Having heard that the experts had already planted their potatoes, I'd better get on with it.
I got to the plot to find that the wind had been busy. My 'pallet' gate had collapsed as usual but my plastic sheet covering the potato plot had lifted throwing one of my clay chimney pipes onto the path and smashing it. Down to six to grow my celery in. Further down the plot was the cover to my neighbour's plastic greenhouse. He had reinforced the frame but the cover had split and flown away. I returned it to his plot together with his compost bin lid that I found in my runner bean trench. If you haven't checked your plot it is worth a quick visit to make sure everything is still in place. Having tidied up I raked over the potato plot to even it out and laid a line down for my earlies, Pentland Javelin. To make this easier I decided to use my bulb planter rather than dig a trench. Digging a trench does help if you want to lay your seed potatoes on a bed of grass cutting (which is supposed to help) or put in some compost but I had neither readily available. Planting a foot apart meant I could fit in 13 seed potatoes in the row leaving 3 over to plant in a container at home for an extra early crop. A neat row finished and properly labelled and I went to dig in the rest of my green manure. After slicing the patch up into spade wide strips in the way I did with in the other half the other day, the Backsaver spade made quick work of digging the patch over. I followed it up by breaking up the clods with my cultivator. Unfortunately by the time I had done this there was no time to rake back the horse litter from the track between the middle and far tracks. The deliverer had obviously had difficulty dumping it right in the bin area. I then went home with a few leeks, some purple sprouting and the last of the forced rhubarb. I returned to my normal routine of going down to the allotment on a Sunday morning and was very pleased to see the cafe was open. The weather was a bit 'iffy' so straight after unloading the tubs of compost material I decided to have my coffee break while the sun was out.
Over a mug of coffee and a lovely slice of homemade fruit cake, Jane Merrett told me she hopes the cafe will open every Sunday from now on, weather permitting. After a chat at the Trading Hut with a new applicant for a plot (we now have a waiting list for plots!) I went down to my own plot and planted the strawberry plants that arrived in the post yesterday. I have a dozen 'Honeoye', a early season strawberry with an Award of Garden Merit (AGM), and a dozen 'Hapil', another AGM variety well suited to dry sandy soil like ours. I was going to finish off digging the 'Roots' bed but after being called to inspect where a load of horse litter had been dumped half on the track, it started to rain in earnest so I packed up and went home. Digging and muck raking next time, unless someone else is kind enough to remove the horse litter from the track! I planned an easy day at home today but having spent the morning at the beach hut I was finally told after lunch that there was a message from one of my helpers earlier in the morning to say that a tenant who had volunteered to cut the slabs for the Special Needs plot greenhouse was on site and ready to start. I rushed down to the site to find that my volunteer had gone home so I unloaded the extra two slabs that were needed and decided that I would check out my own plot.
My first job was to check the cauliflower that I knew was maturing. It was only just big enough to pick but given the weather forecast for the next few days I picked it straight away. There is nothing worse than finding a cauliflower spoiled by weather damage. I then dug over half my strawberry plot as my new plants have arrived. I was digging in the compost that I had mulched the patch with a few weeks ago. I then moved on to dig out the trench on the other half of the roots bed that I had started digging last week. There were some really thick bindweed roots deep down so I am worried that there will be a massive problem this year with the weed! Finally I dug over the soil in my glassless greenhouse. It crumbled down well but is totally without any humus, which is not surprising as there was an old shed on the site before the greenhouse. I think I might have to use growbags this year for my tomatoes while I enrich the soil for the future crops. Before going home I also picked some of my forced rhubarb and a few leeks. The chard, which I covered with a net tunnel earlier to protect it from the pigeons, is still not recovered otherwise I would love a picking of chard with my dinner. Yesterday I planned to have a whole day on the plot complete with packed lunch. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out as it took all morning to sort out a donation of slabs from Travis Perkins and sand and gravel from Wickes for the Special Needs greenhouse floor so I had my packed lunch at home watching the lunchtime news. Having got to the site I decided it was just right to sort out the pile of rubbish on an abandoned plot. Then I got onto my plot. First I emptied the kitchen waste and grass cuttings and weeds from my garden into my compost bin. Our fine alluvial soil needs all the humus we can get to improve it! I then set about laying the path in my glassless greenhouse. I only laid three 2' by 1' slabs hoping a one foot wide path will be wide enough. Having no glass makes working inside easier as well as taking photos! I then started digging in the green manure at the other end of the plot by my 'greenhouse'. I used my 'Backsaver' spade but I found cutting the edges of the spit laborious with such a heavy tool so I used my normal spade to slice strips in the un-dug patch. If you look carefully you can see the groove cut through the grass. After that digging with the Backsaver was easy. All a bit off a faff but I dug the rest with no back strain and developed a nice rhythm, finishing very quickly.
