Mr Foxy Came

Overnight, the lovely new plot I prepared for winter leeks had obviously hosted a fox rave. It was covered in fox paw prints and little holes. So rake it over, set the leeks then hoops and nets. Then on to the next plot.

Preparing for over-winter planting

After a spell of home DIY (pointing walls!) I got back on the plot and started to prepare a bed for overwintering leeks.

A busy patch

Not too much time for adding to the blog recently as we are involved with some other projects, however after the long rainy cold bit and then the very hot dry period, the crops have caught up and we are reaping the benefits.... Tonight for instance we will have what we refer to as "smug soup" as everything comes off the allotment or garden.

Meanwhile in the garden the pumpkins in the raised beds are taking over!

The new border is settling down nicely too...

My house re-pointing project has begun which means juggling time on the plot a bit...

First Spuds

Some lovely new potatoes dug up today and they were delicious!
Also re-netted the peas against pigeons etc. they were outgrowing the hoops I had put over them.

Hooray!

A final push today and the last plot is cleared ready to plant. It feels good! 


Going....

Going....

Going.....

Gone!  So nice to see every corner clear!

Dodging Showers Today

In between frequent showers I managed to get on the allotment for a spot of weeding and general tidying up. Everything is growing pretty well and I managed to put in some more plants and seeds.

I now only have the top bed to turn over and set and the whole allotment will be under cultivation, quite a milestone!

We even have a single cherry and quite a lot of small apples just starting.....

A bit more progress

Today I prepared a pumpkin bed at the end of the new plot beyond the potatoes and set 4 plants under weed blanket. I probably didn't need to net them but I don't trust the gulls!

Also hoe'd the potato rows....

Back to the wheelbarrow

Decided to progress the wheelbarrow project today, adding the legs and making up the wheel.

In place with the potted plants I think it looks good, needs to be finished, we are wondering about giving it a canal barge design......

More planting

We put some peas and broad beans in yesterday. The first peas were raised in guttering to give them a start and then slid into place.  The rest were soaked overnight then planted straight into the ground. I used my smart new hoops which arrived this week, very impressive I must say.

The broad beans went into the middle bed and although I know that these do not usually need netting, I don't trust the local seagulls and pigeons an inch so they got netted too!

Back to the wheelbarrow for Trevor

Hi Trevor

The wheelbarrow has had to take a back seat while I got the new plot underway but I will be back to it again shortly. Meanwhile I have taken a few more pics to show that yes the sides are angled out at the top a little. Not much but I feel it makes the wheelbarrow look more attractive and increases the load capacity.

I have also included a pic of how the legs will fit on, this is just a thick piece of timber cut to the correct angle at the top and will be fixed to the barrow with coach bolts.


As for the wheel, I am making a wooden wheel in sections which is shown elsewhere on the blog to keep the Victorian look. This will fit on a tube running on a threaded shaft which will fit in a hole in the front rail where it comes apart, all held fast with large nuts and washers.

The wheel is designed to be removable quickly which allows me to fit a very non-victorian pneumatic wheel when I am using the barrow on rough ground and not just for display!

Good luck with your barrow and I hope you finish in time. I would love to see some pics when you have done.