A Key Day ! 27.08.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our blog guide to Growing Your Own Veg in Raised Beds. Regular readers will know we have just taken on an allotment. Thursday 27th August was our first day on the site, and after collecting the keys to the facilities, we made a start. The first job of the day was to rake away the grass which had been strimmed down to ground level for us. Sammie did a good job of this. This was followed by marking out the plot with pegs and string, working to a plan we had drawn up previously. We sited a compost bin and a water butt in the middle of the plot. We are lucky enough to be able to access mains water for most of the year, so Sammie filled the water butt up - several trips to the tap with a watering can! Eventually, i will rig up a hose connection to make this job much easier. The grass cutting's filled the compost bin, to which we added generous handfuls of cardboard / paper, and plenty of water to get it going. Worms from the garden compost bins were also added, as well as some worms dug up on site. This plot is 5 Rods / 151sq yards - whichever way you look at it !
The first hole to be dug was a 2" deep circle to house the base of the compost bin. This was done because the site is very open, and i envisaged the bin flying around in the wind!
The next job on the list was to start digging. This site was previously cultivated, but that was probably about 40 years ish ago, so now its very hard and compacted. However, once you get through the top 4" it's actually not that bad. I managed to dig the first bed, turning the soil over down to a depth of about 12", plenty of worms present which is a good sign. There's also a lot of stones, some quite large which will be taken out over the next few months as the ground is re dug and weeded. We are planning on 10 Rectangular beds, each about 7' x 4', cut into and dug out of the ground. This will allow for access paths between each bed, and also mean that we can reach all the beds without standing on them, which would otherwise damage the soil structure. Is it just me, or are allotment holders quite frugal ? Many of the neighbouring plot holders were only too eager to tell me where to get the latest bargains locally! I have just bought 5 x 75 Litre bags of GP compost for £10! - now that's a bargain !

The Sheppey Horticultural Society are having their Annual Flower & Vegetable Show this weekend, and although i will be working nights on the same days, i will hopefully get time to pop in and say hello.

Join me again soon for more updates from Reads Allotment Retreat.

TTFN