peas and quiet

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April 17th
What a lovely day. I woke up this morning to the nice misty scene over the fields at the back of the house, and watered my butternut squash and pumpkins that are being looked after in the back bedroom. And lo and behold! They had all come up, with lovely green shoots waving at me in the dawn light. It’s nice to know that perseverance does work. And it really lifts the soul before you head off to the desk.

So now I am happy that I have the prospect of more squash in my life

After work (and a light session in the gym) I decided to head off to the allotment. The weather had cleared up and the sun was shining nicely. I wanted to take a few photos for the blog and also to water the plants that are already in, and to weed a few more dandelions from the path. So yet again, the path is dandelion free. I managed to get another trug full of dandelions (and a few thistles as well). I really do need another compost bin.

It’s difficult on the allotment because there are a lot of things I want to do and lots to weed out but time is not on my side on a Friday night, otherwise I could happily stay there and work my way round the allotment till the sun goes down but thirst, hunger and the lack of sun was starting to get to me, so I went home. The weeds will wait for the weekend.

I’ve also got some seeds that need planting, but I’d better not get ahead of myself, that’s tomorrow.

April 18th
Saturday morning and it was a bit a lovely day to wake up to. I planted some evening primrose, nasturtiums and magnolias because I had the seeds and thought it’s best to get the things into the soil rather than leave them in a packet. Today is another rugby day so I won’t get anything else done today.

April 19th
Sunday today. It was a cold and gloomy morning at 6am when I woke up. I had decided to go and move some pallets to make another compost heap, so it’s out whilst it’s quiet and off to the allotment with the pallets.

When the sun eventually came out (about 11:00 here in North Yorkshire) I went and cut the grass at home and did some weeding and tidying. So armed with a large collection of grass cuttings and compostable bits and pieces it was off to the allotment.

By the time I got there it was toasty, so I managed to have a whole afternoon working in the sun with my shirt off. It was just as well, because to make the compost bit I had to shift some soil and by the time I had finished I had definitely had a good workout. The compost heap was definitely a good choice though. This way I can deal with the grass from home with a lot of spare capacity (or so I hope).

The next thing to do was to sow another row of turnips and thin out the ones that had come through. I’ve left more in than I should but at least it gives me a little contingency. More carrots were the next task, so I have planted a few more rows of carrots –‘amsterdam forcing’. If these all come through then I could have a decent amount from this.

After the carrots it was time to plant some cauliflower seedlings, and make sure that they were covered and watered in.

So the top end of the plot is looking quite busy. The bottom end is looking quite sparse but as that is where the Summer veg are going so I am not worried.

Time was passing nicely now and the sun still beaming down so I made short work of planting the 2 rows of ‘Maris Bard’ and 2 rows of ‘King Edwards’. It’s nice to know that these things are in the ground and with a little bit of luck I’ll be reaping the rewards in a few months time. As I’ve mentioned before I’m not a trench person so I dig a small hole with a hand fork and plant the chatted potatoes in, cover them up and move on.

The last job was weeding the fruit bushes and the strawberry bed. They are now nicely grass free, mainly couch grass, and also gave me a chance to see the progress of the strawberries.

The next thing to do was to sow another row of turnips and thin out the ones that had come through. I’ve left more in than I should but at least it gives me a little contingency. More carrots were the next task, so I have planted a few more rows of carrots –‘amsterdam forcing’. If these all come through then I could have a decent amount from this.

After the carrots it was time to plant some cauliflower seedlings, and make sure that they were covered and watered in.
So the top end of the plot is looking quite busy. The bottom end is looking quite sparse but as that is where the Summer veg are going so I am not worried.

Time was passing nicely now and the sun still beaming down so I made short work of planting the 2 rows of ‘Maris Bard’ and 2 rows of ‘King Edwards’. It’s nice to know that these things are in the ground and with a little bit of luck I’ll be reaping the rewards in a few months time. As I’ve mentioned before I’m not a trench person so I dig a small hole with a hand fork and plant the chatted potatoes in, cover them up and move on.

The last job was weeding the fruit bushes and the strawberry bed. They are now nicely grass free, mainly couch grass, and also gave me a chance to see the progress of the strawberries. The strawberries are coming along nicely and there’s quite a few flowers on them. Here’s a few photos of the strawberry plants and the bed itself. Incidentally, the wooden pole across is so I can reach over and weed the bed without resting on the bed itself.

The last job for me was to water the plot, everything on the plot got a good watering, all of the fruit bushes and the strawberry plants, the peas and mange tout, the carrot, parsnips and turnips, the lettuce, herbs, onions and potatoes. Most of all I am very happy with the mange tout, they’re about 2 to 3 inches high at the moment, which for the middle of April is not bad at all.

• 19 Apr, 2009
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