Sunday 25 March 2012

What a difference a day makes

Been waiting a long time to clear this area, quite a few years in fact.
It's mainly overgrow with weeds, Ground Elder, Nettles & Bindweed too!
There are 3 open vessels too collecting rain water & pond weed! But after emptying, the water almost filled 2 of our empty rain barrels, which is needed as it hasn't rained much in weeks, as we dont have running water on our site we rely on what we can collect and is so important.

So after several hours (4.5) of moving, wood, water & soil I managed to clear this unused patch.
Our plan is to turn it into a wildlife area, with a pond & bug house.
Might plant another Apple tree too, a heritage variety we bought from National Trust property when holidaying in E.Sussex a few years ago, currently growing in a large patio pot, but would benefit from being in open ground.


We also planted a row of Parsnips 'White Gem' as they are slow to germinate it's important to leave a line or something to show where the seeds have been sown. You can also plant Radish in between the Parsnip seeds as a marker, as it grows very quick, therefore you get 2 crops from one space.

Parsnips are usually lifted in winter months so will be there a long time and are an important part of Christmas Dinner, as well as any roast meal. They taste better after a frost too, so you have to be patient to get a perfect Parsnip.





Anyway, It w
as a super day, I wouldn't be surprised if the weather report said it was the hottest March day ever!
We brought the Chickens with us again today, they scratched around the Fruit Cage as usual and loved it.
Still lots of weeding to do in the raised beds, the Shallots & Asparagus were quite weedy, must be the fine weather, damn weeds! Cant have it all & as I said 'What a difference a day makes'
Thanks for reading/returning. Ian.

2 comments:

  1. Good work there - great to get an area cleared! I also sowed Parsnips - 1 row of White Gem and 2 rows of Gladiator!

    I also sorted my water butt arrangement - didn't have one in the middle of the plot, so got my 200 litres one at the top with a tap on - added a hose and gravity fed the 200 litres one in the middle.

    I have capacity for about 1500 litres!!!! We have a stand pipe but I don't think mains water is necessary on an allotment.

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  2. Bindweed is a nuisance but Ground Elder is worse. The reclaimed area certainly looks good since being cleared.

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