Penellype's Allotment

[Newt]

Looking great! Don't overdo it if your back is stiff - better to be slow and work sustainably than get over-eager and wind up off the allotment for weeks with an injury.

[Penellype]

Looking great! Don't overdo it if your back is stiff - better to be slow and work sustainably than get over-eager and wind up off the allotment for weeks with an injury.

Thanks Newt - I'm backing off it a bit for the next couple of days as its going to be very wet tonight which will turn it back into a mire again. There's also the possibility of some snow so I wanted to get as much as I could done this weekend.

[Snoop Puss]

Penellype, you put me to shame!

[Penellype]

Penellype, you put me to shame!

Not really, I just have a bit of time at the moment and I wanted to get on with it to beat the weather.

[geepee]

This is where I was after yesterday's marathon:

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Today's job was to finish off clearing all but the grassy bed near the hedge and the bit near the tunnel which I'm leaving for now as its probably the best place to put the raised beds together and if I start digging it will turn into a muddy mire. I've pretty much completed what I wanted to including removing the cabbages (the insides of which I brought home for tea).

I've also put some weed suppressant fabric down on 2 of the paths, although I can't peg it down yet as I want to adjust it so that it fits nicely under the edges of the raised beds without encroaching too far. I'm folding the excess part underneath rather than cutting it - I made the mistake of cutting down the length of this stuff at my friend's and the result was frayed bits of plastic everywhere.

I thought it best not to do any more digging today as my back is still very stiff.

This is what it looks like now:

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All looking and sounding good Pen' I cant wait to see the raised beds go in ..
Gp

[4Shoes]

"...and loads of horsetail" - I don't think it comes in any other quantity... d

Don't you just love them. no matter what I did they kept coming back. Sorted it out with a Shed. Defence between my garden and next door.

**
Was about to say .. that mares Tail thrives in 'Poor ground ' Ie low Ph, and Low P&K levels and areas of waterlogging. .. but GeePee got there

Just read from begging to end and your doing well. Agree on the raised beds. Treated timber is the way to go. Keep up the good work and enjoy.

Q.. You getting run off from the road?

[Mark_Riga]

This is probably the nicest type of gardening - watching someone else.

[Penellype]

Don't you just love them. no matter what I did they kept coming back. Sorted it out with a Shed. Defence between my garden and next door.

**
Was about to say .. that mares Tail thrives in 'Poor ground ' Ie low Ph, and Low P&K levels and areas of waterlogging. .. but GeePee got there

Just read from begging to end and your doing well. Agree on the raised beds. Treated timber is the way to go. Keep up the good work and enjoy.

Q.. You getting run off from the road?

Thanks for the comments. The ground is certainly wet, as is the whole area (my plot is at low flood risk from surface water on the govt long term risk flood map, some of the plots further down are medium risk). The soil in the area is generally on the acid side.

I don't think I am getting runoff from the road - because of the surface water flood risk the drains are fairly good and well maintained, particularly for the bus stop area. I think, like my garden which is currently under a few mm of water in places after the rain this morning (still falling), there is simply a high water table and it takes a little while for the water to drain away after rain. Raised beds will help, which is why I am doing them straight away.

This is the current situation in my back garden after 5mm of overnight rain:



This is quite a common occurrence and the water level usually goes down slowly over about a day.

[Penellype]

Not a lot got done yesterday as although the rain stopped and the sun came out in the afternoon, it was very wet under foot. I tipped the water that had collected in the upside down dustbin lids into the blue barrel (always put dustbin lids on upside down - they are great rain catchers) and made sure everything was properly secured in case the forecast gales arrive on schedule (some doubt about how far north they will be).

Pulled some bits of plastic rubbish out of the hedges and put a couple more sheets of cardboard down, then went home.

[Penellype]

Nothing doing yesterday as work, shopping and catching up with housework etc intervened.

Today the raised beds should arrive, weather permitting. We have a dusting of snow and hopefully nothing more on the way.

[Penellype]

I am now in possession of 9 5 inch deep 3ft by 6ft 6in raised beds and one 3 tier bed of the same size which will be a hotbed. Huge thanks to Geepee for sourcing the wood and for loads of help and advice.

The beds are roughly in position but still need some proper lining up, which hopefully I will have an opportunity to do over the weekend. I also need to lay and properly secure the weed matting for the paths. Then it will be all systems go filling them with rotted horse manure and other bits and pieces.

I didn't take my camera today as I was worried it might get damaged while I was moving the wood and beds around, but I will take some photos soon (although not tomorrow as I have a very busy day).

[Snoop Puss]

^^^Brilliant. Great stuff, geepee too.

[Penellype]

As promised, here are some photos of my lovely new raised beds:





They are still not quite in the right positions and I need to lay the paths and peg them down under the edges of the beds before I can start filling them properly. I plan to make a start on that over the weekend, weather permitting. The taller bed is 3 layers high and will be a hotbed.

[Newt]

The plot is looking great! Your hard work is really starting to pay off.

[Penellype]

Very pleased with the way things are coming along. I just hope the weather lets me get some more done over the weekend (its currently snowing).