Friday, 30 March 2012

The one with all the bark chipping

I've been getting my path ready for the past couple of weeks for the arrival of the bark chipping. My friend Darren from Northborough Tree Services was able to supply me with a lorry load of fresh chippings

 I started to panic a bit as the lorry tipped as it was already 4.30, only had smallest with me and realised that had to shift all of it as other allotment holders would want to get on and around the path it was dumped on.
 About 30 barrow fulls later just over half the path was lined. At this point we'd run out of weed proof membrane and were getting very tired. There was still about half the pile left to move.
 The empty compost bin got the rest dumped into it
 And in just over 2 hours we'd cleared it all out of the way.
In the process I manage to burn my back in the sun - unexpected in March!


Other happenings on the plot this week....

Three rows of carrots have been set; Early Nantes 5, Chantonay red cored, Purple Haze F1


 Sweetcorn (Incredible F1) set in toilet roll tubes and now in the green house 


And the parsnips that were started in Feb were planted out
 Holes dug deep enough to site the tube. 
 Puddled in, and then backfilled




And in the kitchen we made hotcross buns and scones. Both were delish


Monday, 26 March 2012

First earlies...

...are in the ground (25th March)

I dispensed with digging a whole trench this year as with only 5 sets per row it seemed like far more work than was actually needed (and quite frankly after the past week's work I'm rather pooped). The area had all bee dug over anyway so it was a case of...

1) digging some holes
 2) sprinkling a few slug pellets (to combat the underground slugs who,like to nibble potatoes)
 3) Placing chitted seed potato in (eyes up, of course)

 4) filling in holes and earthing up.
First row that went in was Charlotte - lovely salad potato and typical of 'new' potatoes.

2nd row was Anya - a thinnish nobbly potato which sort of resembles a Jerusalem artichoke