Hi GWRS, I've been musing on this shredder idea. I don't know anyone who has one but maybe I should? Will continue musing until something occurs to me
I had a few things on the list to do today but even though my car said it was 2'C it felt bitter, also the ground was frozen which put paid to some activities.
Took some rubbish and also my two waterbutts that I took home after leaving my previous plot. I've got nothing to attach them to until I put the greenhouse up later this year but as I had them tucked away in the garden thought I'd better get them out before the plants grew in the way.
Opened the seed potato delivery I received the other week. Foremost and Kestrel. I've put them back in the box in the shed to try and maintain them as they are for now, solid and cold. Will start chitting end of the month I think with view to planting second half of March, then see what happens.
All looking as well as can be expected Haven't seen any other plotters for months now...
Hello , on Thursday I gave a Hawthorn tree in garden a major prune and in the process of shredding it and any bit to big for shredder , I will put on the fire ? , over years has proved a good investment
Potatoes ? , you might find they will start to sprout anyway if they do I would put them in trays , personally I use old egg boxes which stops them touching each other , just in case any go off
Had a useful morning's alotmenteering. I only went up to take a pallet and some potted wallflowers I don't know what to do with.
I wouldn't have been distraught if the pallet had disappeared from my front garden but some weeks later it was still there and I thought I'd better get rid of it. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Wish I was one of those people that can make things out of other things but for the allotment I only really need a coat hook and a boot scraper and I don't know how to fashion those out of a pallet and a pile of roof tiles although I have scraped my boots on the pallet.
I took some flower baskets up the other week full of linaria seedlings so emptied those baskets today and planted up the linaria.
I also started weeding the right hand side on which I first piled up the clay. I haven't exactly dug it over but because I had to go two tines deep for some of the weeds (mostly creepy buttercup) it has mixed the clay and the soil quite nicely. There are still a few large lumps of clay but I reckon if winter doesn't square them away then they'll crumble to nothing when it dries out. A stickyish quality to it all, but found some worms just under the clay so it all seems quite positive:
I haven't got a good picture of how the clay flats looked before but here is a picture that makes it not look too bad:
Older clay on the right but it was all heavy yellow clay.
I'll have to dig it over again a few times before planting the potatoes because the weeds are coming up from underneath the layer of clay, very deep, quite heavy work. I'm conscious this is where I sowed some of the annual flower seed but I'm sure stuff like the Poppy seed probably won't mind so much.
I dug some fox and cubs out the potato patch and have lumped them under the plum tree. If they reroot they can live there as I quite like them. Had a decent patch in my garden when I first moved in but probably due to my constant meddling only have a few small ones now.
I agree with myself about digging one last sump on the other side about 3/4's of the way down. I did a bit of weeding there and found a fair bit of water a foot or so down.
Had an idea of where to create a bulb line (got some potted tulips and unknown alliums to get rid of next year) will plant them when I've harvested the garlic in the top picture along the closest wall. They were going to have a long edge line because I thought it would look fab, but I've got rasps and blacks to go there already.
Very excited about the coming year, is everyone else??
I thought about using the pallet as a weed drying area but I'd have to be careful it didn't end up a weed growing slab as it is impossible to get all the clay off the roots which keeps them alive for a while. I thought I could make better use of it but nothing has occurred to me yet. I've put my wheelbarrow on it for now.
I like them, there aren't many nice orange flowers.
P.S the second photo is from last year, happy to say most has deteriorated being on the surface over winter. There seems to be a million best ways to deal with clay but leaving it to the weather is my favourite.
GWRS, I meant to say, I tested the sloe brandy yesterday, it has been stewing for 6 weeks.
It tasted like mulled wine, which I suppose it should as it's red wine and berries. I added some brandy to it until it had a 'warm' taste and bottled it up.
The neat brandy I had remaining is not really to my taste so as an experiment I thought I'd try and get a third round out the sloes. There was just enough brandy to cover the sloes, tipped in a bit of sugar and will now see what happens. If it just turns the brandy purple that will be enough to amuse me
Hello , my o/h makes a type of port from used sloe berrys puts a bottle of red wine in them and sugar , after 6 about weeks puts some brandy in , you could try it ! ?, would be interesting to see how it turns out with the brandy first
Posts
Vic , your twigs , could you borrow a shredder and then use them allotment as a mulch ?
O/H makes raspberry jam with ours as well , looking forward to the Autumn ones
Hi GWRS, I've been musing on this shredder idea. I don't know anyone who has one but maybe I should? Will continue musing until something occurs to me
I had a few things on the list to do today but even though my car said it was 2'C it felt bitter, also the ground was frozen which put paid to some activities.
