Tea and Cake

The weather has not been on my or anyone elses side this week. Too wet and windy for bees and too wet for the lottie. It managed to stop raining during Thursday night so on Friday morning so nipped up to the lottie and surveyed the weedy patch I call an allotment. I set about the bottom end of Bed4. The soil was really wet but not sodden. At least the weed cover helped keep the soil off my boots. The soil dug really well but as usual I dug too deep. This means a move more soil than a might wish to and makes it light and fuffy.  This bed is going to home to brassicas so I am going to have to tread it down to a very firm seed bed. The greenhouse has many trays of cabbages and caulis coming on to the planting out stage.

It did the usual process put the wheelbarrow put out of reach then work side to side across the plot loosening the soil and pulling the weds. The weeds went in the barrow and then into the compo bin. The weeds have really enjoyed the weather especially the rain. I will have to work a bit more often to get the plot cleared and planted.

On the plus side the early spuds are starting to break the ground. I gave the spud area a good hoeing as there is a flush of weed seedlings. The buds on the vines are starting to swell. I got the hoe busy on Bed3 that had I prepared a few weeks ago. I have bought a net of white onions sets and a net a red onion sets. Having hoe'd off the Bed3 I laid out the plank which I used straight edge to the rows of onions. I used a dibber to mark holes in the bed and dropped an onion set in each hole. A hundred dibs and sets later I was done.

I had an appointment in Ashby with my farmer friend at 2pm. I went home and got showered and changed then walked into Ashby. We got the cafe at the same moment. Over tea and cake we had a good chat about expanding my bee enterprise. Having a home for many colonies is dependant on space so Mrs B's buy-in is important. It turns out keeping bees on the farm is a plus point for them.