Dahlias in

The dahlia bid has been built and dahlias in.  The bed is the right size for 10 - 12 plants so I put 17 in as there isn't an inch of space snywhere for them.  I still have 2 in very large pots which will have to stay thst way.

yes, we have tomatos

Beefsteak on its way.  I have never tried them before and not sure how to support the weight of the toms as the plant has gone a bit leggy already.

Compost bin put to bed

 Another full compost bin so i have covered with an old brushed cottom sheet to let it rot down.


Need to empty one of the others to start using as i dont know where it all comes ftom.

Dahlias

I have moved the dahlias out of the greenhouse but goodness knows where i sm hoing to put them.  There is a space for a bed brlow the strawberries but i definately have more than will fit.

holiday time

There is a strip along the siee of the rsised beds whrre the soil is really poor. We covered so thst contsiners could be used.  There is sn old dustbin and noe two old suitcsses down with dwarf beans.

The trunk hughrr up has a butternut squash which sould be able to vr kept well fed anf should scrsmble fown the slope.

The broad beans are covered in flowers although they are still really small so i hope they get taller.   Peas arent much better

All the seeds sown in the roots bed have sppeared do fingers crossed for some good beetroot and parsnips this year.

3 bales of hay

Nick read that barley straw, spread thickly, kills weeds and acts as a mulch around trees.  With this knowledge he arranged for three bales to be delivered to the allotment.

He slightly misjudged how big the bales would be, especially as it all had to be moved onto our plot.

I also take this opportunity to model the pinafore I made from a stash discovered while clearing my mother in law's house.

      4 hours later, a thick layer over most of the tree area and a bit left over!!!!!

We do still have the fruit cage to do but i have a feeling the trees are going to get an even thicker layer.

We might bring some home as a treat for the ducks or I could make a few dozen matresses.                                      

We're back

After a long period of allotment lethargy, we are back this year with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

The greenhouse is bursting at the seams and what a difference a week makes.

One side is taken up with dahlias potted up in March.

Mostly named varieties but some are random bits that I found in the bottom of bags so could turn out to be any size, shape or colour.















 Just a month later and they are all springing to life along with a rather large nettle which has got through the gap at the bottom of the glass.


Too early to go outside yet but the space is desperately needed.

Taking a step back to the reason why there is a blue tarpaulin under the puts and how the greenhouse looked in February, this is the mess of bindweed that I pulled out - Yuk.











We decided that this year was the time to invest a little but of money in making raised beds.  We have a fantastic sawmill not far away so drove down and picked up 2 x 12ft lengths per bed cut to 8ft long by 4 ft wide.  I am not sure that it is what Alfa Romeo had in mind when designing their cars but it just about fit.

We had one bed already so two more on that side of the allotment with ground cover on the paths.

We have now started on the other side with room for five.

Nick does love getting his box of tools out at the allotment.

 We decided that maintaining two greenhouses was too much so one was taken away and the beds left have been boarded as a strawberry bed on one side and the other I am intending to plant with dahlias this year.

Unfortunately rain stopped play yesterday evening and the strong winds today meant that no path laying could be done.

Further updates to follow including details of the potato bed and the suitcase pottager.