This section of the site is intended as a personal record of jobs undertaken and work completed on the allotment, either on plot #59, our main growing plot; or plot #79, our orchard plot. Please feel free to visit the front page of Allotment Notes for more blog-style content.
2019: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July
03 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.5 hrs, DT. Weather sunny to light overcast, 8-10o.
Plot #59: Put in support structure for cordon apples: 3x large tree stakes, wired and canes tied in.
06 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.0 hrs, DT. Weather light overcast, 8-10o.
Planted 6x cordon apple trees to support structure, 1yr old grafted to MM106 in Jan/Feb 2018 at OH workshop.
1x ‘Belle de Boskoop’, 1x ‘Elstar’, 2x ‘Howgate Wonder’, 1x ‘Keswick Codlin’, 1x ‘Trueman’s Early Worcester’. No formative pruning required, all maiden whips. Will allow to grow to top of structure before removing leader & starting to encourage growth of fruiting spurs.
07 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.5 hrs, DT & JT. Weather sunny to light overcast, chill northerly 8-10o.
DT rammed in 3x supports for future cordon / espalier apples. Not wired yet, waiting for and idea of tree form before committing to spacing.
DT & JT gug out bindweed from back section.
09 Apr 19 p.m. greenhouse session 2.0 hrs, DT. Weather sunny, 10 – 12o.
Home: Pricked out onion ‘Befordshire Champion’ x124. Sowed: potato onion ‘Red Dakota’, peas ‘Golden Sweet’, ‘Shiraz’, ‘Telephone’, cabbage ‘Jersey Wakefield’ and ‘Golden Acre (Primo II), cape gooseberry ‘Golden Berry’, celeriac ‘Prinz F1’, tomato (perennial) ‘Patio Plum’, squash patty pan ‘Sunburst F1’, ‘Green and White Striped’.
10 Apr 19 p.m. session 3.0 hrs, DT. Weather sunny, cool northerly 10 – 12o.
Plot #59: Dug out bindweed from back section, as far as compost bins. To do: empty & move compost bins, dig over section, work out how to stop bindweed invading quite so much (spare flags..?)
Watered strawberry troughs, carrot bin #2, direct-sown roots, all recently-planted apple trees.
11 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.5 hrs, DT. Weather sunny to light overcast, cool northerly 10 – 12o.
Continued tackling bindweed situation at back of plot, cleared out two compost bins.
14 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.0 hrs, DT & JT. Weather overcast, chilly 7 – 10o.
DT re-positioned first two plastic compost bins, levelling area in process and transferring good topsoil to elsewhere on plot. Watered all recently-planted trees, seed beds etc.
JT tackled various patches of weeds.
16 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.5 hrs, DT. Weather sunny to light overcast 14 – 16o.
Plot 59: Continued digging out & levelling back section, transferring topsoil and compost to bean growing area. Watered strawberry trays. Transferred comfrey from various locations to new row in front of compost bins (permanent section, for composting, comfrey tea etc. Positioned 3rd compost bin.
17 Apr 19 p.m. session 2.5 hrs, DT. Weather sunny 16 – 18o.
Plot 59: Lightly forked, raked, levelled & composted front right (squash) bed. Positioned 4th compost bin.
21 Apr 19 p.m. session 2 hrs, DT & JT. Weather v. sunny 21 – 22o.
Plot 59: DT levelled back left section, planted chitted spuds, motte & bailey method (rather than trenching – too damn hot for trenching, also less destructive). Good measure of well-rotted horse muck in each hole, then handful of leaf mould, then spud, watered in.
JT tackled various weeding jobs.
22 Apr 19 flying visit, harvested first asparagus spears of the season.
23 Apr 19 p.m. session 3.0 hrs, DT. Weather overcast to sunny 18 – 20o.
Plot 59: Put guttering up on shed, shifted spare flags for water butt / barrel base.
Drilled and filled fourth dustbin for carrots.
27 Apr 19 Weather heavy rain most of the day.
Greenhouse: pricked out onion ‘Red Baron’ into small pots, 4 per.
28 Apr 19 p.m. session 3.0 hrs, DT & JT. Weather overcast to sunny 14 – 16o.
Plot 59: Heavy, soaking rain the day before. Ground well irrigated again. General weeding, tidying, organising, moving cardboard etc. out of greenhouse.
Harvested: 10x asparagus spears, 10x rhubarb stalks (first of the season), bagful of kale ‘Red Russian’ leaves.
To-Do:
- Prick out onion / leek seedlings into interim containers for growing on in greenhouse / coldframe.
- Scrub coldframe, re-set / add new hinges
- Bag up / use finished compost, turn out compost bins, add nearly-finished compost to bins, turn compost bays.
- Continue lifting grass, set aside for turf stack.
- Continue mulching paths / no-dig areas w. card & chippings (when available).
- Sort and tidy shed.
- Spring-clean greenhouse.