Alans Allotment

Up at 5:30 and it was raining and I was not quite sure I was going to get an allotment day in. But it stopped about 6:30 and I was on the plot just after 8:00 once the daylight had arrived.

I took a whole lot of cabbage back as compost, two sacks of paper shredding's and that went into dalek 3, Moved a staging down by bed 11 cleared the weed membrane off bed 10  (which will have to go home to be welded to stop further fraying) and set about digging up the potatoes. I left them to dry out on a plastic tray on the staging

Bed 15A and 15B were tidied and the carpet from Bed 4 was laid and then the two half's of the inflatable bed put over the top keep the rain off so hopefully I can remove and dig and sieve through the winter months if we get some dry Sundays. Bed 4 now being cleared I dug out the few weeds. As I uncovered the stack of carpet two little field mice ran off. I shall have to keep a lookout for the little blighters I don't want them setting up home in the wood stack or god forbid the shed or greenhouse.

I harvested potatoes & dry runner beans from the first frame and cut the strings and foliage down, that went in the incinerator to dry out to be burnt at a later date. The Minty Frame to the second frame has collapsed, I suspect the wind had al lot to do with that, but for the moment I waiting the runner beans to die so I can harvest the beans for the seed circle on the Allotment Gardening forum.

The picture above is a fish eye panorama from plot 2 looking at my plot

Bed 9 has the spring onions in and Bed 10 is now covered I will be re-digging looking for potatoes as I've no doubt missed some and they are a real pain in the bum when they come up the following year. Bed 11 has the new sprout frames laying on damp proof membrane to stop it blowing away. I need to get into Bed 12 (you can just see the bottom of the netting) to remove the leafs that are dropping off the sprouts soon (more food for the compost bins).

Bed 4 now covered for winter in for foreground, I have harvested the Beetroots from bed 3 and started to weed and have also harvested the last of the Marketmore cucumbers, I ran out of time and didn't get to remove the weeds from the mesh. Putting Bed 3 to sleep for winter is a job for the next dry Sunday visit.

All tools packed away and I staggered back to the car with a huge Harvest of Potatoes, beetroot, cucumbers and runner beans for seeds. left for home and Sunday lunch just before 1:00 pm all in all a good five hours work and very little down time

 1. Clean up the falling leafs from the sprouts and add to the compost & start harvesting the sprouts from the bottom up
 2. Next Sunday which at the moment is supposed to be dry - Harvest the late potatoes and cover   
 3. Harvest dry beans and they appear <---- Some Today
 4. Harvest the Beetroots <---- Some Today
 5. Sieve Beds 15a and 15b
 6. Harvest Potatoes in the Buckets
 7. Remove Pea Frame from Bed 7 - manure and cover
 8. Start clearing the greenhouse of trays etc.
 9. Trim Back the grape vines <---- Some done
10. Deal with the encroaching brambles and weed from plot 1
11. make some 1.2x1.2 timber hoop frames up ready for next year
12. Make some pea frames up ready for next year