Back to work on the allotment

We had a break from allotment work in December and with bad weather at the beginning of January it was a few weeks before we could get back to doing some work. When we eventually had some dry enough weather to be able to get down to the plot we wondered what state it would be in, there had been some very heavy rain and storms. So we were pleasantly surprised to find there was no storm damage and no water running down the paths as there often is after heavy rain.

Richard has a project on now to edge all the beds with wood to stop the soil from spilling out all over the paths. He has managed to do two of the big beds in the last couple of weeks and they are looking much better.

We have five compost bins on the plot, three of them are used in rotation to make compost--one to put all the compostable materials in throughout the year, at the end of the year it is then left to compost down for a year, then the third year it is ready to use as compost.  The other two bins are used for manure when we can get hold of any. Usually one contains fresh manure and the other has manure which is rotted down and can be used to mulch the beds. So we started off a new compost bin with grass cuttings and kitchen peelings brought from home as well as some plant material from the allotment.

We also have a bin for leaves to make leaf mould and one of the first jobs I started on recently was sweeping up leaves from the paths which had fallen from a big sycamore tree at the top of the plot. What a mess they were.  Once I'd cleared the leaves the paths seemed a bit slippy, they get like this in the winter time with mud and moss. I scraped off the mud and swept up then swilled the paths. So I'm hoping they are a bit safer to walk on now.

I was pleased to see that there were some brussels sprouts ready to be picked, there was kale and there were leeks although I would like the leeks to be bigger.

I had cleared most of the beds of dead plants in the autumn but there were still a couple which needed sorting out. I cut back the dead stems in the asparagus bed, weeded and then mulched the bed with manure. I cleared the sweetcorn which didn't ripen in time and dug up the rest of the beetroots and parsnips.

The rhubarb is growing really well and I'm sure it won't be long before we can start pulling some of the stems. One thing I will be doing soon is to give it a mulch with manure.

So the plot is looking quite tidy now and we're ready to get started on the new growing season. Its too early to be planting anything in the ground yet though  but there's lots of planning to do in the meantime and I'll soon be starting to sow seeds undercover.

Turning the compost bin

One of our first jobs of the New Year on the allotment was to turn the compost. We have six compost bins. One is for leaves and two of them are manure bins. We used to have a good supply of manure delivered to the allotments, but that source has now come to an end. We may have to look elsewhere.

The other three bins are for compost. One bin is for current use for all our garden and kitchen waste. The middle bin is for compost which is rotting down and not being added to. The third bin is pure well rotted compost ready to be used.  That's the system.

We turn our heap about once a month with a fork to allow air to circulate.  We find that the stuff rots down quite quickly and within about 6 to 12  months we have some fairly decent compost ready to be used.

As the first bin was quite full Richard decided to turn it into the middle bin. I let him get on with it. It's quite a strenuous job. The compost looks good but still has woody bits in it. That bin will now be left to rot down without any more stuff being added to it.

It didn't take me long to start filling up the empty bin with compostable waste.  We bring kitchen waste from home, fruit and vegetable peelings as well as cardboard tubes, shredded paper and newspaper. Also added is anything which will rot down from the garden or allotment. Grass cuttings and dead plant material. No perennial weeds, although I do add nettle leaves( no roots) which are good for making compost.

Comfrey leaves can be added too if I'm not using it to make comfrey feed. There is a big clump of comfrey on the plot as well as plenty of it growing outside on the lane. It's a plant which grows big and can take over if not controlled. But it's brilliant for feeding crops especially tomatoes. Woody plant material takes a lot longer to rot down so is not always a good thing to put on the compost heap, but I always put some twigs at the base of the bin when I am starting a new one. It allows air to circulate.

I never fail to get excited about making compost. To me there is something really magical about putting rubbish in a bin or on a heap and then months later to dig out a lovely crumbly mixture to put on my garden or allotment beds.

Compost bins

It's funny how sometimes things which seem terribly boring to some people can make you feel really happy. This week for me it has been compost bins. Yes really!  My husband who is incredibly good at making things has made some compost bins for our allotment on plot 8.  I'm happy because, I've now got some compost bins, which is something every plot needs and they have been made for very little cost as most of the materials were lying around on both of our allotments. I'm also pleased because it has tidied up the bottom end of our plot and it's another stage in the progress of the allotment.

We now have somewhere to throw our kitchen and garden waste, although we do have bins on plot 10b and in the garden, but it seems to me that once you get into doing compost making you need more and more space for it. So I don't just have compost bins I have manure bins too because we have a supply of manure regularly dumped nearby which we can all help ourselves to. I also now have a  leaf bin and I won't have a problem filling that either.

What simple things are making you feel happy?

Progress on Plot 8

Our days down at the allotment  at the moment are divided between digging and clearing up plot8 and doing ‘proper’ allotment gardening on plot 10b.  I love working on our new plot 8 and am longing to get it reasonably straight and looking good, but there is still lots of sowing and planting and weeding to be done on plot 10b.

On plot8 we have recently cleared out the ramshackle sheds and pulled one of them down, what a mess of stuff there was in those sheds. Bags of glass, plastic, metal and general rubbish  were taken to the local recycling centre. We found quite a collection of metal tubing and connectors to make up mini greenhouses.  We have kept all these as they might be useful but they could be quite a puzzle to assemble.
We had a bonfire to burn all the rotten wood

One shed demolished and a bed dug over

Helen dug over one of the areas of ground whilst I weeded the temporary raised beds. Then we put some soil improver on the beds.  We thought we might grow some carrots and salad crops in one and peas and beans in the others.

At the front of the plot next to the gate were two big heaps which were originally compost bins, but they have had all sorts of stuff dumped on them. Richard and Helen started clearing these bins out over the bank holiday weekend.  There was a large amount of rubbish to remove first which resulted in another pile of stuff to take to the recycling centre. There seems to be no end to the rubbish we keep finding on this plot. However once the top of the bins were cleared of the rubbish, there appeared to be lots of good compost underneath.  Very useful! That will go on the newly dug over areas. Richard will probably build new compost bins in the same place when we have weeded the area.

 

clearing out the old compost bins

Although the plot is still very untidy, as areas are cleared of rubbish, we can see the paths which show the original layout of the plot. Helen and I are planning how we want our allotment to look and we now feel we are getting somewhere.

Next jobs are more rubbish clearing, more tidying and more digging.