I don't know how other allotmenteers have seen this season. For ours it has been pretty dismal. A very long and wet Spring with parts of the allotment under water for weeks, then after getting on the plots to rotavate, weeks of very hot dry weather which baked the soil until a spade would hardly go in.
The plants seemed to suffer. with bean crops very poor, sweetcorn running to seed very quickly, courgettes, pumpkins etc. all producing very poor crop. the peas did produce a reasonable crop. The potatoes did quite well but then got hit with wireworm so lots coming up riddled with holes.
The fruit trees also failed miserably, the apple did not produce a single fruit.
I have been drawn away from the plots for several weeks but I am now getting back to get them under control. A couple of beds being cleared of top growth of weeds ready to winter dig.
Oh well I guess that's gardening, let's all hope for a better season in '15.
Despite the poor weather stuff is growing, spent an hour getting rid of some weeds to tidy up the plots this morning.
This morning I put in Globe Artichoke Plants, Borlotti bean seeds, Bright Lights Rainbow Chard plants and Cavalo Nero plants. I think this just leaves peas, Watermelons plants and then anything else we can think of to fill up the remaining space.
As more stuff becomes ready it's off to the allotment to plant it out. So today it was French Beans which we decided to plant tepee style rather than in a row this year, Broad Beans and Outdoor Cucumbers.
With rain predicted this weekend, I returned to the plots and planted Patti Pans, Pumpkins and Courgettes, Yellow Courgettes and also gave the shed roof another layer of new felt as it began to leak this winter. A very satisfying day overall!
With the help of the Rotavator and some perspiration both allotments are fully cultivated. I think this is a landmark as there has always been parts of the plots that needed attention up to now. The Rotavator must be easing the pressure!
Very pleased with the leeks put in in October and overwintered, in the last couple of weeks they have put on a spurt and are looking very healthy.
Today I earthed up the potatoes to complete things for the time being. At the weekend we will be putting in loads of plants, nice to know the plots are all ready to take them.
After sprucing up our small garden and putting in a new greenhouse we decided that a better method of composting was called for. We had always used one of those large green bins with a snap on lid and I found it to be a bit of a pain as usually I ended up having to turn it upside down to get at the composted waste. Also it proved almost impossible to turn the compost over for aeration.
What is needed I decided is a nice double bay bin with removable slats down the front making for easy access and the ability to turn the compost over into the second bay at the appropriate time…
So here goes, first wood shopping (rough sawn treated 100mm x 18mm x 2.4 m lengths. I found these in packs of 5 and it took 4 packs to build it plus some 25mm x 19mm for rails and some 40mm x 60mm corner posts etc.), lots of screws and a scribble on a notepad… The following pics show the build sequence. Nothing too difficult and in my view, a very pleasing end result.
The maths…. The whole thing is approx. 800mm wide with 2 400mm wide bays which are also 400mm deep. It is also approx 800mm high having 8 100mm planks. These dimensions make the most of the standard 2.4m timber lengths and leave very little waste off-cuts.
The front slats fit into slots and can be removed one by one. A small round hole drilled in each slat makes lifting them out easy. The lid is split into two so each half can be opened as required. The lids are also covered with green shed felt to waterproof the whole thing.
