First Beds Ready

[Feral007]

Just a quick tip I got from another plotholders misfortune, if you use fish blood and bone or bonemeal that will attract the foxes and they will dig to get at it thinking theres something tasty in the hole.
At least round here they do at any rate, poor Barney had nearly every single plant he put in upturned as he put some bonemeal in the bottom of the trench.

I didn't use any straight manure, or pelleted chook poo so as not to encourage our young dog in digging in the garden..............I can also say Stay Away From the Aldi Organic Fertilizer. It's like a dog/fox approdisiac! Our young dog not only dug up all the new plants I put in but the older ones I was giving an organic boost to, and then she got hold of the plastic container and had the rest straight. All I can say is I hope she had some wind pains from it all! If it smells bad, dont use it if there are animals around.

[Samurailord]

Blimey

and I like your photos, very neat job

Thanks TS.

Long Saturdays are becoming the norm for me - in fact I was late on the plot on Saturday as I had to deliver leaflets advertising our Open Day Event to the local area first.

Fortunately the weather was good all day, so we stayed just as long as we had to to get all the frames completed.

The back three frames were just dropped into roughly the corect spacing - I got them all lined up properly yesterday.

Andy

Andy

[Samurailord]

If it smells bad, dont use it if there are animals around.

All I am using is loads of rotting cow manure. It smells really bad at the moment, but I am burying it deep so it can rot down completely over the next few months to give some really rich soil ready for next year's season.

Andy

[Samurailord]

A short day at the plot yesterday, only 4 hours.

I managed to finish digging out the third bed and got a layer of manure about a foot deep in there.

The plan with this bed is to hand-fill it by crumbling each clod of earth to remove weed roots and unwanted debris before tipping the good stuff back in.

A slightly different approach to the previous double dug bed, and much more time consuming but I am hoping that this will eliminate the majority of the perennial weeds and save me loads of time later on.

I also lined up the other three beds and got a couple started with layers of cardboard and manure.

The final bed is being left for now as the ground under it is still pretty sodden.

The next job for me is to dig a drainage channel away from the plot and through the orchard to try and allow the water to seep from my plot and to the edge of the allotment.

Loads of work, but it will hopefully be worth it in the long run.

Andy

[Feral007]

I don't think you could dig manure in deep enough to stop our young dog from wanting to play with it

[Samurailord]

It's only 12 inches under the surfaced at most in some of the beds - in the 'lasagne' stye ones about three inches.

One other advantage of the drainage shannel is that I can direct it towards our awkward neighbour who was complaining about the noise from the strimmers this weekend.

He wouldn't be able to complain if his garden was under water (there isn't enough water to cause him much of a problem right now, but come winter .....)

Andy

[Samurailord]

A further update.

The 10 ton pile of cow manure has now been shifted onto my plot - part into the raised beds but the majority is in two holding piles waiting to be used.



The pumpkins have really started to motor along, and there is even a female flower about to blossom on one.



The beans have started to flower and are climbing up the canes

[Samurailord]

The peas are producing pods



and the potatoes are now 14 inches tall



Only one of the six raised beds remains empty - I can't do anything with this as the top section is far too muddy until I have managed to dig a drainage channel away from the plot.



The others have all got at least a covering of manure



and the pond I inherited has cleared up and is home to a small colony of newts

[Samurailord]

I also managed to plant out a further 11 Savoy Cabbages into the double-dug bed



All I need to do now is to get some netting over my home made cloche and have a tidy up before this weekend's open day/Willow Weaving event

Andy

[Feral007]

What a lot of work you've done! Not much tidying up for you to do before the weekend.

[Samurailord]

What a lot of work you've done! Not much tidying up for you to do before the weekend.

You must be joking, Feral! Loads of tidying yet to do.

All the stones and rubble that has come out of the beds needs moving, the cardboard that is still down needs replacing with black weed fabric as it is starting to look very untidy, the long grass at the back of the plot needs strimming and raking.

And I have some more planting to do as well.

Andy

[Florence Fennel]

It's looking really good Andy, well done. I hope you get everything done before the weekend

[Samurailord]

It's looking really good Andy, well done. I hope you get everything done before the weekend

Thanks Florence.

I don't think I will, looking at the weather forecast, but all I want is for it to be nice on Saturday.

Andy

[Bigmallly]

Good job Andy, well done you.

[Samurailord]

Good job Andy, well done you.

Thanks BigM.

I honestly never expected to be this far along so quickly, and I would never have done so well without the help of the family.

I didn't think I would even shift all that manure, but I have surprised myself (and gotten a whole lot fitter in the process)

Andy