for almost a year. Some things I have unpacked and could have continued to forget about and some things I was glad to have back.

There’s only one thing that I have really missed, and known that I have missed it, and that is my stereo and CD collection! Sitting here, writing this blog, with Jo Whiley introducing me to new music has made home, proper home.

I suppose it might be nice to unpack the wardrobe and have a change of clothing from the three grey and two blue Carharrt tees I’ve been living in since April last year. Or maybe not. They’re just worn in and comfortable now.

But yeah, it’s surprising how you can live without those things you think you can’t live without. Like “Nick the Greeks Takeaway Pizza” or “ex-girlfriends” (not ex because I left them in a shipping container for a year…honest!).

To do, or not to do.

January was a month of planning and prepping and February is time to start implementing those plans. Checklists complete, a planting plan produced, grants and permissions applied for, website improvements made, and countless jobs added to the monthly planner.

I attended a horticultural workshop at 44 Ranish where I enjoyed learning about sowing seeds, tools, bed spacings, succession planting, crop rotation and planning. I then spent the next morning trying to put everything into a diary, then a spreadsheet then a notepad, but still couldn’t quite work out how to make a plan with so many varieties needing different timings (and different again if starting indoors or directly sowing outdoors) and spacings to fit the bed sizes etc etc. It sounds simple but actually making sure I had the right number of veggies, in the right place, at the right time for harvesting is quite a task.

Then I remembered that computers were supposed to make life simple so decided to trial some planning software. I settled on Garden Planner from GrowVeg. It seems to cover everything I need and if it proves useful I’ll do a review at the end of the growing season.

One of the first “proper jobs” on the croft is to sort out the fencing ready for the introduction of livestock. I’ve already fixed up a lot of the old fencing in a make-do-and-mend fashion, but there are some sections of fence missing and some areas of the croft that require new fencing. There are also gates to be installed to give access by quad and other machinery to make general day-to-day access and constructing future projects easier. I applied for a grant under the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme (CAGS) and was awarded funds towards these fencing and access improvements. That should see the land divided into distinct areas for hens, sheep, bees and biodiversity.

We’re going through an exceptionally (nice) dry spell at the moment, and so I am tempted to move some of the jobs list I have made for spring into February. I can guarantee that April will be a months worth of rain as that’s when fencing is on the planner for!

The next thing to be unpacked was the brush cutter I purchased before moving here, knowing it would be an essential item to have. I was keen to tackle the rush problem as soon as possible. Cutting back the rush now, whilst there’s still some hard frosts to be had, may help knock the roots back as well (don’t know, but I read that somewhere). But failing that the neighbouring croft has now taken on sheep which are happily ignoring boundaries and working their way through my croft. It’s good for the ground until I get my own livestock so I’m not in any hurry to stop them, but hopefully knocking back the rush now will mean that they will keep on top of any new growth that appears in the spring. As you can see from the photographs below it’s going to be an ongoing task (9 acres left if you’re feeling helpful…) but two tanks of fuel later shows a visible difference. I was surprised how much fuel it uses, but after that I’m ready for a rest anyway.

For anyone interested or looking for one for their croft it is the Husqvarna 535RXT model with a 3 blade metal grass cutter, so that or something of a similar spec is probably a good buy. If you’d like to try one you’re welcome to have a go here at the croft!

Get away, for a while.

I’ve had the opportunity to travel, climb, trek and explore some wonderful places. I’ve travelled with a backpack or on a bicycle, in a motorhome or on a motorcycle. I’ve slept in some absolutely magnificent places and some absolutely horrendous. But they’ve all been experiences and all created memories!

The best places have always been the simplest: great locations, likeminded people, space, views, and no strict rules about which way to pitch the tent or park the motorhome. Those places that felt relaxed, wild, and unpretentious. I always wanted to offer something to others, to repay the hospitality and experiences.

