The clocks went forward this morning, it is British Summertime, so an early start was an hour earlier. I had to run over the Donnington Park to have a look at the market there. It was very distracting to hear the bike racing on the other side of the wall without seeing what was going on. There was lots to see but nothing to buy. I still got parted from a tenner for "stuff". A pair a sun glasses and some dappy dils. We came home and had a brew and spot of lunch.
Lunch done and air temperature suitably warm I went over to the bees. Even before I opened hive I could see all was well. The foragers were coming home covered in pollen not just packed into the bees corbicula ("little basket") on their hind legs , bright yellow pollen. That will be Willow pollen. I took the hive down layer by layer. I found the bees big, black and glossy. These were the bees that had over wintered.. There were a few scrapes of bee candy left. When I went through the top brood box I was delighted to find lots of brood at all stages of development. In the bottom box I found bees were starting to emerge. That means two things. Firstly the hive has weathered the winter. Secondly the over wintering bees are assured of being replaced. Not surprising there was plenty of pollen in the frames but there was also a good deal of early stage honey. As I reassembled hive I put the brood boxes together in the usual manner, cleaned up and replaced the Queen excluder. I then put on a new super with clean foundation then the old super. Above that I put on the feeder and dropped in the remainder of the candy then the roof. The bees settled down very quickly. I tidied up the apiary and walked back to Degsy.
I trundled over to the lottie and parked Degsy up. Again it was really sunny but not very hot. I used a plank to give me a edge and dug a trench along its length. Then I spread in a wheelbarrow full of horse manure along the trench and dropped in a seed potato regular intervals. The first earlies are called "Anya". It remains to be seen how they perform. After that I back filled the trench by using the rake to pull in the spoil from the trench. I did six trenches which was 72 seed potatoes. The soil being so light from the previous day's digging was easy to work. By the time I had completed three trench I reckoned I earned a brew. When I had finished I had a little time spare. I got on my hands and knees and weeded the Asparagus bed and then the Rhubarb bed. They looks really good.
Dave G and Dave P came down as I was on the last lap. Dave G came over for chat as usual. He had to talk to the back of my head but he is used to that. When I was done I had a chat with Dave P. He gave me some of his spare red onion sets and white sets. Now I just need to plant them!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
A nice sit down
Saturday was a day of two halves. The morning was foggy and cold but not dark. The sun was up there somewhere. I was out early to do the poo trailer. I ran the trailer up the lottie and dumped the muck on the area we dropped the trees last week. Steve has organised some whips with which to replant the area. In the time it took me to run the trailer back to the stables and head over to Swadlincote the sun had burned off the fog. Still the air temperature was not high a bit like being in the mountains, bight sunshine but not hot.
There is a Sainsbugs at Swad and petrol is always cheap. I got my quota of petrol for Degsy then went round to a new shop I had found out about. T W Warehouse is in Cadley Hill just outside Swad. Click HERE for their website. It is a wonderland for tools and blokey stuff. I got some new work trousers. I took myself home for a spot of lunch. I had a read of a couple of chapters of my book then loaded up Degsy, got my brew stuff together and went of the to the lottie.
I had decide that I needed to weed the potato plot [bedA]. I took the fork a set about the usual task. Usual rhythm. Start at one edge of the plot, fork in driven into the ground, lever it back, turn the sod over and drop it on the ground and pull out the weeds, weeds in wheelbarrow. When the wheelbarrow was full the weeds went into the black compo bin. Just do that for a couple of hours and a third of the plot is dug over a foot deep and weed free. Part way through I had a nice sit down to listen to the birds over a brew and a Blue Ribbon.
It was repetitive work but I got there in the end. The soil just fell apart and once it was raked out it gave a a light seed bed. That was as much as could do for the day. The sun was still well above the horizon when I left. I was surprised that I was the only one at the the lottie all day. I also weeded the path alongside bedA. The compo bin is now crammed to the lid.
