A month since last Blog and we got lots planted

April has been a better month, chilly nights, mornings too. 

But sunny days and sadly no rain for weeks!

I made a Potato planter/dibber. 

Made from an off cut of timber, I shaped the bottom to be a rounded point, cut grooves at 6",8",10" for depth and 12" & 15" for distance between spuds. I added a handle from an offcut of broom handle.

It works really well.

I planted 4 rows of Charlotte, first I dug a trench, put manure in the bottom then put the soil back in the trench, using my Potato planter/dibber I made a hole 6" deep into the soil/manure and placed a potato in each hole. Watered, then dragged soil over using a rake, to fill the holes and make a shallow ridge.

Jo planted 4 rows of Broad Beans, she started them off at home in the greenhouse.

Jo also planted 2 rows of Peas, to climb up 18" chicken wire, also started off at home, in toilet roll tubes, so the roots aren't disturbed while planting.

We made a wigwam with netting for Sweet Peas. 

We have a obelisk at home with Sweet Peas on too.

Jo planted some Cauliflowers. 

First soil was raked flat, compressed by walking over and some Lime added (brassicas like firm, limed soil) then netting added as we get Pheasants and they will pull them up! 

I carried on planting more Potatoes, now we have 3 rows each of King Edwards & Cara. 

There is just enough space left for a final 3 rows of Maris Piper, will put those in next week, to stagger harvesting.

Its been lovely during lock-down, we have had pic-nic lunches quite a lot. 

Sadly our rain butts are almost empty, so we are getting water from the well. 

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo
 

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 
 

Allotment digging

Well one week of February left & we have lots of seeds started, potatoes chitting too. 

Check back next week to see our 'chitting' potatoes

Our heated propagators are working overtime with tomatoes & peppers that are already sprouting.

So while Jo was busy cleaning the greenhouse glass & rescuing plants, that were in danger of being thrown out with the weeds by me!  

I got busy digging over more of last years Brassica patch.

We also noticed a Frog in our pond, so we hope to see frogspawn soon, last year it was late March.

So as I said, we have been busy now its a tad warmer. 

I could not visit our plot for 10 days, but didnt matter as it was so cold anyway, I believe the ground was frozen hard!

Look at these healthy buds on the Blackcurrants, we did a hard prune over winter and it hasn't harmed them at all.

We hope to return often and get it fully prepared for planting. 

This year is marching on & as I've said before during these hard times an Allotment is a safe place and ideal isolation.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo

 

February lockdown & even more digging & weeding!

At the end of January I started digging over this patch. 

Last year we had Peas, Beans, Carrots, Parsnips, Beetroot and some other crops growing here.

This week I finished the digging, removed lots of weeds and grass, its now ready for Potatoes, hopefully they will arrive soon and I can 'chit' them ready for planting around Easter.

I dug over this patch where we had Brassicas last year, the tunnel to the left still has Kale growing. 

While I have been digging, the Robins have been active and picking up any worms I had disturbed.

This one looks well fed!

The area round the back of the Rhubarb bed always gets weedy, so I dug it over and got all the Ground Elder & Nettle roots out, I will put weed suppressant fabric down and some paving slabs & gravel, to hopefully keep the weeds suppressed!

Today, Sunday 7th, there was snow in the forecast, so we only stayed for a an hour or so. A few flakes of snow did flutter down, but nothing like a blizzard. 

Jo tidied up the fruit area, by weeding around the Raspberries, Currants, Blueberries, Blackberries & the Strawberries too.

Thanks for reading/returning. Ian & Jo