Did not get on the plot until about Noon, started by clearing all the large weeds and blown-over crops from the Squash plot. I got enough marble to pigeon egg sized potatoes from my volunteers to make a nice feed with the evenings barbeque. Anyway, the potato foliage, blowsey PSB, kale, five foot high swiss chard, infested with slugs and the six foot high parsnips all went to feed the newest dalek in the sacntuary, he got so full that all the others had to help out a bit. The dog came along, but showed little interest in anything, except hiding from the sun.
Next I barrowed up what was left of this years horse manure delivery to the cleared patch. The lighter heaps to the left are on what was cleared earlier in the year. The disguised pilbox at the back is my cunning carpet store using pallets to allow it to stay dryish under a sheet of builders dpc membrane.
Then a bit of fun with fork and boots, spread the manure about a bit.
Went home for Hacken-Slash, here he is ready to go. Dog slunk into the house and refused to come out, could swear she said something about Noel Coward insulting mad dogs. Heat much worse as there was hardly any breeze and what there was was intermittent. Whilst getting hot out in the open I was (relatively) dry, but as soon as I decided to take five minutes in the shade I went from dry to dripping within a minute of parking my posterior in the shade.
This is what the patch looked like after two good goings at from Hacken-Slash with a single set of rotors, followed by one with both pairs. Positively swam through the bits where manure had been heaped for some months, nice and moist still, but oh dear, where the larger plants had been was pure concrete, still lived up to his nickname. Left it all broken up a bit and the manure mixed roughly. Took Hacken-Slash home for a rest and to get Slicen-Dice.
Here's Slicen-Dice ready to go, all 8.5hp.
And here is how he left it, smoothly blended, with not a footprint in sight. Also ran him down between the potato rows on plot 18 to prepare for some additional earthing up. Finished this at about five fortyfive. Saw Chris and Sofia, who had been down in the morning and then deserted their plot just because a passing friend asked them to alunchtime barbeque, some people eh, just use any excuse...... Went home at six for my barbeque and packed all the machinery back in the shed whilst the charcoal was going from lit to usable.
Returned at seven something with my plants and the dog, who had decided it was now cool enough to be awake. Started by laying the woven material I have as a starter. It is not light proof as I found last year, weeds continue to grow under it, until crop growth on top blocks out the light. Still as I got 90% of a twelve foot wide roll for free I won't complain too much, just lay carpet on top of it as well. Laying out all of the pillbox contents took a long time and left me very very moist around the edges. Woven plastic, carpet, weights, tidying up the edges, etc, etc.
Here is a Crown Prince Squash neatly planted through the woven plastic and showing the bottomless upside down 2L lemonade bottle watering funnel, a weight on the plastic and some carpet. The only thing missing is the slug pellets and they went on as it got dark.
Went home to be told that I was not coming in the house in that filthy condition, unless I left most of my clothes on the doorstep, but I did get given a cold beer to make up for it.
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