Monday, September 26

Digging on hold



Whilst we have had some rain, we still haven't had enough to penetrate the soil meaning that the beds are still too dry to dig over.

We are visiting the allotment less frequently now that there is no need to water everything and digging is on hold until we have more rain. In the event that we have persistent heavy rain, the next problem will be that the soil will become too claggy to dig. The joy of gardening on heavy clay soil.

There are other jobs to occupy us. Last week I tidied the strawberry bed. I cut off all the old leaves and removed any runners. We then hoed between the plants before applying a light mulch of compost. Some of the runners were planted up to hopefully produce some spare plants should we have any winter casualties in the main strawberry bed.



Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett

Monday, September 19

Squashed


Our afternoons on the allotment have fallen into a pattern as we switch from planting and watering to clearing and digging.


After being dug over, some beds have been covered with weed control fabric. Hopefully, this will stop any weed growth.

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Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett

Monday, September 12

Living history

Last week has certainly been a memorable one. We had a new prime minister at the beginning of the week and by the end of the week, we had a new monarch. I just can't get used to having a king now rather than a queen. Queen Elizabeth II is the only monarch that I have known and is no doubt the only monarch that most of the UK can remember. The term king just doesn't seem right - kings belong to other countries. No doubt I'll get used to things in time. Queen Elizabeth II's seventy year reign is in stark contrast to the longevity in office of our prime ministers who, of late, have been coming and going in rapid succession.

Anyway, life, for us, has gone on as usual. We continue to tidy and clear the plot. I spent one afternoon sorting out the shed. It was becoming almost impossible to get inside. The shed doubles as a retreat, where we can escape any showers and sit having a coffee break when it is too unpleasant to sit outside. We don't keep anything of value at the allotment as sheds are often targeted by opportunistic thieves so any equipment is transported from home.




Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett

Wednesday, September 7

August in Pictures.

Monday, September 5

Safely gathered in

We are now at the stage where the allotment beds are emptying and our main focus is clearing and tidying beds. We are still waiting for some rain so that we can dig the beds over and then leave them until next spring.  Where we have been watering crops the soil although very dry is workable. The soil where the potatoes were planted is hard and lumpy. For now, until we get some decent rain we can only leave those beds.

A few crops are still growing, one being the crop of leeks. We seem to have a plant with variegated leaves. It looks more like an ornamental plant. I've never come across a leek with leaves like this before - have you?


Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett