Raised Bed 15 Completed

I wasn't expecting the heavy frost and ice on the roofs, pavement, road and the car this morning when I woke up.

So a late trip to the allotment, after the sun had melted the ice off the car to unload the timber and stack it then I built the next raised bed frame It's an art learning to get these raised bed frames assembled on your own, when you don't have the strength in your hands and arms you once did, and arthritis in all your joints. It takes time and planning but is very satisfying once you have managed it. 

After assembling a U shape, I laid it down and put the last side in place insitu, then filled it up with another wheel barrow load of woodchip so the woodchip was about an inch over the butt joint of the two frames.

Tack screwed top frame to bottom frame and then emptied the flower buckets of soil excavated from the footprint of the beds and the path in between. Topped off with two bucket loads of coir and compost that I grew spuds in last year.

Empty Square Flower Buckets and Spud Buckets placed in bed 16 to dry out in the sun. If it rains it will wash down the wet soil into the bottom of the buckets, and I can tip the rain water and soil into the now completed bed 15.

I placed some hoops on the bed before coming home just to put the fox off from climbing onto it and digging for worms, I will net it next visit. 

Loading The Car

 

In the afternoon as it had remained dry, I de-nailed and de-screwed the timber that I picked up Friday from building site a few doors away. I then stacked it in the car ready for taking to the allotment Sunday weather permitting.

Timber Dropped off To Plot

Timber unloaded and stacked on a bed.

Then covered over to keep it dry until I need it.

Woodchip has consolidated in the base layer of the current raised bed I'm constructing, due to the large amount of rain we have had.

A wheel barrow load of woodchip topped it up again.

View of bed 15 and the Asparagus bed to the right. I still need to go back and finished stripping the first Raspberry bed of bind weed and mulch it, but mentally I need to see some real progress working up the plot. 

View Up the allotment.

I gathered rotting timber and branches and have stacked them on the completed Bed 15 raised bed, ready for the bottom layer of the next raised bed.

The 2.4m x 1.2m bed 16 that will be converted into two raised beds, was cleared of items this morning, the bed needs to be unscrewed and converted into a second level for the narrow bed behind in this photograph.

Planning and Reviewing February in Previous Years

Reviewing the diary over the last Twelve years for February

2013 - Infrastructure works, drying weeds for burning, burning weeds, Rain start of the month, dry towards the end, delivery of woodchip to plot, built a coldframe  
 

2014 - Infrastructure works, transplanting bluebells and daffs in comfrey bed, bought and planted fruit trees, Constructed Greenhouse Sub Frame, Seeds from Lidl I could not resist at 29p a pack or 5 for a £1   

2015 -  Allotment Winter Tidy Up, Spent tomato compost & coir dressing added to beds, Sprouts, Cabbage, Chitting Potatoes, Timber base for the greenhouse created, Onions from Seeds   

2016 - Infrastructure works, kerb stones off freecycle, Base for the shed on Spencer Road. Erecting the Shed, Trimming shaggy weed membrane, gathering compost paper & Coffee Grounds.

2017 - Infrastructure works, Laying concrete slabs at Spencer Road in the Greenhouse area , Portable Grow Station created and Sprouts sown, Grow Station 2 created, Chitting potatoes in Grow Station 2,  

2018 - Infrastructure works, Laying concrete slabs on Plot 1A, Installing the bed edging that had been brought from Spencer Road Allotment, Warming Up Beds with solar tunnels and obtaining Timber Roof Joists from the building site next door.

2019 - Infrastructure works, Frost and a couple or raining Allotment days this year. Andy brought leaves from home for my leaf pile. Burning rotted timber and dry vegetation. Painting timber joists on the plot. Attacking the Hawthorne along the wall. Purchased potatoes from Wilko and set up chitting potatoes in Space saver Greenhouse. Attended the Garden Press Event and came home with lots of  packs of seeds and other goodies.

2020 - Infrastructure works, picked up a stack of free slabs off Freecycle, Showed vacant plots and they took plot 4. Cleaned the Space Saver Greenhouse ready for the season and for chitting spuds in. The contractor converting the industrial unit to residential behind Plot 1 & 1A decided in the infinite wisdom to remove the trees that were holding the unstable wall in place and destabilise the wall directly behind my shed on plot 1A. They cut and dropped the branches directly on my shed! Not happy and informed them and the council.       

Showing Chris the vacant plots available, he decided to take on plot 14. Storm Ciara blows many polytunnels off the plots and destroys them and light weight greenhouses on plots. Mentioned In Despatches by Waltons, National Nestbox Week 

Lots of Rain during the early part of the month Storm Dennis with many photographs of flooded allotment plots, especially in Wales and then suddenly at the end of the month, dry weather bluebells and daffs showing and Fools Spring has arrived. Won Mr Fothergills Facebook competition of Swing F1 Cucumber seeds

Picked up another free Dalek to add to Dalek Army II. Attended the Garden Press Event and came home with not so many packs of seeds but lots of other goodies, and promises of equipment to trial. The Covid -19 Virus starts sweeping around the globe, and people start to think twice about shaking hands at the Event. Still cataloguing what's in my Seed Box, need to get this done a lot earlier next year, if not by the end of 2020 

2021 - Making Warm Mushroon Trays. Chitting Potatoes, covered in the Norfolk Space Saver Greenhouse . The beast from the East II and snow. The Paved path was installed and so were the scaffold tubes to the first 3 Raspberry beds. The first SFG bed frame was installed in February 2021.

