A busy week at the allotment

Visiting the allotment with children can be good or bad in the case of our grandchildren. Last week they were not very enthusiastic about going, there was a lot of whinging. Once we got there though they soon settled down and enjoyed themselves. They did some digging although we did have to try to persuade them not to throw the good soil out of the raised beds!  And they found some worms.

Meanwhile my daughter and I  planted the onions and garlic which had been started off in module trays. They were easy to plant and because they were more established we didn't have the worry of the birds pulling them out.

We never get as much done as we would like when we have the children with us so a few days later I returned with my husband and he set to work barrowing manure from the communal heap to our own manure heap, whilst I did some digging and preparing of the beds. I also put some manure around the fruit bushes.

At the next visit a couple of days later we planted the potatoes.  We plant them in bags or containers, usually old compost bags. We planted some in the garden at home and the rest at the allotment. We have planted 'Foremost', 'MarisPeer', and 'Aran Pilot'.  We put a layer of compost in the bag then plant  3 potatoes to each bag and cover with more compost. As the potato foliage grows we top up with more compost until the bag is full. This is a good way to grow potatoes if you are short of space. I have about 12 bags in my garden, my daughter has 6 bags and we have another 12 bags at the allotment.

We also did some weeding at the bottom end of the plot and put some membrane down.  Weeds are are big problem here especially the Himalayan balsam which grows through the fence and can take over in the summer. Last year we covered the fence with membrane to stop it growing through and this  worked well.  So this week we covered another section of the fence and also covered the ground which we weeded first. Hopefully this will now be a good  area clear of weeds.

Our plot is a communal area which means we have no fenced off area separating us from other plot holders, it is made up entirely of raised beds built by the council of which we have 2 and our daughter has 2 and the council also has provided us with compost bins and storage boxes. We are limited with with what we can do with the space, but we are trying  to keep our area 'ours' and keep it tidy as well as putting our own personal touches to it.

This week we've also harvested baby leeks, kale and purple sprouting broccoli. I'm feeling really pleased with the progress we've made this week.

If you are new to my blog then you can read about our allotment here.