Digging The Dirt

Digging the Dirt - the Allotment Show is back for Season 8. Have a listen to the new episode - It's Hot on the Plot!

Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/0w0mfoqZjhlU13OSyGC4fh](https://open.spotify.com/show/0w0mfoqZjhlU13OSyGC4fh)

ITunes: [https://podcasts.apple.com/.../digging-the.../id1487062460](https://podcasts.apple.com/.../digging-the.../id1487062460)

Raised Bed Size Weed Membrane Blanks

Well the weather Forecast is all change from a couple of days ago, the 3 days of thunder and lightning have gone !   It was in fact very overcast this morning. 

Last three blanks cut out of the 10m long sheet so that is eight sheets in total, and now a hole in the middle of the sheet to accommodate the top of the worm tower. 

Two blank sheets now cut and ready for additional planting holes to be created. Sun and aching feet stopped play.  

Hosepipe Ban Loopholes

 

Raised Bed Weed Membrane Blanks

 

The Tomatoes are really taking off, I just hope there is enough time to grow them on and get a crop. 

The Strawberries in the hanging Baskets are getting 500ml of water a day and dripping from the bottom and the ones nearest the kitchen door appear to be recovering. 

I really should have got the Oakland Gardens plastic hanging basket with the water reservoir built into the bottom. There again I didn't know that I was going to be taken into the hospital during our third heatwave. 

I rolled up the three weed membrane blanks I cut off the roll yesterday.  

𝗔𝗹𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗿

Hi all,

I have 10 alpacas near Hook (RG29) and plenty of their manure bagged up in strong, reusable bags.

The alpaca are always producing so I’d like to give back to the community instead of letting it waste!

£5 per bag - collection welcome, or I can deliver locally.

Why alpaca poo is great fertiliser for your garden or allotment:

No composting, ageing, or treating needed - apply it straight to your soil

Won’t burn plants - low in ammonia, so it’s safe to use fresh

Nutrient-rich - naturally high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium

Low odour and easy to handle - no strong smells or mess

Low risk of weeds - alpacas digest seeds thoroughly, so it rarely spreads unwanted plants

Message me if you’re interested or have any questions.

Potting On A Tomato Plant

 

Pot with a water reservoir topped up with clover compost around a pot the same size as used for the small tomato plants that appeared to do well whist I was in hospital 

I watered the compost so if would hold the form when the pot was removed 

Crushed eggshells are a great natural source of calcium for your tomato plants, which is vital for preventing blossom-end rot. To make the nutrients bioavailable, wash, dry, and crush the shells into a fine powder, then mix it directly into your potting soil or planting holes.

There was a nice root structure as I decanted the plant from the pot it was grown in, into the hole formed in the compost in the larger pot  

The compost was topped up and the transplant watered, 5 bamboo canes added more to prevent the cats digging and pooping in the compost

Bamboo's cable tied at the top. Originally my tomatoes were going in the new raised bed on allotment 1 and in the quadgrow's in the greenhouse on plot 1. Now I need to improvise some room here at home, in my new back garden.

UK Weather Forecast 200-Mile Rain Bomb

UK weather forecast as 200-mile rain bomb set to soak 25 counties - full list

Story by Rebecca Robinson & Kelly Williams of the Daily Star 

Britain is enjoying its third heatwave of the year as temperatures rocket beyond 30C. But this scorching spell could come to a sudden halt as a 200-mile deluge prepares to strike.

Fresh weather maps from WXCharts, using MetDesk data, show that changeable conditions may return next weekend, delivering rainfall across 25 counties. One massive band of rain on July 19 (next Sunday) is predicted to stretch from Cumbria in North West England all the way to Northamptonshire in the East Midlands - an enormous 220 miles.

Meanwhile, the East of England is also set for heavy showers, with Suffolk expected to receive up to 7.5mm/hr next Sunday. The Met Office has issued warnings about potential thunderstorms from mid-July, with increasingly volatile weather possibly ahead.

Its outlook for July 15 to 24 states: "High pressure to the northeast of the UK with low pressure over the Bay of Biscay starts the period with broadly settled weather for the north of the UK with a risk of thunderstorms into the south of the UK from France at times".

"Through the weekend potentially turning more unsettled from the south before more settled conditions arrive from the west. Uncertain into the next week as cloud and longer spells of rain threaten the NW and possibly running through the UK at times.", reports the Express.

"Temperatures will be warm or very warm initially, perhaps hot at times in the southwest, likely easing to warm or near average over the weekend, though further hot spells possible especially in the south."

Counties anticipating rainfall:

1. Devon
2. Dorset
3. London
4. Surrey
5. Suffolk
6. Norfolk
7. Essex
8. Lincolnshire
9. Cambridgeshire
10. Northamptonshire
11. Warwickshire
12. Worcestershire
13. Herefordshire
14. Shropshire
15. Cheshire
16. Merseyside
17. Lancashire
18. Cumbria
19. Nottinghamshire
20. Derbyshire
21. Rutland
22. Leicestershire
23. Durham
24. Hertfordshire
25. Buckinghamshire

Weather Forecast for Sutton Surrey 

What Vegetables to Plant In July

Gardening With Ben Gardening and Allotment Tips

What vegetables can you plant in July?

July is far from the end of the growing season! There are still plenty of vegetables you can sow now for delicious harvests later this summer, through autumn, and even into winter.