So, welcome to Croft 5 Wilderness Camping. We have set just 28 days of this year, and 5 acres of land, to an exclusive camp experience. Solitude, space, and the flexibility to choose your favourite spot to pitch and wake each day was important. This has to be balanced with use of the croft for agricultural purposes, with minimal infrastructure and impact on the land. So a trial of 28 days, limited to one pitch per night (but that pitch can be anywhere you choose!) and appealing to walkers, cyclists and wild campers seemed like a good fit to get us started.

We also wanted to make it even easier for adventurers from near and far to find and book a stay with us. Hipcamp is the perfect platform for this because, like us, it’s all about getting more people outdoors, under the stars, and connecting with the wild places that make life magical.

We chose to partner with Hipcamp because its values closely mirror our own, including “Leave it Better”.

Even if staying at Croft 5 isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of things to do in Uig and the West side of Lewis. I’m hoping to provide some route guides for local walks off the beaten track, and photography guides, which shall be available to take away from the croft.

The Uig Pit Stop

To compliment the camp and help out cyclists and walkers visiting the west side of Lewis we shall also be opening a small “shop” and cycle station. I have lots of surplus (used) equipment that will be available for to help folk out in an emergency (think cycle repair tools, tent pegs, brake spares, guy line etc) and there will also be a stock of (new) consumable items such as inner tubes, gas cartridges, cycle repair kits, first aid and blister packs, and other items that people might need. Ideal if you are Exploring Uig or detouring from the Hebridean Way as it should save the 56 mile round-trip to Stornoway!

Blame it on the Weatherman.

When my container of stuff arrived from the mainland the first thing that I unpacked and set-up was the Bresser weather station. Primarily because it was in it’s own box and not hidden away, and secondly because it was a nice afternoon and I didn’t feel like unpacking the rest.

This provides weather updates live from the Hebribees apiary on the croft. This is displayed here, in real time and there is also an option in the www.croft5.scot menu for you to quickly access. Or you can visit weathercloud where you can see even more data and weather history from Enaclete, Uig, Isle of Lewis.

Space weather gave us a spectacular show on January 20th; a strong and colourful display of the aurora. Despite earth weather remaining stubbornly cloudy the northern lights shone through.

I captured the image below of the old post office, neighbouring Croft 5. Worth staying up for I reckon!

‘Old Red’ is proving popular and featured in another photo special over at The Scottish Farmer. It must be the Honda red that makes it so photogenic amongst the vast landscape, or maybe this time it was the rainbow.

It’ll be Spring Next

Checking in on the bees brought a little concern this month. There had been activity after the move, and one of the hives had nearly finished their block of fondant. This was replaced with a fresh block. As we near spring the bees will start to ramp-up brood production and become more active, quickly depleting what little reserves they may have left after winter. Starvation is a real problem and can happen very quickly in the lead-up to spring so it’s important for the beekeeper to keep a regular close eye on the hives. We don’t want to be opening them unless there is a concern, but checking the fondant and gauging the weight of the hive can be done with minimal disturbance.

Hive 2 wasn’t looking so good though. It was lighter than the other and on further inspection the fondant hadn’t been touched. I also couldn’t hear any activity at all, or see any bees under the fondant. Bees won’t break cluster to reach food so even there are stores available, if they can’t reach them from the cluster they will starve. With this in mind, and wondering if I actually had a dead-out so I waited for the next milder (and dry and still) day to open the top of the hive for a closer look.

Thankfully the bees were there! A small cluster, some way from the fondant I had provided. I opened a fresh pack of fondant and placed it over the cluster so they could reach it. That’s the only intervention available at this time of year but hopefully it is enough for the bees to survive until the first flowers and warmer days arrive. I wonder if having the second brood box under Hive 1 has made some difference to over-wintering. Of course, the bees might have enough of their own stores still available, hence not touching the fondant. It will be interesting to know once it’s warm enough for the bees to start flying again.

That’s about all from the croft. The next few weeks will be spent strimming down the rushes, unpacking some more of my stuff and getting ready for some visits from friends and family. By ready I mean stocking up with tea, cake, and to-do lists for them! There have also been some donations to the Plant a Tree fund, and so tree planting has also started. More about that in the next update from Croft 5.

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