Allotment Week: A complete bust

Here that?

Silence.

Yeah, as you may have well guessed the two weeks of allotment goodness failed to materialise due to heath issues. I am suffering from an as yet unidentified lung issue. They've ruled out a Lung Infection and Cancer as possible causes, but until I can get to see a specialist at the Royal Brompton Hospital they have no idea what is causing these end less coughs and blackouts. So "work" at the allotment is limited to simply watering the seedlings and hopefully potting them on if I have the strength.

The is also the issue of the Wife who has put her back out and is having difficulty in not only walking, but also trying to stand up straight. The pair of us seems to be in the wars this year and it doesn't bode well for the plot.

Last time I actually managed to get down there it seems that the grass was beginning to take over. It needs to be taken care of, along with the Dock, Dandelions, Bind Weed, and assorted other weeds that are poking their heads up. But neither of us have the strength to do much about it at present. Looks like this year will be a bit of a bust down the plot. We'll try and muddle through.


However, not all is lost.

I can sit on my backside at the computer. Which gives me ample opportunities to explore other allotment related issues. I've had an idea for a while about electrifying the allotment. I don't mean by sticking up an electric fence to keep the unwanted away. I'm thinking more along the lines of an allotment weather station and wildlife cameras all linked to the Internet.

I play with electronics all the while, and my current toy of the moment is a Raspberry Pi (or three). These are low powered computers that are not low in computing power. They run a Linux variant which is easy to program and ideally suited to external devices such as cameras and data input/output.

So a simple solar powered setup, using an old Android phone to provide Internet connectivity could have the ability to have several wildlife cameras and provide a simple weather station output to keep an eye on what is happening down the plot. Wouldn't it be brilliant to get a frost warning ahead of time to let you know that you need to get down there and fleece up the dainties?

I'll let you know how this project turns out.