Back on poo duty on Saturday morning. Shall we say the weather was "bracing". Steve and I are continuing the orchard by piling up muck along the southern boundary. This weeks trailer full added to the total. Another three or four loads we see us up the big poo bin. I got a bit carried away on Saturday, after the trailer was taken back to the stables. I went back to the lottie a decided to move a a few of the bricks that and been dumped by a thoughtful plot holder. I set the pallet level against the poo corral and stacked the bricks. I thought I would just do the bricks with full frogs. For the uninitiated a "frog" in a brick is the recess on one or both bonding faces. Anyway I figured the frogged bricks would be lighter than the solid bricks that were in the pile. I flung the broken bricks on top of the pea gravel covering the French drain. Once the frogged bricks were stacked the remainder looked untidy so I shifted those as well. It was quite satisfying get the bricks stacked. I really have to get out more!
I nipped back home to go into town with H. It is becoming a habit. A habit I think I might have to stop. The farmers market was on a H wanted to get some chocolates. The chocs are hand made with no preservatives so they have to eaten within days. Not a problem for H. The choc stall was next to a butcher's stall. Whilst waiting for H, I perused his board of fare. His speciality was Dexter cattle. I figured I would have a taste so I bought two Dexter burgers. When we got home it was still a bit early for lunch. Live dangerously I thought and made lunch from the burgers. A couple of nice brown buns with a leaf salad, some fried onions , sliced Tomato, a blob of Mayo on H's and the seared burgers on top. Very nice. The Dexter tastes different of "normal" beef and very nice indeed. It is very purple when it is cooked but not bloody.
Freshly fuelled I nipped off to the lottie again. I needed to get bed 3 finished. I plugged away. The soil is still digging as well as before. I got as far as the Spinach which has been over wintering. I have to decide whether or not to dig them out. They are quite squat and small. I took one home for a test eat. If they are tasty I will work round them. If not, the compo bin awaits. I checked the onions sets planted a week ago. The roots have started sprouting. The Garlic has made itself at home despite the wind and occasional frost.
My buddy gave some Gooseberry plants. I have no where for them at home so I resolved to make a bed for them at the lottie but where? I decided to get rid of the water trough. My trough is one of those plastic bins they use for cement on building site. It takes up room in front of the plot by the Comfrey patch. I did not have my drill or screws with me so I decided I would sort out a new bed as an extension of the Comfrey patch the next day. Sunday came round and it was bitterly cold. There was rain in the air and it had been raining overnight. I figured I could sort out my Gooseberry beds if nothing else. I was well wrapped up against the cold but as usual as soon as I got busy I got too hot. I stripped off a few layers and got stuck back in. The gooseberry bed came together after some banging and screwing. I bagged a barrow load of soil from the top of the lottie and a barrow load of manure. I mixing them up but I still short of another barrow load of soil to fill the bed. The Gooseberry plants are cosy in the greenhouse at home so another week won't hurt them.
Since the soil was a bit wet I decided to sort out the the edging to the end of bed 4. This end is on the right of the plot, just inside the gate. I decided to put two planks together to make the edge. For some reason, over the years the trench at his end of the bed just keeps getting deeper. It is about ten inched deep. Two planks is twelve inches. This should keep everything in order. I used the string in to set out the position, belted in four pegs remembering not to go mad and leave them high enough to capture the top edge of the top plank. I exercised some restraint a fixed the upper plank nice and level. Then I dug down on the bed side of the plank to give me room to fit the lower plank. The wizard turned up spell of plot fettling [pun intended]. I gave him a wave but got back to work. Presently he came over to borrow my barrow and on his return had a chat. It was blowing hearty and straight from the Urals by way of the North Sea. There is nothing round here to stop it and I was damp with sweat [a nice picture] from working. He must have seen me shivering so he did not not keep me talking long. The planking went easier then expected. I went up the long the side of bed 4 and pulled up the green manure that was regrowing, spread it out in the tench by the planking and chopped it up with the shiny new spade and then back filled the trench. I dug over small area just to level out the end of the bed. Another job done.
I forget the seedling onions last week when I was emptying the greenhouse. This week it was their turn to be planted out. I had started them from seed, in a tray. The onions were about three inches high so it was time for the great outdoors. Bed 3 now contains fifty Bedford Champion Onions. The over wintering brasicass had started to run to seed so I chopped them up for either the compo bin or the worms. The worms seem quite happy in their new home and seems have weathered the winter. I went home about one o'clock.
Over cup of tea I checked out my seed box. The greenhouse is empty again and all that has been planted out has released the seed trays for more seeds. Previously I had filled as many seed trays as I had free. Now I filled those that had become available. I set off on a planting marathon. H even brought me out a brew I was in the greenhouse so long. In this session I have planted:
Basil, Corriander, Sorrel, Parsley, Dill, Fennel and Sage. Do you see a trend? I also planted, Spanish Peppers, Rainbow Chard, Red Cabbage, Celeriac, Sweet Corn, Beetroot, two sort of Leek [Jolent & Mammoth White], Robinson Champion Cabbage, Peas [Feltham First & Lincoln] and Dwarf French beans. I have even gone for some flowers; Alysumm [White & Crimson], Snapdragon, and two sorts of Sunflower [Giant Single and Red Blaze]. The first sowing of Brasicass are nearly ready to go out so I need to get on with digging over bed 4. I might try for an hour on Monday and Tuesday evening this week to move the job along.
No comments:
Post a Comment