Mulching Raspberries

As I walked in via the metal gates I could see that idverde had been and cut the main path

11c clear and a cold wind in the allotment today. I have not been down to the allotment for a few days due to medical appointment and bed weather, but this morning and early afternoon (until the rain came) I was clearing the raspberry beds, spreading coffee grounds and adding mulch quality woodchips to the Tulameen Pearl (mid) Raspberry Bed

View from the entrance to Plot 1 down the main path of the allotment.

Path between plots 1 & 2 and !a and 2A still looking good.

All Gold Raspberries growing well in the boundary beds

The couple of flowers from all the bulbs that were planted a few years ago

Polka (late) Raspberry Bed 

Autumn Treasure (late) Raspberry Bed

Tulameen Pearl (mid) Raspberry Bed

Autumn Treasure (late) Bed and Polka (late) Bed

Bind weed is now actively growing in the Raspberry beds, and I need to find a long handled light weight pruning device that's easy to use with my arthritic hands and ideally one hand, and lighter than normal long handles secateurs that needs two hands to use, and normally heavy. 

westland Seed Sowing and No 2 potting-on composts

Westland Seed Sowing Compost back of sack

Westland No2 Potting-On Compost Back of Sack

westland horticulture seed & cutting super fine grade compost

westland seed and cutting super fine grade compost.

westland seed and cutting super fine grade compost.

I also fed the worms in the Hotbin and took the Westland Horticulture compost I bought at Blue Diamond gardening centre down to the allotment and decanted 25Litres into two 10 Litre buckets with lids. Yes that's right a sack that says 25 litres when filled decanted into 20Litres of storage capacity.

How is that possible? I'm feeling short changed.

Quick Visit To Blue Diamond Gardening Centre

Seed Sowing Compost & No.2 Potting-on Compost Mix 3 bags for £12 from Blue Diamond Garden Centre. I'm just hoping these bags have the full 10 Litres in as the last bags I purchased were not 10 Litres worth when decanted into my 10 Litre bucket  

Ericaceous Compost for Blue berries that are coming soon 

Multi-Purpose Compost 10L bags 2 for £8, I do like the westland range of composts for starting and potting on and with my arthritis I can carry these size bags easily. 

French Climbing Beans growing well. I need to make room for them in the climbing frame greenhouse.

Sowed Santa Cruz F1 Spinach 4 number per cell

Idverde have been and cut the grass on the main path. Paddy needs to tidy the edge of his plot up and drag the tree stump out of the way.

Radish Rainbow Mix sown in Square Foot Garden Bed 2 using the seed spacing rule I made from an old curtain rail 12 years ago.

I used the seed spacer I made 12 years from an old plastic curtain rail  

Rainbow Radish mix sown in Square Foot Garden Bed 2, then covered up with potting-on compost.

Covered with potting-on compost, then watered in, I may add coffee grounds either side of the drill next visit and also some deep watering 500ml pop bottles like the other side of the raised bed.

Labels made this morning placed at the end of each drill of Carrots in Bed 15 sown last week.

It gives me great joy seeing the seedings coming up and minor weeds picked out. I just cut off the mares tail as I didn't want the disturbance, I shall just keep it trimmed and dig the roots out when I harvest the carrots.

Red and All Gold Raspberries harvested not bad last harvest was 2 days ago and I eat about a 1/3rd off the bush as I go.

Getting The Onion Sets In

The aim today was to go the allotment in the morning, find as many of the 105 hole planting membrane sheets as possible, plant the Blue Suede Blueberry (Vaccinium) plant, come home for lunch and then return in the afternoon with Emma to plant as many beds of onions as we could. 

Ericaceous compost used for Blueberries, tamped down into a square flower bucket with drainage holes made with a soldering iron 10mm up from the bottom so it can hold water at depth. 

I used a pot the same size to form the perfect hole in the compost for the plant to be placed in. 

Plant firmed in then a covering of more Ericaceous compost. I have 3 more blueberries ordered and they will be going behind the climbing frame greenhouse.

