Took up some bags of top soil from the front garden. Set myself a target to get the drive done by Easter so I can plant it up before the soil bakes. Also took up some coconut halves to hang in the plum tree. That has started to shoot, turns out it is possible to massacre something without actually killing it.
Chopped blackberry Reuben to the ground. If it doesn't fruit well and it looks as though we'll have a long season this year, I'll keep the canes for next year and see what happens. Also chopped down raspberry Black Jewel and carried out a raspberry survey. I'm torn between getting more raspberries or getting more cordons (have space for one or the other) but I don't have to decide straight away.
Did decide where to put the potting bench and the compost bin. Also need a weed bin, but that can go anywhere.
Seems weird that I don't have any veg in but I do have one suitable bed for sowing beetroot, plus gaps here and there also for beetroot.
I forgot how many daffs I'd put in, nice to see them all coming up. Ripped out the sweetpea net and rolled it up. I'll weed and horse poo the area next weekend, had my wrong boots on again.
Took my seedlings out the greenhouse again, they don't need to live in there now. Don't think the hollyhocks will come back but tiny sidalcea leaves are showing and the verbascum Phoenician didn't bat an eyelid. Being repeatedly frozen and thawed seems to have provoked the fourth tray into germinating though, it's some kind of tall campanula that lives in the shade, maybe latifolia or something:
My cell raspberries have started to shoot but to be honest they have been an expensive faff. Unless they are an amazing, new cell only raspberry in future I will just buy canes.
The plot today. That is the worst of the weeds apart from the buttercups.
I got a letter from the council saying they were reviewing the allotment charges. It said the rates would still be cheaper than all the other councils. I would have used the word 'increasing' not reviewing. It seems more appropriate.
Saw a ladybird in the garden, first I've seen this year, and the honeybees that live in my chimney are darting about. It's always nice to see them reappear in spring. Never seen a honeybee on a snowdrop before though, I don't think they normally coincide.
That's nice 🐞 I rarely see them at anytime. This was a red 7 spot. I mostly get the little yellow ones in the garden.
Think its been a good winter for what I believe are wolf spiders, smallish brown spids that are always sunbathing and darting about. Garden is crawling with them.
Your plot looks pretty weed free to me, you want to see how overgrown some of our plots are.
Seen quite a lot of ladybirds here. A bumble bee was buzzing about in the GH trying to get out, I tried catching it with a plant pot pressed against the glass but it escaped and was furious so I beat a hasty retreat I may still be in there.
No, there aren't that many weeds really, but we have a small site and all the occcupied plots are well maintained. One advantage to having so much clay laid out is it is suppressing the weeds!
I haven't seen a bumble yet, I suppose they have to make sure winter is over where they live as they have no reserves like the honeybees.
Hey Gardengirl, thanks for dropping in. I haven't seen a butterfly yet but saw a bumble at the allotment this AM, scouting for a nest in the hedge bottom. Haven't seen any in the garden but I've got a gap in flowers now until the blackthorn and the drumstick prims start so probs for the best.
Weeded all the raspberry lines today, more of a surface weeding due to all the couch, I'll try to keep on top of it this year since I haven't got much to do. Aim to plant my summer cell rasps, the names of which escape me at the minute, at Easter so gave their line a preliminary dig. Clay is at various states of decomposition.
Here's a chunk that was thinly covered by other clay/soil since I dug it up last year: I prised it apart, it's like plasticine.
These pieces have been on the surface, exposed to the elements: Crumbles easily into little jagged chunks.
I know you can't plant in either but the crumble mix can be dug into soil at that size. The worms are working on some of the bigger under surface chunks, but they aren't magic worms.
The hyacinths I moved out of pots in the garden are coming up at the plot. I'd accidentally stood my standard gooseberry on some of them. That's still in a pot. Got another couple of pots of hyacinth in the garden that I recently dug up, they can go up there too and a pot of tete a tete. Might have some alliums too, I dug some up today and potted them as they're in the way of an area getting paved.
This is the view from my chair in front of the greenhouse of the ground I turned over today. I'll have to go over it a few more times but it's getting there. I dug out 7 linaria purpurea and some tiny poached egg seedlings and moved them elsewhere. That heap of Stachys B I took from my garden today - it settled in alright for saying it was quite warm. It's chucking it down now so that will see it to rights.
I had to disattach a waterbutt from the greenhouse. It seems to have shifted with the weight and was leaning against the greenhouse with an ominous crunching noise. I managed to turn it slightly to take some of the weight off. Will have to create a solid surface and reposition when it becomes empty.
