Dug over the potato pitch the other weekend, still quite a few big lumps of clay, but workable for the most part. Will try and get the potatoes in next weekend if the weather is reasonable for two seconds together🤔
Due to the crappy weather I ended up buying more stuff for the lotment as I had nothing else to do. Ordered a goose, tay and blackberry and a pinkcurrant in the sale and then bought two raspberries from B&Q, Black Jewel and Glen Lyon (which apparently is not a very nice eating rasp) and a blackberry I thought was called Black Satan when I first looked at it, it's Satin.
Oh, also ordered another 15 rasp canes, not sure why a company would still be selling canes, maybe that's normal. Also ordered some onions sets as my winter onions are pretty much trashed. They don't seem to like being repeatedly frozen and defrosted but that seems like how it would be for a winter onion? I wonder if I should have completely buried them like the garlic, haven't loss a sprig of that.
The allotment hasn't flooded at all this winter despite endless precipitation, that's jolly good news but I am still going to dig one last pit.
You've been busy, good to hear no flooding over winter. The weather seems to be slowing everyone down, it was dry here today but too cold for spuds to go out and it's forecast rain next weekend..
First dug over the potato pitch, still haven't planted the first earlies, will do that next weekend. Still lots of clay but I think it is manageable. I sprinkled some calcified seaweed about, apparently it is supposed to help with heavy soil.
Found a leech when digging the lowest part of the pitch, it's where I put bark down last year and covered with manure. I am planning on putting beetroot there. There isn't much bark left, just the larger sticks, the worms must have sorted it out and possibly this dude: It's a bit bigger than the things I found last year. I'm assuming it's a leech and not one of those were-worms that eat earthworms. If the latter, it's not doing well as there are much more worms than I noticed at any point last year.
Put up netting as support for the summer raspberry enclave and found room for all my latest purchases although I haven't planted anything I have got so far.
Good news: 😊 All fruit including the flood test currant and my new cordons have growth except rasp All Gold but I'll give them time 😊 The rhubarb I hacked apart and replanted bits of looks fine, I don't know if I should leave the growth this year as if they are new crowns...it seems like the thing to do 😊 Another new crown Raspberry Red is just up also, the other is an Autumn rhubarb, maybe that's ok not to be up yet 😊 Found a hedgehog poo 😊 Bulbs I planted are up, even the ones in the soggy patch
Bad news: ☹️ Virtually every wallflower has died ☹️ The winter onions are a disaster. I dug some of them in today and stamped on some others. I think I found a summer onion buried today that has overwintered. If it turns out to be an onion and not a daff, I will try winter onions again and bury them to protect from frost and see what happens.
Please let me know if these photos take ages to load, I tinkered with them first but maybe not enough.
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VS , as busy as ever , hope you ready for the Serbian Blast ❄️
It'll just blow over I reckon?☀️?
Good luck with that I think most of the country is going to get some of it as the week progresses.
Due to the crappy weather I ended up buying more stuff for the lotment as I had nothing else to do.
Ordered a goose, tay and blackberry and a pinkcurrant in the sale and then bought two raspberries from B&Q, Black Jewel and Glen Lyon (which apparently is not a very nice eating rasp) and a blackberry I thought was called Black Satan when I first looked at it, it's Satin.
Oh, also ordered another 15 rasp canes, not sure why a company would still be selling canes, maybe that's normal. Also ordered some onions sets as my winter onions are pretty much trashed. They don't seem to like being repeatedly frozen and defrosted but that seems like how it would be for a winter onion? I wonder if I should have completely buried them like the garlic, haven't loss a sprig of that.
The allotment hasn't flooded at all this winter despite endless precipitation, that's jolly good news but I am still going to dig one last pit.
I'm using the rain as a justification for buying more fruit, gardening on clay I only like to plant when the soil is wet.
First dug over the potato pitch, still haven't planted the first earlies, will do that next weekend. Still lots of clay but I think it is manageable. I sprinkled some calcified seaweed about, apparently it is supposed to help with heavy soil.
Found a leech when digging the lowest part of the pitch, it's where I put bark down last year and covered with manure. I am planning on putting beetroot there. There isn't much bark left, just the larger sticks, the worms must have sorted it out and possibly this dude:
It's a bit bigger than the things I found last year. I'm assuming it's a leech and not one of those were-worms that eat earthworms. If the latter, it's not doing well as there are much more worms than I noticed at any point last year.
Put up netting as support for the summer raspberry enclave and found room for all my latest purchases although I haven't planted anything I have got so far.
Good news:
😊 All fruit including the flood test currant and my new cordons have growth except rasp All Gold but I'll give them time
😊 The rhubarb I hacked apart and replanted bits of looks fine, I don't know if I should leave the growth this year as if they are new crowns...it seems like the thing to do
😊 Another new crown Raspberry Red is just up also, the other is an Autumn rhubarb, maybe that's ok not to be up yet
😊 Found a hedgehog poo
😊 Bulbs I planted are up, even the ones in the soggy patch
Bad news:
☹️ Virtually every wallflower has died
☹️ The winter onions are a disaster. I dug some of them in today and stamped on some others. I think I found a summer onion buried today that has overwintered. If it turns out to be an onion and not a daff, I will try winter onions again and bury them to protect from frost and see what happens.
Please let me know if these photos take ages to load, I tinkered with them first but maybe not enough.