Was discouraged by the water levels today on visiting the plotment:
And near the test currant:
It has rained, sleeted, snowed and hailed in the past week and of course water will sit in a hole rather than not, but still
Tipped in cardboard and weighed it down with garden scraps and woodchip. It isn't full so will take up more chip next weekend. It was mild today and so work was made even less fun by the sticky clay clagging up my boots every step.
On the plus side all this batch of garlic is up, Early (purple?) Wight according to my improved record keeping:
Took a pack of allium sphaerocephalon to plant but forgot, they will keep until next week. Also left my hooded top which wouldn't keep and had to plod back up.??♀️
Went up first thing this morning with a car full of wood chip.
Water has dropped by about 4" in the trenches which is good as it means without rain, it is draining or evaporating and I think the ditch creates an exaggerated water level.
Even better the ground was frozen so it's much easier to tramp up and down with the bags. Zoomed up to B&Q before the day trippers awoke and bought the last of the reduced price manure, now £1 a bag. Got 17 of them in total, some frozen. I know it'll be old but I still think it'll have value for allotments and spent garden beds.
Got back and bagged up more chip to run up with tomorrow.
Was going to do some garden gardening for the rest of today but I think it's a bit too frozen for planting and I don't want to disturb the birds. They only get breakfast normally but gave them seconds today. Might buy them some cheese.
Took some cardboard, garden rubbish and more chip up to tip in the trenches. Everything still frozen might be a bit colder than yesterday. I'm off work for a couple of days so will try and get another two car loads up there, it will be nice to get the woodchip gone and get my drive back at some point.
I got some free daff bulbs when I bought some sale alliums, I didn't really want them for the garden as they are mixed. Going to put them in the lotment, found a suitable place but ground is frozen. Eventually I'd like a line of bulbs all down one side, could make it fairly cheaply with sale bulbs but I've got enough projects on the go and too much clay.
Took some bird food up the lotment, a robin bounces out the hedge everytime I take the woodchip up but I know there're no bugs in there - packed it myself. Took a flimsy heart chip feeder and a coconut half for the plum tree and chucked some stuff on the ground. Took a water bowl but the tap is frozen.
Pleased with my Broadholme Beauty apple tree stick, it now has fuzzy antlers of growth for next year and this year has grown a new leading twig of about 8".
Haven't received my fruit order yet but I imagine it'll be here before Xmas, got a crab apple and raspberries. Thought there was something else but can't think what.
Took another load of chip up this AM, trenches look about full but they aren't, nearly sank into the ice water when I stood on the chip.
According to the thin layer of snow I'm not the only allotmenteer visiting, although I couldn't figure out who as the prints only went up and down the centre path?
Birds ate the food, apart from a suet cake which is untouched. It will be birds as I left the bag on the plot and it hadn't been nibbled. Will take more up tomorrow.
Car reckoned it was -6 this morning, don't know if that's true. Butts in garden are frozen though and I've given up trying to get to the bottom of the birdbath, just take off the top.
Tazzed up t'lotment with another load of chip, bagged up a second load on the drive but there is barely any left now.
Forgot the bird food so walked back up later, my fruit has arrived so took my plan and measuring tape for some last minute changes
I don't want to plant my new blackberry Chester Thornless as close to the flood zone as originally planned so have decided to create another fruit line for canes and things that might need support down the other long edge, not that I have a structure to support anything but that's not urgent. Happily that should give me room for another 10 plants or canes.?
I've worked out how far up the slope I want to build up the soil level as an additional anti-flood measure, it's just under half the plot, which is a lot of area but at least I now have a line to shoot out to. Although I'm nearly out of chip much of the area is partly raised from the excavated clay and I also have some farmyard poo and topsoil as I expect the filled trenches will start to collapse when it warms up.
Was going to plant some allium sphaerocephalon but only had a trowel and couldn't hack into the ground.
Will soak the fruit over night, probably in the shed or it will freeze, and take up to plant in the morrow.