Took some rubbish and also my two waterbutts that I took home after leaving my previous plot. I've got nothing to attach them to until I put the greenhouse up later this year but as I had them tucked away in the garden thought I'd better get them out before the plants grew in the way.
Opened the seed potato delivery I received the other week. Foremost and Kestrel. I've put them back in the box in the shed to try and maintain them as they are for now, solid and cold. Will start chitting end of the month I think with view to planting second half of March, then see what happens.
All looking as well as can be expected
Haven't seen any other plotters for months now...
Hello , on Thursday I gave a Hawthorn tree in garden a major prune and in the process of shredding it and any bit to big for shredder , I will put on the fire ? , over years has proved a good investment
Potatoes ? , you might find they will start to sprout anyway if they do I would put them in trays , personally I use old egg boxes which stops them touching each other , just in case any go off
I've got a pile of those apple tray things I can use, probably not enough but I'll figure something out
Had a useful morning's alotmenteering. I only went up to take a pallet and some potted wallflowers I don't know what to do with.
I wouldn't have been distraught if the pallet had disappeared from my front garden but some weeks later it was still there and I thought I'd better get rid of it. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. Wish I was one of those people that can make things out of other things but for the allotment I only really need a coat hook and a boot scraper and I don't know how to fashion those out of a pallet and a pile of roof tiles although I have scraped my boots on the pallet.
I took some flower baskets up the other week full of linaria seedlings so emptied those baskets today and planted up the linaria.
I also started weeding the right hand side on which I first piled up the clay. I haven't exactly dug it over but because I had to go two tines deep for some of the weeds (mostly creepy buttercup) it has mixed the clay and the soil quite nicely. There are still a few large lumps of clay but I reckon if winter doesn't square them away then they'll crumble to nothing when it dries out. A stickyish quality to it all, but found some worms just under the clay so it all seems quite positive:
I haven't got a good picture of how the clay flats looked before but here is a picture that makes it not look too bad:
Older clay on the right but it was all heavy yellow clay.
I'll have to dig it over again a few times before planting the potatoes because the weeds are coming up from underneath the layer of clay, very deep, quite heavy work. I'm conscious this is where I sowed some of the annual flower seed but I'm sure stuff like the Poppy seed probably won't mind so much.
I dug some fox and cubs out the potato patch and have lumped them under the plum tree. If they reroot they can live there as I quite like them. Had a decent patch in my garden when I first moved in but probably due to my constant meddling only have a few small ones now.
I agree with myself about digging one last sump on the other side about 3/4's of the way down. I did a bit of weeding there and found a fair bit of water a foot or so down.
Had an idea of where to create a bulb line (got some potted tulips and unknown alliums to get rid of next year) will plant them when I've harvested the garlic in the top picture along the closest wall. They were going to have a long edge line because I thought it would look fab, but I've got rasps and blacks to go there already.
Very excited about the coming year, is everyone else??
Hello , pallets make excellent boot scrapers
I have one that I put stuff on to dry , keeping it off the ground , Before burning
Started to put shreddins on Allotment paths
Forgot to say , that clay of yours looks Hard work , I’m sure you will win in the end
What’s Fox & Cubs ?
I thought about using the pallet as a weed drying area but I'd have to be careful it didn't end up a weed growing slab as it is impossible to get all the clay off the roots which keeps them alive for a while. I thought I could make better use of it but nothing has occurred to me yet. I've put my wheelbarrow on it for now.
These are fox and cubs:
http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/F/FoxAndCubs/FoxAndCubs.htm
I like them, there aren't many nice orange flowers.
P.S the second photo is from last year, happy to say most has deteriorated being on the surface over winter. There seems to be a million best ways to deal with clay but leaving it to the weather is my favourite.
GWRS, I meant to say, I tested the sloe brandy yesterday, it has been stewing for 6 weeks.
It tasted like mulled wine, which I suppose it should as it's red wine and berries. I added some brandy to it until it had a 'warm' taste and bottled it up.
The neat brandy I had remaining is not really to my taste so as an experiment I thought I'd try and get a third round out the sloes. There was just enough brandy to cover the sloes, tipped in a bit of sugar and will now see what happens. If it just turns the brandy purple that will be enough to amuse me
Last edited: 11 February 2018 16:37:38
Hello , my o/h makes a type of port from used sloe berrys puts a bottle of red wine in them and sugar , after 6 about weeks puts some brandy in , you could try it ! ?, would be interesting to see how it turns out with the brandy first