I'm not going to the allotment today. There is a bitter wind blowing and the temperature has dropped significantly. I'd rather not freeze whilst trying to dig out beds and woodchips.
We haven't had it as bad as other areas of the Country. But as far as I'm concerned, it's just a little too cold to be out and about today.
We've known foxy was about. There have been paw prints on recently dug beds. But only today did she grace us with her appearance.
She's looking a little the worst for wear I'm afraid to say. She has a lot more grey in her coat, and her brush is a bit frazzled. I suspect she may be suffering from Sarcoptic Mange. I think I'll try and get some treatment for her from the National Fox Welfare Society. But she pottered about the plot keeping an eye on my for over an hour as I dug out the grasses and weeds from the goat paths by the shed.
They were looking a little overgrown.
So now it's all looking a little better.
Of course, I'll probably return to find that Miss Fox has dug a few holes in the pathways. But I really don't mind.
Of course before you put down woodchip, you have to remove the weeds first. That's a very tedious and backbreaking job. And unfortunately I have quite a few goat paths between the beds which have, shall we say, become a bit neglected.
So they need to be dealt with. Unfortunately I'm a little pressed for time as there is so much going on right now with other things which is taking a higher priority. So all I managed to do today was dig out a few of the clump of grasses and dandelions at the front and give it a new coat of woodchip.
It does look better. But there is still a long way to go.
So there I was at the allotment. I had just started cutting and folding the toilet rolls - I've posted about this technique before...
Then suddenly I get a whiff. A nice "pine-fresh" scent. And sure enough I look over to the woodchip bay, which is right next to the plot, and I see it. There has been a fresh new delivery. Not sure when it arrived, either yesterday afternoon, or first thing this morning. But anyway, I'm not one to turn down a gift of goodness.
So all of the planting thoughts for today went straight out the window and instead I spent a good few hours with my wonky barrow filling up all the goat paths between the beds.
Now I know some of you will be arguing that using pine (I seems that it was a fir tree of some sort) is not ideal, because it's makes a slightly acid mulch. However this really isn't a problem. The main point of the woodchip is to act as a weed suppressant and water sponge in times of rain.
And yes, there are still some beds that need fully digging out removing all the weeds. I'll get round to that. Eventually.
Ah Couch Grass, my old nemesis. We meet again.
So today I've been digging the Courgette beds and dumping a whole load of manure into them.
The hardest part is digging out the invasive couch grass. Now I've mentioned before about this stuff, and I'm pretty sure that you have some yourself... if you don't then I really envy you your situation because the damn stuff is so pernicious.
But once I managed to clear the beds of that stuff then I had to cart a few barrow loads of manure around. Which also wasn't easy, because, well, lets just say that my barrow tire has definitely seen better days.
But not all is lost. In wheeling the loads around, another plot holder offered me a replacement wheel. It's a bit sun faded, but the tire is not in bits. It's not actually inflated, and the mounting system is different, but it will certainly be a lot better that the above old thing.
It would be that when I drove home, the air pump at the garage was out of order. Ah well, at least I should be able to fix it all at some point in the future. Hopefully pretty soon, because a working wheel barrow is a must at the allotments.
Although some of the residents were not amused at their home being destroyed.
No, they are not Witchetty Grubs. They are in fact the larvae of one of the Chafer Beetles. Not entirely sure which one because there are over 20 different species of them. But they are pretty useful as they help break down plant matter. More to the point, they do like chomping on dead roots, which is very good for breaking down the old dead plants. They have an especial fondness for grasses... so I'm hoping they can munch of the Couch Grass.
Needless to say, they were transferred into the newer compost bins to carry on the good work. The results of which went on to be used in the sowing of Crown Prince Squash, Kelsae Onions, Sweetcorn and Peas. I'll be sowing more tomorrow.
It's the sowing season for the start of the new year. So whats the one thing that everybody needs? *
Compost. Yes, seeds need to get going. There are two schools of thought with seed compost. Some say that the seeds need as much nutrients as they can to get going ready to be planted out. Other say that they don't need nutrients as all the seeds carry their own startups suitable to get their cotyleden leaves ready to grow. No matter which side of the fence you come down on, compost is a vital part of growing your own, and there is nothing better than making your own.
So that's what I've been doing. Digging out the oldest compost bin looking for the good stuff.
The bin on the left is two years old. It's the oldest of the three bins, with the one on the right being pretty new (this year's) and not have much other than kitchen scraps in it. So I'm digging out the oldest stuff, sieving it and throwing the larger bits into the new bin. Well mostly. Any white roots that I find in there I'm just throwing out altogether as it pretty much indicates that those roots are still viable and therefore not wanted in anybodies compost.
And what do you end up with... a bucket of the good stuff...
Good for seeds? Well possibly. The problem is that this stuff may well have some old seeds that have been through it, and they may sprout. So this compost is only going to be used for something like the courgettes or squashes. For the other stuff, I'll have to resort to actual proper seed compost brought from the shop.
I guess I need to get planting now.
* OK, maybe the seeds. And pots. And a warm growing space. And time. And... oh heck everything is important for growing seeds.
It looks like the plot is waking up after it's winter nap. The Rhubarb has survived yet another winter and is putting up it's shoots.
I guess this means that I have to get my seeds planted soonish. Well, at least after this cold wind has died down a bit.
