Cold days and big skies

A selection of photographs from our trip to the allotment on Sunday, we pottered and had a cuppa, but most of all enjoyed the nature around us. Not everything is about doing a lot. Life is about being.

Cold and frosty morning down at the allotment yesterday

Had thought of bringing the potatoes down today to start the chitting process, but they need at least 10 degrees and although it was minus 4 degrees out side and plus 4 degrees inside as you can see, we are just going to wait a little longer.

Can never tire of the great views from our allotment, especially when you spend most of your time currently imprisoned at home.

Some more of the big skies, never has it been so true to sing don't fence me in. Yet home we have a 6ft fence all around us, here we can see the world all around.

Rain, High water and Green house roof fixed.

 

The fix seems to be doing it's job, keeping the rainwater out, but still going in the guttering to keep the barrels full.

We have seen the nearby river higher than this before, but it's not to far from completely bursting it's banks as you can see.

We are at the top of the hill, so we are okay, but some of the allotments at the bottom it might be more interesting. This is a farmers field behind our allotment which slopes down to the river.

Our first signs of spring down the allotment

 

First shoots coming through from the daffodil bulbs

I know, fake grass down an allotment, really!! But it covers the area where the pear tree roots are, and this is where the daffodils will shine shortly we hope.

Day 38 - We have a cunning plan for the greenhouse roof.

Sometimes the simplest remedies can be the best, we have over the past month or so, been trying to figure out how to sort the greenhouse roof on our lasses greenhouse. Whoever had it before had obviously broken some of the panes, left them around the back of the greenhouse and then filled the gaps with poly carbonate and lots and lots of glue, with the occasional screw thrown in for good measure.

A replacement greenhouse brand new with toughened safety glass, would be great but quite an investment to be put down the allotment. Replacing with glass, would also cost and the frame is slightly twisted. We thought of a wooden frame, but would it take off in the wind, and although I am growing in confidence in the building department, I don't think I quite have the skill set to make a good enough job.

Our lass had the final idea, and as per usual the best. We sourced a see through tarpaulin, much the same as a buggies rain cover. It has eyelets and as you will see from the photographs below, held in place with available ropes, wire and milk bottles with some spare pipe insulation to cover the sharp bits.

Fingers crossed for the first breath of wind, will report back saying it is still in place or we had to fetch it from yonder field.

This is what needed covering up

What our lass needed to do to capture all the rain which was coming through the roof.

First of all piping on the roof, so hopefully kept away from anything sharp.

Cover up those screws

Another way of recycling the milk bottles, filled with water and hopefully keeping everything in place they have been pinned as well.

Hopefully enough wire and rope to keep it all in place.

Crossing our fingers, but I am sure it will do the job.

A bit of health and safety, having cracked my head twice here, I have used some of the left over foam.

Day 37 - We do give a fork.

We had a nice leisurely walk to the allotment today, the snow and ice of the previous days had gone, so we could walk with the assurance of not slipping. You will see from the first Photograph it was a lovely day, so it gave us chance to sort things, the manure has been rotting down and so we added some more to it, and whilst I was going up and down the hill, our lass sorted the leaf mould and forked over the beds and did a dirty dig over on the potato bed. The days are slowly getting longer, there is prospect of more snow in the days ahead but soon it will be spring and full steam ahead.

A lovely day as you can see.

Our lass forked over the soil breaking it down the clods of earth a bit more, also started the division of the bed, eventual this will be split into four.

Another bed forked over, and starting to portion them out

To give the worms a helping hand our lass forked in some of the manure we put on, so it will be well rotted in time for the potatoes in March / April

A long term project, as it can take three years for manure to become well rotted, but we topped up the pile, as it had rotted down by a third.

Footprints in the snow

 On Sunday we went up to the allotment, we have had a bit of snow as you can see, but the most interesting thing, is to see the footprints of those who are there when you don't know it.

View from the front gate, it will make for an interesting contrast with the ones we will take in Spring and Summer.

Little footprints across the footpath

Been a lot of little feet around the pond

Footprints captured in the frozen pond. The level has dropped a bit in the pond so we are hoping it hasn't got a crack.

More foot prints, and a lesser spotted lass in the photograph as well ;o)

Jobs for January and plans for the future.

