Noisy glass.

Firstly, what is this bug?
The photo is the best I could get on my Phone, it stayed there for a while, then flew off elsewhere in the greenhouse. Looked to me like a cross between a wasp and a beetle, very handsome in black and yellow.

Late up this morning after planting out about three hundred onion sets last night. My back was really sore after that little lot, balancing on a plank and planting each side of it to do two rows for each traverse of the plot. Booked my £40 trailer load of horse doings in chopped hemp over breakfast.
Started Slicen-dice up in the shed and reversed him out before shutting down to check: gearbox oil, engine oil, oilbath air filter and petrol tank. Then off we went to rotovate all of plot 18, bar the Herb patch.
Poor Slicen-dice had a little mishap, after doing the well weathered half we were just setting about the lumpier half and his drive belt gave up the ghost with the rubber and cloth de-laminating.
Back home to get the spare and a selection of spanners. Happily the Howard 350 is fairly civilised when it comes to a drive belt change; remove the belt guard,unscrew the L bolt holding the clutch assembly in place, swing the clutch away, remove the old belt, loosen off the pusher bolt, undo the four nuts under the main frame which hold the plate the engine is bolted to, slide the engine back on its plate, install the new belt. put the clutch back, screw in the L bolt, slide the engine forward, half tighten the four nuts, use the pusher bold to push the engine forward until the belt tension is correct, do up the four engine plate nuts and replaces the belt guard.
Finished first pass, interesting on the big clods, keeps working at some novel angles does Slicen-dice.
Pulled the depth guide up a couple of notches and did a second pass, the engine note clearly tells how hard he is working, fast and gunny the blades are skimming or in very loose stuff, slower and deeper the blades are well in and digging hard.
Cleaned Slicen-dice and took him home into the shed, must order a new spare belt as without a belt he is immovable unless a tow team are roped up.
Returned to the plot and contemplated it for about twenty minutes, then weeded the herb patch, added several bags of shredded tree mulch, then it started raining.

So I took shelter in the greenhouse and over the next few hours potted myself out of pots. Tomatoes, Peppers, Curly Kale, Calabrese, Brussels Sprouts, Peas and Sweetcorn.

The bed is covered with trays of pots, the growbag house is in and full of the Tomatoes, Peppers, Sweetcorn and Squashes.

As an experiment I have planted out nine mangetout peas in the bit of bed just by the door, hope to get some very early sugar-snaps.
From the back we have, two pots of Squash in the propagator, some rampant Peas, various Onions, some insignificant looking Savoy cabbage, an old fashioned seed pan of Onions, the remainder of the Curly Kale and my Pigletwillie Banana Shallots.

Plan for the rest of the weekend:

Saturday 10;30, accept delivery of huge pile of shit.
Distribute in wheelbarrow loads on plot 18, by teenager.

Dig rest of fruit terrace, by me, with delivery of manure as needed by teenager.

Get more 3" pots, lots of them.

Get more potting compost.

Pot up more stuff in the greenhouse, especially the shallots.

Plant out the rampant Peas, with pigeon protection.
Move Dad's apple storage rack from the greenhouse into a shed.

See how it goes.......

Immoderate thoughts!

Why is it kids see allotments as fair game?

Some bunch of scrotes unpicked the chain link, lifted a spade lying on a plot, chopped it once into an aluminium & glass cold frame on Jacky's plot, then used it to chop and pry their way through the side of Jim's shed.

So instead of planting some of my onion sets I have spent the evening, talking to the police call centre, giving Jim & Jacky the news, fixing the fence and inspecting all of the site fence for any further damage.

Our District Council in their wisdom put an asphalt square with a single basketball hoop at one side across the cycleway from the little kids play area. Guess which side backs onto the allotment? That's right, and the current crop of aspiring Meadowlark Lemon's, when making up for lack of skill with enthusiasm have been landing their ball in our site. If they can see anyone on site they do call and ask politely if they can have the ball back, but after my fence inspection I can see that they have been climbing over, often, and the chain link was much detached from the top straining wire. Attached enough for a quick glance to say all is OK, but walk and pull gently and three to six foot sections swayed and bowed.