There is a Sainsbugs at Swad and petrol is always cheap. I got my quota of petrol for Degsy then went round to a new shop I had found out about. T W Warehouse is in Cadley Hill just outside Swad. Click HERE for their website. It is a wonderland for tools and blokey stuff. I got some new work trousers. I took myself home for a spot of lunch. I had a read of a couple of chapters of my book then loaded up Degsy, got my brew stuff together and went of the to the lottie.
I had decide that I needed to weed the potato plot [bedA]. I took the fork a set about the usual task. Usual rhythm. Start at one edge of the plot, fork in driven into the ground, lever it back, turn the sod over and drop it on the ground and pull out the weeds, weeds in wheelbarrow. When the wheelbarrow was full the weeds went into the black compo bin. Just do that for a couple of hours and a third of the plot is dug over a foot deep and weed free. Part way through I had a nice sit down to listen to the birds over a brew and a Blue Ribbon.
It was repetitive work but I got there in the end. The soil just fell apart and once it was raked out it gave a a light seed bed. That was as much as could do for the day. The sun was still well above the horizon when I left. I was surprised that I was the only one at the the lottie all day. I also weeded the path alongside bedA. The compo bin is now crammed to the lid.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
No digging
Saturday was going to be a busy day. First I had to run out to Newall to see the potato men to collect this year's seed potatoes. I got my usual Cara and Duke of York. This year's "new" variety is Anya. The look of the Ayna spuds was not what I was expecting. The Potato men were really busy with a queue of blokes eager for their order. I also picked up a bag of the reclaimed compost at the same time. Then it was straight on to Shrewsbury to see the Mother in Law. We went for lunch at the Bridgewater Arms, then a cheeky half at The Railway Inn at Yorton and then a walk round Wem and a "cup of tea!" in The Fox. So all in all not a bad day out.
Sunday was supposed to be a digging day at the lottie. The overnight rain and the continuing rain through the morning put paid to that idea. I decided to have boiled egg and toast soldiers. Instead I went into the greenhouse and filled up loads of seed trays with compost and sowed a selection of seeds; Igloo Cauliflower, Greyhound Cabbage, Dreadnought Broad Beans, Bedford Champion Onions, Winter Giant Leek, Parsley, Sage, Strawberry Sticks (whatever they are), Brussel Sprouts, Spinach, Celeriac, Good King Henry, Basil, Calabrese. I even sowed some flower seeds, Convoulus, Red Hot Poker, Carnation & Marigold. I organised the hose so could water the plants easily. The rain eased off and the sun came but the lottie would be soaked. So I looked out another job.
One of my bee colonies died out over the winter. Three frames had bees head first in the comb. I tapped the frame on one of the posts in the garden which dislodged a lot of the bodies. Those that were not dislodged I picked out with tweezers. It was a right bind so I sat in the garden, in the sun with a frame braced between my knees picking out bees one at a time. You should know there are 2000 cells on each side of a National frame. I spent an hour or so picking away. I damaged some cells but not many. Drawn cells on brood frames are too precious to throw a way so it was worth the effort. I just have to sterilise the frame and comb before reusing the frames.
It won't have escaped your notice that the template of the blog has changed. The new format is easier for updating the lists. I spent an hour on the blog, firstly to see what I could change it too and how easy it was. I saved the code for the old blog then changed the template to the new one. Then I just had to edit the side bar lists. It was Mother's Day so I rang my Mum then made dinner for H. No digging today but I got a lot of other jobs done. The seeds can look after themselves for a few weeks and then I will have loads to plant out and lottie will suddenly look full.
Sunday was supposed to be a digging day at the lottie. The overnight rain and the continuing rain through the morning put paid to that idea. I decided to have boiled egg and toast soldiers. Instead I went into the greenhouse and filled up loads of seed trays with compost and sowed a selection of seeds; Igloo Cauliflower, Greyhound Cabbage, Dreadnought Broad Beans, Bedford Champion Onions, Winter Giant Leek, Parsley, Sage, Strawberry Sticks (whatever they are), Brussel Sprouts, Spinach, Celeriac, Good King Henry, Basil, Calabrese. I even sowed some flower seeds, Convoulus, Red Hot Poker, Carnation & Marigold. I organised the hose so could water the plants easily. The rain eased off and the sun came but the lottie would be soaked. So I looked out another job.
