Bank Holiday Weekend

This past weekend has been a bit of a mixed set. Whilst dodging showers, and pulling a two hour stint in the Allotment Shop, I did manage to get a reasonable amount of stuff done... it just doesn't look like it.

I've started sowing a second round of seeds of all the favourites. Beetroot, Courgettes, Carrots etc. Some of it to bring on to stagger the output, but mostly to produce stuff which didn't germinate. I am suspecting the compost from the office. There is a high amount of spent coffee grains in it. So much so, that when you water it, you get a very nice dark coffee like liquid seeping out, and a nice smell of coffee. Whilst this may do wonders for the smell, the coffee tends to make the acidity of the soil rather high and as a result, a lot of seeds failed to start... most notably, the Leeks, Pak Choi, and many of the wife's flowers.

The courgettes have been loving the soil though, and have gone off like a shot.

Outside it's still a little wild. the weeds have definitely raised their heads, to it's all hands to keep them under control. Unfortunately that also means the brambles. I borrowed a mattock from a friend on the site and started doing some major damage to those invasive bramble roots.

The mattock was brand new, never been used. I'm not convinced that they have the right handle for it though, because the head of the mattock was somewhat loose and it didn't go to the end of the handle. Needless to say though, it certainly did the job of hacking through those deeper roots with ease. Once you got into the swing of things, you could really work up a sweat. Mind you, it played hell with my asthma too.

I started putting down the beds into the more wilder parts of the plot. A new delivery of wood chip went down over cardboard to try and keep the bindweed under control. Even though it still keeps making an appearance, I just have to keep plucking it wherever I see it in an attempt to get rid of it. This will be a long term game though.

The first bed went in OK, but as I am working my way across the plot, it gets a little harder as we get into wilder territory. There is also a hazard of left over spuds.

These must have been left behind after last years Charlottes failed to work properly in the ground. The bags worked well, the ground not so. But it seems that some in the ground obviously did survive as they have poked their heads up right where I'm trying to build beds.

So I guess I'm going to have to leave a hole in the layout to handle the rogue spuds. Mind you judging be the number of grass tussocks that I've dug out, I am considering simply raking the far side level and then covering it with weed membrane in an attempt to compost down the grass. That might make for a better option. I'll let you know how it goes.