I’ve just discovered your blog, and read the whole thing. What a lot of work, and you work full time ?
i am now on my 4th allotment, having had various issues, plus relocated up North, so am starting again from scratch. I haven’t had half the issues you have had to compete with - flooding, vandalism and theft, but it’s still a bit dispiriting clearing other people’s rubbish, especially rotted fibrous membrane. Winter has come a little faster than I thought, I had wanted to cover the bare ground with card and manure, both of which are stacked up at home, but the ground is either frozen or too heavy to walk on. I can’t beli e you’re still working on yours!
i did manage to get the onions and fruit bushes in
i do look forward to reading further episodes, it’s very inspirational
Hi Anne, thank you, you are very kind I'm glad the thread is interesting enough to read in one go, I sometimes think it must be a bit of a pain with the pictures loading and making the page jump about, unless that's just my tablet...
Your fourth allotment, how did that come about, aside from moving away the final time? Did you have permanent stuff you had to move?
My allotment is difficult to work on in winter, it was frozen this morning still so was able to put more chip down, it was starting to get a bit slippy and I wouldn't like to fall on the clay lumps when they are frozen.
It rained for a bit and by the time I went back up to plant the fruit it was a curious mix of frozen everywhere I wanted to put in the fork and sticky everywhere I walked. Had to stop every few metres and pick the clay out my hooves.
Got the fruit in anyway and buried some free daffodil bulbs I was sent. They are a mix but I found a label for ice follies in the bag, I wouldn't mind some ice follies. I discarded a few soft bulbs but some just needed the soft bit picking off and some others will recover now in the ground. That's if I know daffodils like I think I do anyway
Still haven't planted the sphaero's, even though I could dig up the frozen layer I had nothing crumbley to go over the top. They can wait til Xmas eve.
I bagged up the last of the woodchip this morning to take up next weekend, still have a full car load to take up, didn't think there was that much?
Posts
Hello , Vic , definitely looks Hard work , I’m sure you will win in the end
Was discouraged by the water levels today on visiting the plotment:
And near the test currant:
It has rained, sleeted, snowed and hailed in the past week and of course water will sit in a hole rather than not, but still
Tipped in cardboard and weighed it down with garden scraps and woodchip. It isn't full so will take up more chip next weekend. It was mild today and so work was made even less fun by the sticky clay clagging up my boots every step.
On the plus side all this batch of garlic is up, Early (purple?) Wight according to my improved record keeping:
Took a pack of allium sphaerocephalon to plant but forgot, they will keep until next week. Also left my hooded top which wouldn't keep and had to plod back up.??♀️
Vic , see what you mean about water retention on plot
Aye, it's a bit damp?
Went up first thing this morning with a car full of wood chip.
Water has dropped by about 4" in the trenches which is good as it means without rain, it is draining or evaporating and I think the ditch creates an exaggerated water level.
Even better the ground was frozen so it's much easier to tramp up and down with the bags. Zoomed up to B&Q before the day trippers awoke and bought the last of the reduced price manure, now £1 a bag. Got 17 of them in total, some frozen. I know it'll be old but I still think it'll have value for allotments and spent garden beds.
Got back and bagged up more chip to run up with tomorrow.
Was going to do some garden gardening for the rest of today but I think it's a bit too frozen for planting and I don't want to disturb the birds. They only get breakfast normally but gave them seconds today. Might buy them some cheese.
Took some cardboard, garden rubbish and more chip up to tip in the trenches. Everything still frozen might be a bit colder than yesterday. I'm off work for a couple of days so will try and get another two car loads up there, it will be nice to get the woodchip gone and get my drive back at some point.
I got some free daff bulbs when I bought some sale alliums, I didn't really want them for the garden as they are mixed. Going to put them in the lotment, found a suitable place but ground is frozen. Eventually I'd like a line of bulbs all down one side, could make it fairly cheaply with sale bulbs but I've got enough projects on the go and too much clay.
