Vinny's Allotment Plot

I had a couple of productive hours at the plot today. I dug over one of the diagonal beds, The top part had strawberries in it last year and must never had been dug over as every spadeful I encountered large rocks. I am wondering whether this was one of the 'no dig' beds covered with cardboard and planted through? If so this is one case for NOT adopting the no-dig policy?
Further down the bed was a lot easier to dig and had very few stones so must have been dug over at some time? I have no idea what I will be growing in this bed but have a nursery bed with six different brassicas sown, so will probs be brassicas? Even with my shirt off I was sweating loads while digging bed in the sunshine, so much so that I called it a day after that ,leaving it rough ready for raking & creating a seed  bed suitable for planting in the future.

Brassica seedling are all about one inch tall so I must cover them with mesh next time I am at plot to keep off the flying rats!

Back at plot yesterday mainly to water seedlings. Finished up building a Heath Robinson structure over my brassica seedbed and covering it with enviromesh.

Bashed down the lumps on the bed I dug over last itme I was there and raked it level.

Tickled over another bed ready for planting. I was glad to see some of my cucurbits I sowed have shown above ground!

I have been to the plot each day since I last posted. Just about all beds are now prepared. Yesterday I sowed two lots of leeks and some black scorzonosa? I am gettting pretty low on water in the large water butt and have started to take water from the 1000 litre IBC tank which I have re-connected to the guttering on the shed so that when it eventually rains, I can harvest the water.
The brassica seedlings from the six various brassicas I planted in a seed bed seem to be doing fine and will soon be ready to transplant.

The various cucurbits I direct sowed have also germinated and some of these will need transplanting soon.

Quite a few of my neighbours have got letters from the Council to tidy up their plots but luckily they must have been happy with my plot as no letter was forthcoming!

No need for a trip to water seedlings today as we had rain overnight!

Back at the plot again today (It's starting to be a bit of a habit)

I am wondering whether we had a bit of a frost as some of the cucurbits had a white tinge to leaves!   I think they will survive but its a bit of a setback.

Loads of weeding with hoe and hand weeding (self sown poppies of all things) until my back started to play up.

The two potted Alstromeria were looking a bit sorry for themselves so I wonder whether they haven't ben hardened off? I took off a few of the flowers that had drooped over the side of the pots.

The brassicas are just about ready for planting out from their seedbed and I have a bed prepared for them. The problem is how to protect the seedlings from the pigeons? I'll need to have a think about that before I plant them out? The seedbed is covered with enviromesh but I havent got enough to cover the beds I intend planting them in!

Back at my nemesis today for a couple of hours. Waterd seedlings and area where I hope seeds will germinate. Because it was still quite windy I decided against plantimg out brassicas with there asociated netting. Instead I hand weeded, weeded with hoe and even did a bit of digging. I have some yellow gas pipe whicch I thought I may be able to utilise as netting hoops. After punching holes in ground to to take each end I made a sort of hooped area over bed. I cant say I am too enamoured with it and may ditch the idea for something else? I havea few plans in my mind for re-configuring a couple of beds............but that's for another day.