Day 32 - How many sides does a box have? and sorting out the compost bins.

Our lass continues to put forward the very relevant idea, that we are spending quite a bit of time at the allotment whilst we still have a fair few jobs to do in our own back garden. My response was about enjoying the expanse of where we are, unlike the six foot fences which surrounds most of us which we have at our home to protect our land from neighbours, at the allotment you have at most a 3ft fence, mostly wire fencing, with views to the horizon. But our lass does have a point so our garden at home will get the required attention.

But first, How many sides does a box have? This question is raised thanks to the concern our lass had when the packaging was opened to the new crate container which had been sourced for the allotment. "We have too many sides" Our lass said,  unfortunately I don't have photographic evidence of the sight which greeted us, but when all the sides were laid out on the ground, you could be mistaken for thinking you may have to many. Also on reading the assembly instructions, a this way up sign would have been really useful.

The compost seems not to be doing the composting thing it should be doing, and where as I mess around on here, our lass is much more constructive and had been looking around the internet forums, and read that we really could do with a lining on the bins. This was the perfect time, to do some moving around and then line the empty bins one by one. So manure is in a bin by itself, and the garden waste, scraps and cardboard is in one where it can be moved and turned month to month. Our lass did a grand job of lining, I did the moving, and our lass chopped the bits up which I thought the garden fairies would sort. (Well they did, our lass sorted it)

A new box of many sides

A freshly lined compost bin,

Mid way through sorting

All nice and tidy, and lined ready for when it gets turned between the two bins, hopefully it will help with the composting effect.

Wildlife camera catches better photographs of the local weasel

 Previously all we had was a very quick glimpse from the rear of our local weasel, but in our last set of photographs we took from the camera, we have some much better side on shots, to confirm that we do have a resident weasel.

First photograph from earlier in the month

Day 31 - Fixing things, tidying things & experimenting with things

Ever since we have taken on the new allotment I have been wanting to sort the gate, due to it having a plank of wood which had been attached across the bottom which would forever stick as you opened it, and our lass wanted us to have a number, as we looked unknown. Today we sorted that, our lass dug up grass, placed old compost bags and put down some slate to help hopefully to keep the grass back, and I took the gate off its hinges and sorted the wood at the bottom so it no longer sticks mid open and attached our plot number so we can proudly say which plot we are.

As for experiments, the tomato seeds which i tried to dry out which ended up germinating have now started to become seedlings, there chances of survival through the winter are slim, but trying to give them a fighting chance. We will see what happens.

Annoyed but this is the only before photograph from the outside before we stepped on to the plot and it then being ours

Our tidied frontage, still a bit more to do, but we are now a number.

These sprouted through

Lets see if they sprout some more

New photographs from the wildlife camera

 Who would think such a small area would generate the interest it does from the wildlife around us.

But the camera has been busy, even in the winter time, mostly all your standard birds such as blackbirds and tits, magpies and robins. But we have caught a few others passing by.

A great spotted woodpecker which was a favourite of our lass, and a male chaffinch, but the yellow flashing on the wings threw us as all the photographs we had seen, showed white flashing.

Always interesting to see what is passing by the allotment.

Day 30 - Raspberry canes and build your own shelving.

 Our lass has been waiting for the raspberry canes for some time now, and this is only part of what was sent for. Grit has been added for the drainage, usual concerns of are they too deep, but we will see in the future.

My day was spent also doing something which our lass had been waiting some time for, converting some old shelves we had into a shelving unit for flower trays.

These

Plus these

Became this

For here

Day 29 - being prepared, preparing to be prepared and dig

The sun was out, which this time of year means it was chilly, but you can cope with chilly for a few rays of sunshine and the clear blue skies.

We await some more raspberry canes, so our lass has started the preparations, digging over, and putting down some wood so we can pick our crop hopefully. Also a running repair on next doors fence with the use of a slab.

Also a little weeding now that the strawberries have become established

Before

After

Hopefully this time the planner won't be spoilt by the damp.

The onions are coming on nicely

Will the above experiment come to anything, more shoots are coming through, are they tomatoes? Will they last until next year? Time will tell.

Day 28 - All the little things

 You can go to the allotment, and you don't have to move mountains, sometimes just the little things make the biggest changes.

