Scrapheap Challenge

[Snadger]

Not much of a challenge at the scrapheap this evening!

Put my Charlotte potatoes in a seed tray to chit. Think I may need to buy a few more!

[Ms-T]

I'm now having second thoughts about the width of the run, thinking I may make it a bit smaller. Watch this space for progress.

bigger is better for the chickens..

[Snadger]

Cut and fastened a spar to the coop for the new position for the front panel to fit onto.

Took a carrier bag of stored Elfe potatoes home. I have them n cardboard boxes in the summerhouse and they are storing really well.
They are large tatties, big enough to bake if need be.

Got a couple of eggs off the chooks today, whereas i didn't get any yesterday. Makes me wonder whether there's been a fox around that spooked them?

[Snadger]

I set up a panel for the front of my new chicken coop and dug a hole for a post to go in (the other end is fastened to the coop)

The hole was 300mm of good topsoil, then 200mm of subsoil followed by 50mm of gravel/sandstone followed by pure sand.

My allotment is at the top of a cliff leading to a deep crevass/Dene. The stone level had rounded pepbbles which are reminicent of a river bed?
I am an amateur metal detectorist and although this river bed/cliff would have been formed millions of years ago, 2000 years ago the Roman Legions would have been camped quite close.

The roman wall runs within half a mile of the allotments.
I know from experience that coins, rings etc when lost move through the soil to great depths and only stop when they meet a stone layer.
I have a thin stone layer about 1/2 a metre under my plot!

If I ever get round to it, I may do some Time Team excavations within the chicken run! I'm sure the chooks would lend a hand!

[Snadger]

Back at the scrapheap today.
Temperature was 2 degrees so I kept myself warm by firstly chopping up some waste wood then lighting the woodburner.
I was at the corn market about 9.30 and unloaded three bags of layers pellets into my wheel barrow from car, along with charlotte seed tatties, red plus white onion sets and some shallots
. Also took the weigela I bought yesterday and the pinks plant I picked up for free. After repotting the weigela and pinks and putting the tatties in a seed tray to chit, i put the shallots on to the piece of land they will eventually be planted.

Progressed with the chicken run building by setting in another post, attaching gate and building a framework for the 2 inch square mesh I'm using to clad it.

Went to my old plot and salvaged a piece of weldmesh roughly 2 metres square. Its easily big enough for the panel i am working on but I have to find some way of cutting it? Just about ruined my loppers by trying those!

Ran out of energy after having a late night last night watching boxing, so am now looking forward to sitting in front of the fire reading the Sunday paper!

[Bigmallly]

Bolt Cutters Snadge.

[Baldy]

Yup - I keep some in the back of my car - often come in handy....

[Baldy]

along with my allotment committee membership badge, just in case...

[Snadger]

Last of the big spenders, bought these for £3.89 including delivery!



Been dispatched so should have them by the weekend.

Went to GC before the scrapheap after work and purchased some more shallots for £1.50 and another free plant at the door, a nice thrift white flowered alpine this time, a bit like an edelweiss methinks.. ( I used to sing that song with a sweet melodoius voice as a kid, til my voice broke!)

Planted three rows of shallots in the allium bed. I didn't really need the shallots I purchased but may plant them a bit later to see which perform best. I usually plant shallots and sow parsnips in February anyway so only a few days early!

I started on altering the greenhouse sliding door direction as I want it on tuther side so i don't keep bashing my nut on it.

Started de-nailing a spar for the chicken coop roof but was beaten by darkness at 5.00pm.

[Baldy]

Which nut are you bashing? You wanting to switch which one gets bashed or summat?

[Snadger]

Which nut are you bashing? You wanting to switch which one gets bashed or summat?

I've moved the greenhouse and have a path on the left side. The other side will have raspberries to edge of greenhouse. Unfortunately the sliding door slides to the left and the top support for the door sticks out over the path. I clatter my nut/bonce on it regularily so intend have the sliding door sliding the other way in the direction I don't walk past.

Unlike Zaphod Beeblebrox I only have one head unfortunately!

[Cadalot]

If I hit my head I always find a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster does the trick

You should never drink more than two Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters unless you are a thirty ton mega elephant with bronchial pneumonia.

[Snadger]

Pleased with what I accomplished in a short time at the allotment after work.

My plan is to have two beds, each a mirror image of the other for Japanese white and red autumn planted onions and winter brassicas. (spring cabbage and kale)

One bed is up and running and has spring cabbage and curly kale in it and is covered with blue debri netting.
The other bed is the thing I've been working on this evening. I now have the surrounds in place and have raked the pile of leaves off the bed. I have paved the end and have a concrete lintel which delineates one side, with a path along the other. These two beds i intend surrounding with pan tiles and eventually raising the height of the bed by constant applications of organic matter.
Tommorow I may start setting the pan tiles in position and follow that with a heavy appication of hoss muck.
I have Japanese white and red onion sets growing in my summer alliums bed and may transplant the plants which are about 4 inches high into this new bed so that ALL my summer alliums can go in the same keyhole bed.

[Snadger]

Wheel barrowed to barrows full of hoss muck from communal heap and spread it on bed I prepared yersterday.

Rescued some chicken mesh from one of the plotholders who was getting rid. Will use it as an added measure to keep Raynard the fox way from my chooks.!

[Snadger]

My new toy, the wire cutter arrived this morning so I got a chance to play with it after work at the plot. On the way to the plot i called at Homebase and bought some staples to fasten the wire onto the run with.

Tried the new toy out and cut a mesh panel roughly six foot square to fit part of the front of the run. Stapled it to the wooden framework and job was a guddon!

Tomorrow I will pillage a huge sheet of mesh off my old plot that I used for climbing peas and once cut to a similar size to other sheet to fit framework, will try and secure that into position.

That will be the front of the run completely finished apart from a small piece of wood above the gate.I might even take a piccie to sho progress.