When I finished I ran the cultivator over the patch to break up the lumps before they dried hard. No harvesting as we already have plenty at home. I cleaned up and went home tired but pressed at a good day's work. Today I had a good session on the plot. First I bought a bag of compost for my new sowings at the Trading Hut (it is good to use fresh compost for seeds) and some plastic for the Special Needs plot greenhouse floor. Then I had a chat with several friends including a neighbour who has had a rough time lately and came down to restart his efforts on his plot. Eventually I got to my plot and started clearing the ground inside my greenhouse frame ready to lay a path before I realised I had forgotten my spirit level to help lay the slabs evenly. I will have to finish the job next time. Then I dug the trench in preparation for digging in my green manure. Being next to the fence line I found some bindweed roots, hence the bucket to drown the roots before composting. The grass on the left is the green manure, Italian Ryegrass with some Lucerne added, but the roots haven't gone down as far as last year when they were deeper than my spade. The top growth is a little sparse but I did cut it with my hand scythe last week and put the cuttings in the compost bin. For the trench I put each spadeful in the wheelbarrow and then remove the top growth and drop it upside down in the bottom of the trench. When I dig the rest the top growth naturally finishes up at the bottom. The barrow load of soil is tipped out at the other end ready to fill in the last trench.
Afterwards I dug out the trenches ready for my Runner and climbing French Beans. The one I have used for a couple of years was full of rich dark soil whereas the new one on the other side has lighter sandy soil. It is impressive what a change occurs when you dig in some compost/leaf mould each year. I didn't harvest anything today as we are still eating previous crops but a cauliflower looks ready to burst in the next week or so. Unfortunately as I left I noticed that the Chard is being decimated by the pigeons so I will have to cover it on my next visit. A bit cooler today so I decided to warm up on my arrival at the site by raking some of the woodchip just inside the gate into the bin and off the track. Whoever dumped it obviously cannot reverse as most of the load finished up outside the bin. I used the muck rake I was given some time ago, so long I cannot remember who it was who gave it to me. As this is the only time I ever use this marvellous tool I have passed it on to the association and it is stored in the Trading Hut for whenever it is needed. Having moved the pile back a couple of feet, I went on to the plot and planted the rest of my onion and garlic. One row of 15 clumps of Sturon onion sets should give me the small to medium size onions my wife prefers. The next row is 15 single Sturon onion sets for large storing onions. The last row is 15 garlic plants from my crop last year, trying to get garlic that suits our soil. I plant 15 in each row because that is the number of modules in a tray and it stops me planting them too close together. I have a fancy way of spacing them out that would take too long to describe here. The finished rows of onion plants after hoeing between the rows to erase the footprints. I won't be needing any more onions, 9 rows of shallots, garlic and onions is more than enough After picking some forced rhubarb, I went back to raking woodchip for another 15 minutes or so before going home to lunch.
