Busy Times, Part Three - Monday

The allotment is half decent….

Yes, half of the plot is now looking like someone who knows what they’re doing has been involved. But you know that’s not true, it’s been me! First name Simon, last name Clueless, but we’ll get there.

Today was my last day off from work, so I wanted to do something worthwhile. And once again, what I did sounds like very little but took a long time. It was nice arriving just behind a fellow, female allotmenteer, and as we walked through to out plots Maurice and his mate yelled “And here’s Simon look! Them potatoes look good!”

You see, I was carrying two seed trays full of beautifully chitted potatoes, namely First Earlies and Second Earlies. The varieties I’ve gone for are Pentland Javelin for the Firsts and Maris Peer for the Seconds. Both simple types, which is exactly what we need for our first year. In the bottom of the trenches I dibbed in small holes at 30cm intervals, not to bury the potatoes deeper, but to hold them in place as I covered them with soil. And then I knelt at the end of the row and stuck the tubers into the holes, three on each side, before trowelling the soil back into the trench and levelling it off a bit. I’d miscalculated! I didn’t have enough potatoes to fill the rows! Buggrit. One lesson learned already, chit more potatoes. Still, once they were in I gave them a thorough watering, and with any luck we’ll be harvesting some lovely spuds in July….I watered them in well and moved on.

So, to the next job. Weeding (yawn). Namely the stretch between the potatoes and the raspberries (skinhead!). Most of the weeds on my patch can be dug straight in, as confirmed by Maurice and David, but there’s this broad leafed bugger than has to be taken out, because it has a huge root ball that spreads extremely wide if left to its own devices. It took an extortionate amount of time too. This strip is where the carrots, parsnips and leeks will live, once I’ve dug it through and levelled it nicely. It’s worth spending a few hours weeding it thoroughly though, hopefully that will make life easier later on. But the weeds are out now, next visit will be digging it over and if there’s time, planting seeds.

Planting is the fun bit! What have we got in so far? Peas, onions, lettuce, garlic, and now potatoes. Other allotments look very neat and tidy, and well ahead of ours, but I don’t mind. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and nor will our plot be made perfect overnight (we’re not Gardener’s World, with their huge team of people - ooops, did I say that?).

I added more Browns to the compost bin….it needs it as it was getting slightly too Green-ish. Namely two copies of The Sun newspaper. The contents of the compost caddy will have to wait until later.

Took a stroll to have a look round Sam’s patch….we’ll get there eventually mate! But I found that there are two rhubarb plants there. Trevor from The Woolpack had asked if I knew anyone who had some rhubarb to spare - the plant, not just the fruit - and I have! Trevor and Sue will be really chuffed. I’m going to have to research how you transplant a rhubarb plant from one location to another, then we can move one of my (well, Sam’s actually, they’re in his patch) rhubarb plants to Trevor and Sue’s place.

As I was leaving I felt the need….the need to pee! As every good gardener knows, wee is an excellent Accelerator for compost, so I used a bucket then transferred it into the compost bin. Straight away I dipped the bucket into one of the water butts to wash it a bit, then chucked the water onto the plot. Mistake. Because of the strong wind, a fine spray blew back into my face and all over me. 99% rainwater BUT 1% urine. DOH! I could hardly contain my giggles though as Sylvia from The Plot Behind was peering through her hedge to ask if I could provide her with a piece of wood. “Did ya just chuck some water?” she asked.

“Yes I did”.

“Well a bit of the spray just cooled me down lovely, thank ya”.

Sylvia is a Serious Allotmenteer. Her plot looks lovely, I’ll ask her if I can add a few pics here. Boarded-in beds, shed with a cooker and a heater, the lot!

So I bade farewell to the garden for a while. Another lovely time spent doing something useful. If you’d like to help me out email me, I’ll provide tools and alcohol….