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Vic's Allotment Adventures

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  • Hi Jake,

    I can't really make a call on the drainage yet, it hasn't rained sufficiently, but I haven't improved the ground either.

    I am going to put a greenhouse in the flood zone, I've marked out a space for it, hopefully next yearimage

    Your greenhouse must be robust to have survived the years - hope you get on all right with the glazing at the weekend.

    My tasks this weekend are to weed and to dig an area for a crab apple I've ordered. Also might order the potatoes...

    Wearside, England.
  • LoanaLoana Posts: 427

    What potatoes will you choose Vic and which crab apple did you order. I was recommended one called red sentinel, but i haven't bought yet. Ordered some seeds for broadbeans, swiss chard, french beans. Have lit the fire, now going to amble through GW website, argghhhhh lovely to take a few moments rest in winter?

  • Hi Loana, I've ordered crab apple Butterball partly because it looks nice and is supposed to be slightly better than golden hornet, another yellow one. Hoping it'll also be good for pollination as I want to get a few dessert apple cordons, probably next winter.

    I ordered the potatoes today, Foremost and Kestrel, I haven't got room for a main crop next year.

    I didn't go up the allotment this weekend after all, got stuck into a garden project instead. Another decent frost again last night, been quite a few lately, hopefully it'll be breaking down the clay so I can dig it in come springtime.

    Wearside, England.
  • GWRSGWRS Posts: 8,478

    Hello , you must be really pleased what you have achieved since Dec 16image

  • Hi GWRS,

    I would be more pleased if all the work had been on one plot I think.? I passed my old plot a few weeks ago and had a peek through. Whoever has the plot now has been growing various greens in the bed I dug for potatoes, has a fine crop of phacelia in one of the flower beds and has put plastic covering over some areas including where the dumping heap used to be. I'm guessing he/she is not having rubbish tipped on their plot which is good.

    With my new plot I think this weekend I will start phase 3 and start digging over more clay in the flood zone. I was going to leave it until spring under the woodchip to try and kill off the weeds but now it's rained fairly heavily for a few days I'm starting to have concerns about my flood defences.?

    Once it's under water I'm done for aren't I? I would have to wait for it to dry out before continuing work on the clay and then would have to wait for another winter to see if it had worked...?

    Wearside, England.
  • GWRSGWRS Posts: 8,478

    Hello , many years ago I had a problem with some clay in the a garden ,  I dug a big hole and filled it with broken bricks etc to act as a soak a way and put the soil back  ,it worked in that situation 

    Have you thought about a pond ?

    image

  • Yes, I think that is what I am doing really, I just need to create enough space for the water to sit so I can use the surface area.

    Did some meddling today. Was going to dig over the top layer of clay in between the trenches but ended up digging another trench. 

    image

    Originally the water wasn't sitting here (higher end) so I made the clay sump a bit deeper to bring the water back up hill, if that makes sense?

    image

    The water won't be sitting this high all over, it has seeped out the soil while digging, but it is still precariously close to the test currant and it is only November.

    Last edited: 25 November 2017 15:18:40

    Wearside, England.
  • Decided to do more uphill digging, used the path because there isn't much more useable space.

    image

    Think all the trenches are joined together now at some level or another so at least the water can back up the slope, although that won't help the lowest corner, I think. Left the water trickling back into this trench. Will fill with woodchip at some point. Not tomorrow, want to do some thinking about the garden?

    image

    Plot is a bit of a mess again, but the soil level looks higher and there has been that many frosts that some of the clay layers are virtually crumbled. hopefully there'll be lots more frosts as I chucked today's excavations onto next year's potato patchimage

    Wearside, England.
  • LoanaLoana Posts: 427

    Hi Vic, that must have taken some digging, i admire your efforts. It must be so difficult working with land like that. We have clay under us, but it doesn't really cause us much trouble. Sometimes when i dig down to put bulbs in i hit the clay. When we put some new little birch trees in, we hit clay too, so used lots of compost in with the roots to give them a chance. When they built our house they had to down to the clay level. One summer it was so hot and dry ( 7 maybe8 years ago) the clay dried out so much it cracked our house plaster and tiled floors where the doorways are, in two places. If it rains really heavy the water just sits on the grass. Mustn't grumble must i, i manage just like you will, get around it. Maybe a pond would be a good idea, let the water collect in there? Good for wildlife and lillies ?

  • It is quite hard work, I suppose Loana but probably good for meimage

    If the plot was much bigger I would consider a pond but I don't want to lose a third of the planting space on my plot for something that would only be wet in winter. Since I got the plot this Spring it has only been slightly damp at most. If I was going to make a year round pond for flowering water plants I would have to remove the topsoil and dig out a bowl of clay anyway...and I don't know if the water would just evaporate in the summer?

    I feel certain it can be fixed if I put the effort inimage 

    Plans are to put my greenhouse and waterbutts there, compost heaps, a nettle patch and a quince. Maybe a couple of beds for small things if I can cram them inimage

    Wearside, England.
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