Done some planting!

Look - a slightly tidier greenhouse!


In the pots are garlic and broad beans.

Managed to plant the garlic into pots and also planted some broad beans into one of the beds which I had previously covered to get it very slightly warmer. Once I had sown the beans I covered them with fleece which will hopefully get them going a bit easier.

I also dug a bean trench down the side of one of the beds and next week I will dig another down the other side. Into these will go the kitchen vegetable scraps providing lots of food for the runner beans.

When I started digging I was surprised how easy it was on the beds that I have dug previously. Growing everything in raised beds is definitely the way to go. I do need to improve the soil as it is 100% clay though and will be digging loads of compost in (well the worms will hopefully!)

Tidying up

I read on the Cambridge city council website that the composted contents of the green wheelie bins is available free if you bring your own bags;

Today Chloe and I went there armed with a little trailer, for which I have made taller walls, two shovels and a load of large bags. When we got there the VERY nice man told me to go to the other end of the site where some other VERY nice men would load it for me!! The whole process took about 10 minutes and absolutely no effort and best of all, no money. - I am going again next week!

We took it to the plot and covered her bed with cardboard first then filled it up with the compost. then put some on some of the other beds.

I tidied the greenhouse and picked up some rubbish to take to the tip.

This was 'before'!!

A View across the plots - Still so much to do........

Buddy - Who doesn't help much on the plot! apart from madly running around, frightening rabbits and saying hello to everyone who walks within a 50 metre radius of our plot!

These are the chillies that I managed to salvage from my very dead chilli plants in the greenhouse before they went into the compost bin. I am quite pleased with them and will be growing them again.

I bought some seeds; (Tomato - moneymaker, sungella, alicante; Pepper - sweet spanish mixed; cabbage - hispi; broad beans - Aquadulce claudia & perpetual spinach), garlic and some seed potatoes (kestrel, pentland javelin & king edwards) this week. I always manage to buy more than I will ever hope to use. I still have loads of seeds left from last year but I have decided to grow fewer varieties and stick to the things we love.

I am ashamed

Hello everyone!

I am very ashamed for the fact that I have not only not put anything on the blog for months, but I have also not been to the plot for ages either! - There were legitimate reasons for this - Finishing my Degree - AT LAST it is done - As I haven't got my final result yet I can't say whether it was worth all the hard work - I should get either a 2:1 or a 1st but will know that on 30th March. I thought that I would be fed up with all that studying but I started another course - A Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Quite when I will be able to spend lots of time on the plot I don't know - I think I will be getting the undergardener and children to help. I originally had 3 plots with geat plans for lots of fruit bushes and a mini orchard, but as I am now doing another 18month university course I have decided to reduce my plans a bit and give one of them up - this will mean that someone on the waiting list will get a plot which is OK by me.

I did visit the plot last week but forgot to take the camera with me - It wasn't totally disasterous and I have a cunning plan to cover the beds with cardboard that I have been hoarding, then put compost on top so that the weeds are surpressed and the worms can do the digging for me - good plan isn't it!

I have loads of jobs to do:
Tidy the greenhouse
Cover all the beds & mulch them
Plan plot 2
Collect all the bits for the polytunnel that we want to build
Plant plot 2 with fruit bushes and trees
Build a shed

PLUS

All the normal digging, sowing and planting

Me thinks I might be busy

When I went to the plot last Sunday I met Silvano who is an Italian gentleman who has a plot near to mine he gave me some spinach, beetroot and some parsnips. I ate the spinach which was lovely and the undergardener has plans for the beetroot and this is what I made from the parsnips: After I had liquidised it the result was really tasty parsnip and carrot soup.

YUM YUM