Digging, digging and more digging.

It's been another scorching hot weekend, and I am writing this blog entry on the Monday afterwards, because I was too damn exhausted to write anything at the weekend.

It didn't help that on Friday there was a long slow steady drizzle of rain that soaked everything and made the couch grass spring into life. It was too damn heavy to move stuff... especially the areas where the couch grass had settled. So you get the one and only photo that I took at the very start of the weekend...

Yeah, see all that grass? Well a lot of it is still there. But a lot of it isn't.

There are also some beds which have been cleared. Not sure if you remember the scruffy bed next to the compost bins? It had some rogue chard and beetroot in it, as seen in the top of the top photo. Well that has now been cleared too. And a whole load of other beds cleared. And the compost bin that's at the very front of the plot has been dug out and sifted.

My aching legs and back meant that when I got home on Sunday I just wanted to crawl into a bath and bed. But at least now there should be some decent soil and beds ready for the next lot of stuff that has to go outside.

We do keep on potting on some of the bits that we have in the greenhouse. Most notably the courgettes and tomatoes. But I think the chillies are next on the list for potting on... as and when I feel I could withstand the plot once more.

A hot weekend

 Well this past weekend has been a scorcher. After weeks of cold, miserable weather we finally got a but of sun. Time to get some of the seedlings potted on into a bit more comfortable surroundings so they can make the most of this heat.

First up, we have our Tomatoes. Now our Sweet Millions were not very good starting. Of about 50 seeds we only got about 4 to germinate. I blame the weather. But the Ailsa Craig and Money Maker seem to have done quite well for themselves. Time to sit down and get potting.

There are also some other things which need sorting out... such as the influx of weeds because of all the rain. The Bindweed is starting to rear it's ugly head and I've managed to dig out some veritable rope sized roots of the stuff. I really need to keep on top of this stuff this year.

The newly potted Toms are now residing in the cleared second greenhouse.

And it's at this point that I didn't take any more photos. The heat took it's toll on me fro all three days that I went. Saturday was potting Toms, cleaning greenhouse and weeds and we picked some of the Pak Choi for dinner that night. I must say it wasn't the best. It was almost bitter. I suspect that the plants developed the bitterness as a response to all the slug/snail infestation. I might have to get a new batch underway.

Sunday was just a quick trip whilst The Wife was shopping. All I did was a quick spot of weed control and made a load of pots from toilet rolls.

Monday saw those toilet roll pots put to good use in the new batch of Edamame. The first lot were put out a little too early despite them wanting out of their pots. They didn't seem to survive the cold and the wet. I guess thats quite a common thing, getting plants started too early so they have to get put outside and then they get caught in late frosts. It's happened before. Really need to learn that lessons and make a start later.

Anyhow, I'll be popping back in the evenings this next week. It promises to be a bit of a hot one and I need to keep an eye on things. Oh, and there are still some plants which need potting on, such as the Sweetcorn, the Chillies etc. There is always something to do down the allotment. And if I'm not dealing with the plants... then I'll have to deal with the weeds. It never stops.

Bundle of 'barb

 It's been cold and wet down the allotment recently. There has been an unseasonably amount of rain. There has also been a delivery of much needed woodchips so I wasted little time in getting a good couple of dozen barrowloads put onto the plot, at least where I've dug out the couch grass. There is still so much digging to do though.

But in the greenhouse there is a lot of work still to be done. Courgettes need to be potted on into bigger pots. More sweetcorns need to be sown to replace the ones that were high up on the shelves and got hit be the frost ages ago.

And outside, despite the cold, things are starting to grow. The Grape Vine has started sprouting leaves. It's a little bit later this year than previous years, but at least there are some flowers on the Blueberries as well.

And finally, the rhubarb is going great guns., It does seem to be loving this cold damp weather. Sadly this year, I won't be making the infamous Rhubarb and Ginger Jam. Why? Because we already have a load left over from previous years.

But at least the neighbours can have a fresh rhubarb crumble instead.

A steaming pile of...

 So, during the week there has been a delivery at the allotment. I first saw it on Wednesday when I went to the allotment to water the greenhouse. But this past weekend has been a wet one. Which, after a dry April, is most welcome. But that big delivery pile is now literally steaming. Don't know that you can make it out on the photo, but it is.

Meanwhile, my Pak Choi is going from strength to strength in the greenhouse. It must be good because some annoying little bugger has got in and starting having a nibble or three.

Anyway, I found him and four of his friends and now the only person that'll like him is the local thrush. Still, I guess those plants will grow a bit more to make up for the loss.

But yes, it's rather wet down the plot at the moment so there is nothing really doing at present. I bought some more Edamame seeds to replace the ones that I put out a bit too early. So hopefully they'll germinate to make up the loss. But everything else is chugging along. Got a few more tomatoes sprouting, which makes up for the loss of the Sweet Millions which didn't germinate. OK, I tell a lie, one of them did. But that's hardly encouraging. I've had somewhat of a failure when it comes to germinating plants this year. Only 1 Crown Prince, only 1 Sweet Million, only a couple of Chillies. It's not been a good start. Maybe this month will be better.

If it stops raining that is.

Theft

So it's not like I've really had much stolen at the plot. During my time there I've lost my Fero Rod (used to light my Penny Can Stove) and now I've lost the bag of kindling used in my Ghillie Kettle. It's not so much that the allotments are actually secure. It's just that I can't respect the kind of people who are so petty minded to actually do that.

Anyway, the Pak Choi that I planted last week has responded well to their new surroundings and put on a huge spurt of growth.

Hopefully we'll get some nice crunchy goodness before long.

Also now is the time to get my Snowball Turnips out before they too go the way of the Pak Choi in their cramped germination tray. So now they have a nice home out in the beds.

Anyway, after the grumpiness of finding half my cooking wood has gone. Here's the Apple Tree in full blossom. Maybe I should get some anti-moth traps put up to keep away the grubs from the apples. Wonder if there is an anti-theft trap as well. Ah, I guess there is. I'll have to advance my Electric Allotment plans somewhat. At least now I have a 3D printer to be able to make some housings for the cameras. But I still needs to go places to buy some electric stuff... which I can't yet do. Dammit.