One of my bee colonies died out over the winter. Three frames had bees head first in the comb. I tapped the frame on one of the posts in the garden which dislodged a lot of the bodies. Those that were not dislodged I picked out with tweezers. It was a right bind so I sat in the garden, in the sun with a frame braced between my knees picking out bees one at a time. You should know there are 2000 cells on each side of a National frame. I spent an hour or so picking away. I damaged some cells but not many. Drawn cells on brood frames are too precious to throw a way so it was worth the effort. I just have to sterilise the frame and comb before reusing the frames.
It won't have escaped your notice that the template of the blog has changed. The new format is easier for updating the lists. I spent an hour on the blog, firstly to see what I could change it too and how easy it was. I saved the code for the old blog then changed the template to the new one. Then I just had to edit the side bar lists. It was Mother's Day so I rang my Mum then made dinner for H. No digging today but I got a lot of other jobs done. The seeds can look after themselves for a few weeks and then I will have loads to plant out and lottie will suddenly look full.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Beautiful day
When I got up H had already gone out for a walk. I settled for bacon, egg, bread and tea instead. My arms were feeling tight after yesterday's exertions. Breakfast done and pots washed I decided on another brew and read of my current book. Looking out the window over the garden I could see the sky was blue but the Willows at the bottom of the garden were whipping about. The question was....how cold was that wind. After a couple of chapters I sorted myself out and went to the lottie. I got there at 10.30 and was surprised to find I had the place to myself. This was the first time this year where I really had time to do my plot rather than other chores round the site. I took the customary walk around the plot to see what was going on. Damaged netting and weeds mainly however Garlic and onions missed from last year harvest where sprouting. Poppies from last year are growing as is the Rhubarb.
The worst bed for weeds is bed 1 which is the one I had trouble with last as a result of the Willows. Now the Willows are gone the plot feels lighter. I decided that bed A should get my time. This bed is having potatoes this year so needs clearing on weeds. I got the wheel barrow ready and figured that if I was going to drop the weeds in the black compost bins adjacent to the bed I should probably empty it first. The bin came off the contents easily. I skimmed off the top couple of inches of compost that was not properly converted. The remainder I shovelled into the barrow and when full wander to the other end of the bed to tip the contents. The bin yielded three full barrows of prime compost. It was doubly satisfying as the compost was made from the weeds pulled up last year. Circle of life and all that.
I set about the bed with the fork and as usual I could not stop myself dropping the fork in to the soil a full spit when the weeds were just in the top few inches of the soil. The soil was nice and moist so it dug easily. The weeds were the usual suspects; Clover which is a good producer of Nitrogen in the soil, Red Dead Nettle which flowers early so I like to leave it for the Bumble bees but needs just in this case, Creeping Buttercup, Dock but not many these days and then only small ones and masses of Pineapple Weed. The previous day asked me if the sumptuous weed cover on Bed A was a green manure. I had to confess it was not however it could be. The traditional notion of a green manure is a plant that is grown only to be dug into the soil before flowering. In a sense that is what the weeds will end up doing although they will have to go through a compost bin first. I did say that I would leave the ground covered in whatever grew over the winter as a positive action. I think the experiment has been successful in that the soil is full of worms so the soil is in good heart and the weeds will end up back on the plot in twelve months time as compost.
I did my usual thing and worked back and forth across the plot. By the time I had one wheelbarrow worth of weeds I was feeling the exertion. I put the kettle on, tipped the wheelbarrow of weeds into the waiting compost bin, tipped out the bacon scraps, that I had brought from home, to feed the waiting Robin. I took the tomato bins out of Degsy and placed them by the manure pile. The kettle was ready by then so I got he deck chair out, placed it in the sun and plonked myself on it to enjoy my brew. The Robin so came down the feed on the bacon. The little birds do not seem to miss the Willow. They flew up and down the hedge line quite freely. I notice there seems to be a lot of rooks and crows about this year. Back to work. I dug another wheelbarrows worth of weeds and that brought me up to nearly 1pm. The soil was looking really good although the cover of weeds slowed the clearing of the area down a lot. I ran into a lot of roots from the Willows. I had the cut them back when they fouled the fork. The barrow was emptied into the waiting bin again but this time the lids was put on.
