Riddling for Carrots

The clocks changed last night for British Summer Time - should have been one hour less in bed but I'm pleased to say it didn't turn out that way! Well, I'm on holiday for a week, so we're taking it easy
:-)

That wasn't the case when we eventually got to the plot though. We were riddling the earth for the carrot trench; mixing in seed compost as we riddled. It's tiring doing it and it's a relief when you reach the end but it's pleasing. The seived earth is so lovely and free-flowing.

The carrot patch is filled and ready for our little seeds once the weather improves a bit. It's about 15cm deep so that we'll get nice straight carrots - well, that's the plan! We'll probably sow 3 rows and can eat the thinnings as salad carrots - we've got a super-sweet variety for this year.





Don't worry, there's no-one buried down there!



Here's a (very) short video showing how lovely the soil is - a bit of Zen gardening going on. With the Easter church bells in the background for good measure!



 



We also prepared a row for our parsnips. The carrots and parsnips are going in the onion quarter with some marigolds this year. We'll cover the carrots with enviromesh but are hoping the parsnips will be protected from the carrot fly by the marigolds and the onion smell..

We left after 6pm, so nice that we'll have longer evenings to get on the plot now. It was still reasonably sunny but still cold - about 6°. It was -4° last night :-(

 

Know your Onions

Our onions were delivered today! A bag of Santero F1 from Thompson & Morgan. So this afternoon we planted them up. They were very successful last year and are mildew resistant which is a good thing as our onions have suffered badly from that in previous years. This picture is planning where to plant them  - they're planted so only a tiny growing tip is above the ground.

We planted two rows of 16 - even that is too many for us really. We still have half a bag left - we're bound to find someone who wants them. We covered them with netting - only to protect them from the blackbirds (and pigeons) who will pull them out of the ground continuously if they're not protected.

Our alliums quarter is the busiest part of our plots at the moment - with shallots, onions and garlic in now.
We've also changed our site plan. We're going to put the carrots and parsnips in that quarter instead of with the beans. That was our intention for our crop rotation plan but we got out of synch last year. I'll update the plan in the next couple of days.

We left site just as it went black and started sleeting!

A very Good Friday!

I know! It looks like a fake! This is actual blue sky over the allotment today! It was quite unexpected but so welcome.

We managed about 4 hours of digging, chatting, digging, burning, digging and chatting. So nice to see our fellow allotment holders.

We managed to burn the waste that's been waiting on Plot 8 for months. Unfortunately the rusted bottom of the HAHA incinerator disintegrated during the process but we got a good fire going and Kerry joined in the pyromania with her dried waste too :-)

The ash from the fire was mixed into the area where we're sowing wildflowers and night stocks this year.







Jamie dug over this year's potato quarter and mixed in some of the 6X fertiliser. The potatoes won't be going in just yet but at least the plot is completely ready for them now.

All the while we were digging we could hear the contestants in the Devizes to Westminster canoe race going by on the Kennet and Avon Canal. I spied through the hedge for a time and managed to get this shot. I bet the canoeists were happy that it wasn't quite so cold today, but I'm not surprised they needed the big gloves!

We went home achey but happy that we left the plot looking worked, if not really growing yet!

I actually spotted a different insect on the plot today so will be updating the wildlife blog, once I've identified this beastie with the help of the Wildaboutbritain forum ...

So c-c-c-cold!

It had been trying to snow all day but just a bit of dandruff falling so we decided to have a couple of hours on the plot. Extremely cold with a shocking wind but not unbearable while we were busy. It stayed at about 1° and a few other plotholders were working on their plots too. Normally we wouldn't expect to see many people on site on a day like today, but everyone's so desperate to get something done whenever it's not precipitating!

We took some Freeze-Dried Mealworms for the robin. Poor little chap out in the cold :-( He very nearly ate from my hand today, but instead sat on the fencepost within a foot of me.

We decided to work on the raised bed. We hoed all the moss from it and then mixed in a little 6X natural fertiliser.
Next, we raked in a good layer of multi-purpose compost mixed with Topsoil and topped it off with Topsoil. That should keep our salad crops and beetroot happy!
Before leaving, we covered it with weed suppressant which may help warm the soil a little too - we're hoping to be able to get some sowing done over Easter...

Remembered to check the grape hyacinths. They haven't grown much since 9th March - not too surprising really.
Then back home to our lovely warm flat - only to discover I'd left the flask somewhere on site so we had to venture back out into the cold to retrieve it - Doh!!

Signs of Leaf!

It snowed for a few hours this morning but had all melted by the afternoon so we walked up to the allotment. It was very cold - just 3° and felt colder in the wind.


Keeping an eye on our garlic

Not surprisingly, there wasn't much happening! It's so very wet :-(
Jamie uncovered the rhubarb again - the birds are continuously burying it while they dig about around it - it's only very small, but there is a leaf on it now!

Leaves have also emerged from the buds on the raspberries, so there is life on the plot - you just need to look a bit harder for it at the moment!

We left after not too long, but I forgot to check how our grape hyacinths are doing - I guess they can't have been too impressive otherwise I would have spotted them!