Happy New Year

  

TO EVERYONE

Down At Christmas

Lower End of N2 Plot Waterlogged (28/December/13)

 With power lines, trees, fences, roofs and goodness knows what else, brought down with this weeks storms it was time to go down the plots today, to check out the damage there. Oddly enough most of the small lightweight items of allotment equipment, situated on the majority of plots, such as compost bins, wheelbarrows, plastic fencing and the like, seemed to have been unaffected by the 2 storms of Monday/Tuesday and Thursday night of this week. I was extremely lucky to have only suffered some minor damage on my plots. 3 plant pots in my poly tunnel were blown over with their contents deposited across the tunnel's floor. There was a slight tear in one of the tunnel vents caused by the wind and apart from the lower ends of N2's 2 main beds being underwater, the only other damage was to a dustbin which had been blown over by the wind.

Minimal Damage To My Poly Tunnel (27/December/13)

Having checked out my plots for damage, I took a walk around the allotments' road to see what other damage the destructive high winds and driving rain had caused. Many of the smaller poly tunnels had been blown over with 1 in particular being completely shredded by Thursday nights storm. One greenhouse on plot 77, opposite my plots, had been lifted completely off its base. Several sheds had their roofs missing, with 2 of them completely flattened and almost unrecognizable as sheds. Several trees along the hedgerow to the south side of the allotments had been blown down and were lying across the banks of the drainage ditch, which runs along the southern boundary of the allotments. Many large fruit cages, situated on different plots had been left leaning at precarious angles by the wind, with their supports loosened in the wet, rain soaked ground. Many items of garden furniture and various types of ground coverings, along with other sheeting were strewn around different plots other than where they belonged, waiting for their owners to salvage them.

Greenhouse Damage Plot 77 (28/December/13)

Greenhouse Plot 77 Lifted Off It's Base (28/December/13)

After taking some photographs around the allotments I was back on my plots depositing more kitchen waste and the usual used Christmas wrapping paper and cardboard onto my compost heaps. Having disposed of a large rat from N1 Plot I decided to remove the remaining Sprout plants from N1's brassica bed. Even after the recent extremely wet weather and continuing rain, the soil was workable, due to the fact that a considerable amount of compost had been added to the surface of this bed, earlier this year. As the Sprout plants and a few weeds were lifted, the soil and compost mix was turned and broke down very nicely. By 3 p.m. the air temperature was dropping, so the Sprout plants weeds and some other decaying vegetation was consigned to the compost heap, a couple of Parsnips were lifted, bagged up with a few edible Sprouts and I headed home for a cuppa. 

 Poly Tunnel Blown Into Trees Eastern End of the Allotments

Poly Tunnel Destroyed by High Winds (28/December/13)

Shed No Roof (28/December/13)

Chair Damaged & Shed in Pieces (28/December/13)

Roof No Shed (28/December/13)

Fruit Cages Damaged (28/December/13)

Heavy Duty Cloches Blown Over (28/December/13)

Guttering Dislodged (28/December/13)

The Only Good Rat is a Dead One (28/December/13)

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Hedging Your bets

Marshalls seeds currently have several offers taking place for plants and shrubs.

 Just thought I would post a link to 1 of their pages advertising the offers.

Link = Click Here

Seasons Greetings.

Seasons Greetings To Everyone

"We go, in winter's biting wind,
On many a short-lived winter day,
With aching back but willing mind
To dig and double dig the clay."
  Ruth Pitter, (The Diehards) 

Plugs & Carbs All Jammed Up

With both my plots ready for next season its been a leisurely few weeks for me, pottering about in my back garden for several days. The borders have been weeded, shrubs trees and plants pruned or cut back and the Autumn leaves from neighbouring trees have been raked up and added to my compost heaps on N1 Plot. The lawn has been raked, aerated and a mix of soil and sand has been applied to fill in a few dips in its surface. Just the greenhouse to tidy with some cleaning and disinfecting to do on it, before it again sees the addition of some early sown vegetable seeds in their pots and trays. Oh! and some fence painting to finish off.