So I'll have to TRY to get the DC to move the ruddy hoop, any gamblers out there prepared to set the odds?

Fifteen - Nil.

Finished off the fifteen bags of manure this evening.
Dug two more inter-row gaps in the raspberries and distributed the eight remaining bags, plus around six bags of tree-surgeon shreddings.

Down at the extreme north-west of my little enclave lurks the Emperor of the Daleks, open him up and stir his guts, then watch the steam rise.

Guess what I spotted on Diddy's plot?

Yup, the first spear of Asparagus, summer is a-coming.

Fascinating, gabbing on.

Whoa, rein in that pun, all will become clear.

These are the five rows of spuds I did on Friday night, with my Land Rover lurking in the background.


Since then I have put three more in on the side nearest the camera.





This little Vegopolis is Terry's plot, he has set to with a vengance and some wood working tools.


Immaculate doesn't really do it justice. Hat off to you chap.









Medieval warfare used Gabions and Fascines to safely approach castles.

The Sappers would sap their way up to the wall of the castle using Gabions (woven wicker baskets), Fascines ( bundles of timber) and a trench. Aim across the approach to the castle at say 45 degrees and out of gun or bow shot start a trench, put a wicker basket ahead of where you are stood digging and on the side of the trench nearest the castle, chuck the spoil into the basket, reinforce or top with bundles of timber. At a sensible point, turn and go the other way, zig-zagging your way up to the walls behind your earth filled shield. Once close enough the Sappers could hand over to the Miners who would dig and undermine the wall, or in later years to the Gunners with a seige weapon to blow the walls down, a short range massive gun.
Not having a Castle to defeat on my allotments this may seem a diversionary flight of fancy, but here is one of my latter day gabions seen from the bottom.
Here I use the removed lid of one barrell as a template for the hole.


This is todays work this one, the last in the wall.









Here it sits in the almost ready hole in the bank.













Now a trial fit.

It needed several of these to get the fit just right.


Then the spoil heap behind the template/lid goes back in after a good layer of rotted woodchip.




A shot of the last layer of wood chip.














Finally a bag of Homebase screend topsoil per barrell.



And in this one five new strawberyy plants.








After the Haynes manual on medieval warfare as adapted to allotments.

I moved into the fruit terrace and roughly turned the ground between the blackcurrents and the firts raspberry row and between that and the next row, distributing seven bags of very fresh horse manure and three wheelbarrow loads of composted woodchip as a surface mulch over the clods. Hopefully the worms and weather will work it in.

Wheely useful.