This is the first photo with no carpet, bags of weeds, metals poles or just any general rubbish which shouldn't be there, well maybe that triangular slab, is out of place but we can cope with this. Oh, and the bags at the far end have slate in. But we are hopefully getting close to the end of trips to the tip. Might be an idea not to show you what was behind the camera.

Something for the birds

Something which may well end up in the "That didn't work category" we will see, it is already a "That didn't work" due to me following a tip from Gardeners World, in regards of getting tomato seeds, taking the seeds out, putting them in water then drying them off once the jelly from around the seed has dissolved. No matter how you did it, the seeds would all start to germinate. So rather than waste them i have put them in some old soil we had. this has started to sprout. What will happen? We will see.

Wildlife camera in a new position

 Trying different positions for the wildlife camera to see where best to place it. I had cleared a bit of grass from in front of this particular position, but it seems not enough as the majority of the photographs captured seem to be triggered by the wind moving through the grass. Also it was too far from the subject matter, as a lot of animals gather around the pond this seemed to far away. 

The best capture though was bird in mid flight with wings fully extended, so although out of the 300 plus photographs captured that in itself made it worth while, the only other highlight, was the back of a thrush.

Better luck next time.

A bird in flight, loving the wing extension.

Made a change from the blackbirds, A thrush

Day 27 - Planting bulbs and a little tidying

 Exactly what it says in the header, bulbs in ready for next year, and we both had the idea at the same time, where as the old kitchen surface does a great job of blocking out next doors compost heap it is not that tidy, so some membrane our lass had kept made for a perfect cover.

Bulbs and a trusty dibber

Before

After, although I hadn't swept the grass.......

The onions start to settle in

 A lot of things will be a first for us, growing onions being one of them. From initially planting them, I had noticed each time when we came to the allotment that a onion bulb or two was being moved around, having read up and seen clips on the television it seems the birds get confused when the onions start to sprout, thinking they are worms and come down for them. To help stop this we are using netting to put off the birds and give the onions a fair chance of survival. The first shoots are starting to come through, so hopefully they will be settled before winter.

Something is happening

More signs of life

Protection of the onions in place until they get well established.

Day 26 - We only went to plant a rose, just look at what we did.

That is the beauty it seems of going to the allotment, you go with one job in mind, and end up doing something completely different. This morning our lass finally received through the post her bare root shrub rose bush. So the plan, was to to plant the rose bush and some bulbs. We forgot the bulbs, we did take some compost, so our lass started on the hole for the rose bush and I as usual got distracted by something else (onions-see next blog post)

Whilst doing the rose bush, which needed a soak before planting our lass moved onto having a go at the muddle puddle we have had. Next thing you know, we are laying a path. So jobs done, rose planted, new-new path laid, onions covered. Happy day all round.

They do say when digging a hole for a rose bush to make sure it is free of obstructions, this was the boulder found at the bottom of the hole.

Rose bush in place

Compost ready for the bulbs we forgot, and much to our lasses amusement I swept the fake grass.

The new new path

New path a differing angle

Onions covered, to stop the birds getting confused

Now you see them, now you don't, quick creatures caught on our wildlife camera

 Our first Weasel, Our camera has been triggered a few times, but nothing in shot. We did have one night shot, but all we glimpsed was the back end and a tail. It didn't look like a rat much like this didn't. Obviously a full frontal would have been better, but after our lass searching google images, and a question on a gardening forum, we are 95% sure it is a weasel. As you can see from frame 64 to 65 which were both captured in the same second, it is a case of I am here, now I am gone. One fast Weasel.

Day 25 - Our lass tinkers, I stinkers.

We are, bit by bit moulding the allotment to how we would like it to be. Today as the header suggests doing two differing jobs, I had a dream about sorting the compost bins. Maybe not one of the most conventional dreams, but when we got to the allotment there had been a fresh, and I mean fresh (it was steaming) delivery of horse manure. So ten trips up and down the hill if not more, the compost bins are now full and it should help with breaking everything down, as well as having our very own well rotted manure. (No photos of this, as who wants to see horse muck, just imagine)

Our lass however was getting on with sorting an area out for the sunny days, where we can sit out, and who knows, if life returns to normal, have the grandkids round. You will see from the series of photographs below, firstly how it looks now, and as you look further down, what it had been altered from, we are still mid process. We await a rose, bulbs to plant, soil to put in as well as fresh bark chippings to lay. But you can more than see the overall aim. 

Todays work from our lass

Before

Before that

How it looked in the beginning on the left hand side.