Whether you’ve got an allotment, a vegetable patch, raised beds or just a few pots, it’s not too late to keep your garden productive. Every seed you sow now is another step towards homegrown harvests in the months ahead.

Keep smiling, keep shining, keep gardening with Ben.

#JulyGardening #VegetableGardening #GrowYourOwn #KitchenGarden #allotmentlife

Simply Seeds What To Grow In July

 

She Grows Veg - Seeds To Grow In July

 

Not sure what's still worth sowing? July is made for quick-growing crops

Autumn radishes, rocket and spinach thrive in the summer heat and don't need much space, a pot near a tap is all it takes. Get the seeds in now and thank yourself in September

She Grows Veg - Seeds To Grow In July 

Fixed the Latch To The Gate

 

Hosepipe Ban affecting 350,000

 

Oakland Gardens Now Range Of Ploytunnels

 

Yes Oakland Gardens have started to supply Polytunnels, but all way too large and expensive for an allotment holder 

In The Hospital Again

On Saturday the 4th July I lost my Independence and was once again, in St Heliers Hospital!  I spent the first night in the SDEC unit, finally being given a bed in Ward B1 Ward B1 which houses the Whitfield Unit and the Haematology Day Unit, specializing in the treatment of ongoing Blood Conditions. 

Now one would think Ward B1 being a Haematology Day Unit, specializing in the treatment of ongoing Blood Conditions, that they would have a Vein Finder, but NO!

The only one in the hospital appears to be in SDEC and when they went to use it, at my request they found it was not working. They suspected it had not been charged, I found out later that it's actually broken as Ward B1 had tried to borrow it. 

IMHO every ward where they insert cannulas should have one of these bits of medical equipment. They cost £1,500 approx. The amount of time they save and  as someone with small deep veins the success rate of finding a vein that will get more than two uses out of a cannular is and the lack of pain is immeasurable. I had 5 failures until they got an anaesthetist with an ultrasound scanner to find a bigger vein. 

NHS consultants in England received a confirmed 3.5% pay uplift for the 2026/27 financial year, which was backdated to April 1, 2026. Following this increase, baseline full-time salaries range from £113,565 for starting Threshold 1 up to £150,570 for Threshold 4 after 14 years of experience. 

Despite this annual rise, the British Medical Association (BMA) voted in favour of ongoing industrial action over continuing disputes regarding real-term pay losses and working week conditions. 

So 3.5% of the lowest paid consultants wage increase will be £3,975 which equates to buying 2.7 Vein Finders. I know it will be a different budget, But for the hospital to have one, that other wards have to go and borrow and then to find out, it's now broken is sickening.  

Vein Finders are not new technology, they are at least 10 years old, thus one has to ask why has not each ward that fit cannulas got one each?  

An SDEC (Same Day Emergency Care) unit in a hospital provides rapid assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for patients with acute medical conditions. The goal is to provide same-day care so patients can safely return home the same day without needing an overnight hospital admission.

How SDEC Works

SDEC acts as an alternative to a traditional hospital admission or a prolonged wait in the Emergency Department (ED).

• Referral Only: SDEC is not a walk-in service. Patients must be referred by a healthcare professional, such as their GP, the ambulance service, NHS 111, or the hospital's Emergency Department.
• The Process: Upon arrival, patients are assessed by a multidisciplinary team (doctors, nurses, and specialists) and undergo necessary diagnostic tests (like blood tests, X-rays, or scans) on the same day. 
• Common Conditions Treated: Units typically handle conditions such as chest pain, headaches, abnormal blood test results, suspected blood clots, anemia, and acute infections. 

Benefits of SDEC

• Faster turnaround: Patients are usually assessed and treated within 4 to 8 hours.
• Reduces hospital strain: By avoiding unnecessary overnight stays, hospitals can free up beds and reduce wait times across the emergency pathway. 

I managed to escape early evening on Tuesday the 7th July, as usual the 3P's Practices Procedures and Protocols were not adhered too, and there are multiple errors on my Inpatient GP Discharge letter which I spent  a long time resolving with the GP's Practice Pharmacist, the following day. 

Whist in the hospital, they had an Audit and everyone was told to ensure certain things were in place. I was luckily asked for feed back from the inspector and took them to the shower room on Ward B1 and showed them that there was a normal blue plastic chair and no shower chair provided, that there are no grab rails provided to assist the accompanying nurse or patient stabilise themselves in the showering recess. 

Shower Chairs are not expensive, so why is a basic low plastic chair provided ? 

I explained I had been a structural engineer and a CDMC basically health and safety for construction projects and that hand rail requirements are in part M of the building regulations approved documents and in fact a new additional approved document is just being published, offering even more guidance. 

The hospital give you a leaflet about falls in hospital and have not provided the basics. They have no WC extenders to bring a normal WC up to disabled height, they have to do an assessment and get one provided for a specific room user. Of course that never happens.

Their solution to wheel a commode over the wc, however commode bowl can not be used as there is not the room between the commode and the top of the WC. 

The shape of the holes in the commode means that when one pees it goes in front of the WC bowl and all down the patients legs and the floor. 

That happened to me at my last stay, and the same solution was suggested this time I was in, by other nurses until I pointed out the miss alignment of the holes and explained what would happen, if they tried that as a solution to the height problem. 

Toilet raised are not expensive and again why do they not have some to quickly modify the WC's to the requirements of disabled users ?   

Making Blank Raised Bed Sized Sheets

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