I took the fork and barrow up the Bed 3 and dug up the remaining Sprouts and Chard. The soil on that bed is fairly weed free so should be quick to bring up the a seed bed. I chopped the spouts into the big compost bin and put the stalks and the Chard roots in a bag to take home. These items go in the green bin at home. I figured the council can make a better job of composting these items than I can. I went round the bottom end of the plot and pulled down an area of tatty netting, rolled it up and put that in a bag. I still have a fair bit of netting yet to remove but it is no effort to remove it.
The last job was to fill up the blue Tomato bins with manure. The six Tomato bins live in the greenhouse at home. I had noticed that the manure pile seemed have collapsed in the last week of so. I knew why and it is evident as soon as I dug a spadeful out. The shovel had nearly as many worms as manure. The warm weather and the bit of rain must really suit the worms. I packed up Degsy, locked up the barrow and headed home.
At home H was busy in the back garden. Apparently she had just sat down.....with a cup of tea and biscuit. I placed the blue bins under the staging in the greenhouse and emptied the bag of spout stalks into the green bin. H had been busy. The green bin was nearly full. I dug up the renegade Raspberry canes and discouraged a Comfrey plant. You cannot kill comfrey. You have discourage it by digging it up and slashing the leaf off regularly. At least the leaves make a good addition to the compost heap.
H and I had a brew and a sit in the sun with brew. After a while I went for a shower. We then went down to Moira Furance and had a walk along the canal to Donisthorpe and back. U2's tune "Beautiful Day" was on the radio at breakfast and it turned out to be a really beautiful day.
The worst bed for weeds is bed 1 which is the one I had trouble with last as a result of the Willows. Now the Willows are gone the plot feels lighter. I decided that bed A should get my time. This bed is having potatoes this year so needs clearing on weeds. I got the wheel barrow ready and figured that if I was going to drop the weeds in the black compost bins adjacent to the bed I should probably empty it first. The bin came off the contents easily. I skimmed off the top couple of inches of compost that was not properly converted. The remainder I shovelled into the barrow and when full wander to the other end of the bed to tip the contents. The bin yielded three full barrows of prime compost. It was doubly satisfying as the compost was made from the weeds pulled up last year. Circle of life and all that.
I set about the bed with the fork and as usual I could not stop myself dropping the fork in to the soil a full spit when the weeds were just in the top few inches of the soil. The soil was nice and moist so it dug easily. The weeds were the usual suspects; Clover which is a good producer of Nitrogen in the soil, Red Dead Nettle which flowers early so I like to leave it for the Bumble bees but needs just in this case, Creeping Buttercup, Dock but not many these days and then only small ones and masses of Pineapple Weed. The previous day asked me if the sumptuous weed cover on Bed A was a green manure. I had to confess it was not however it could be. The traditional notion of a green manure is a plant that is grown only to be dug into the soil before flowering. In a sense that is what the weeds will end up doing although they will have to go through a compost bin first. I did say that I would leave the ground covered in whatever grew over the winter as a positive action. I think the experiment has been successful in that the soil is full of worms so the soil is in good heart and the weeds will end up back on the plot in twelve months time as compost.
