A few days of sunshine so we got busy

I got busy finishing the new fruit tree area at the front, the  Apple & Damson trees look great now with a brick area to stop the weeds coming up.

The Pear & Plum tree area at the back is finished, I prefer the woodchip finish here. There is weed suppresant underneath though.

Jo put a few rows of Spring Onion and a row of Spinach here, last time we looked a few onions were coming up. 

Last year we lost most of our Currants, both black & red, to the birds, as the fruit cage had blown down in a storm. 

So I purchased a small fruit cage on-line and will put netting over before the fruit forms.

 We saw 2 Frogs mating about 10 days prior to finding this frogspawn. 

So we will have Tadpoles again and then more Frogs. Happy Days!

Here is one of our Frogs amongst the undergrowth. 

They love living on our Allotment.

On Monday I dusted off my trusty Rotovator,  I bought it years ago and keep it in the garage at home, so in a dry place. All I had to do was clean the spark plug, a few squirts of WD40 into the cylinder and started 1st time again.

I rotovated this patch, where the Potatoes will go...

I did this patch too that was a bit compacted due to walking over it and having bonfires (in the incinerator bin).

I also did this patch between the runner bean frame and new fruit trees at the front.

So all three areas of soil rotovated by lunch time. 

Signs of life:

Stockbridge Arrow Rhubarb.

We also spotted about 5 Asparagus spears, this year will be our 1st harvest from this variety we put in last year.
 

Look at the lovely blue sky, we have been so lucky this March, so many good days.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo.

March jobs

Can you see this Harvest Mouse, its eating something in the plant pots. 

I looked up from my cuppa and it was just there, I even got closer and it didn't move, just carried on eating.

(it's in the centre of this photo)

Anyway back to the jobs:

This new raised bed, now has, in the narrow section, 14 Strawberry plants taken from our stock when they sent out runners last summer/autumn.

This area at the front, we used to have a Buddleia tree, but it was getting a bit big and we needed the space for a new tree, so I cut it down and dug out the root. 

The tree on the left is a Damson, we put in a few years ago.

Not much left to do, except a bit of light weeding around the edges, our crops are still doing well at home and potatoes are almost ready to go in.

The new raised bed at the back now has a Pear & a Plum tree, that arrived on Monday, planted Tuesday.

At the lane end we now have a new Apple tree. 

I have tidied up the Damson area too.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo.
 

March & we are ready for planting!

Here are some  chitting  potatoes, I see on social media lots of people who chit in a dark place & have long white shoots, which are very fragile. 

I chit ours in a light but cool place, which helps to produce short stubby green shoots.

Earlier in the week I cut and treated some sleepers, now put together to replace a rotten raised bed, Jo did a good job sifting a lot of soil to fill it. 

See below to see the result.

The raised bed here, between the greenhouse and rhubarb also had rotted, so we cleared it away & sifted the soil!

Signs of life on the plot, the rhubarb is breaking through!

Back at home we have lots waiting, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Peppers & lots of flowers too.

Jo's heated propagators have been working overtime, giving lots of things an early start. 

All we need now is the last frost then its all systems go! 

Here are all our potatoes chitting, as you can see in a light place, our back bed room with the radiator off. 

Charlotte, 

Maris Piper, 

King Edward 

& Cara.

The new Strawberry bed. 

Jo planted 32 new plants all taken from our current stock when they sent out runners last year, we still have lots more to find a home for!

This is the bed between Greenhouse & Rhubarb again, now that Jo has dug it over and removed any perennial weed roots. I will make a new bed similar to the new Strawberry bed. 

Check back soon to see what we plant here.

It's been a busy few weeks, the whole plot has been dug over and cleared, now a blank canvas for all those crops we plan to grow this year.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo