Vinny's Allotment Plot

After getting the go-ahead from the Council to demolish my rotten fence, I went yesterday armed with an axe!  I didn't have the heart to attack it so instead I propped it up again (a bit Heath Robinson,  but it appears to do the trick?) and will leave it vowing to 'do a number on it' if it comes down again!

As it was a sunny day I thought I may as well crack on and get a bit done on the plot. I dug over about twenty foot off one of the diagonal beds, bashed down the lumps and raked it level. I then planted a row of Centurian F1 onion sets down the centre of bed spacing about six inches apart.
A row will follow down either side at a later date to give a continuation of cropping hopefully?

I then bashed down with rake the other two areas I had dug over recently and raked level.

To finish off I dug up four rather nice leeks to take home for my daughter. None of the leeks are bolting yet, but I know they soon will so need to get them used.

Called at the plot as I do most Saturday morning after excercising. I was just going to have a neb and see if any onion sets had been pulled out by the birds?......they hadn't. While I was there I thought I may as well do summat? I have a bed of Mooli which I sowed a bit late last year. It has survived the winter but will probably just run to seed now? In case it doesn't, i hand weeded all the groundsel which had grown among the rows. Groundsel is just on the point of flowering so hopefully I have saved  myseldf some work? ( One years seeding, seven years weeding and all that?)

I sowed loads of flower seeds last year but the labels have disintegrated and some of them must have been either biennials or perrenials as they have ccome back again! I have loads more to sow this year so will make a start on that on my next visit.

All my elephant garlic from the early planting is up now and looking good. I have spinach and beetroot which has overwinterd and not gone to seed yet so I need to harvest them soon. Out of three rows of broad beans I have only got four broad bean plants which are flowering now!

Only one on site agan today and it was such a lovely day weatherwise. First time for me this year with shirt off and get some sun to my body whilst working the plot!

I took the glass panes off the large cold frame, hand weeded it, tickled the soil over with a fork, levelled with rake and sowed a full packet (5 rows) of The Sutton broad beans. Replaced the glass and used watering can and a handfull of dried grass to clean the panes.

Pulled more groundel and hoed some weeds that I had missed on the herringbone paths.

Dug up a single large leek to take home and have with some bacon at some time.

Had a decent session at the plot today and managed to get the last of my Centurian F1 onion sets planted. I also planted some white onion sets which were very small (the size of a pea) That's three long rows of spring planted sets to compliment a similar quantity of Autumn planted sets.

I also prepared a couple of beds and sowed six packts of brassicas in one. They will hopefully grow into seedlings and be transplanted around the plot when ready. From memory they were two kales,savoy cabbage,green sprouting calabrese, PSB and a greenish looking cauliflower 'Romanesco' One of the kales was Tuscan kale and along with the other kale were old packets of seeds so I'll just have to wait and see if they germinate? The bed is of a size I can cover it with mesh once stuff has germinated to keep pigeons off!

The other bed had three packets of flower seeds sown in it. Two were the free ones from RHS (cosmos  and summat ealse) for the bees and the third was Thyme.

Lots of weeding dome on paths with hoe and hand weeding done on beds. Some of the many flowers I sowed last year are still growing but I have no idea what they are?

Called at plot, mainly because I had to visit Helen at the graveyard which is close by, with an Easter boquet.

Did a bit of watering and hand weeding at plot, but left after half an hour.