I did my usual thing and worked back and forth across the plot. By the time I had one wheelbarrow worth of weeds I was feeling the exertion. I put the kettle on, tipped the wheelbarrow of weeds into the waiting compost bin, tipped out the bacon scraps, that I had brought from home, to feed the waiting Robin. I took the tomato bins out of Degsy and placed them by the manure pile. The kettle was ready by then so I got he deck chair out, placed it in the sun and plonked myself on it to enjoy my brew. The Robin so came down the feed on the bacon. The little birds do not seem to miss the Willow. They flew up and down the hedge line quite freely. I notice there seems to be a lot of rooks and crows about this year. Back to work. I dug another wheelbarrows worth of weeds and that brought me up to nearly 1pm. The soil was looking really good although the cover of weeds slowed the clearing of the area down a lot. I ran into a lot of roots from the Willows. I had the cut them back when they fouled the fork. The barrow was emptied into the waiting bin again but this time the lids was put on.
I took the fork and barrow up the Bed 3 and dug up the remaining Sprouts and Chard. The soil on that bed is fairly weed free so should be quick to bring up the a seed bed. I chopped the spouts into the big compost bin and put the stalks and the Chard roots in a bag to take home. These items go in the green bin at home. I figured the council can make a better job of composting these items than I can. I went round the bottom end of the plot and pulled down an area of tatty netting, rolled it up and put that in a bag. I still have a fair bit of netting yet to remove but it is no effort to remove it.
The last job was to fill up the blue Tomato bins with manure. The six Tomato bins live in the greenhouse at home. I had noticed that the manure pile seemed have collapsed in the last week of so. I knew why and it is evident as soon as I dug a spadeful out. The shovel had nearly as many worms as manure. The warm weather and the bit of rain must really suit the worms. I packed up Degsy, locked up the barrow and headed home.
At home H was busy in the back garden. Apparently she had just sat down.....with a cup of tea and biscuit. I placed the blue bins under the staging in the greenhouse and emptied the bag of spout stalks into the green bin. H had been busy. The green bin was nearly full. I dug up the renegade Raspberry canes and discouraged a Comfrey plant. You cannot kill comfrey. You have discourage it by digging it up and slashing the leaf off regularly. At least the leaves make a good addition to the compost heap.
H and I had a brew and a sit in the sun with brew. After a while I went for a shower. We then went down to Moira Furance and had a walk along the canal to Donisthorpe and back. U2's tune "Beautiful Day" was on the radio at breakfast and it turned out to be a really beautiful day.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Tree fellas
Poo trailer run today. That was a harder than it sounds. Last night was the the spring meeting of the allotment society. Good company, chat and Guinness. I had a flat tyre when I went out to Degsy. I got the stirrup pump out and set about pumping air in which is not what you need with a headache. I managed to get enough air into the tyre to get me to the garage for a proper inflation. I think it is just a slow puncture as the tyre stayed up all day. The tyre issue made me a little late for the trailer collection but since I now have a key for a gate Angie was not inconvenienced. I had a little time on my hands I went over the Apiary. I unhitched the trailer in the coppice before driving Degsy across the meadows. The sun was bright and the air temperture was about 13C with a light breeze. Just for a change the wind did not have a bitterly edge. Spring must be on the way!
The River Mease, that borders the Apiary, was a higher than normal but no where near flooding. I could tell as I approached the hive that all was well. I could see bees coming and going. I took up position against the fence and watched the bees for quarter of an hour. I popped the lid off the hive and saw that the bees had broke out of the cluster and were helping themselves to the candy I had put on the hive a few weeks ago. I noted that the bees were not bring in any pollen but the bees were flying freely and with purpose. Some time bees just fly round the hive but these bees were flying off into the counryside hopefully to find a source of pollen. Time was passing so I left the bees, collected the trailer and went to the lottie. Working at half speed I spread the trailers contents on the top end of the boundary hedge. The I trundled back to the house and had a spot of lunch.
Alan came round at the appointed hour. We put all his chainsawing gear in the back of Degsy and set off for the lottie. I had not taken the trailer back to the stables so Sankey tagged along too. I parked Degsy up on the track at the back of the lottie. Alan got togged up for chain sawing. Alan and I stood back and wondered just how we were going to drop the seven, thirty foot Willow trees. They have been standing over my lottie for many years but last year they got the better of me. The roots have invaded my plot and sucked all the water out of the plot. The bed next to the Willow was Peas and Beans and they did not do at all well. It surprising just how much shade they cast too.