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It's a busy time of year but I'm cooped up at work mostly. Weather is looking good, double figures here all week.
I like buzzards, saw them lots around Salisbury Plain back in the day
Took up some bags of top soil from the front garden. Set myself a target to get the drive done by Easter so I can plant it up before the soil bakes. Also took up some coconut halves to hang in the plum tree. That has started to shoot, turns out it is possible to massacre something without actually killing it.
Chopped blackberry Reuben to the ground. If it doesn't fruit well and it looks as though we'll have a long season this year, I'll keep the canes for next year and see what happens. Also chopped down raspberry Black Jewel and carried out a raspberry survey. I'm torn between getting more raspberries or getting more cordons (have space for one or the other) but I don't have to decide straight away.
Did decide where to put the potting bench and the compost bin. Also need a weed bin, but that can go anywhere.
Seems weird that I don't have any veg in but I do have one suitable bed for sowing beetroot, plus gaps here and there also for beetroot.
I forgot how many daffs I'd put in, nice to see them all coming up. Ripped out the sweetpea net and rolled it up. I'll weed and horse poo the area next weekend, had my wrong boots on again.
Took my seedlings out the greenhouse again, they don't need to live in there now. Don't think the hollyhocks will come back but tiny sidalcea leaves are showing and the verbascum Phoenician didn't bat an eyelid. Being repeatedly frozen and thawed seems to have provoked the fourth tray into germinating though, it's some kind of tall campanula that lives in the shade, maybe latifolia or something:
My cell raspberries have started to shoot but to be honest they have been an expensive faff. Unless they are an amazing, new cell only raspberry in future I will just buy canes.
The plot today. That is the worst of the weeds apart from the buttercups.
I got a letter from the council saying they were reviewing the allotment charges. It said the rates would still be cheaper than all the other councils. I would have used the word 'increasing' not reviewing. It seems more appropriate.
Saw a ladybird in the garden, first I've seen this year, and the honeybees that live in my chimney are darting about. It's always nice to see them reappear in spring. Never seen a honeybee on a snowdrop before though, I don't think they normally coincide.
Have seen lots of ladybirds 🐞 At home and allotment
Such good weather never been so infront
Think its been a good winter for what I believe are wolf spiders, smallish brown spids that are always sunbathing and darting about. Garden is crawling with them.
Seen quite a lot of ladybirds here. A bumble bee was buzzing about in the GH trying to get out, I tried catching it with a plant pot pressed against the glass but it escaped and was furious so I beat a hasty retreat I may still be in there.
No, there aren't that many weeds really, but we have a small site and all the occcupied plots are well maintained. One advantage to having so much clay laid out is it is suppressing the weeds!
I haven't seen a bumble yet, I suppose they have to make sure winter is over where they live as they have no reserves like the honeybees.
Weeded all the raspberry lines today, more of a surface weeding due to all the couch, I'll try to keep on top of it this year since I haven't got much to do. Aim to plant my summer cell rasps, the names of which escape me at the minute, at Easter so gave their line a preliminary dig. Clay is at various states of decomposition.
Here's a chunk that was thinly covered by other clay/soil since I dug it up last year:
I prised it apart, it's like plasticine.
These pieces have been on the surface, exposed to the elements:
Crumbles easily into little jagged chunks.
I know you can't plant in either but the crumble mix can be dug into soil at that size. The worms are working on some of the bigger under surface chunks, but they aren't magic worms.
The hyacinths I moved out of pots in the garden are coming up at the plot. I'd accidentally stood my standard gooseberry on some of them. That's still in a pot. Got another couple of pots of hyacinth in the garden that I recently dug up, they can go up there too and a pot of tete a tete. Might have some alliums too, I dug some up today and potted them as they're in the way of an area getting paved.
This is the view from my chair in front of the greenhouse of the ground I turned over today. I'll have to go over it a few more times but it's getting there. I dug out 7 linaria purpurea and some tiny poached egg seedlings and moved them elsewhere. That heap of Stachys B I took from my garden today - it settled in alright for saying it was quite warm. It's chucking it down now so that will see it to rights.
I had to disattach a waterbutt from the greenhouse. It seems to have shifted with the weight and was leaning against the greenhouse with an ominous crunching noise. I managed to turn it slightly to take some of the weight off. Will have to create a solid surface and reposition when it becomes empty.