The snow has finally gone so a good chance to catch up on some jobs before spring. Most of the beds have now been manured and a couple more turned into raised beds. Lack of wood has stopped this for now. The new greenhouse from the garden plot is now in place and just needs finishing off

Raised Beds

The temperature has dropped quite a bit and there has been a few flurries of snow. Nothing too deep but many places the roads are quite icy. I still managed a few hours this afternoon though.

So armed with a flask of coffee and a fire i managed to build two raised beds and another car load of manure, with this i managed to cover one of the asparagus beds.

The recent windy weather has prompted me to buy some windbreak material to put between me and George's plot to try and protect the plants. Now that the border between our plots is finished off i can carry on planting up beans and some hardy annuals for colour and to attract pollinating insects. One plant that is doing really well is an honesty plant, grown from seeds found on a walk a couple of years ago. It has very dark purple flowers and the seed heads are round and flat like paper coins hence its nickname, popes money. The comfrey next to it is doing well and i may have a go at comfrey 'tea' to use as liquid fertilizer.

On Saturday the weather started out quite sunny tho still very breezy. The next few photo's show the raised bed i edged with leftover timber and how the rest of the allotment is coming on. The salad potatoes are doing really well from and earlier planting after warming up the soil with polythene.

The next shots are of the salad leaves in the greenhouse either waiting to be planted out or taken home to be eaten!

These plants are waiting to be planted out later when they have hardened off, mostly brassicas and some mini sweetcorn. The potatoes in bags are doing fine, i just need to make sure there is a enough drainage when it rains too much but also enough moisture because the leaves can deflect any water away from the soil.



These onion set are doing really well now. i may have to net them off to prevent onion fly. The herb bed looks well. It has a mix of mints, origano, tarragon, garlic chives, sage, thyme and lemon balm. I also have some pot marigold for colour and the attract beneficial insects to the plot

And finally look at the size of that! One of the asparagus spears is reaching for the stars. Most of the crowns have now produced one spear which means they have transplanted well. I do have some younger plants that are in the seed bed now but i am tempted to buy some more older crowns to get earlier crops.

Asparagus and Strawberries

What another glorious week. The weather has been very sunny and warm yet a little cool at nights, a couple of nights there was a slight frost. No damage to any plants but a reminder that there could still be frosts well into May.

Thursday i planted out the spring onions from modules down the side of a strawberry bed, any spare soil will get used up with catchcrops to make good use of space. So far they have settled in ok. Some one was getting rid of some top soil from a project at home so i now have a couple of ton's of soil to sift through. There are lots of stones in but it will do for topping up beds and the stone will come in for gravel paths, nothing is wasted here.

I have widened out the fruit bed to make space for peas and beans. I then dug a trench and filled it with garden compost from the wooden bin, not as good a quality as bought compost but still useful for improving soil.

Saturday was a big day because the asparagus and strawberries were delivered. I thought i had prepared the bed ready for them but it took a while to get it just right. They are all in now, 10 Backlim and 10 Ginjlim, but it will be a couple of years before any can be picked. I still have some growing on in pots and some still in modules, but it is where to put them as they take up so much space.

These photo's show the crowns as they arrived, the trench dug out and the crowns laid on a mound at the bottom of the trench and finally the crowns covered over












Here the strawberries 'aromel' have been planted next to the rhubarb, this frees up the bed i had planned for them for a three sisters experiment (sweetcorn, bean and squash)



The children have sent off for som Dig In seeds from the the tv. Gardeners world and other programs are getting people started growing thier own with free seeds so on Sunday i finished off some raised beds for the kids to sow the seeds when they arrive.

On Sunday I finally painted the archway into the allotment and fixed the honeysuckle to it. Sowed some seeds in the salad bed under fleece, carrot 'tendersnax', beetroot 'boltardy' and radish 'sparkler/french breakfast'

In the garden plot i moved the huchera and gunnera near to the pond which will suit these moisture lovers. I divided up a red priumla that was looking past its best and potted up a couple and some hostas for home

Today I planted potatoes 'pink fir apple' in two sets of tyres

Elisabeth, Millie and Ziggy come for a visit


Seedlings and plants in the greenhouse

Potatoes in bags can go out now but need cover if frosty

Busy Bank Holiday

The forecast for easter and bank holiday weekend was supposed to be quite poor but was really pleasant and sunny. Earlier in the week on Thursday i did a couple of hours for Margaret and planted up some of her snowdrops at home and in the allotment. Saturday morning was blue skies and sunshine so was able to get quiote a bit done on both plots. Made a new raised bed from some pallet wood next to the shed for salad crops because it does get a little shade from the shed and conifer. The salad potatoes that were planted under the polythene have broken through the surface of the soil so the polythene has been removed and i will just have to be careful of any frost and cover the shoots with fleece. The other potato beds show no sign of growth so the polythene warming up the soil seems to have worked.

New raised bed ready for sowing

Homemade soil improver

Matthieu, Millie and Ziggy come to visit

Sunday was a busy day so i didn't spend too long working on the allotments. Topped up the soil in the potato bags which can go outside now the weather is much better. Planted 3 jersey royal s into tyres and moved the flower seedlings and plants to the garden allotment greenhouse. We all had tea together in the evening with a small bbq and a fire to keep us warm until i went dark.


Bank Holiday Monday was a perfect day. Blue skies, sunshine and a little warmer than the past couple of days. Spent all day up the allotments with Sarah and the kids comming up at dinnertime with some food for a hungry worker. Started the day off by digging an overflow pipe for the pond which had overfilled and was not draining away. Saw a couple of small frogs in the pond which is good news. Moved the golden rod and gunnera into better places and finished digging over extended border. Had a look at the Heys allotment site which is having improvements to drainage and tidying up existing plots and creating new ones to meet demand. It was good to relax a little in the sun with most of the bigger jobs out of the way. Next year will be so much easier and i can consentrate on growing fuit and veg.

Little frog in the pond

Seed Sowing

Sunday was nice weather in the afternoon. Brought up spring onions and flower seedlings from home. Delphiniums, sweet peas and asparagus into cold frame to harden off. Built 3 raised beds and covered with fleece to warm up the soil. Finished nursery/seed bed with flag stepping stones and edging. Planted the aqualegias in and moved redcurrants out and into fruit border. Mulched all the fruit bushes and canes with manure to keep weeds down and preserve moisture.

Started sowing seeds in earnest Monday and Tuesday. Hardy annuals, biennials, peas, beans, carrots and onions were all sown in the greenhouse at the allotment. Planted 3 'nicola' tubers in tyres to make use of spare ground and spare potatoes. At home sowed next batch of salad and leaf seeds and potted up courgettes, one of each variety (six varieties inc butternut). Still have
plenty left to pot up. Second sowing of tomatoes are doing well. There is always the tendancy to sow too many seeds and end up with a glut of plants but with slugs, disease etc its always good to have a few in reserve. The problem is i dont like to throw any seedlings!

Grasses and aqualegias in the nursery bed