​Planting spuds and weeding onions

Monday 26th March
I arrived just before lunch with a trailer containing 4 half filled builder's bags of leaves from a neighbour. It took a great deal of effort to drag them to the stack of similar bags awaiting room in my leafmould bins but eventually I got them stacked on top.
I really do need an old lawnmower to shred the leaves up to speed up composting and reduce the volume!
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​Then as I checked over the rest of the plot, I came across a sorry sight. On my last visit I had noticed a rat tap had been sprung but caught nothing. With some difficulty I reset it but was obviously distracted as I left it out on my rhubarb forcing tub. There I found it with a bird caught in it which I was later advised was a wren. The trap obviously works but the rats are clever enough to avoid getting caught. I buried the body, after taking a photo for identification, alongside my fruit trees where I bury any rats I catch.

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That done I opted to get another row of seed potatoes planted. There was just enough room next to my Arran Pilot potatoes I had already planted for another row of earlies without disturbing my Brussels sprouts so, working from the boards,  I could just fit in another row and plant my Charlotte seed.

​I fitted in 11 tubers leaving 3 to plant in containers at home.

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​I then set about weeding the rest of the onions. The damp soil and likelihood of rain meant that after hoeing the weeds between the rows I had to rake the weeds out to stop them rooting again. I had cut down an old rake, cutting a couple of tines from each side, so it fitted between the rows. I finished with a big heap of weeds to add to the compost. The groundsel was just about to flower so it was important to remove the tops to stop it seeding.

​The onion bed nice and clear of weeds - and the path swept clean. The boards helped me navigate between the rows without compressing the soil with my feet.

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