Beans, Beds and Brooms

A couple evenings this week I have manage to shoehorn an hour or two in at the Hill before dusk (or more accurately, 'at dusk', or even, 'rather beyond dusk') which has seen a bit of plot maintenance, and a couple of jobs knocked off the list. Marvellous.

The Hill Stables up the road drop off their bags of manure every couple of weeks into a big heap which is conveniently at the side of the roadway by Geoff Crosspatch' plot next to mine; and a couple of evenings ago, I shifted half the bags - about twenty, I guess - nicely filling up one of the 'side bar' beds which are set aside for permanent plants, but in reality have just sat and done nothing but grow weeds for years.  

I have plans for fruit bushes, but in the meantime, a 6" deep blanket of horseshit should supress all but the hardiest of annual weeds.

Sweeping up afterwards, I noticed the broom head was loose, so I upended it, grasped the head firmly and gave it a couple of thumps to drive the handle back into the head.  Next thing, I'm standing there holding the broom head neatly cleaved into two halves.  Oops.

Then tonight, I had a lovely evening lined up - planting out the runners and weeding.  I'd just arrived when the heavens opened.  After about 20mins, the rain lessened enough for me to hurriedly plant out the runners and dive back in the car before I got totally wet through. 

At least I didn't have to water them in.

Frontage Facelift!

Whilst my seeds have been nursing their bruised heads in the pots at home (now far more securely sat on the bench), I have been keeping on top of the weed explosion at the Hill, going to the allotment AGM, beefing up the 8 beds with new stakes to hold the edges in place, and getting round to 'doing something' with the front of the plot.

All plot holders are encouraged to devote the first 3' or so of their plot fronting the roadway to a floral display.  Not only do these look fabulous, up and down the site, but it also acts as a sacrificial strip for those drivers on site - to and from the plots and/or the social club - who are incapable of keeping four wheels on the roadway.

We do, in fact have a competition for the most attractive, which is often won by those showing floral 'mosaic' displays of annual flowers depicting a tableau of some sort.  Some devote a great deal of time planting up a template of blue and white lobelia, red salvia, orange marigolds (and those green silvery furry plants that I don't like very much) to make a picture in flowers a month later. 

My two overgrown and woody straggly 10yr old never-been-pruned lavender bushes with a natty under-display of couch grass and self seeded calendula, dandelions and forget-me-nots do rather let the side down (pic above).

So the bank holiday saw me wielding a fork with great intent, and once every (discernible) weed had been evicted along with the two lavender, I set about bed prep and soil grading.  I created a stamped down path for access to the first bed, used some slabs for matching paths each side, and planted out a dozen English Lavender plants, bought from Homebase for £1.40 a pop.

Just got to learn about pruning them.

Potential Disaster!

The most convenient place in the (rather weedy!) courtyard garden for me to put seed trays is on the low wall between the yard and the hardstanding.  If the trays are on the ground they will be tripped over; on the bench, there is no where to sit.  The wall is just fine.

Except it is not safe, it appears from my clumsy nitwit cats. 

Whether it was a chase gone wrong, a mis-step whilst jumping up to the adjacent fence, or collateral damage whilst after something 'fluttery' I will never know, but two of my four trays of just-sprouted seeds took a dive. 

Both trays of beans all scooped up and righted, a few days later there seems to be remarkably little set back - although if I've mixed the dwarf beans and climbers up (identical at the mo), I won't know about it until a week or two after planting out when I may find have some sulky climbers and sprawling dwarfs.....

Wooosh - and we're off!

So if you want to know what a week of sunshine does in May after a very wet but mild Spring, you only have to blink at the Hill (alright - a week since previous attendence) to find that there has been a collective explosion of growth. 

In the weeds on the paths mainly (MUST get round to covering and chippings there) but also with the broad beans and garlic - both of which are looking superb.

An hour this evening saw me filling one of the daleks with pulled up weeds (they disappear into nothing in a few days) and fluffing over the bed with the most recent Dalek compost spread about. 

Some of the more straw-like went back into the dalek for a another go, but this is now looking more like somewhere you can plant things rather than something you would feed to a horse.  

Meanwhile, in the kitchen last week I had a mammoth seed sowing session in front of the tele - most relaxing.  Runners, dwarf and climbing french beans, sweetcorn, leeks (bit late in according to the packet) and 4 varieties of courgette - the quantity of which I am already regretting.  

Wig Wam Bam!

What lovely weather for this bank holiday weekend!  Lots of outside activities in the sunshine which included climbing around on the flat roof to clean the window paintwork, soffits and clear out the gutter, going out for a long run (v hot!), visiting friends, a trip out to the farm shop all on top of normal weekend activities.

But I also went to the Hill in the sunshine and got a few jobs done.  First of all I was delighted to see the Pentland Javelin potatoes planted four weeks ago are now showing the first shoots - hurrah!

I pulled up the last of the leeks which I'd left to flower on the basis that they are not actually flowering, and this year is not the one with the time to bugger about with experimental leek seed/seedlings which may or may not come to anything.
 

This left a lovely quarter of a bed at the end of the potatos which raked over and planted a score each of red and white onions bought ealier from Poundland; and then treated both potato beds with a few handfuls of BFB.

That just left me time to put up a couple of wigwams for the beans on one of the beds which I limed earlier in the week.  Not that I've got any beans sown yet - although I did look out a bad of compost, pots, trays and some of last year's saved bean seeds when I got home - but alas - actually sowing them is a job for another day

A Quick Hour

I'm very much enjoying the evenings getting lighter!  I managed to sneak an hour in after tonight's club run - even though it was definitely on the night side of dusk at 9.15pm.

I finished turning the lime into what will be the beans and peas beds this year.  It's May, so with these two allocated beds ready, I'd better acually sow some seeds.  I very rarely sow direct, it's all a bit more controllable in pots at home then when you plant them out - voila - instant allotment!  I must get on with that, and I need to put a wigwam up too for the climbing beans. 

I never really have the knack of peas - I can't settle on what's best in terms of protection or support, and end up with peas full of pea moth grubs, and looking a right ol' straggly mess. I do like peas though!

Before I left, I emptied the last of the daleks which has been full for a year and moved the empty to the next bed along.  The contents of this one are particularly dry and not well rotted, so a lot will have to go back for another go.  

Well, I say not well rotted, but I couldn't actually see what I was doing by this point, so did the sensible thing and retired to the clubhouse for a beer.