Still needs more digging

Well not much achieved over the weekend at the plot. Serious digging is needed and its all a bit too much like hard work at the moment! Started to excavate a bramble but couldn't manange to find the beginning (or is it the end?) of the thing. So left it with a big hole around it. It's right in the middle of one of my new beds so might need a rethink on that...

Dug over a bed created before Christmas and tried to remove as much of the couch grass roots as possible - never can get every little bit. However decided some light relief in the form of planting was required so made it into a lovely seed bed and planted some parsnip seeds and added some radishes to mark the rows. Apparently this is what you do as parsnips are slow to geminate - presumably this stops you mistaking them for weeds or digging over the soil before they have had chance to appear?

Put down some of our cheap as chips polytunnels from Poundland (you guessed it only £1 each) to protect the radishes. We will see what happens.

Snow!

Woke up to husband shouting " You won't believe this!" Its snowed an amzing event here in the south. Only a few cms but none the less real snow. Goodness knows what the broad bean seedlings will make of it. Anyway too cold to investigate right now. I'm staying inside in the warm with the babe- or perhaps she should be eperiencing the snow might be a rare event now what with climte change etc!

More windy weather

It's still really windy! I went to the plot twice over the weekend. Both days the first job was to retrieve the poly tunnels from next door. I've had enough of that so one has been temporarily confined to the shed till the weather calms down. But the ones over the broad beans have had to be put back on because otherwise I'm sure they will die. The weather is supposed to be getting cold as Winter finally arrives somewhat later than usual so I hope the things in the ground don't get too cold.

Saturday was a digging day- there are photos to prove it! We've got 10 beds now dug and prepared for growing and 6 with things in already. The soil was quite heavy as it has been raining a fair bit over the last few weeks. But managed to dig it anyway.

Sunday I finished the bed off; tried to remove all the couch grass and its roots but that's no easy task! Then decided to hack at the rosemary bush which was very tatty and that led me on chopping down a hebe that was next to it. Turned into a decimate and destroy visit to the plot. The budlea (or is it budlia) also had a trim; well more of a serious chop. Hopefully it will grow back thicker and bushier, rather than looking too much like a tree. Hope it doesn't die as it's good for butterflies and other wildlife which are no doubt essential to kill pests and pollinate things. Time will tell!

Potatoes are chitting well - might need to be planted before the end of February so serious earthing up will be needed. Don't have to worry about that for a few weeks yet though.

Windy Weather

Its so windy! Sitting here wondering if I should venture to the plot to rescue whatever has blown away. Last time I was up there I had to retrieve the poly tunnels from next door where they were entangled in some brambles. No doubt they are getting shredded to pieces right now but I don't fancy facing the wind and rain.

Over the weekend the plan is to dig at least one more bed hopefully two if its not too wet so they can be ready for some more potatoes the leeks and the carrots. (eventually)

We've been keeping our eyes open for a greenhouse on freecycle one has just come up so we are hopeful it might be ours. I'm already dreaming about how it will transform the allotment and the delights we might be able to grow in it! Have to wait and see though.......

Pruning

I've attempted to prune the fruit trees. Didn't really know what I was doing so we'll just have to see what happens when they begin to fruit or not! The Autumn fruiting raspberries have been pruned too; right down to the ground following careful reading of at least 2 allotment veg books so fingers crossed for them too.

I've dug one more bed probably for the maincrop potatoes. The earlies are chitting right now in the dining room and look as though they will be ready to go in in the next couple of weeks. Hope this isn't too early?

I planted a couple of seed trays up with some more early peas and put them in the cold frame. Hopefully if any of the others are devoured by slugs I'll have some replacements.

We've cut some large yoghurt pots in half and used them to protect the broad beans as they are growing.

Seaweed

The seaweed started to smell pretty horrible! Its been added to the compost and chopped up lets hope it has benficial qualities. The sprouts and parsnips required for the Christmas dinner have now been ordered, so it is still possible that we might have our own veg for lunch on 25th December.
The broad beans are growing well, need to make some plastic bottle collars to protect them from the slugs though.
We've made some bird feeders from yoghurt pots and filled then with bird seed and lard- yum yum! The one in the garden has so far attracted 0 birds. lets hope the ones on the plot are more popular.
The fruit trees - the apple and the can't-quite-remember-what-it-is-tree both need pruning according to father-in-law better clean up those secateurs and get on with that ASAP.

Bought and found

We went for a walk on the beach a couple of days ago. It had been very stormy and lots of small planks and broken pallets had washed up on the beach. They were collected and stowed under the buggy somewhat precariously. All arrived home intact (baby included) and a return visit was planned for the following day to see if any more wood had washed up. A few more pieces were collected and some seaweed. The weed started drying out quite quickly so no time was spared in delivering it to the plot.

It has just dawned on me that if we are to grow veg for Christmas dinner we actually need to plant the necessary seeds! A quick additional order from the Organic Gardening catalogue will need to be set up. You can't have Christmas dinner without sprouts and parsnips can you?

The planting plan is taking shape. A giant wall planner has been purchased and various colour coded shapes and patterns added to it. Sowing and 'sowing under glass' (yellow), and orange for (roughly) when to plant out should help to keep things on track.

So its the New Year ...

Work has begun. The compost has been turned and some spread on the new raspberry beds. The potatoes have arrived and are awaiting a suitable container in which to chit them. The broad beans are shooting and already slugs have tracked them down. The early peas are under a polytunnel to keep them cosy; but no visible development yet.

The rhubarb has been moved to the fruit bed but it may already be too late - it looks rather rotten.