The Earth Moved

The man above me at the allotment has his own rotivator and very kindly agreed to rotivate all the unplanted earth on our patch. We have been methodically digging the plot throughout the winter to try and break up the big clods of earth a bit. When most of that had been done (apart from a patch of grass on the newly acquired bit) it was ready to be rotivated.

When we took over the plot we were adamant that we would not rotivate as it would slice existing weeds into many parts and thus they would be greatly multiplied. However, as the weeds are an on-going problem and will never go away, we decided that it would be a good idea to rotivate once and get the ground broken up nicely into a more crumbly mixture instead of great heavy clods.

Before it was rotivated I spread lots of barrow-loads of compost and manure onto the surface so that it would be incorporated into the earth as it was turned.

Now the greater part of the plot has been rotivated and it looked so different that I almost didn't recognise it and walked past it! When digging my fork goes in as easily as a knife through butter to a depth of about 8-10" .

My first job after the ground was rotivated was to move the existing strawberry plants (apparantly they like to be moved every 3 years) to a different part of the plot. Within half an hour 11 plants (I used to have 8) were dug up and re-planted with not all that much effort. I noticed that one of them was already in flower with a little bump in the middle.

Regarding the weeds, it was easy to pull out the chopped up roots as the earth was falling off them. I can't wait to do more planting, as for me it's so satisfying to plant seeds, or plants that I have started off at home as seeds and then potted on, knowing that in due course they will grow and be harvested. The miracle of growth never ceases to amaze me and raise my spirits.

Now, what shall I plant next?

From Loch Ness to Chester

When I bought the Bramley apple tree last September it came with two 2-year old blackberry bushes called "Loch Ness" and "Chester". They have been growing very happily in their pots over the winter, but now that spring has arrived they have started to sprout, so they need to be planted.

At the top of the new part of the allotment we have constructed a fruit support in an "L-shape". It is made up of 4 metal poles with 3 rows of wire between each pole for the blackberries to climb up.

I dug 2 big holes and partly filled them with compost and then placed a blackberry bush into each hole. I then back-filled with a mixture of earth and compost and then gave the bushes a thorough watering. They look very happy in their new position and it certainly gives some permanent structure to the top of the plot. As blackberries are one of my favourite fruits I am hoping that we will at least get some this year to team up with the other fruit that has already been planted. I still have some redcurrant bushes to plant, but will leave that for another day.

Raising the Stakes

We've made it - our first raised bed. It measures 5.5 ft square and is made out of sturdy wood that I retrieved from my friend's skip last year when she had a loft conversion. The boards are perfect because they are 6" wide so give a lovely deep bed. We placed 4 stakes (one in each corner) and then one in the middle of each board so that it is firmly set in place. We have raised the level around the rhubarb and filled it with the free compost that is sometimes available at the entrance to the allotment site.

In due course when the weather gets a bit warmer I will plant some comfrey seeds around the edge - Joe Swift from Gardeners' World says that every allotment plot needs to have some comfrey as it is a great compost activator and will attract loads of bees to its flowers.

In the meantime the rhubarb is sitting happily in the midst of its new home and we shall await the fruits of our labours. One raised bed down, about half a dozen more to go.

P is for Pea

Last week I planted my first row of peas this year. They are an early variety called "Douce Provence". and I planted about 20 of them all in one row. My intention is to sow one row every 2-3 weeks so that we have a succession of peas in the early summer.

Last year when we grew peas most of them never even made it home as we were eating them straight off the plant as we were picking them. This year I am hoping for more peas so that some of them at least will make the journey from allotment to home to plate. Let's see what happens!!

Mucking About

Over the past few weeks, most of the time when I have arrived at the allotment gates I have been greeted with a very "earthy country" smell. We have been blessed with many loads of manure and compost (all free!) being delivered on an almost weekly basis. The trick is to work out when (or ask a friend) when the next delivery will be and then turn up on that day and be prepared to do a lot of shovelling.

I have been able to co-incide my day off with a delivery on about 3 occasions and have been truly rewarded with some of the "golden stuff". It is very hard work to shovel the muck into the wheelbarrow and then wheel it down the hill and shovel it again onto the earth, but it is worth it. I have been able to give the raspberries a good thick mulch of about 3-4" along the row which is about 6m long. That must have taken at least 10 barrowloads for a start.

I have then turned my attention to the bed which I have designated purely for flowers (perennials and cut flowers). I marked off the edges and now have a lovely bed as I arrive at my plot. The flower bed is next to an "L-shaped" section of grass which is lovely to sit on in the summer. The flower bed has been edged and then filled with about a dozen barrowloads of compost and raked over. Along the back edge I have planted echinacea, iris, gladioli and dahlia. Waiting in the wings I have a yellow rose bush, buddlia some spreading geranuims, campanulas and gypsophelia. I am hoping that with the flower bed at one end of the plot and a hedge of lavender (half planted) at the other end that it will attract many beneficial insects who will do their work in between.

Meanwhile I think there is another delivery on Monday, so will be there weather permitting. No problem of where to put the next load of muck - the onion bed and around the newly planted Bramley apple tree.

Taking Orders

The weather the past few weeks here has been cold, wet, snowy, dark - you name it, we've had it - and I have not fancied going to the allotment. There is nothing to harvest at the moment except the leeks and sprouts and they don't mind being in the ground in this weather and can be picked up until April.

I have taken the opportunity of doing my ordering of seeds and sets. I have decided this year to grow potatoes "Swift" - a very early variety (because I can't wait to stop buying potatoes), "Charlotte" - a lovely popular salad variety, and "Desiree" -a popular maincrop which is fairly blight resistant. I have decided to grow white onion "Sturon" again as it has been very successful for the past 2 years and red onion "Hyred" which is a new one.

I also have ordered courgettes, cucumber, sweetcorn, beetroot and peas, and together with the beans, leeks, sprouts, parsnips and swede that I have left over from last year, I think that is enough to be going on with.

Now I have to wait for the slightly warmer weather to actually start planting the seeds, but in the meantime there is the small matter of some digging to be done!

A Fresh Leek

An ambition fulfilled. The children and I went to the allotment on Christmas Eve and we dug up six lovely leeks which I made into a mushroom, stilton and leek vegetable plait for the vegetarian alternative to turkey for Christmas dinner. We chose the fattest six and carefully dug them up. They smelt gorgeous, so oniony and earthy.

They only took a few minutes to saute in the frying pan and were beautifully tender - not like your shop-bought ones which are a bit tough and take much longer to cook.

Slightly on the downside - when digging for potatoes there were none! I think they must have disintegrated or been eaten by slugs.

The sprouts are still a bit small to pick yet, so there was no point in picking them for Christmas dinner, but we have them to look forward to next year.

However, eating the leeks far outweighed the fact that the potatoes are no more and the sprouts are yet to come.