Despite not being that good at "Springing Forward" on the clock change I have had a great week enjoying the longer period of light available to me after getting back home from work.
Monday, pottered a bit in the greenhouse, watering and checking progress, but otherwise "off gardening".
Tuesday, took the half dozen wavy topped concrete path edging pieces I had and dug them, wrong way up along half the path frontage of Plot 17. Should stop the edge of the path collapsing into the plot and the grass invading, just need to get another half dozen now.
Wednesday, set two blue barrells into place in the retaining wall of the fruit terrace, just one left to do. Good workout this, dig out the clay, test fit and extend hole, repeat several times, place in position and backfill the barrell with tree-surgeon shredding and the excavated soil.
The wheely useful bit? Hacken-slash's new adornments are brilliant. So good in fact that he wears his wheels to bed in the shed and can be driven smoothly to the allotments, where on Thursday he got fitted with steel digging rotors in place of wheels and his new baulker in place of the depth skid, then went ploughing trenches for potato planting. After doing four 30' ones, I rang Diddy who had asked about having some rotovating done on his plot and then admired the sky while waiting for him to turn up. Once we'd identified which bit needed rotovating I got to work and sorted it, then drove Hacken-slash smoothly home.
Friday, was a bit hectic, having seen the BBC weather forecast I felt I had to plant the spuds and did so. But Robert wanted me to collect the trailer so it was out of his way now that he had done the welding. Tip-top trailer repairer my friend Robert, the jockey wheel does not wobble at all now. As a bonus Robert had collected fifteen bags of manure from the neighbouring farms daily roadside "Free Manure" stand for me, so back home and up the allotment in the dark to offload. Good job the truck has excellent lights, scared some young teenagers on the access path, I think they thought I was The Law. Went in, dropped the trailer at Plot 18, drove to the end of the site where I could turn, turned and came back to light my workplace. Lugged fifteen very very fresh manure bags (smelly smelly) up to the fruit terrace and parked them.
Saturday, NO rain, unlike the BBC said, so could have taken it a bit easier on Friday evening.
Homebase 15% off day so went and got some more bagged topsoil to literally top off the blue barrells. Gathered five new strawberry plants while I was there and some more Charlotte seed potatoes. After off-loading the truck at the allotment, went home and took Hacken-slash with me to the plot. First job was to top off a couple of barrells and plonk the strawbs went into one. My unusually cooperative teenager volunteered to mow the main path and feed the Emperor of the Daleks. Once he was kitted out and working I adjusted Hacken-slash's baulker a bit, I'd found that my clay was blocking it and Hacken-slash kept sticking to dig to Oz, so I raised the baulker and moved it nearer to the rotors, which improved things considerably. Drove three good furrows, then went and did a bit of rotovating for Alison to mix a pile of sand into a 25'x10' bed, then took Hacken-slash home and collected the seed potatoes. Managed to set out two and a half more rows of spuds, before running out of them. Packed the mower away and earthed up my rows while the furry supervisor gained a spotty assistant. All three of us then went to enjoy the last home game of the season at the Rugby club, with a sunny walk home.

Condensed dates.

Several days worth in this post.
I spent several evenings last week, well the light imbued portions thereof, weeding my soft fruit terrace, one row per evening.
Today I finished it off and dug out the three Horse Chesnut saplings I'd been nurturing, one got re-planted and two, currently hiding in plastic sacks, are on freecycle.
Had last Friday off work and spent the day sorting stuff out, mostly the back garden. Took a quantity of stuff to the tip and all the scrap wood to my friend Robert, who has a wood-burning stove. En route to the tip I thought something had shifted on the trailer and then got flashed by the Mercedes following me, so stopped and, yes, the rope lashing had come loose and half a shed wall and an aluminium window frame were about to fall off. Re-tied it and went the remaining quarter mile to the tip.
The trailer is now on holiday with Robert, who is going to do some welding around the wonky jockey wheel.
Did some odds and ends at the allotment, finishing with mowing the main path to feed the emperor of the daleks, got haild on, comprehensively, not being one to leave something once started I ended up with a second tyre of ice on the front wheels of the Hayter.
Saturday was a washout, spent relaxing and looking for some stencils, I have volunteered to re-number all the plots on my site as the council were going to get their part time handyman to do it using laminated paper signs.
Today was a much better proposition, sunny and breezy, so after watching our U15 B's play a tough well opposed match, which they won 38-0, I started by power-washing three bicycles, one greenhouse and 12' of path.
The bench in the greenhouse is a bit full now.
This is a close-up of my Banana Shallot - Piglet Willensius seeds, peer closely and they are breaking the surface.




Before cutting for her indoors, here are my meagre supply of daffodils.

Long day.

