Tuesday 7 May 2013

Bank Holiday Monday 6th May

Bank Holiday Monday 6th May - Got to the allotment about 8:00 - Jen staying with Kelly this morning. It was a really lovely hot bright and sunny, and I got cracking straight away with digging against the wall and removing as much bindweed and couch grass as possible, and digging my way out from the wall. In the early morning beds 5 and 6 are in shadow.

Progress is slow due to the amount of weed , so I decide to come about 18"  back from the path parallel to the wall and level then tread the path in and lay grass edging between the last two rose enclosures weed membrane and woodchip. That done I then soaked the thee grape vines that have been languishing in the shed in a bucket of water that had been warming in the sun for an hour as stated on the packaging.

The allotment was a lot busier today - Bob, Ron, Andy, The young couple from plot 3A, Keith and Pauline, Barry and his significant other and Owen, and the Mencap crew all made a show during the day.

So just before returning home for lunch the three vines went in and were heavily watered. I covered them up with the plastic bottle framework that is now complete and I made three new bamboo canes worth with what we had taken to the allotment. Note to self next lot to have holes burnt for the ends. The idea is that they should help increate the temperature and hopefully promote growth.

I then decided to not dig the whole width as mentally it was taking too long so instead of Bed5 Path Bed6 - I came just to the right of the Path into Bed5 - Got to about 12:30 and I needed something to eat badly so off home for lunch - below is the state of play lunchtime.





After lunch Jen and I went back to the allotment - Keith and Pauline were still there - and Keith got a brew on - he has bought a nice little camping gas burner and It looks like Jen has an eye on us getting one so that we can return the favour and ask the 6A lot over to 1A for a cuppa once in a while. Once I have completed half of the plot and have the paving laid a little more level - I have my Mums old garden furniture to assemble so we will all have somewhere to sit and relax.

So cracking on - Keith increases the pressure to complete at least one more bed as he has an excess of sprouts and cabbage - So nose to the grindstone - Jen tries to weed Bed 2 for me and gats out of puff so I tell her to sit down - a little later she has a crack at clearing the comfrey bed with the speedy weedy which turn out a lot better for her as she does not have to bend and she makes a grand job.

by 4:50 we have nearly got Bed 5 edges and I manage to lay the woodchip in record time, before we have to go home. So evening mean and a Drew Barrymore film then a quick trip back to water the plants Keith gave me the potatoes in Beds 1 - 4, vines and Comfrey - Whilst that was going on I laid weed membrane in Bed 5 as that will be where the sprouts will be going.

Photo at the end of the day below - Home and water all the seedlings and young plants.



View of the cleared Comfrey Beds - The bricks are what I've dug up from under the location of the old shed in front of Beds 4 & 5 waste not want not and they delineate the bed and will help keep it weed free.

 
This little fellow hopped out of no where and climbed up the bags of sand and watched me dig for some time



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