Allotment Week - Day 8 - Anonymous Benefactor

So what happened to Day 7 then? Well like Day 6, I thought the snow flurries were reason enough to stay home and avoid the plot. I could have gone because if the greenhouse it was still quite warm, but I don't really have a lot to do in the greenhouse just yet. All of the major work is outside.

I've now pretty much finished all of the pathways. The last time I managed to put wood chip down everywhere was a couple of years back, so having this lot is a major difference to the plot. Now I have to say that having seen the results of the previous years  woodchip, putting newspaper or cardboard down as a barrier mulch is a waste of time. The Couch Grass rhizomes go straight through it as if it wasn't there, and although the newspaper does break down after a few months, it doesn't really justify the amount of work necessary to get rid of the stuff. The best option seems to be digging out the roots as a where you can.

At least the front is now completed.

However I couldn't have carted all of the amount of wood chip without an anonymous benefactor. It is common for many people to offer things for free. We trade amongst ourselves and help each other where we can. The other day I was down the plot and our resident plumber told be of a wheelbarrow going free over on the West Side of the allotments. Sure enough I went over there and saw that there was a lawn mower and a very sturdy built wheel barrow, with a sign on them saying free to a good home.

Well I have no need for a lawn mower, so that I left for whoever else wanted it. But the barrow? Considering the state of my old one, then yes please.

So I was using it today to shift the wood chips when somebody said "Oh you got it did you?" Yes, it was the person who repaired and donated the barrow. So now the benefactor is not so anonymous. Andy, thank you so very much for making my life easier.

Allotment Week - Day 2 - Bed Prep

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.

Shop and Woodchips

Had to do my stint in the shop today. It was pretty damn cold on the plot, but the new shop managers have re-done the shop over winter and there is now some electric heaters that kick on about 30 mins before the shop opens. So it makes it very comfortable to work in. We were surprisingly busy today. Mostly selling seed potatoes which people should now be chitting.

Afterwards I headed to B&Q rather than go to the plot. I bought a roll of roofing felt for the shed. But it was still a little too windy to try fixing the roof. However no sooner had I driven in than I noticed there had been a wood chip delivery.

We've been out of wood chip on the East Side for a while so it's time to put the wheelbarrow to full use.

The paths on the plot definitely needed a new covering. Mind you, after 17 barrowfuls I wasn't much in the mood for taking photos of the finished thing. Anyway, I hope there will be some left next week as there is more paths and beds I need to put down. There's always more to do... and I haven't even started chitting my spuds yet. :(

Bits and pieces

It's raining. Not heavily, but enough to be annoying. So I decided that today would be light work and nothing to to with digging. So first thing I went off to B&Q to get some bits. First on the list was a wheel barrow. Last year I borrowed my neighbours barrow (from plot 31). But they have given up and handed back their plot and we have new tenants. So I am barrowless. Not good. I only need a cheap one. So the cheapest they have comes in bits.

How hard can it be? I've put up a shed and a greenhouse which are harder. The "instructions" are not very clear and a more of an exploded parts list. So I started putting the main pieces onto the barrow frame, leaving the wheel till last. Bad move. Tip for the future, if ever you are going to build one... make sure you do the wheel first before you get anywhere near the actual barrow part itself. The frame can be pushed and pulled as necessary, but the wheel axle needs to be correctly fitted to make the whole thing work.

Any how, after a bit of juggling with bolts and a couple of scuffed knuckles, I now have a barrow.

I also bought a lock for the shed. Have to deter the would be thieves somehow.

And finally some cheap hose. When I bought the greenhouse, I opted to pay the extra £9 to have downspouts for the gutters. Waste of money. The downspouts are way to short and useless being all of about 1ft long a stiff plastic, albeit with a few clips and clamps to hold it in place. Cutting a short piece off a hose pipe is a much better option.

At least now I can collect the annoying rain from the roof.