Busy week

Being on half term we took advantage of the time out of work to catch up on paperwork and get some quality time at the lottie.

Dad W helped me to carry wood and make 8 new raised beds. He carried on even though it was getting dark until they were built.

Kp helped me to back fill them with leaf mould. Next job is to clear a space to get to the compost heap, which has been overrun by brambles over the autumn, and use the good stuff at the bottom of the pile.

Not the straightest but more than fit for purpose. Just need to stake them in the middle of the long sides to ensure completely secure and don't bow.

We had 1 casualty from storm Doris. (seriously why Doris? I had a great, great Aunt Doris who would always give us cups of tea and penguins (the biscuit variety, not the cuddly kind) when we went to visit. How can I think of her as a storm?) Any who, the wind took out 2 panes of glass and although I have what seems to be half a shed full of glass panels, none will actually fit and I need to get a 45 degree angle piece cut. Hopefully before the wind takes any more of the panels out.

That's us done for now. Next stop get some seeds in.

Thanks for reading and happy digging. :)

Start as we mean to go on

So after my mamouth grass pulling session, Mr P decided he needed to get down to the plots and do something constructive.

At the end of last year we dug the main bed up to the last few scallop squash and rebarked it ready for the winter.

Unsurprisingly we didn't go back to finish the job and left the section until now. KP and I set to digging while Mr P tinkered with the big rotavator.

While Mr P and KP dealt with the main bed, I set to digging up the roots of the dock leaf that had started to grow again in the flowerbed. Several 2ft craters later, we had a sizable mound of ridiculously long roots and some as thick as my wrist!

The training I'm doing for this year's Swimathon is clearly paying off for this one armed bandit ;)

I now also have an excellent excuse to replant the flowerbed. (Yes I was careful not to disturb the newly emerging daffodils, crocus and tulips.)


The result of an afternoon's work:

Next steps? Dad W is coming to help repair the 2 damaged raised beds towards the back of the plot and start building new beds on the main bed. Hopefully it will make 45 more manageable for me and free up time for Mr P to focus on 47.

Then I need to chit the seed potatoes and get the dozens of seeds started in the propagator.

I've been reluctant to get the propagator up and running, as our latest family member has an affinity for compost and anything with leaves, especially chilli plants!

Found this branch pulled off and the 2 chillies mauled. Cheers Mr Mo Stash!

Thanks for reading.
Happy digging :)

Spring is in the air

It might be the middle of February, however it certainly feels Spring like today. The sun was shining and casting warmth and chasing away those winter cobwebs. I love going to the allotment at this time, as I get to see the first daffodils and crocus' popping their tops out and enjoying the early sun.

For the first time in weeks I feel I have done enough work to warrant writing a post. Previous visits quickly turned cold and wanting to keep warm I had no intension of taking my gloves for risk of frostbite! Ok a tad exadurated, but I was not removing them until somewhere warm!

So, what have I managed to achieve today? Well I cleared CP's bed and rediscovered she had a Dianthus and Narcissus bulbs hiding amongst the grass.

I also decided to be proactive instead of reactive and removed the majority of the couch grass roots, which had woven their way through the membrane. Not a particularly easy task but I'm confident removed enough to slow it's regrowth for a while.

We now have no obstructions for replacing the broken beds, the debate is now on do we use deck boards to replace them and do we paint them?

Hope you have all had a positive start to 2017.

Thanks for reading and keep digging :)