He Changed Colours to Match the Autumn Leaves in My Garden (18/November/13)

With the M.O.T. Test being due last month on my trusty 20 years old Vauxhall Astra I was wondering if it would pass its test this time. Deciding not to wait for the test I bought another car, deciding to keep the Astra as a "spare". A few days after the purchase, the Astra, for the first time ever, refused to start. Several hours of tinkering with plugs, leads and various other engine components saw the fault rectified and things are running smoothly again. Having got one engine back into working order I thought I would test my luck further by sprucing up and repairing my old Landmaster rotorvator, which I was having carburetor problems with. At present I'm half way through the repairs, with the carburetor dismantled and the fuel tank, pipes and filters cleaned out.

My Friendly Back Garden Robin (18/November/13)

Since my last main post on the 14th of November the weather has been typically autumnal, apart from the continual heavy full cloud cover, except for 5 days with some sunshine, when the clouds decided to disperse.
I spent 4 of the 5 days doing various tasks down the plots, mainly clearing fallen leaves. The final few meters of ground on the lower part of the L-shape of N1 plot has finally been dug over. The last of the sandier/gritty soil from my back garden project earlier this year, about 1 ton of it, was dug into the damp heavier clay at the same time. This part of the plot will be used to grow Pumpkins and Squashes next year as they seem to appreciate the dappled shade there.

Compost Bins Already Full With Autumn Foliage (8/December/13)

This afternoon was spent removing a few annual weeds which still have the audacity to be growing in some of my previously prepared beds. A few herbs were potted up for future use and although it is fairly seasonably damp in my poly tunnel at the moment the new Strawberry plants, in pots, taken from runners in the early Autumn, needed watering. Although there have been quite a few heavy overnight frosts lately, many plants are still growing, budding and retaining their flowers. The Daffodils and Bluebells along the top of the drainage ditch bank (N1 Plot) are already showing through, as the milder daytime temperature continue to prevail.

Daffodils Appearing (8/December/13)

Bluebells Appearing (8/December/13)

With frozen vegetables from my freezer being used on a regular basis it was time to check the freezer contents to see what produce was still left. There were plenty of Cabbage, Carrots, French beans, Leeks, Garden peas and various types of fruit still left, although the Runner beans were starting to run out (pun intended). Doing an inventory now and again gives me an idea as to the quantities I will need to sow in the following season. Due to the bumper fruit harvest this year and the fact that my last batch of jam has been used up, it was time for some more jam making, using some of the frozen fruit from the freezer. Red currant, Strawberry and Raspberry jam were soon back on the menu.

Savoy Cabbages N1 Plot (8/December/13)

  

More Jam (8/December/13)

There's always tomorrow!!

Rooko's Decembers Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1.  If you have done the final cut of the year to your lawn, clean off the lawnmower and remember if you are using unleaded petrol it does not "keep" so drain off any fuel left in the mower before storing the mower until next year.

2. Red & white currants, Gooseberries, Autumn raspberries & outdoor grapevines can be pruned this month but not if heavy frosts are expected. Seal any pruning wounds.

3. Most summer bulbs are not Winter hardy so dig them up, remove excess soil and store them in a cool dry place indoors, ready for re-planting next year.

4. If your outdoor plant containers are too large or heavy to move to a frost free place, make sure they are insulated for the Winter. Fleece, bubble wrap or (polythene sheeting over cardboard sheets) can be used.

5. Hardwood cuttings from Currants & Gooseberries can be taken this month.

6. Order your fruit and veg catalogues now.

7. If the soil on your allotment is still reasonably dry, digging/rotavating compost or manure into it, can still be carried out this month.

8.  Think about growing "woody" plants permanently for next year and beyond, these will help extract carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.

9. Keep clearing dead and decaying vegetation from gardens, lawns and allotments adding it to the compost heap.

10. Unless you are behind with your work “down the plot” enjoy your Christmas shopping and have a Merry Christmas!!!