Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Well I didn't leave it another month this time! :-) Progress so far is that we rotivated the allotment and used this superb tool which a friend gave us, we think it is called a cultivator. It has a long handle with five long tines each with a little leaf shape at the end. It is excellent for raking through the soil, as it leaves the soil and takes the weeds. The only thing the rotivator wasn't keen on digging up was the creeping buttercup, which has lots of dense roots. I've pulled up most of the main body and covered the rest with sheeting and bricks.
We have divided some of the allotment up into beds using some wonderful mulch from a local organic farm, I'm going to need more though, so will have to think of other sources rather than deplete their supply. It was wonderfully full of bugs, but I'm now wondering if they were good bugs or not, earwigs...hmm, they eat young buds don't they? D'oh!
I have some more potatoes which still need to go in and which are now well chitted!!! I'm going to use the other end of the allotment which has been used for storing the manure, I'm pretty sure they will do very well there. I think the chap who grew veg there before used the same area that I'm using now hence the diseased soil. You live and learn. :-)
I was given a strawberry plant which is bursting with fruit and some almost ripe too - I need to put a little hay underneath it, so it doesn't get spoiled.
The chap who has the other end of the allotment plot hasn't been there for a while and there has been talk that he might be giving it up, I'm not sure if it would be offered to me, but I would be interested. I would build some nice big compost containers and have a small mountain of mulch of my own :-)
At home, I' ve just been taking care of the tomatoes/peppers, broccoli/leeks/carrots and courgettes and must harvest my lettuce before they bolt! Also must replant the cucumbers which I have been given - they are doing so well in their tray, but need a larger area in which to live now. I have no idea what I should be doing with them, will consult books and construct posts and wires! Also the area which we were going to grow veg in and decided against it is full of weeds - marestail especially - but also some nice wild flowers, poppy, calendula. Will harvest those before we turn it into a seating area.
I have finally planted some comfrey roots out in pots - they were a bit soggy and disgusting, I really hope that they take, I look forward to making smelly potions for the tomatoes!
The last thing I shall blog about is that I have sown some alpine strawberry seeds in a propagator - I hope they don't take too long to propagate, they are going to make a nice edging bush at the allotment.