Took some bird food up the lotment, a robin bounces out the hedge everytime I take the woodchip up but I know there're no bugs in there - packed it myself. Took a flimsy heart chip feeder and a coconut half for the plum tree and chucked some stuff on the ground. Took a water bowl but the tap is frozen.
Pleased with my Broadholme Beauty apple tree stick, it now has fuzzy antlers of growth for next year and this year has grown a new leading twig of about 8".
Haven't received my fruit order yet but I imagine it'll be here before Xmas, got a crab apple and raspberries. Thought there was something else but can't think what.
Took another load of chip up this AM, trenches look about full but they aren't, nearly sank into the ice water when I stood on the chip.
According to the thin layer of snow I'm not the only allotmenteer visiting, although I couldn't figure out who as the prints only went up and down the centre path?
Birds ate the food, apart from a suet cake which is untouched. It will be birds as I left the bag on the plot and it hadn't been nibbled. Will take more up tomorrow.
Car reckoned it was -6 this morning, don't know if that's true. Butts in garden are frozen though and I've given up trying to get to the bottom of the birdbath, just take off the top.
Tazzed up t'lotment with another load of chip, bagged up a second load on the drive but there is barely any left now.
Forgot the bird food so walked back up later, my fruit has arrived so took my plan and measuring tape for some last minute changes
I don't want to plant my new blackberry Chester Thornless as close to the flood zone as originally planned so have decided to create another fruit line for canes and things that might need support down the other long edge, not that I have a structure to support anything but that's not urgent. Happily that should give me room for another 10 plants or canes.?
I've worked out how far up the slope I want to build up the soil level as an additional anti-flood measure, it's just under half the plot, which is a lot of area but at least I now have a line to shoot out to. Although I'm nearly out of chip much of the area is partly raised from the excavated clay and I also have some farmyard poo and topsoil as I expect the filled trenches will start to collapse when it warms up.
Was going to plant some allium sphaerocephalon but only had a trowel and couldn't hack into the ground.
Will soak the fruit over night, probably in the shed or it will freeze, and take up to plant in the morrow.
I’ve just discovered your blog, and read the whole thing. What a lot of work, and you work full time ?
i am now on my 4th allotment, having had various issues, plus relocated up North, so am starting again from scratch. I haven’t had half the issues you have had to compete with - flooding, vandalism and theft, but it’s still a bit dispiriting clearing other people’s rubbish, especially rotted fibrous membrane. Winter has come a little faster than I thought, I had wanted to cover the bare ground with card and manure, both of which are stacked up at home, but the ground is either frozen or too heavy to walk on. I can’t beli e you’re still working on yours!
i did manage to get the onions and fruit bushes in
i do look forward to reading further episodes, it’s very inspirational
Hi Anne, thank you, you are very kind
I'm glad the thread is interesting enough to read in one go, I sometimes think it must be a bit of a pain with the pictures loading and making the page jump about, unless that's just my tablet...
Your fourth allotment, how did that come about, aside from moving away the final time? Did you have permanent stuff you had to move?
My allotment is difficult to work on in winter, it was frozen this morning still so was able to put more chip down, it was starting to get a bit slippy and I wouldn't like to fall on the clay lumps when they are frozen.
It rained for a bit and by the time I went back up to plant the fruit it was a curious mix of frozen everywhere I wanted to put in the fork and sticky everywhere I walked. Had to stop every few metres and pick the clay out my hooves.
Got the fruit in anyway and buried some free daffodil bulbs I was sent. They are a mix but I found a label for ice follies in the bag, I wouldn't mind some ice follies. I discarded a few soft bulbs but some just needed the soft bit picking off and some others will recover now in the ground. That's if I know daffodils like I think I do anyway
Still haven't planted the sphaero's, even though I could dig up the frozen layer I had nothing crumbley to go over the top. They can wait til Xmas eve.
I bagged up the last of the woodchip this morning to take up next weekend, still have a full car load to take up, didn't think there was that much?