Whips

The weekend was set fair for Friday and Saturday and given as deteriorating Sunday and Monday. Well it is Easter Bank Holiday weekend! I went to the lottie on Friday morning. I need to get busy weeding and turning the beds from a mass of Pineapple weed and Red Deadnettle into a seed beds but first a work party job. A bucket full of two year old whips (Young hedging plants) had been left at the end of my plot. The whips were to be planted in the space made vacant by felling the Willows. I got a small spade and went the area to be planted. The ground is hardly improved since the plots were laid out. The "soil" is mainly blue clay. I decided where the whips were to be planted by placing out the whips on the ground. One by one I stabbed the spade into the clay and made a slot by moving the spade back and forwards. Next I dropped in a handfull a wiggly wonder worm cast, I won this at a raffle, into the slot. I figured the whips needed some help. Then the whip was placed in the slot and heeled in. I just had to that forty odd times and the job was done. I am hoping for a nice thick hedge in five years.

I decide that I had a week or two before I put more spuds in but I have not yet planted any Onions or Garlic. I went to get my wheelbarrow only to find it had a puncture. I took off the wheel and put it in the back of Degsy. I had no way to fix it at the lottie. I went over to another plot and borrowed their wheelbarrow. With the right tools in hand I went up to the bed3 and made a start. It had rained earlier in the week but the soil was reasonable digging condition. The weeds came out easily which was just as well I had a lot to do and not much time to give to the job. As I went along I also weeded the side path. They are so much easier than dealing with the centre path however I did dig out the pernicious and perennial weeds from the centre path. When I had done about an hour or so I stopped digging and started raking. The bed looked great.

The next job and to rest my back, was to chop down some more of the overhead netting. After four years of weather the plastic netting has become brittle and starting ripping. I pulled down another section. I had to pick up all the shreds that fell off. I rolled it all up and put in the bags with all the other netting. I moved over to Bed1 which was for spuds. I change tack a little. I took a wheelbarrow load manure and spread it along the trench left by the last session of weeding. Then I loosened up the bottom of the trench then worked my way long the trench weeding and turning the soil over the manure. I decided this was the process I would adopt on the remainder of the bed.

Time was running out so I did a little hand weeding in the Asparagus bed to clear the few weeds I missed the week before. The Garlic in the greenhouse has failed to germinate however the Garlic I missed harvesting last year is growing very nicely in Bed2 so I shall be digging them up, splitting them and replanting them in Bed3. H got me a net full of White Onions and Red onion sets during the week so they have to go in soon.

When I got home I went in the garage and got the inner tube out of the tyre and glued on a patch. A few hours later I put the tube back in the tyre and pumped it up. Another job done. I put the wheel back in Degsy ready of the next morning.