"Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!"

2nd Week of June 2021

The weather is galloping away with a very warm start to June, so much so that the hose is now making an entrance. It is absolutely amazing how the allotment can go from "being damp and not requiring water" to “having to water", because the ground is becoming so dry.

The white netting makes an appearance as we prepare the final plot to receive the Brassicas. We are growing Cabbage (lots of Cabbage), Cauliflower, Brussels, Kale, and Broccoli on that plot. With some space also for leeks we hope…. 

Desi is attending to the Tomatoes which like the potatoes are benefitting from this sunny period, after what was a turbulent May.

We may get a good crop of pallets too with 6 or so coming along nicely. We are collecting them together to make our compost bins for which we’ll be needing 9 altogether, so a good start with these.

At the top of the allotment next to the road we have spread out the couch grass, bind weed and other difficult-to-remove weeds, hoping the sun will dry them out and then they'll be easier to burn. We also want to reclaim the soil that the weeds were attached to.

The lovely green leaves you can see making their appearance in the bottom right corner are horseradish plants - not something we planted, however we are going to try to control and cultivate. We’ve heard that horseradish takes over if you let it, so we'll be very careful with it as we build around this area. It is the final part of the allotment yet to be tilled, weeded and dealt with, but we have ideas and thoughts (mainly Chris has these) about what we could possibly do in this area.

The next picture gives a different perspective of this weed drying process. Once dried, we will separate the weed from the soil and then burn it. The ash will then be put back into the soil: a good source of phosphorus which is great for plants.

Taken from the road, you can see the whole allotment in the next picture. It is gradually taking shape from a “weedy field” to a working plot. Still huge amounts to do, as we have big ideas (no plans). We are taking this as it comes, the allotment itself guiding us at every step…

The last picture from behind the rather battered polytunnel. The runner beans are doing well. They are going to make it!  

Notice in the black buckets some Jerusalem Artichokes we have been given - allegedly like small potatoes going by the funny nick-name of "Fartichokes"... we’ll let you know about them.