Up and out there by 9am today, a mechanical day planned so couldn't really start any earlier.
Took my chainsaw and long handled loppers, plus a rudely awakened Hacken-Slash, who has been bought a set of diddy tractor wheels with axle extensions. The digging rotor pins were fine for the axle extensions, but the wheel "dish" was too small for them to fit the wheels, so into my workshed went I and after some rootling and hacksawing I had two bolts the correct diameter cut to fit. As I was fettling the chainsaw my son turned up and asked to be given some work to do, after I had come round I set him to rolling up the carpet from Plot 17 and piling it and all weights etc in a specific place, while I went tree felling.
A ten inch diameter tree has been overshadowing more and more of plot 9 and now that David has given up half of it and cleared that half, a golden opportunity was hovering, so I took it. Barbara knows someone with an open fire, so the logs are sorted and the branches were publicised by me as "get your pea sticks here before the council takes them away". Son helped stack everything neatly.
Back to Plot 17 where son had neatly stacked everything in the wrong place, part due to be rotovated, so we moved it all and he volunteered to weed the coldframe, managed to stay concious! Gave him some tools and he got cracking, while I cranked up Hacken-Slash and got rotovating.
When son had finished and had a drink he announced he was off to "do some revision".
When I had done all of plot 17 that needed doing in two directions I cleaned Hacken-Slash and put all the tools away, then took Hacken-Slash home on his nice new wheels and woke up Slicen-Dice, who had a little operation last year at the garden machinery hospital to install a new coil, as a result he woke up fairly quickly, but needed quite a bit of oil beforehand. I think he could do with a new exhaust some time soonish as he is getting a bit LOUD. Minced up plot 17 with varying success.
These two photo's show it pretty well.
The lighter area close to camera was last years potatoes, easy digging but some weeds, the darker middle ground with a paler bit to the right was under carpet till this morning and was last years squash, no weeds hard and wet difficult digging.

The paler square middle right was last years sweetcorn and the plants were left as overwintering nature habitat, they were dug in, hence the paler colour, it's maize straw. The top bit before the barrells was two years ago's potatoes plus barrell installation overspill and was again easy digging, bar the last two feet which were waterlogged with runoff from the terrace.
Left at two fifteen to garage Slicen-Dice and go for a freecycle pick-up.
Back at three thirty to show a prospective tenant plot 9, it went.

Terry had used some of the decking he won off his sister, very neat.

Took both my newly aquired blue barrells home and cut out a tractor seat hole in the base of each.

Mooched around and chatted to a few other plotholders.

Tidied up all the mess I had generated and assembled the Emperor of the Daleks down by the path, starting his 660L stomach off with 75L of woodchip and all the weeds and redndant stuff son had removed from the coldframe.
Took these pictures for the blog, last one is my new asparagus bed, just have to wait a few years now.

Retired to a hot bath via the greenhouse, which was parched, all that lovely sun had dried out all the seed tray, so gave them a soaking.

Cucumbers, peas, brassicas all pushing up, no sign of the peppers though.

Blue Drumming

Worked from home today, so when I finished work, yay - no commuting.
Wearing my site agents hat I went to peg out the dividing up of a relinquished plot. Had viewer number two round last night and he reckoned five rod was too big for him and his wife, so they got a quarter plot of two and half rod, the bit nearest the main path. Had viewer number three round tonight, he and his wife are taking the other bit. Only found out the plot was free on Tuesday.
Viewer number one had the quarter plot that David has given up, he's keeping the half wih the shed and as the available bit was right in a corner next to the fence I was able to tell the lady where it was and she had a gawp over the fence at it on Wednesday, she's taking it.
After me allotment pimping activities i had a chat with Simon, whose plot is looking very well tended and reminded him of his offer to me of some black bamboo, he is sensibly growing more of what he likes after last years enthusiastic try everything approach.
Retrieved another blue barrell from the vacant plot, the plot is right next to the water trough, and as I was leaving Terry & Sue turned up just as I was going to snap the padlock shut their car appeared behind me. They had been round his sister's place and she was about to throw out her old deck, made of 20" square panels, guess what was in their car boys and girls. Did the trade I'd been longing to do with Terry, he got a good condition green waterbutt, complete with tap and lid, I got the blue barrell he was going to turn into a waterbutt. Just need one more and I can complete my "blue barrell terrace wall" holding up the edge of my fruit terrace. Thinking about releasing a few Daleks from the sanctuary this year and putting the Emperor of the Daleks down by the path so he can recieve its regular tribute of mowings.
Off to committee meeting for BSAGA, Bishop's Stortford Allotment and Garden Association at 8pm, usual stuff apart from the news that one of our other sites was turned over last week, tens of sheds burgled and the main gate locks wrenched off.

