Tears and tiredness

We had to visit the plot in shifts today due to having two very tired and irritable children. We didn't think that tears and tiredness would mix well with dirt and digging.

Dan took the first shift and planted two rows of hard neck garlic. We are hoping that we are still in time for it to develop bulbs. The weather has become quite warm and we know that it has to have colder spells for this to happen. We will wait and see.

I took the second shift of the day and made the most of the drier weather by just having a tidy round. I weeded some of the beds but the ground was very wet so no digging today. The allotment is a very peaceful place and we are looking forward to spending lots of time there this year.

The seeds are coming along and Jack's radish that he planted in his plot are emerging . He is very excited and can't wait to see what they will be like. He is looking forward to planting lots of other things as well .

 

We bought Jack  two new tools today for his patch. He was very pleased. we loved the price as well. Two for £5. Good old Lidl.

The potatoes have started to chit so that's a great start. Sunday roasters here we come!!

Although the visits are quite short at the moment it is really nice to be spending time on plot 5. The fresh air really clears your head and the surroundings really make you feel good. The clocks changing this weekend will also mean that we will be able to go to the allotment in the evenings. This will be especially nice for Dan after working all day in the office. I'm sure that there will be a few nights spent their till dusk.

sunset view of the allotment. Painted by Dan.

Spring into action

Sunday morning brought us some lovely sunshine so we packed up our things and walked to plot number 5.

Dan loaded up the wheelbarrow with some good old organic Devon fertiliser, otherwise known as cow manure. Our local farmer kindly dumps a massive tractor load over the fence at the end of our allotments for us to use. We all pay £10  a year to the farmer  which he then donates to the Devon air ambulance. We always have an unlimited supply. 

Our local farm shop gave us these fruit crates. Dan has put them up in our shed. Think they make great storage, and the best thing is they are being recycled!!!

Our seedlings have started to grow and are enjoying a lovely view at the same time.

Our onions that we planted are established now and doing well. we weeded between them and they look a lot happier.

Our rhubarb is growing well and we are going to cover it up next week.

Our bushes that we pruned are now showing signs of new growth.

What a lovely way to finish off the morning. Saw these lovely little ladies on the way home.

Sow it begins !!!

The 1st of March brought a beautiful sunny morning with it. We decided to take advantage of the sunshine and ventured off to plot no5.

The first job was to uncover all the ground that we had covered last year with weed suppressant. This had certainly done its job of helping keeping the weeds at bay.

We had a bit of a general tidy round. We cleared the brambles, dug an edge of our bed  and Jack planted some radishes in his plot. Dan has planted some sweet peppers and spinach seeds in pots and put them in the shed under the window. Hopefully they will be nice and warm in there and start to grow soon.

We found this lonely daffodil which had survived the winter. This is how it looked.

After a week of being away from the allotment we went back up to plot 5 and what a difference a Week makes. This is our lovely daffodil now.

We cleared out the cold frame which was full of rubbish that had been left. Its very fragile and we did have a breakage but nothing that Dan can't mend. We have positioned it next to the shed and it is ready to use. We uncovered our onions which have been all snuggly and warm all winter. They seem to have done well and hopefully will now continue to grow.

We are really looking forward to the year ahead to see what will grow and what may not. We can't wait to try our home grown veg.

I think  a trip to the recycling centre is needed tomorrow to recycle all the rubbish.