Day 55 - Making teepeas and counting crows.

We may have mentioned before that you go to the allotment with one job in mind and end up doing something else, as I keep saying to our lass though, I don't have plans just thoughts. Todays thoughts was to sort the compost as it was quite moist. Our lass had a great idea of adding the dried up lavender we had from home to the compost, it was a win win, the bed in front of the house is now clear and we have some dry material for the compost. So this was the plan of action for the day.

But this morning whilst sorting the bin full off lavender cuttings to put in the back of the car, I noticed the branches from some trees we had cut down and thought they would be useful. The thoughts then just kept on rolling, whilst the peas had been safe from the mice in their compostable pots, they were not growing well as the pots were not deep enough for the roots. Peas also don't like being moved, much the same as I have done with the tomatoes the other day making sure of as few a moves as possible I am trying to do the same with the peas and have direct sown the peas into the bed. We will see in the coming days if the mice have loved our idea as well. Whilst sowing the peas there was a great gathering of crows assembling in the large oak tree at the back of the allotment, our lass gave commentary "Oh look he is planting the peas we will come for them" It really did give the impression of word was going out amongst the wildlife.

Our lass as always was busy and you will see from the photograph below that the final bed is being prepared, the ground is quite clayey and water logged. So our lass had been busy mixing compost and grit to enrich the soil for more produce to be sown. Now we have to find what will go there, as we do have a plan, but as with all plans they are changeable.

Been a while since I have taken a photograph from the front of the allotment. Just weeks away from take off into Spring.

Our lasses freshly prepared bed, the planks have been really useful for dividing and walkways

Before

Not its best angle, but hopefully will do its job, tin cans to scare the birds or will give the mice a toy to play with.

Compost looking the right colour just needs to be a little less moist.

Day 45 - Women work 6 times harder than men

I am feeling much like your mobile phone does once you have owned it for a few years, remember when you first charged your phone it would last all day and a bit into the next, possibly two days if not used much. But then you get to the point that you can have your mobile fully charged first thing and it be nearly out of juice just after lunch. This is me just lately, our lass says that I am one of the non duracell bunnies. 

Why do I mention this, well, today I finally got around to doing the job I had been thinking about for a while, which was sorting the compost, moving it from one bin to another whilst adding some from the manure pile to make sure that is rotting down well, as well, once that was done I would make a few trips to add to the manure pile. I only did half a job and that was helped at the end by our lass. The compost though is finally, finely mulched, as the large roots and stalks had still been rotting down so today with loppers available broke them down smaller.

In this time though, our lass had dug over the potato bed, dug over the bed by the front fence, replaced an edging plank (I did bring the plank down though ;o), removed pansies from the front, put some slate down out front and sorted some seeds in her green house.

Before going to the allotment I did sort some seedlings out at home, but as our lass pointed out, I could have waited till in the week, as all I really managed to do was get in the way and the stuff is still set out on the dining room table. I do have a use, it is still to be quantified.

Aubergine and tomato seedlings potted on

The scene of my one job

Potato bed, fence bed dug by our lass and new plank

Last bit of slate sorted

Am sat in the shed looking out, our lass was off doing more jobs.

View from the allotment and the turn of the compost.

 

Whilst standing at the compost bins I turned around to get a view of the allotment from another angle which I haven't really taken in before. Loving the big skies and the ability to see further than we are probably allowed to travel.

Time of the month to turn the compost.

Looking good, needs to break down more, but it's well on its way.

All done, this time around I think I might leave it for 2 months, as February is a short month and give it good two solid months to do its thing without me disturbing it.

Day 36 - potting on and turning the compost

 Storm Bella came through last night, and the sight we were expecting this morning as went to the allotment, well, we hoped for the best but thought of the worst. The worst thing that happened... The star went slightly crooked on our improvised tree, Oh! and a bucket toppled over. No gloating though, as have seen some photographs of flooding across the country, then again if we got flooded, it would need to be biblical, as we are on a hill.

No major duties today, our lass potted on her violas, I moved the compost from one bin to another, to give it some air, and break it up. I write like I know what am doing, not one bit, as our lass had already chopped up some of the chunks I left in it last month. They do say it gets warm, ours wasn't steaming, but it seems to be heading in the right direction.

From seed  tray to individual pots, Violas move along.