Sinking twice now.

Today I came over all artistic and in touch with my feminine side and did some flower arranging. Being a large male lump I used a large container, lots of grit and uncut flowers.

This lovely old pantry sink used to be at my late mothers and is one of the gardening items that I removed before selling the place.
On Saturday I went to Ayletts Nursery outside St Albans, in previous years I have found that they stocked all the stuff I couldn't find elsewhere. This visit left me slightly disappointed as, although all their alpine plants were topped off with crushed rose granite, they did not stock it, so I had to make to with "Cumbrian Green" crushed stone grit. Looks OK though I think.
Every available surface had "Tete-a-tete" narcissi on it and yes, I did succumb and buy one £4.95 pot for my beloved, which on my return I potted up into one of our two nice glazed terrace pots and tidied and swept the terrace as well, before watching our 1st XV get rather stuffed by Barnes. Still nice afternoon, good company, good cold beer.......

Today was No 1 sons rugby training, followed by an hour of bar duty for me, then a shopping errand with my beloved.
Once free of all that I retrieved this sink from the allotment with assistance of son.

It contains Heather- Challenger, Heather - unamed from Wilko's X2, Heather - Ruby Slinger, Saxifrage- White Star, Arabis- Varigata and Campanula poscharskyana - "E H Frost".

Also brought back a huge "belfast" sink and started to sort it out, but have not finished it as I do not have enough plants to fill it, so it's not worth putting the grit layer on top yet. I'd saved some plants when emptying both sinks for transport the other year. This one is going at the front right (as viewed from outside) of the shed to help retain the platform the shed sits on.

Spoilt for choice?

So much so that I went to town! Working in north London I don't get to see much of my home town, so I went and had a bit of a wander, stopped at Costa Packet for a coffee, then went via the rest of the town centre to Wilkinsons, where I bought loads of seeds, two heathers, one rhubarb, three asparagus in one packet (only £2). one honeysuckle, a large net of Sturon onion sets and a large net of Desiree seed potatoes.
Went home via Homebase collecting four for price of three 20L screened topsoil, three postcrete, one readymixed dry cement and a 20L ericaceous compost.
Picked up my allotment key and dumped the topsoil at the plot, back home, changed, collected hound and taking the asparagus, went to the plot. Met Gilert and checked if he had switched the water off last year, he hadn't but we found the stopcock and I got the tool from my site agent shed and turned the water back on, three troughs had been half empty already.
Dug up and bonfire heaped the spare raspberry canes from the raised bed, dug it over, planted the three asparagus in a shallow V pattern, then topped off with a 20L bag of topsoil, three bags left to refresh the coldframe.
Departed for the back garden with two 18" paving slabs and Alan who wanted to have a look at my greenhouse, he has just got two growbag growhouses as a present and is looking forward to tomatoes.
My beloved arrived home shortly after I did and helped to move the two person swingseat up onto the grass terrace, where I set to and create four pads to sit it on, double paving blocks at the back with a straining eye set down between each pair, into the underlying 6" of postcrete. Single 18" paving slab for each front corner set on 4" postcrete and cement mix. After it had firmed up a bit the swingseat was carefully put in place.



Tidied up, then set five stepping stone slabs across the lawn from the path to the shed door, levered out the third of the redundant swing anchor blocks, homemade concrete with the bolt-on bar set in it and tipped my spoil into the hole.

Finished my gardening day with some re-potting and sowing in the greenhouse.














Re-potted what I had bought and sowed:

• Leek - Musselburgh
• Kale - Dwarf Green Curled
• Calabrese - Samson F1
• Celeriac
• Pea - round pod sugar-snap
• Purple Sprouting
• Broccoli - Red Arrow
• Brussels Sprout - Wellington F1
• Banana Shallots - home harvested seed from last year.
• Pepper - hot Cayenne
• Cucumber - Marketmore 76

the last two and some of the peas in the propagator, which is now switched on.Then found the hose connector was broken, so had to fix that before watering the trays and really finishing for the day.