Lockdown 3 is now with us in the UK but thankfully we have the allotment. Our very own place of sanity, we have in recent days walked up to, or like today as it was too slippy, gone in the car and taken a few more bits to the allotment. 

We do have to think of doing some jobs and as with most of my thinking it is normally followed by "Should we put the kettle on?"

The Greenhouse roof which we inherited, Our lass is slowly getting more and more ticked off with bailing out the water, so we will have to think up a solution, well our lass has thought up the solution, I have to find the gumption to do it. Could be a while.

Digging in the straw and manure for the potato bed. that way it will have a couple of months to fully rot down for the end of March when we start sowing the potatoes.

A plan for the future, what goes where, it may change but helps in case we forget before planting.

Snow down Our Allotment

The wildlife camera is mostly capturing Pigeons and Magpies at the moment, but yesterday we had some snow, and as you can see from the photographs below you can see the accumulation. 

December 2020 statistics

Okay, so it might only be me that like these numbers, but we all have to have our guilty pleasures, and this is mine where I can compare and contrast on how the allotment, blog and social media is doing.

We spent 4 days down the allotment, we actually had quite a few trips including Christmas day which was more than enjoyable, but we only had 4 days where substantial jobs were done. It's a bit chilly you know.

This blog had 375 visitors according to extreme tracking up 211 from last month, and 628 page views according to blogger stats page opposed to 374 last month

We had our first follower of the blog as you can see from the button to the right

Twitter our main social media account saw some big increases from November to December

Tweet Impressions were up 66 thousand profile visits up over 7,000 and 221 new followers. mentions had doubled.

DEC 2020 SUMMARY

Tweets

86

Tweet impressions

106K

Profile visits

8,964

Mentions

36

New followers

221

Happy New Year 2021 - New Years Day down the allotment.

Everyday is a learning day, today we learnt not everything can be a success, but you learn from it and go on. We also, well I learned thanks to our lass, that there is a lot more to life, just being in the game can be just as if not more rewarding than going for the win. People will normally only talk about their successes and never of the failures, but they do say you have to taste failure to make the flavour of success taste sweeter.

But first, lets start with a little bit of repurposing, our lass put up this sail boats decoration on the shed of doors. 

A not so healthy looking onion set, they have in the main part sprouted shoots, and as you can see here, have a semblance of a root system. but the onion part has gone funny. I am trying this out on one which wasn't fully rooted like the rest of them. 

I re potted the onion set from above, it now lives in the green house. I am thinking the ground has been too wet for them and although a lot of grit had been added, it may have got water logged. will keep you updated.

The tomato seeds which germinated when I tried to save them and so I tried growing them instead have as you can see succumbed to the first frost.

Next we have the aubergines, as you can see I only tired out 5 seeds have 95 more in reserve, they need a warm start, and the green house isn't quite up to temperature yet, but I have put them on the hot bed, and as always will be hoping

When on the back window of the greenhouse, the thermometer thought it was 20c

When moved to a more honest position, and the back was not touching the glass heated by the sun, but in the air of the green house, the temperature dropped down to 14c and by the time we left it was down to 8c.

Leek it out!

We had thought the first vegetables to be sown were going to be the aubergines, but I had seen across social media that a few folks had sown their onions and leeks, they talk of it as though it was a Boxing Day tradition, not that I can find anything to back this up. Anyway, although we would have had some seeds coming, due in the new year, On an expedition to the shops yesterday we picked up some Leek seeds. 400 to a packet which if you had a 100% strike rate would mean a lot of leek, We have sown half now and left the other half for a month or so's time in case this fails.

The first tray that came to hand, and much like building a dry stone wall they say you use the stone which you pick up, rather than putting them back and finding another.

What to do and the size of the seeds

Seeds were going to be 9 to a square, but you saw the size of the seeds on the last photo, and where as it started off with that good intention it became much more free range by the last few squares.

Covered, hopefully to keep them warm.

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)

How we spent our Christmas Day at the allotment

 

Simple, but enough of what our lass says about me, we had a good time looking at the wild birds and drinking champagne, we also glimpsed a woodpecker and much to our surprise the improvised Christmas tree is still standing.