Having pondered the situation Alan set about trimming back the smaller side branches. I cleared the brash Alan created. Slowly we worked down the trunks clearing space to work. It was not long before Steve turned up. So now we were three fellas felling trees. Steve had ideas about what to do with cut down trees and brash. He cleared away and broke down brash even further. As we got going DaveP and his lad, Harry, turned up. They mucked in with Steve to make "habitates" for bugs and beasts. They are no more than tight bundles of brash hemmed in with pegs into the ground.
There were a few trees that were tricky to fell. The difficult bit was that the trees were in the hedge and the hedge has two fences, a timber one on the inside and a wire rabbit fence on the outside face. When we dropped the tree we had to make sure we did smash either fence. To control the fall of the tree we tied a rope to the tree as far up as I could climb and the other end the Degsy's bumper. As Alan cut through the tree I backed up Degsy which directed the fall. Once the tree was on the ground Alan trimmed off the branches and chopped the trunk into lengths. Again I cleared branches and trunk to the track side. Steve, Dave and Haz kept clearing the brash but we left the trunks where they lay.
Haz was put in charge of brewing up. Eventually brews were made using his Kelly's kettle. Click HERE for their website. Steve had brought cake with him that his missus had made, Lemon drizzle cake. Very nice and a very welcome sugar rush. We had broken the back of the job. After the brew we cleared away the last of the brash. We then tackled the logs. Alan cut then logs into smaller lengths. The rest of us loaded the logs in the the trailer. It was surprising:
a. How small a pile the brash made when cut up and stamped down
b. How much wood was in the logs.
We packed up Alan's chainsaw gear, hooked up the trailer and headed off home. I had a brew when I got home with Alan. Having decanted Alan's gear from Degsy to his car Alan headed home and headed off to Dave P's to drop off he logs. Logs tipped I trundled off to the the stables to drop the trailer. The ponies were just on the other side of the hedge and completely uninterested in the trailer returning. On the way home a went via the lottie to empty the scraps bin from home that had been in the back of Degsy all day. I fed the birds and took a few pictures of our handy work. The trees were out of proportion for the hedge and now, despite the gaping hole in the hedge like a missing tooth, it somehow looks better. I am going plant Hawthorn, Hazel and Holly to replace the Willow. And now I am done. I parked Degsy at home and went in for my tea completely satified with the day activities.
The River Mease, that borders the Apiary, was a higher than normal but no where near flooding. I could tell as I approached the hive that all was well. I could see bees coming and going. I took up position against the fence and watched the bees for quarter of an hour. I popped the lid off the hive and saw that the bees had broke out of the cluster and were helping themselves to the candy I had put on the hive a few weeks ago. I noted that the bees were not bring in any pollen but the bees were flying freely and with purpose. Some time bees just fly round the hive but these bees were flying off into the counryside hopefully to find a source of pollen. Time was passing so I left the bees, collected the trailer and went to the lottie. Working at half speed I spread the trailers contents on the top end of the boundary hedge. The I trundled back to the house and had a spot of lunch.
Alan came round at the appointed hour. We put all his chainsawing gear in the back of Degsy and set off for the lottie. I had not taken the trailer back to the stables so Sankey tagged along too. I parked Degsy up on the track at the back of the lottie. Alan got togged up for chain sawing. Alan and I stood back and wondered just how we were going to drop the seven, thirty foot Willow trees. They have been standing over my lottie for many years but last year they got the better of me. The roots have invaded my plot and sucked all the water out of the plot. The bed next to the Willow was Peas and Beans and they did not do at all well. It surprising just how much shade they cast too.
Having pondered the situation Alan set about trimming back the smaller side branches. I cleared the brash Alan created. Slowly we worked down the trunks clearing space to work. It was not long before Steve turned up. So now we were three fellas felling trees. Steve had ideas about what to do with cut down trees and brash. He cleared away and broke down brash even further. As we got going DaveP and his lad, Harry, turned up. They mucked in with Steve to make "habitates" for bugs and beasts. They are no more than tight bundles of brash hemmed in with pegs into the ground.
