Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, where finally we bring some news from the plot! (Albeit old news as due to my recent illness I've not lifted a spade now for a good couple of weeks).Our first view today is of our new potato bed, which is slowly but surely being dug ready for next springs planting's. The bed was home this year to our climbing beans, and is now almost completely dug over. Progress has been slow as it had only been shallow dug for the beans. There's also a multitude of stones and weeds to remove as we go. We are digging down now to a minimum of 1 spit (a spade's depth) and opening up the final layer before replacing the turned and weeded earth. This, together with a generous top dressing of our plot made compost (more of that later) , should be sufficient growth depth for the 6 rows of spuds that are planned. The beds that were home to the spuds last year are now earmarked for different crops, as we try and form a mini plot rotation. We won't be bothering with a 4 year rotation as the space and layout would make this difficult, but we may get a 3 year plan underway! The soil itself is now looking good, and the nitrogen rich roots from the climbing beans have been left to rot down where they grew, thus enriching the soil further over the winter. We don't plan to manure the ground this year, rather wait until next autumn. This will let the spuds do the work of breaking up the soil further over the course of next year.
If you look closely at the picture above, you will notice that there is a large mound the length of one side of the bed. This is the result of emptying our compost bin (pictured left), so that we can once again fill it up! The content was mostly topsoil turves that we had cleared away - approx 4" deep - so that we could get a head start last year with planting up our new plot. This autumn / winter's compost will be more "green" material, including weeds and veg leaves, and will probably be topped up with more turves from Plot 87 as we start to clear that. We must have composted and made a good half ton of topsoil, and this will be spread around the plot as we go, helping us to create the good tilth that is required for new plantings. Unfortunately, there's still another compost bin adjacent to this one that needs emptying, but good too in the fact that we haven't got to fork out (no pun intended) for more topsoil. This to me is the heart of having an allotment. I often gasp at fellow plotholders stories and tales of how much they have spent "buying in" topsoil to get to the same stage. How easily some people waste money eh?
Finally, a view to remind us (as if a reminder were needed!) of the hard work that still awaits on our new plot. There's been no progress on our winter project - the greenhouse - but by siting the structure where it is now, we have discovered an otherwise hidden and well established Asparagus bed - aren't we lucky! This will supplement our efforts at home, and hopefully yield a decent crop next April.There's a lot of work still to do, but we think we are starting to gain the upper hand. As Percy Thrower used to say, " a little work done often is the key", and that is what we are doing. Hopefully you'll stick with us as our 2nd year of allotmenteering draws near, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Take care all; wherever in the world you are, and enjoy your gardens.
TTFN
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