Topic: Smoked Out

[Plastic Pig]

Thought if anyone else was on their allotments earlier today and looked up they may have seen rather a lot of smoke! Especially if they were in the East of England around Norfolk.I have never seen so much smoke from a little fire...I lost sight of my OH and daughter a couple of times... Still, great fun though i love fires on the lottie got rid of a load of rotten stuff. Haven't had the allotment long, have got the beds to plan out now.....OH made a start this morning whilst I was smoking out everyone! Really enjoyed ourselves.

[dibberxxx]

Sounds like someone has had a very full feeling day on there lottie , good on you  :) :) :) :)

[wardy]

PP  The scorched bit where you've had your fire is a great place to start planting as all the weeds are burned away leaving a lovely clear bit.  Using a bulb planter (me no dig  ;D) I made holes and popped by plants in, eg broad beans, peas and later in the gaps some red onion sets.  All grew well and if any weeds reared their ugly heads they got hoed off.  I put cardboard round the edges of my "bed" to keep any weeds from encroaching.  I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss so I made another fire and did the same thing again, only planting onions and leeks. My scorched earth policy is doing quite well as I've just begun harvesting celeriac and cabbage and the celeriac is really churning up the soil which has saved me doing it  :)

I'm not suggested that you do the same but it just gives you food for thought about how to clear an area of weeds and then use it right away  :)

[Derekthefox]

I love a good fire this time of year too. I have made myself an incinerator from an old oil drum, with a large hole punched out of the bottom, and laid on a grille over the top of a brick hearth. Therefore all the ash falls into this hearth and when cool, is loaded into buckets for spreading back on the soil. i get a good hot fire going first, then throw all the weedy stuff on, and it smoulders gently. come back the following day to a good pile of ash ...

Perfect for the onion bed.

Derekthefox :D

[Mrs Ava]

I would love a good fire....but I is just toooooo scared! :-\

[busy_lizzie]

My OH loves a good lottie fire too, though he takes a big risk as the school caretaker just lives up the road from our lottie and he is dead against fires.  He has been known to take a fire extinguisher to a plot that had a fire, so you have to be careful which way the wind blows.  I have never actually lit a bonfire myself, too scared it would get out of hand.  :) busy_lizzie 

[wardy]

I wanted to burn weeds on my plot yesterday but my cigarette lighter melted before I could get the darn thing lit.  Grrrr  ;D

I made myself a brick square and put the weeds etc in that but I don't make a fire if it's breezy and next door plot is full of long, dry grass  :o

[Doris_Pinks]

I have only ever had one fire on my plot and not that I am paranoid or anything but, I had 2 watering cans and the hose standing by!!!! (Oh and mobile in case I had to call the burly firemen in full uniform in!  ;))

Had to stay on the plot for ages to make sure every single spark was out, and that was after using the above watering devices to extinguish it!

But I do like a good bonfire, memories of a happy childhood at Aunts, around the fire at night eating crisps and drinking cocoa, and there is something about the smell of a good bonnie in Autumn, just perfect.