Topic: Saturday at the allotment

[Jesse]

I had a busy day at the allotment today and got a fair bit done, but still lots left to do. I managed to get 6 straw bales and 6 bags of horse manure to the allotment today. I've built a rectangular box out of the strawbales and filled it with the horse manure to create a hot bed. But it's only half full so now I need to add some more manure (that's next weeks job) and top it off with soil. It will sit covered to start heating until I'm ready to plant out my pumpkins and tomatoes. I was also thinking of growing a melon in the hot bed, wonder if it will grow okay outdoors.

I managed to get some poles knocked into the ground and string some wire across to support my raspberry canes once they start growing, most of them are full of buds now.

Planted some more garlic which was donated to me by a neighbour. Strange I thought, I've only grown garlic from dried cloves. The stuff I got today is garlic cloves that have now started growing, good root system and greenery to each clove. So I've put them in with a bit of water afterwards and hopefully they will survive.

My rhubarb has started to sprout but is teeny by comparison to my neighbours plot. But my rhubarb was only planted end of last year so I guess that would be why it's not as vigorous.

Another neighbour gave me some "pea bean" seeds. I've never heard of those before but will try growing them. Aparently they're a bit like sugar snap peas as in you eat the whole thing, peas, pod and all. Sounds like the perfect thing to snack on whilst I'm busy working at the allotment!

And yet more weeding out the couch grass!

Spent the afternoon watching my dvd that arrived this week. It's called "The Allotment" is an ITV West production, has anyone seen it and I wonder if anyone here was in the filming. Bristol I think they said they were at. The allotments are quite steep there, didn't realise how lucky I am to have almost flat ground. Must be pretty hard wheeling a barrow of manure up the hill there.

[Svea]

sounds like you got a lot done.

can you explain the 'hot bed' thing to me though? :)

[Jesse]

I've used straw bales for the walls of my hotbed but you could use wood or pallets etc. Straw bales are easily available to me and I think the thickness of them will act as a good insulator as well. A hotbed is like a large compost heap containing animal manure (in my case horse manure). The manure should be at least about 8inches deep and then topped off with a thick layer of soil into which you will plant. The heat generated from the composting manure rises and warms the soil allowing you to plant earlier and therefore extend the growing season. I also plan to put cloches (Wallo'Waters) on top of my hotbed to contain even more heat. This combination should create a nice warm environment for my tomatoes and pumpkins and possibly melon, enabling them to grow quicker and produce earlier and for longer. You can also put a cold frame on top of a hotbed, the heat will allow you to sow seeds and raise seedlings much earlier than if the coldframe was not on top of a hotbed. Not something I plan to do as I have a heated conservatory to raise seedlings in but could be a good option for someone who does not have this. Hope that explanation makes sense!

[loz]

I got quite a lot done today too; including weeding out couch, which has invaded my rhubarb.

I was toying with the idea of the hotbed system this year for my toms, peppers  and melons - The Garden magazine (Feb) has got quite a good article in it to describe how to set one up with straw bales. It recommends melons and chillies, and suggests french beans and courgettes are worth trying.

I think it will be worth me trying, especially if it means I can get more toms. (I think I will run out of space in my (planned) greenhouse).  If nothing else it will help use up some of the old straw I've got.

Tomorrow I must finish the last bit of hedge planting around the veg plot, and remember to plant the shallots which have sat in my shed since October.  Broad beans too.

Loz

[Lady of the Land]

Yesterday I ran our allotment shop for an hour, sold a few items. After this I started to dig an area, over 1 spit deep, putting in manure and shredded paper. This is on the allotment we took over in the early summer last year. It was ploughed and rotavated by a contracter we bribed while he was on the allotment site. However has not been dug for sometime and certainly not to the depth I have dug. Good old Essex clay at the bottom.

Am aiming to go down today, however it's pouring with rain which is really annoying !
I have to go down as I have the money and sales book for the shop which I have to hand over to the person running the shop today. I also want to buy some things in the shop. I went to get some 8ft canes down to buy yesterday and realised I could not get them home as I had cycled down!!

[faerie9]

Well I was full on all day yesterday - woke up 10am, cup of tea, straight out there, finished at 5pm., with a break for porridge at noon!

I've got to move all the couch (I'm clearing a grassy area) to the end that I'm moving off of, and move all the lovely soil I've been composting and cultivating for 2 years back to the new end. I was digging deep beds, but now all that soil will become raised beds instead - the ground on the new bit is pretty poor and thoroughly infested with couch, so I'm not digging too deep.
Back at it today: I've got to skim as much couch as possible and dump it on the old patch, and reclaim as much of the good soil as I can. Luckily I've got tomorrow off work, because I don't know how much time I've got. And I'm pretty sure I will find some nice mulch at the end, too, thats got to be moved also. Oh for another pair of hands and another wheelbarrow! If I can do all this by tomorrow I will be so chuffed!

Bought seeds yesterday too, so my current planned line up:
Potatoes, pumpkins, leeks, carrrots, capsicum peppers, onions.
Hopefully I have enough space for all of this!!!!

Have a good sunday, all :)

[Moggle]

Sowed loads of seeds this morning! Then went down to the lottie, and turned the compost heap, which is coming along nicely, and threw a load of activator on it.

Sifted through a whole lot of soil and removed a lot of couch roots. Planted a couple of short rows of red baron onion sets. Don't know how they will go, but thought it was worth a go.

Managed to get myself a nice little cut on my hand too, pulled out what I thought was couch, which turned out to be a bit of blackberry  :-\

[Roy Bham UK]

Tut tut ::) where's your gloves girl :o :(

[derbex]

I had a result at the weekend, in that one of her friends took my daughter off my hands for Saturday afternoon allowing me to escape from baby sitting. As a result I planted up my other 5 apple trees and a redcurrant, mulched and fertilized the other bushes, trees & canes that I hadn't got around to and stuck another 7 bags of manure onto my heap -together with a gallon of my unique activator  ;D I just hope that the vandals have finished for now.

Sunday was less eventfull, but I planted up 5 containers of spuds for the greenhouse and got the rest chitting and repotted various things -including a plum tree that we're growing from a stone -why?

Spent the rest of the afternoon watching Cheyenne Autumn with my daughter -not the easiest movie to explain to a 6 year old.

Jeremy