2022 - Sowing Grow With Me tomatoes, Sowing Brassicas and planting seedless grape vines against the wall. Storm Dudley came and went and then Storm Eunice removed greenhouse panels and took items on a journey around the allotment site. Laying slabs around the Plot 1 greenhouse. Grow With Me 2022 with Joe Mills Basil. Spuds in the Space Saver Greenhouse chitting. Making a new store on plot 1A at the location of the old potting table and adding the bench with roof to the new potting table behind the greenhouse on plot 1. 

2023 - .Loft extension for the plot 1 greenhouse completed and erected. Lots of time spent on the plot as I didn't want to be in the house without my wife her funeral was on the 20th February. New Spear & Jackson spade and fork set and broke the handle to my fork. Mulching the asparagus bed. Cleaning out the space saver Greenhouse in readiness for the potting shed arrival on the plot. Installing the potting sheds base. Garden Press Event attended. Review of Sophie McKays book. The boundary beds with the main path was started in February and completed at the end of the month. Well rotted woodchip was placed in the bottom of the new beds and the rotary sieve was use on my allotment made compost to complete filling the beds. 

2024 - As a result of my ongoing ulcerated leg problems, and having to learn to walk unaided, I only visited the plot a couple of times in February, I was hoping I will be able to get down to the plot a little more often with the assistance of family and friends but some of the February sowings happen in the Space Saver greenhouse at home.

My objective was to get healed enough that I can drive and get myself to the allotment in March so most of February was spent sorting out my seed boxes and what new seeds had been sent to me to trial.  

To Do List for 2025  

The plan for January 2025 weather permitting is to get as much of the new raised beds infrastructure on Plot 1 in place as possible and get both plots and greenhouses ready for the spring growing season 

Mill Green - Plot 1

• Greenhouse 1 - Currently being used to house all the cardboard to be used in the new raised beds  
• Infrastructure - Convert standard 2.4m x 1.2m beds to 2 number 1.2 x 0.9m Raised beds with a path between.
• Potting Shed - Finish tidying up the potting shed ready for Spring 2025 

Mill Green - Plot 1A

• Greenhouse 1A - Set up more Coffee to dry out 
• Daleks - Dig in the additional Daleks along the path with plot 2A
• Main Crop Potatoes  - Harvest the last 3 buckets as required
• Onions - Overwintering Onions and Shallots in weed bed as necessary. 
• Leaf Cages - Move contents of secondary cage to primary cage 
• Apple Trees - Prune & Stabilise
• Grape Vines - Prune  

February

February           Apple - plant trees

February           Apple - prune trees

February           Pear - plant trees

February           Pear - prune trees

                          Infrastructure Work

Week 1              Parsnip – Germinate in Take-a-way containers 

Week 1              Welsh Onions (D.T.Brown) - sow under glass / indoors (14 – 28 days)

Week 1              Shallot Simiane (Dobies) - sow under glass / indoors (14 – 28 days)

Week 1              Cauliflower (early summer) - sow seed indoors

Week 2              Brussels Sprouts - sow seed of early varieties

Week 2              Broccoli (sprouting) early varieties - begin harvest

Week 2              Aubergine  – sow in modules

Week 3              Parsnip – Transplant into loo rolls once signs of germination 

Week 3              Radish – Sow fortnightly

Week 3              Lettuce (Winter) – Sow fortnightly

Week 3              Potatoes- chit / sprout seed potatoes

Week 3              Cauliflower (summer) - prepare ground

Week 3              Cauliflower (autumn) - prepare ground

Week 4              Broccoli (sprouting) late varieties - begin harvest

Week 4              Celery - sow seeds indoors

Week 4              Sweet pepper - sow seeds

Week 4              Carrot Water Butt – Core out sand & Compost ready for sowing seeds

Picking Up Timber

 

Up washed and dressed and on the building site a few doors up from my property at 8:30 to scrounge as many lengths of timber that I can as the contractor is about to load all the offcuts and site debris into their half truck to go to their year for burning and disposal. 

Four trips with my wheel barrow and each time I got back to the site the guys has placed any timber worth having against the site gate ready for me to reload my wheel barrow and transport to my drive. 

Anything 1.2m or less without any nails or screws in went straight onto the back seat of the car and anything longer or with screws and nails was stacked under my window box, to be dealt with tomorrow.

I was knackered after picking it up and gave the lads on site a pack of chocolate digestive biscuits to have on their tea break, as a thank you, and was informed there would be more timber next week and to keep my eyes out and I can collect again next clean up.   

What To Sow In February?

 

Simply Seeds Web Site

Coffee & Chat

Late getting to the allotment this morning as I was waiting for a delivery of onion sets. It transpires that Wally was the one that did the right back half and John did the right front half yesterday.  

