Digging in the new year.

Happy New Year all, and welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. Time and tide wait for no man, and with a busy schedule in the next couple of weeks (wedding!) I thought I'd better get cracking with the digging. Luckily WTB bought me a new digging spade for Christmas, and it was well and truly christened today! First job was to complete the digging over of the first spud bed, that was started about 3 weeks ago. Despite the recent frosty weather it was not that hard going, the ground was easily dug and the bed finished within the hour. After sharing a cuppa with Joe and a couple of other visitors, I got on with the second bed. After umming and aaaring about how to do this one, I decided to set about removing the top 4" soil/grass/weeds, to gain me a bit of time in preperation. Also, by doing the work this way, I was able to use the removed turves to form a makeshift windbreak (see top left of picture). It's only about a foot high, but I needed something, and as this is completely free I have nothing to lose. Any shelter is better than no shelter , surely ? Still a lot more digging required here !
The other good news today is that a fellow plotholder "Bob" has offered to weld a new long handle to the blade of my broken spade - what a gent! A lot of people seem to be using these on their plots , and they seem to make the initial digging a bit easier. I'll let you know how I get on with that.
The tatties that I ordered are due for delivery at the end of January, a timely reminder of the work still to do to get ready for planting. Maybe I'll get another visit in before the wedding - we'll see!
That's all for now, hope to see you again soon.

TTFN.