Some Allotment Updates

Some very quick updates so you all don't think I have fallen off the gardening planet (I am also way behind reading all the blogs I follow but will visiting you all soon). My season is starting very slowly with lots of hiccups I have never really experienced before, like the non-germinating of seeds, I have been sowing but very little is germinating, which might mean my seed's viability is low or my compost need to be fresh batch.

In my garden I have next to nothing what with the blogshop taking up lots of my time and I am struggling to find a balance but will get there in the end. I am hoping that the Easter holidays will see me time plenty, emphasis on the words 'I hope'.

But I really want to show you all that progress is being made on the allotment front and its been much quicker than I envisioned/ expected, due to some kind and helpful plot neighbours.

14/03/2010

On Mother's Day I went to the plot for a few hours to get some digging done and marking out of more beds. Another plot holder was there with his rotavator and offered to dig over the area for me with it. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I accepted but removed all the perennial and surface weeds first.

Once I was done he rotavated it and tada! a good three days/ visits of work done. I also while I was there cut some carpet into footpath width to lay in my footpaths when all my beds are marked out.

17/03/2010

I spent this week mostly nursing two sick girls but with all the decent weather we had that week I bundled them up on the Wednesday and took them to the allotment, to dig some of the previously marked out bed.

The allotment gods smiled on me yet again as there was another plot holder on site with his mantis rotavator who offered to dig over my beds once I was finished removing weeds, so tada! again two beds were done instead of one and if I had got there half an hour earlier I might have gotten the third and currently last bed done too but that had to be left for another day.

Sunday the 21st I made it the plot again, I know! I could barely believe it myself :) I went to the plot to meet up with the other two members of our little group that rents our little section. We wanted to clear up a lot of the old wood lying around to create a bonfire, which needs to be done before April the 1st. We also wanted to work on building some compost bins.

Two of us got there just after lunch and just as we were going to get stuck in I spotted an unwelcome visitor, some one's pet rabbit, so after an energetic chase we caught the cutie and went door knocking to find his home but had no luck so we secured him in a box and got on with our tasks.

About 2 hours later another one was spotted and this one was much harder to catch but catch him we did. We did find someone in the are who took care of rabbits but they weren't hers but she offered to keep them and to put up some lost flyers, etc.

We were happy with the days other outcomes as well We got three bins filled and lined with carpet offcuts (the pic below is before they were properly completed). Lids and doors were attached. Only one more to be built now and that job will be completed.

The bonfire was built but not lit as people had their washing out. I had hoped to fire it up by now but family life and the recent rainy evening put paid to that. Hopefully I can do so tomorrow evening before it gets dark.

With the clearing up of the woody prunnings, etc the back end of my plot which I need to clear for this seasons squash crops, got sorted some what.

Before

After

So thats where the plot is at the moment, because of help from other plot hoders I am ahead of where I expected to be, so I'm very thankful for their help.

P.S I blogged about my crafty day out here.