Both of them were on the site this morning and Wally made coffee John brought some biscuits and we had coffee & biscuits and a natter sitting in Wally's shed, putting the world to rights. Then before I knew it was time to go and have lunch with my daughter and grandson. 

Idverde have stopped dropping off woodchip as most allotments main paths are way too boggy with all the storms and rain we have been having. 

Organic Onion (Spring) Crusado F1

The Organic Gardening Catalogue have kindly sent me a 250g bag of Onion ‘Crusado’ F1 seta that they have added to their catalogue this year. It is a high performing variety exhibiting improved yields, quality and disease resistance. Which is the result of years of intense breeding by the renowned seed company Hazera,  

Crusado is a relatively early, long-day hybrid giving high yields of uniform, yellow-brown, round onions that are easy to chop whilst minimising wastage. This easy-to-grow variety features tough skin, thin necks and a very strong root system enabling it to outperform other varieties in dry conditions.  

One of the longest storing of white onions, the bulbs will store for several months and retain excellent quality. An excellent choice for the beginner or seasoned grower providing a bounty of well-flavoured, superb quality onions for long term use. Height: 45cm (18in). Spread: 15cm (6in).

Plant onion sets in rows in any firm, well-drained soil in full sun. Prepare the planting area several weeks in advance by incorporating some well-rotted garden compost to improve drainage and soil fertility. Avoid planting onions on freshly manured soil. 

On particularly wet ground, try growing onion sets in raised beds. When growing onions from sets, plant the bulbs so that the tip of bulb is just protruding through the soil surface. Leave a space of 100mm (4") between each bulb, and 300mm (12") between each row.

Not Looking Good This Week

 

The weather is not looking good for allotment visits this week. At the moment

Monday 41 - 80% High Chance of Precipitation & Gusty Winds from the South / South West

Tuesday Low Chance of Precipitation between 9 - 10:30 Gusty Winds from the South / South West 

Wednesday 70 % Chance of Light Showers most of the day 

Thursday Low Chance of Precipitation 25%  between 9:00 - 12:00 Then zero chance from 13:00 - 16:00 

Friday Low Chance 40% - 18% of Precipitation less in the afternoon 

Saturday Low Chance 0 - 34% of Precipitation dry between 9:00 - 12:30 

Sunday 33% - 47% Chance of Precipitation between 9:00 - 12:00 then Dry between 13:00 - 16:00

Re-Planning The Allotment Infrastructure

It was bitterly cold this morning but I had arranged to show plot 3A to the next tenants on the waiting list, and by the end of showing the couple the plot, our hands were frozen, and all three of us just wanted to get back in the warm. I let them out of the allotment and closed my potting shed up and made my home just as ice cold rain started. 

Due to the radical radiotherapy treatment for my solitary bony plasmacytoma cancer in 2023 and the loss of mobility due to Extensive hypermetabolic arthropathy. I'm having to redesign the infrastructure of my two half plots

Arthropathy is a joint disease can be associated with a hematologic (blood) disorder, and my cancer is a form of blood cancer. My PET.CT Scans show I have problems in all my joints and as a result walking, is difficult, and getting down on my hands and knees to weed and sow seeds is now impossible for me. 

So In 2024 I started by making the two Square Foot Garden beds by the potting shed into raised beds

I have half converted and full framed ground level plot into two number two scaffold board high (450mm) Raised beds with a new path in between. I now plan to make this modification all over the allotment.       

Above is the proposed layout on the basis that I can get hold of a load of Free 1200mm x 800mm pallet collars or 800mm x 600mm pallet collars and twin them up to make 1200 x 800mm Raised beds.

There is a difficulty with just trying to convert the framed ground level beds layout into raised bed layout as I made the paths 600mm wide and the standard wheelbarrow being 620mm and will not fit between two raised beds. 

My solution is to turn alternate the beds directions thus making alternate beds narrower thus making the paths wider so I can get the wheelbarrow around the allotment to all the beds.   

Over 2024 I have been looking into options like poly tunnels or a larger level entry greenhouse as I'm having difficulties getting in and out of the two 1800 x 1200mm (6ft x 4ft) Palram greenhouses, which at the moment I'm using to dry coffee grounds in the plot 1A greenhouse, and to store magic cardboard to line the bottom of the new raised beds, in the plot 1 greenhouse. 

Above is the plan for plot 1A 

Above is the plan for plot 1 

I'm not sure if it will happen but there may be an opportunity for me to get hold of some pallet collars for free dropped off to the allotment. I'm seeing how many other allotment holders may be interested if this opportunity does become a reality, and I have altered my plan for the allotment as shown above. 

Pallet Collars are only 195mm high, so 2 Pallet collars gives 390mm and 3 gives 585mm which is a little higher than the two scaffold boards that gives a height of 450mm.  

I will need around 105 number 1200mm x 800mm or 210 number 800mm x 600mm Pallet Collars.  

Hopefully I will find out next week if the free pallet collars will happen, and that will accelerate the conversion of the infrastructure considerably.