Bed Prep

It's been a glorious sunny day. So I pushed the reluctant Wife out of bed at about 11am (she likes a lie in!) to get ready to go down the plot. We have a lot of work to do.

First we need to decide what to sort out, because there is a lot to do. The Greenhouses need a good sorting. We've been using them as dumping grounds.

But we eventually decide that we may as well get on with bed prep. The beds are nice and soft after all the water we've had, so it's pretty easy to dig through all the weeds and get them sorted out. I also finish dealing with the compost which I started last week. All of the beds get a liberal bucket or three of the compost whilst all the big bits go back into the new compost bins. We've already fill one of them, but the second has plenty of room.

The beds are looking ready for the year ahead now.

Sadly though, I have to say goodbye to some old friends. I've had this pair of gloves right from the very start.

They are basic no-brand gloves, but they have survived well since 2012. They are now more hole than glove. Fortunately I have a few spares. They're not as tough as this pair, but they should still keep me going for a while.

Anyhow, The Wife has been doing her part in her raised flower bed.

So the plot is gradually coming back to life after the long winter. There are some signs of life returning.

So we're on our way. It's going to be a long haul. But we'll get there in the end.

Bit of a hair cut

 I need a hair cut. I haven't had it cut for over a year now. Nor have I shaved. So at present I look like the Wild Man of the Woods. I'm going to have to try and stop the birds nesting in there come spring. But that's not the only thing that needs a haircut.

The Grape Vine hasn't been trimmed since it lost all it's leaves last Autumn. So finally today the weather is good enough for me to venture out (with mask of course) to get to the allotment for a while. Needless to say the Vine was in dire need of trimming. So that was first on the To-Do list today.

So with my trusty secateurs I gave it a good going over. I also fixed the hanging roof board which you can see in the picture above.

Next job was the compost bins. I've been filling them non-stop since, I don't know when. At least a year. And they're now full. So the oldest one I unearth and started a new bin. Some of the large pieces I dug out went into the new bin and the remains I dug into some of the beds which were last seen under water. They were a bit stinky, but the soil was loose and easy to turn. With the new compost they should be OK. I was rather gratified to see a large number of worms so it looks like they'll be OK.

By the time I got round to dealing with those I got the call from The Wife to go and pick her and shopping up. So thats all for today. At least with the weather getting a little warmer and the daylight getting a little longer, I may be able to get down here a little more often. Mind you, there were a lot of people on the allotment so I'm guessing there will be a bit more company down here. Masks at the ready!