A scorching weekend (by North Wales standards) which helped me catch up on some jobs although there’s still lots to do. At this time of year we’re running to stand still! Nearly lost the strawberries due to them drying out but they survived.
I've just bought a battery strimmer and it's so lightweight and easy to use. Also no damage to planters polly tunnels or plastic mesh fencing. I'm converted so much so that I'm going to buy a battery chainsaw. I still ache a bit after using it a good few times this week but probably not as much as I would using the petrol strimmer and trying to do it all in one go
I use a Stanley stainless steel and its great. The first Stanley flask I used was the glass thermos type checkered design with the Cork bung on the lid, my dad had used it down the pit for decades and gave it to me when I started working proper at sixteen. Of course I broke it the first week at work, you can just imagine the comments around the dinner table that night
Turn over the soil in their pen occasionally and install a nice dust bathing area. Give them cabbages etc. Sometimes mine are penned up in bad weather and I sow surplus vegetable seeds in trays and give them the whole tray to enjoy.
I tend to try and use the better quality ones and don't leave the seedlings in until the roots are pushing through the drain holes. Made the mistake of using some cheep flimsy ones which were OK in the first year but became very brittle over time and basically had to destroy the cell trays to get the plants out. Lesson learned