Our lass put some teak on the potting table, as even in the greenhouse it was starting to catch the mould.

We really do need to sort the greenhouse roof, as this is for catching the water.

Time to turn the compost, been a month, so adding to the pile in the empty bay

Door off, and some might be worth sifting through next time.

All done, another job mediocrely done.(as the Simpsons would say)

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.

Day 19 - A new path and no more corn.

When you take on an allotment, you will find that you have growing whatever the person had before, when we took over the half allotment we inherited leeks and chard, we also got raspberries and strawberries which we have brought up to this allotment, unfortunately it wasn't the right time of year to move rhubarb. We ourselves left potatoes and leeks which weren't ready to harvest and some very nice marigolds. On this allotment we did inherit two apple trees and two pear trees which were great, but we also had sweetcorn, parsnips and Brussel sprouts. One thing we had many times before much like on our last allotment was how good the previous tenant was, Our lass said "It's much like they have died and no one wants to speak bad of them" You always being told how fertile the land is, well you still want to make your mark, so removing the old crops does that final removal of the old person which is needed.

In other news, I laid a path to the compost bin number two and three. I laid it, so expect issues in the future.

One of three bunches of marigolds we left at the old plot.

Day 14 Paving the way and don't fence us in

We made great strides today, and the photographs show a great change of how the allotment was really starting to become ours, There are certain moments and this is when I think we both decided we had made enough of a mark. Our lass had seen an article online of how to rework the old hose pipe so now using it as a boundary, the bark chippings got extended passed the greenhouses, which helped alleviate the worry of us falling or tripping into them. We removed an old dividing fence and completed compost bin number 2 and 3.

Day 12, The path to success and other jobs.

Well Day 11 might have been a light news day, Day 12 certainly made up for it. The biggest change was the path. It had been as with everything formed on a bed of carpet, The choice, and we are still grappling with it now, is whether to stop where we have done or continue quite a way bit more down to the shed and passed the greenhouses. We had glass to clear by the compost bin, at the back of the green house, as a few pains had just been left where they had broken, the greenhouse was cleared and this time all the ground was covered in bark chippings as the ground had a mixture of slabs and carpet. with a work bench which must have been constructed inside or with greenhouse built around it. Then we have more of the compost bin number 2 and 3 construction underway.

Day 10, Finished somethings and started others.

As you will see from the photographs, the first green house has been cleaned out and the flooring put in, paving around the edges and bark chipping in the middle, all a bit of a cheat, didn't fancy putting bags and bags of sharp sand down to try and level everything off, did wonder if the bark will bring in disease but our lass asked on a forum and found other gardeners use it in poly tunnels/ green houses. I will report back next year. We then started making use of the pallets, it can work as a back drop to a work area, as well as somewhere for the clematis to climb up. It also fences us off from others as we want to sit in the sun, whilst also marking out the boundary of our two other compost bins. Our lass also got to dig a little bit more today, just can't stop her. Last but not least, brought several barrow fulls of horse manure up the hill, it is not rotted, and we are going old school, and leaving it on top, for it to be dug in later on.

Day 6 at the allotment

Today had various jobs, One is where we softened the look of the compost bin, with lavender and a pot of pansies, Our lass moved up the strawberry runners from the old half plot and starting to clear the back corner under the apple trees.

Strawberry bed being prepared

Compost bin softened

Corner before

Corner on its way to being transformed.

Day 5, Rainy day and tinfoil

Always jobs to do, and with the shed being not only being big enough for us two but for a camping stove as well, our lass wanted to make a wooden structure fire proof as well as wind proof. So came up with the idea of foam and tin foil, which I think looks great and has done a fantastic job, we also as you can see, tidied up the first compost bin a little as well.

Day 4 Compost Day,

When taking on an allotment, one of the first things they tell you to sort is a compost bin, (The very first job is to take lots of photographs) at the time that we took on the allotment, there were three differing bins spread around the allotment, One of which was right near where we wanted to sit out in the sun. So today, was going to be the removal of the last crime scene and placing of our first compost bin, as you can see moving the big one in front of the green house to it's new location. Also idea evolve, we have gone from having three bins in a row along side the green house, to having them to along the fence, to have we have it now and how you will see in the future. But this is what we have done on day 4.