Father & Daughter Weeding

Two hours with my Daughter Emma on the allotment this afternoon, taking grass from my sisters back garden in a rubber tug and filling the Dalek in layers, watering it in with layers of spent woodchip paths cleared this week, and shredded paper. Weeding the mares tail and weeds from the Asparagus beds and the path next to the Asparagus beds, then knocking up some fox protection.

Emma cleared the weeds from the onion beds and planted some onions in modules, and then recovered the beds. A quick water and then our time was up.

Plan Layout for 2022 before moving the Asparagus Bed next to the Raspberries

Filled with grass from my sisters back garden that has been in a rubber tug for a couple of days waiting for me to bring it down to the allotment and feed the Dalek. Watering it in with layers of spent woodchip paths cleared this week, and shredded paper.

New KT Thermo Compost Thermometer was built into the latest top up, the dial went straight to the top end of "Steady" which means the beneficial bacteria (micro-organisms,) are already breaking down the grass that was cut a couple of days ago and has been in a rubber tug and was already generating heat before it got into the Dalek.

Asparagus Bed half weeded, and a Heath Robinson solution to keeping Basil and his mates off the bed.

Emma and the three onion beds that she uncovered, weeded and transplanted sets in modules into the beds at vacant holes in the planting membrane, covered back up and then watered for me.  

Thank you Emma for your help this afternoon, when I'm dead and gone, and perhaps you look at this blog you will see how much I value your company, and your help with the plot when you have time, and want some father daughter bonding time.  

Weed free onion Beds, but some of the onions had started to go to seed and Emma lopped the tops off for me, but I should have told her to leave them as once onions produce a flower stem and start to set seed they won't grow any more, and they don't store well either. So next visit I will see which ones had the seed heads cut off and harvest them.

Onions that have bolted are still edible and will taste fine, and should be dug up first and eaten, leaving the others to mature in the ground..

It's common for onions to bolt (run to seed suddenly) when there is a cold snap – it's as if the plant thinks winter is setting in and quickly throws out some seeds.

They can also bolt in very hot weather – they get dry, panic and run to seed.