My thanks to Irene (plot 3) and Mike ( plot 83) for giving me a hand with the raking. At least now cars can get past without spreading the woodchip all over the place. I am so pleased! Today I managed to dig a patch about 3 foot wide by 13 feet using an ordinary spade! Normally my back will not cope with more than a short trench or so and most of my digging is done with a 'Backsaver' spade I was given second-hand many years ago. (See Blog for 21st Dec 2015 in the Archive on the right of this page). However, it is such a cumbersome tool I don't take it down to the plot every time and I needed to dig in a patch of green manure in readiness for planting the Onions and Garlic I have sprouting in the greenhouse at home. The soil was just right and the spade easily cut through the Italian Ryegrass I had sown last autumn. Cutting out the next spit with the Backsaver is a bit awkward. I then decided to hoe between the autumn planted onion sets as the weeds were beginning to appear and the soil had capped with all the rain we've had. I was about to start hoeing from the path when I remembered that hoeing should be done backwards so went to the far end of the row and started there. I usually prefer hoeing with my 'Swoe' which looks like a golf putter and has only one rather slim shaft leading to the head but it is too easy to cut through the roots of an onion with the tip so I got out my ordinary Dutch Hoe. Having a shaft leading down to both sides of the blade means you know exactly where the tool is cutting and it is easier to miss the growing crop! As you can see in the photo I work down between the rows and then, as there are only a few weeds, hand-weed between the plants. I
have left room for the hoe to slip between the plants but it was easier not to bother this time. In the background you can see the patch I had dig over with no green manure showing as I turned it into the bottom of the spit each time. Having done that I raked over the ground inside my greenhouse frame to level it. A few slabs down the middle as a path and some polycarbonate sheeting to glaze it and I will have somewhere for the more delicate crops. Finally I dug up a few leeks and picked some purple sprouting to take home. The cauliflower supply seems to have stalled despite the warm weather. Having my Grandson, Jake, visit from Yorkshire has disrupted my routine of allotment visits but has meant that, when I do get down, I have had the benefit of his young muscles. Perhaps I am fortunate in that he enjoys any physical activity and, at 20 years old, he gets a lot done. Over the last fortnight he has cleared my 'glassless greenhouse' of weeds, dug over half my potato patch, tidy up the unsuccessful row of autumn sown peas, and collect and spread a trailer load of horse litter.
This is in addition to helping me clear the metal off plot 16 and take it to the tip, cut down two trees in my garden and level the ground in my new lean-to greenhouse at home. While he was working I have been able to spread compost in my strawberry bed and plant a row of Sturon onions. Back home I have planted Broad Beans in toilet roll tubes, the rest of the onion sets in modules and, as an experiment, some of last year's garlic; all growing nicely in my new greenhouse. I have a crown of rhubarb to find space for which I bought in Wakefield during the Rhubarb Festival, from the major grower of forced rhubarb in the Rhubarb Triangle in Yorkshire. It is an early variety called Reeds which is the name of the secondary school I went to in the 1950's so couldn't resist it. I think I shall have to find a big pot to set it going in while I clear a space next to the glassless greenhouse. Unfortunately I did not get round to using him to help shorten my brassica net tunnels, or build my gate. Perhaps that is why several times this week the wind coming from the North has flattened the pallet I currently use as a gate. Now I just need to decide when I can risk planting my early potatoes. Any suggestions as to the best time? Having to buy some fencing material for my garden meant I arrived on site on Friday afternoon very late. On the way in I sealed the joint in the Special Needs plot greenhouse. I had expected to seal it with silicone sealant but InExcess did not have anything suitable in stock. They did, however, have glazing sealing tape which I used instead to good effect. Now we just have to float in a screed floor.
I finally managed to make it to my plot to empty the kitchen waste bin into the compost bin. We have replaced the bin we use outside the back door at home after about 8 years or so as it has split. The new one has an inner bucket and a pedal to lift the lid and, most important, a five year guarantee. Let's hope it lasts that long! I also unloaded a bag of birch twigs that will be useful for the peas when I plant them. I plan to sow some at home in lengths of gutter and plant out the young plants. I dug up the last of the parsnips as they had started to regrow. Hugh Merret tells me I should bury them on their side to keep them a bit longer. Worth a try! I also pulled up a Celeriac to sort out a way of preserving them as I still have quite a few to harvest. |
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May 2023
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