More digging and first signs of life

The plot has been coming along nicely since my last post.

Despite not doing the traditional thing and spending Easter gardening (thanks to the weather) I have been managing to put in regular time down on the allotment.

About 3/4 of the plot has now been dug over. Last week my partner and I finished digging the left side and marked out the rest of the beds with string. I'm planning to install edging boards when time and money allows, like the ones around the tree.

The area around the tree has been compacted and weed control fabric laid down. I'm going to leave the water butt next to the centre path together with a wildlife project that I am working on with my son. On the other side of the tree there will be another double compost bin that has already been made by my Father-in-law and just needs to be installed.

My Father-in-law has also finished putting up the fence and it looks great. He has done the job pretty cheaply by using his own ingenuity and recycled materials such as the chain link fencing which came from a local park and from another plotholder, free of charge.

This is what the front "fence" used to look like

The garlic I planted previously has started growing and I have since planted shallots, onions and a couple of rows of spring onions. My potatoes are chitting nicely and I'm planning to plant them within the next week, if the weather allows. I've also started off a few seeds on the kitchen window sill.

I had read that Garlic needs a cold spell to get going but mine seems to be going for it anyway. It does better with as long a growing season as possible so I will probably get smaller bulbs this year. Next years crop can be started in the autumn and will overwinter for a longer season and fatter bulbs.

Garlic sprouting

Finally, my Bokashi bin is about 2/3 full and looks good so far. It's hard to tell what's happening beneath the top layer although as promised in the instructions it does not smell. It has made me more aware of what foods I am throwing away and I have found myself think twice about buying something that I've put in the bin. That must be an extra advantage to using it.

Better than your average composter.

While doing my shopping yesterday in Tesco I checked out their greener living promotion and saw these "Bokashi bin" type composters. They can be used to compost almost any food waste, including meat, dairy products and cooked food, that you cannot put in a normal compost bin.

The secret to how they work is Bokashi bran, which is a mix containing bran, molasses and micro organisms. When you add waste to the bin you sprinkle in a handful of Bokashi bran and this helps break it down and prevent any unpleasant smells. As the waste breaks down a liquid plant feed is produced that is drained off via a tap at the bottom of the bin.

Once the bin is full it must be left for 14 days after which time the contents can be safely added to a garden compost bin or buried in a trench to finish breaking down. It's usually better to have 2 bins so that you can start filling a new one while the previous one is working.

I have seen this type of composter before but they are usually very expensive so it was something that I had added to my mental wish list. When I saw them in Tesco they were already selling at a much reduced price of £21. But when I went back to pick them up at the end of doing my shopping they had been further reduced to the bargain price of £10.50! That was for the twin pack, they also had single bins for £6.50 and both packs included Bokashi bran.

I have already put mine to use, adding cheese, bread and leftover cooked food and will let you know how it goes in a future post.

Clearing the plot continues.....

Bringing my progress up to date - Part 2

On my very first visit to the plot I took measurements and made a sketch of the existing layout. By the time I had finished the general clearing described in my previous post I had an idea how I wanted to set out the plot and what I wanted to achieve in the first year. I decided to aim to get half the growing area cultivated this year and to roughly dig over and cover the other half.

So having mostly sorted out the Family/Work area at the back of the plot I began digging the left side ready to set out beds. I knew there was some bindweed around, I had to remove it from my mystery tree and right side fence, but I was a bit disheartened to find a mat of roots just below the soil. Bindweed is my nemesis in my home garden. Any small bits of root left behind will reshoot and form a new plant, so if you're trying to be organic (I am) the only thing to do is dig over the ground thoroughly and try to remove every piece.

I also started roughly digging over the right side of the plot, helped by my partner. This side had a fair bit of couch grass (which is why I decided to cultivate the other side first, only to find all that darn bindweed!). This is just some of the couch grass turf and bindweed we have taken out:

The other things I have been digging up all over the plot are single potatoes. I mentioned this to my neighbour and she told me that when the previous tenant was harvesting potatoes any that didn't come up to standard would get chucked over the shoulder and therefore broadcast across the plot! I've been piling them up in front of the compost bin and my son has the job of breaking them up and popping them in the bin when he is around. Gives him a job and works off some of that testosterone fueled need to smash things that boys have.

Here is the latest haul waiting for him:

As each section of the fallow side has been roughly dug over I have covered the ground with old carpet. Having planned to use carpet as a weed surpressant I have been rescuing pieces from skips and street corners. The advantage is that it is free, the disadvantages are a) you need to avoid the foam backed stuff since it breaks down quickly and crumbles into the soil, b) you get a lot of funny looks/comments from strangers and c) (if you are really unlucky like me) in your haste to avoid disadvantage ' b)' you put your foot in a pothole in the road and get a badly sprained ankle!

About half of the growing area of the plot has now been weeded and dug over (with thanks to my partner and mother-in-law for their contributions)

My father-in-law has also started putting up a new fence on the front and left sides of the plot (more about that in a future post).

Last weekend I finished digging over and compacting the soil for a new path and marked out some of the beds and paths with string (no photos yet). I also planted my first crop, some garlic. I know it's a bit late but I decided to give it a try anyway. I'm hoping that the cold frosty nights we are having this week will fool it into thinking it is still winter so that it will want to grow once the weather warms up again!

The aforementioned sprained ankle happened on Monday so I am having an enforced rest from the allotment this week. I really miss it but hopefully I'll be back by the weekend, if only for a bit of a potter.