Sunday, 2 April 2023
Not fallen off the Edge of the Planet
Saturday, 1 April 2023
Planning and Reviewing April in Previous Years
Reviewing the diary over the last Ten years for April
2014 - Potatoes in buckets, Potatoes in the ground, Sowing Tomatoes, Beetroots, Spring Onions, weeding and fertilising beds, potting on tomatoes into vending machine cups. a cold snap and fleece over the spuds.
2015 - New edging to beds, Planting potatoes in buckets, Potatoes in the ground, Brassicas into vending machine cups, Sowing Tomatoes,
2018 - Plot 1 covered with weed membrane, Still on Spencer Road allotment at this stage, Plant Spuds in Buckets, Sacks of grass from Ron, Tomatoes potted on into vending machine cups, Allium Trays and planted onions, Spuds planted in the ground, Bought new B&Q Strimmer, Sowing Cucumbers, Butternut Squash and Marrows, Apple Trees in Blossom, Bluebells flowering in the Comfrey Bed, Cabbages and cauliflowers planted donated by Keith & Pauline, Onions in modules planted out,
2019 - A lot of time was spent going backwards and forwards to the hospital due to the injury I had at the end of March and the Cellulitis that had flared up on my leg. Because of the pain and the infection gardening was really out of the question. My daughter and future son-in-law did what they could to help me get plants in the ground on the plot and I was only allowed to attend in a purely supervising role. I did make onion bed planting membrane and I was allowed to visit on my own to fill up the compost Dalek. First Early spuds in buckets, Obtained Tumbling Composter off Freecycle.
- Re Add additional supporting timbers to the roof of the shed - TBD
- Tidy Up the Allotment - Ongoing but getting so much better
- Weeding - Completed the weeding of plot 1A
- Greenhouse 1A - Get ready for early spring sowings and perhaps some hydroponics
- Greenhouse 1A - Constructed a dormer window with twin solar fans to replace the vent like the one on Plot 1 Fans arrived and fitted in March.
- Potting Shed - Finally arrived and is stacked up against the wall and covered in a tarp, plan is to get it erected at the first good weather opportunity when Andy and my girls can help me erect it.
- Potatoes in Buckets - Were a dead duck, spuds removed and soil used as soil conditioned on beds
- Greenhouse Cage - The plan has been for some time to build a greenhouse frame in the corner of Plot 1 on the main path and secondary path with plot 2. The frame will be lined with mesh panels so that climbing plants can be grown over it and I can enter the greenhouse and just pick vegetables that are hanging.
- Beds and Paths - The area that the greenhouse cage in the corner needs to be turned over weeded and beds and paths installed during April.
- Water - System needs modifying water tuned on 30th March.
- Planning - Ongoing
- Cut Planting Membrane - Made more full bed blanks some will be turned into planting membrane
- Space Saver Greenhouse - Clear and Cleaned and ready for action as thw weather improves.
Friday, 31 March 2023
ASDA Pick Ups
I went shopping with my girls tonight to ASDA and treated myself to a very nice looking Mechanical Thermometer for £3.50 and a couple of mini garden scoops at £1.25 each for my new potting shed. Yes I'm the last of the big spenders.
I really like the Mechanical Thermometer, it looks good and is a nice size, and easy to read and will not fade like the LCD display ones I have do in direct sunlight. I have planted some seeds by suggesting that another couple of them for my greenhouses might make a nice Fathers Day gift.
Thursday, 30 March 2023
Bed 16 & Climbing Greenhouse
The weather looked OK ish for this morning so I visited the allotment on the basis of even if it was an hour and a half I would get stuff done and move forward. Little and often is the mantra. Bed 16 was cleared of its planting membrane and it was cleaned and put by ready for relocating to the Sweetcorn bed for 2023.
Bed 16 after turning the soil with the blue claw in the top photograph. Lots of mares tail roots are in the bed that need to be weeded out at a future visit.
Beetroots are going into this bed this year, so 105 hole planting membrane required and shallow netting hoops just to keep the wildlife off the bed.
The soil looks good even before the mares tail root extraction has taken place. It started to rain a little so I put the tools away ready to exit stage left and then as I was about to leave, the sun came out again and the rain stopped.
The idea of this structure is to be able to grow climbing vegetables up the mesh panels and into the roof so that whatever I grow hangs down and I can just enter and harvest what's hanging easily.
Wednesday, 29 March 2023
Potting Shed Arrives!
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Wally had just arrived before Brad did in his 3.5 tonne open flatbed that I had requested rather than the 7.5 tonne lorry which about the size of a refuse collection truck.
Up to now we had been very lucky with the weather as the probability of rain was very high, but it had held off. We stacked all the parts up against the wall. Again advice was given in the text message in the form of a Top Tip:
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
High Street Shopping Trip
Propagator Covers and 220mm Gravel Trays at a £1 each so I picked up 3 of each as they will be useful either at home or in the new potting shed that is due to come tomorrow.
Nice small Pots and Tray that I will start off the "Forget Me Nots" that were bought to give away at Jens funeral. These will be my first sowing in the potting shed once it it assembled and ready for action.
I bought six blocks of compressed Coco Soil or Coir that was still £1 a block and hydrates up to 10 litres Plus or minus 10% once water is added. Three blocks will stay at home and 3 blocks will be going down to the allotment and I will be buying more of it next time I or my daughters visit a Poundland.
Slug Barrier Tape £1 to go around the legs to the staging that will be in the new potting shed. I also bought some clear silicone for the windows to the new potting shed, and then we made our way up the High Street towards wilko
There were also only a few 2kg netting bags of Wilco Charlotte - Salad First Early spuds. It appears we made the trip at the right time for me to get my spuds for the year.
I picked up these flexi pots in wilko they were the last pack on the shelf but I loved the way the base is sprung such that you can ease up the plant and soil when you want to pot them on. Again with the new potting shed coming why not have a few more toys to play with.
Monday, 27 March 2023
Installing Loft Conversion II
Coffee grounds on the greenhouse racking drying out ready for storage into small containers with lids. Tugs of Starbucks coffee stacked in front if the fertiliser, I'm going to have to find another dry home for the coffee pre drying and storage once the season really gets going.
Sunday, 26 March 2023
Well that's the Kitchen one done!
Saturday, 25 March 2023
Pebble Pool Plus
Rain this morning so I did more cutting of the 1.22m wide weed membrane to bed lengths of 2.4m from the 50m roll, and then at midday I went to the allotment via the bakers. It was sunny and warm and it was nice to just sit and listen to the bird song, for a while and eat a Cornish pasty. I have a few robins in the nearby trees that were very active and vocal today.
Friday, 24 March 2023
Measuring Out Plots