Emma and I got the first two beds of Onions in before the rain started this afternoon, Strawberries Covered with debris netting, this morning Blueberry plant potted up, and rubbish taken to the skip.

Thanks to Wally for his assistance this morning getting the old rusty incinerator with a broken chimney and no bottom anymore and all the contents into the skip, in the drop off and pick up area. (aka the Car Park)

Beds 4 5 & 6 had been ear marked for the onion sets, however two Daleks were placed on bed 5 last year and both were filled to the very top as the vegetation of the allotment was stripped back.

Photo of Beds 5 last year. These two Dalek were continually topped up with greens and browns including coffee grounds and comfrey and were topped off with shredded paper.

Note to self

Always top of with greens as the the very final layer had not completely decomposed but both bins are now only half full showing that nature has done it's magic and I have some nice compost to extract from these bins to be used on the potatoes in buckets this year.

As a result of Bed 5 still having the Daleks on, an alteration to the plan in that beds 11 to 14 will now be Onion Sets and the brassicas planned for those beds will now go into beds 4 to 6 and possibly 7.

With the change in plan Beds 14 & 13 both now have 105 Red Baron Sets in each bed and I need to clear bed 12 ready to get another beds with in, plus I need to make two more 105 hole Planting Membrane sheets.

The beds in the greenhouse climbing frame need weeding and the return bed needs completing before the need to plant in there is with us so that's a job on my to do list. The mesh panel was put in place as Mr Fox had been in there and dug in the bed.

The area behind the greenhouse climbing frame needs to be cleared of weeds and a floor of woodchips needs to go in as that will be where the Blueberries will go so that I can net it to keep the birds off them.

Wally took the Rhubarb from the bed that I have now planted strawberries in and have put some netting over to keep the squirrels out off because last year they ate and dug up my plants.

Morning Raid

Daughter Emma did an early morning weeding raid on my allotment for me and weeded around the paths and the square foot garden beds again this morning bless her. She did help herself to some raspberries for breakfast.

Urban Jungle at home

Tomatoes at home in Flower Buckets

I got the excess tomatoes brought back from the allotment into flower buckets and the urban jungle in the back garden whilst it was in the shade this morning.

Visited the allotment plot between 6:00 - 7:30pm to water inside and out and whilst there took a series of photos of the Westland Horticulture V Dalefoot Composts tomatoes and I have to say with two of the Dalefoot Compost tomatoes curling up their toes and the huge difference in the growth of the pairs of tomatoes Westland has won hands down so far, I really can't see the Dalefoot tomatoes catching up.

Update At the end of the challenge Westland won hands down for the size, amount of fruit and the general well being and healthy plants it produced. I will be using their tomato compost and feed again in 2024.

Westland V Dalefoot Tomato Compost Challenge.

Potting Shed & Climbing Frame Greenhouse

I spent some time sowing in the Forest Garden Potting Shed as it had been raining yesterday and over night.        

I was bitterly disappointed with the Westland Multi-purpose Compost with John Innes.  

The pound coin was not found in the compost it's there so you can judge the size of the stones that I was finding as I used the compost. I'm usually very pro Westland's compost but the state of these bags was appalling. 

I took many photos of what I have been sowing as I wanted an up to date list. I had created the labels over Winter as normal.   

Bunches of Spring Onions in vending machine cups with two drainage holes formed in the bottom with a soldering iron. These cups get washed and reused each year.

Bunches I then started in digging out the beds in the Greenhouse Climbing Frame to the depth of the spade, and bottom out the trench.  

Once bottomed out I placed two of the 30 Litre Square Flower Buckets into the end of the trench to infill and enable me to pull out once I had finished filling the trench with the cuttings from my daughters property. 

The hedging was placed in the trench and watered for some time.

Buckets that are holding the excavated topsoil where then placed on the hedge cutting in the trench and watering continued, and settlement of the cuttings could take place.