Sunny and hot all week and still no sign of any rain, possibly for the next fortnight or so. The past few days have been far too hot for any manual work down the plots, such as digging or soil moving. Therefor as normal I decided to finish digging out the compost heap at the top of N2 Plot. I finally finished the task at about 4 p.m. this afternoon. About 2 tons of compost/soil mix is now stacked on top of plastic sheeting at the lower end of the plot, ready for future use. Much of the good quality compost has been added to the top surfaces of my recently built, raised beds, with the remainder barrowed and spread around the Potatoes on N2 Plot. About 50% of the Potato bed is well earthed up again. As the compost was removed it was checked over for things I would not add to a compost heap. I have 2 full dustbins of rubbish and vegetation, plus 1 barrow load of stones, plastic and metal (do they still manufacture 10 inch nails), to dispose of tomorrow. Another large container is almost full with vegetation which requires further decomposition, so this will be added to one of my compost bins on N1 Plot. Despite popular opinion, compost is the main-stay of any allotment.
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| Compost Heap There It Was Gone |
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| Thing I Don't Add To A Compost Heap |
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| More Items Removed From The Compost Heap |
Over the past week harvesting and watering have been the 2 main priorities, trying to keep different fruits and vegetables correctly watered has been challenging due to the heavy clay drying out very rapidly. Most of the watering has been carried out during late evenings, hopefully giving the plants time to absorb the water before the heat of the following day. At the moment it is 9-30 p.m. and temperatures are still around 20 degrees C. here.
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| Even The Robust Raspberry Doesn't Like the Lack of Water |
Yesterday I harvested another 6 Kg of Strawberries, probably the last flush. Lettuce is growing and being harvested in abundance and the first 4 Kg of Garden peas (Hurst greenshaft) were also picked yesterday. I lifted my first batch of Onions (sown from seed last October) a couple of days ago. They are currently drying out in my greenhouse. Due to their good quality and excessive size I am considering sowing overwintering onions, only, in future. The Red currants and Gooseberries harvested this morning have not been weighed yet. Attracted by the recent warm and sunny weather more bees and butterflies have been visiting the plots but I have still to get a sighting of a honeybee.
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| Potatoes Earthed Up With Compost/Soil |
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| This Mornings Harvest |
There's Always Tomorrow!!