There were a few trees that were tricky to fell. The difficult bit was that the trees were in the hedge and the hedge has two fences, a timber one on the inside and a wire rabbit fence on the outside face. When we dropped the tree we had to make sure we did smash either fence. To control the fall of the tree we tied a rope to the tree as far up as I could climb and the other end the Degsy's bumper. As Alan cut through the tree I backed up Degsy which directed the fall. Once the tree was on the ground Alan trimmed off the branches and chopped the trunk into lengths. Again I cleared branches and trunk to the track side. Steve, Dave and Haz kept clearing the brash but we left the trunks where they lay.
Haz was put in charge of brewing up. Eventually brews were made using his Kelly's kettle. Click HERE for their website. Steve had brought cake with him that his missus had made, Lemon drizzle cake. Very nice and a very welcome sugar rush. We had broken the back of the job. After the brew we cleared away the last of the brash. We then tackled the logs. Alan cut then logs into smaller lengths. The rest of us loaded the logs in the the trailer. It was surprising:
a. How small a pile the brash made when cut up and stamped down
b. How much wood was in the logs.
We packed up Alan's chainsaw gear, hooked up the trailer and headed off home. I had a brew when I got home with Alan. Having decanted Alan's gear from Degsy to his car Alan headed home and headed off to Dave P's to drop off he logs. Logs tipped I trundled off to the the stables to drop the trailer. The ponies were just on the other side of the hedge and completely uninterested in the trailer returning. On the way home a went via the lottie to empty the scraps bin from home that had been in the back of Degsy all day. I fed the birds and took a few pictures of our handy work. The trees were out of proportion for the hedge and now, despite the gaping hole in the hedge like a missing tooth, it somehow looks better. I am going plant Hawthorn, Hazel and Holly to replace the Willow. And now I am done. I parked Degsy at home and went in for my tea completely satified with the day activities.
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Greenhouse
Today, Sunday 3rd March, I woke up to rain pattering on the bedroom window. Yesterday was mizzling for part of the day. The weatherman said it would be so but I did not believe them. I might have to start paying attention to what they say. They seem to be getting forecast right more often these days.
Since I had an appointment in the middle of the day I could not go to the lottie. Instead I decided to tackle the greenhouse. I took out the bins that held the Tomato vines last year and emptied them onto the apple tree patch. The bins were filled with horse muck and compost so after a year it is really well broken down. The soil in the Apple patch has dropped over the years so a top dressing is in order. Whilst I was in the Apple patch I got the secateurs out and trimmed back side shoots on the minaret Apples. The Pear tree is in good order so did not need touching.
I went back into the greenhouse and swept away the cobwebs and swept down the tops then finally tidied and organised up the flower pots. I then set up the bench for the left side of the greenhouse. That will be in place until the seedlings are ready. That will be about the same time the Tomato plants will being sprouting fast. I selected the pots and tubs I needed and set about planting up, Elephants Garlic, Shallots, Purple Garlic and Meteor Peas.
Since I had an appointment in the middle of the day I could not go to the lottie. Instead I decided to tackle the greenhouse. I took out the bins that held the Tomato vines last year and emptied them onto the apple tree patch. The bins were filled with horse muck and compost so after a year it is really well broken down. The soil in the Apple patch has dropped over the years so a top dressing is in order. Whilst I was in the Apple patch I got the secateurs out and trimmed back side shoots on the minaret Apples. The Pear tree is in good order so did not need touching.
I went back into the greenhouse and swept away the cobwebs and swept down the tops then finally tidied and organised up the flower pots. I then set up the bench for the left side of the greenhouse. That will be in place until the seedlings are ready. That will be about the same time the Tomato plants will being sprouting fast. I selected the pots and tubs I needed and set about planting up, Elephants Garlic, Shallots, Purple Garlic and Meteor Peas.
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