Last Sunday I did not expect to get anything done on my plot as I was involved with the Working Party. However, thanks to the tremendous efforts of two of my allotment neighbours, John and Simon, and my eldest Grandson Jake, we completed the tasks in just an hour so I was able to get on to the plot, with my Jake to help me. With John on site we were able to load the remains of my asbestos shed into his van for him to take down the tip. It was good to see the back of the eyesore! Jake and I also sorted out the pipes, posts and stakes for the second (new) net brassica tunnel. I was pleased that the stakes fitted into the piping snugly so they won't slip out later. Today we popped down to the plot to unload a load of concrete blocks for the base of the greenhouse. While down there we thumped in the posts for the brassica tunnel, measuring them out very carefully to ensure the structure is square. We were then able to set up the piping arches ready to fix everything together on a future visit. We brought home a pair of lovely cauliflowers and some kale sprouts which we will enjoy greatly! It was great to see how well the roots were developed; no sign of clubroot at all! Jake has been a great help both on the allotment and at home. A pity he goes home tomorrow!
As I left for the evening I noticed how much the Italian Ryegrass, my green manure I sowed last autumn, had grown. I will need to cut it and compost the cut grass before I can dig it in! Today I had my grandson down from Yorkshire helping me so we achieved quite a bit of work!
First we moved the last panels from the old shed out to the track ready for transporting it to the tip. Then we moved the stack of slabs from where I want to plant the plum tree I have growing in a pot in my back garden. Then, while he dug over the ground I planted broad bean plants and sprouted seeds to follow on from those set out in the autumn. Germination was patchy so in one double row I have about a dozen plants of 'Sutton', a few plants of 'Express' and the rest of the row is sprouted seeds of 'Express'. That way I should get some progression in the harvest. It is the first time I have tried sowing sprouted seeds and I hope they get away and grow before the mice find and feast on them! My grandson then dug over the ground for me to plant my first row of potatoes. I am trying Pentland Javelin, a favourite amongst many Roeshot tenants, but they have hardly sprouted despite being chitted ever since I collected them from the Trading Hut. I gave both potatoes and beans a light scattering of slug bait as I have come across so many slugs and snails in the last few weeks. Finally my grandson dug over the patch ready for the planting the plum tree. We then harvested some crops. I was pleased to see lovely creamy cauliflower heads emerging from the greenery and cut one to bring home. We lifted the last of the parsnips as they are beginning resprout. That gives us a mountain of parsnips to make into soup and crisps - unless someone can offer me an alternative way of using them! I picked a bunch of purple sprouting broccoli (enough for several meals) and, while in the brassica cage, I picked the brussel tops. Finally I dug up most of my row of celeriac as many of them were rotting or unusable. However, I did get two good roots to enjoy at home. I then had to locate another patch for the onion sets at the other end of the patch, next to a row of autumn planted red onion sets. I managed to squeeze in two rows but made sure I left enough room between each set and each row to push a hoe through so I can keep the weeds down easily. You are supposed to leave each set poking through the surface but I find the birds tend to pull them out thinking they are something to eat so I ridge the soil an inch or so to cover them. The soil is light enough to allow the onion to swell as the set grows. Once the roots have gone down there is no problem. I also had a change of heart over the horse litter I had collected and put in the bottom of a compost bin. I moved it onto a path where it will hopefully smother or burn away the weeds. I shall scrape any litter I spread last autumn and now need to remove and put that at the bottom of the bin to soak up any 'juices' that soa down from above. When mixed with the rest of the bin contents when I transfer it to the next bin it will be much more use. Now I need to get my greenhouse set up where the old shed used to be! I harvested some Russian Kale sprouts which were very tender and tasty. I've had very few leaves as they were mainly old and tough but now the plants are sending out flower sprouts that we enjoyed. Perhaps I should have given them some fertiliser to keep them growing. Anyone got any suggestions? Once I had cultivated a plot for a tenant for the Association, I started on my own plot.
The old shed is now empty! An cover for an old plastic greenhouse, a bag of plastic bags, a collection of plastic bottles now wait to be taken to the tip. A stack of wood is tucked away under a makeshift shelter while I decide what is worth keeping and a coiled hose threaded onto a cane to try and stop it tangling again! I tried to rip the door off but, despite the shed being very rickety, it wouldn't budge. However, one panel of asbestos just fell out and I had to lay it somewhere safe before removing it to the tip. The rest of the dismantling will have to be done very carefully! I did manage one little bit of gardening when I used some sticks to help the few peas that did grow over winter to get off the ground! I also harvested some brussel sprouts and some purple sprouting broccoli. A neighbour had a very good suggestion for my glut of parsnips. As well as making soup, he says I can use a slicing machine to get thin slivers and fry them to make vegetable crisps - a favourite of mine! He suggests the same can be done with the softer centre of thick brassica stems. I look forward to trying it! Monday found me making multiple trips to the tip. Initially it was with some of the rubbish I've collected at the entrance to my plot. This consisted of old cabbage stalks, plastic bags from donated compost and the rusted remains of an incinerator. I had loaded them into my trailer on my last visit and taken them home as Sunday is too busy at the tip to try towing a trailer into there.
I returned home to collect some posts, a stack of plastic chairs and some netting destined for the allotments. I then came on to the allotments and, having emptied the trailer of the goodies, stopped beside the 'manure' heap beyond the Trading Hut. Having spent Sunday morning with the help of the Working Party clearing the heap off the roadway, I discovered a new heap had been deposited half over the track again. However, this new heap is straw based real manure so I took the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and loaded my trailer while digging the manure back from the track! It was hard work as the manure is thick, wet and smelly but it is good stuff and, if you are quick, there might be some left. I put some in my compost heap and some in the leafmould/manure bin as, if you have followed the blog, you will know I have not been given many bags of leaves this year and the bin is far from full. I then filled the trailer up with all the branches and twigs from pruning my fruit bushes and cutting back the strawberry tree that overhangs from a neighbouring plot. Having taken that to the tip I returned and unearthed the Journeyman's Chest from my old shed. When I got through the rubbish covering it I opened it expecting to find very little. I was shocked to find it was full of old plastic sheeting and landscape fabric and a large lump of crumbly black stuff that I thought at first was a fungus. Delving deeper I realised it was an ant's nest made from the said landscape fabric. There were thousands of large shiny black ants, somewhat dozy but all trying to defend the nest waving their antennae in the air and trying to find something to bite. I was glad I was wearing gloves! The nest finished up in the incinerator that I had lit earlier. Also in the chest was some odd tools and some old out of date refreshments (biscuits, munchy bars and tea, sugar and coffee) together with a couple of stoves and fuel and a kettle! All were loaded into the trailer and taken home to be sorted out and cleaned or thrown away! I did do a little gardening. I removed the plastic bottle covers from my autumn sown peas and substituted a net tunnel. Hopefully the seeds I sowed a couple of weeks ago at home in 'Root Trainers' will provide replacements to fill in the gaps. However, germination of both the peas and the broad beans has been so slow I have moved them into the warmth of the conservatory. Perhaps I should follow the example of the chap I spoke to on the far side of the site who germinated broad beans on wet paper towels in a warm cupboard before planting them out. It might work for peas also as I sometimes do that for sweet peas! |
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May 2023
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