saw a couple of butterflys

at the allotment yesterday.

This comma, and  a small tortoiseshell. (Who wouldn't stay still enough for a portrait.)

I sowed some leeks and parsnips, weeded a bit, painted some wooden labels ready for later, and generally enjoyed the afternoon sun. mmmmm lovely. Ivan was there and he gave me some rhubarb.

While weeding I found some of this...

hmmmmm! not good... horsetail methinks! But I might wait till its a bit bigger so I can have a good go at it.

Digging and sowing

What beautiful weekend weather!
We couldn't get to the plot until Sunday afternoon so we were really looking forward to getting stuck in.
We don't really know much about vegetable growing. I have been reading about what to do for years; my 1970's, hessian covered Readers Digest is well thumbed. The wealth of information is overwhelming. After trying it out in the garden in the past, with inadequate soil, shade, and space, I know the only way to learn is by trial and error.
So softly, softly does it.
This year we have divided the plot into three for crop rotation, we knew where the potatoes had been last year, so started from there, with another large area after the raspberry bushes for catch crops and other stuff. There must be a least a million strawberry plants on one side of it, and we plan an asparagus bed on the other side.
We don't know what, "sow in a prepared seed bed then transplant into permanent places," actually means in practice, so we have sowed the purple sprouting broccoli in situ and will move some of them to the spare beds, if and when we need too and find out that way. I'm sure next year we will have a seed bed all ready.
Some photos for your delight...
I lifted the last of the parsnips, one more bowl of curried parsnip soup for lunch tommorow... I'm going to freeze the rest of them.

The garlic is already sprouting... wey  hey!

A woman from another plot gave us some cauliflowers and red cabbage,
Heres Hudge planting them...

- Now we have to net them...

and here is a picture of Hudge looking cool in the blinding rays of the afternoon sun with the giant parsnips.

Got thoese fruit trees in the ground.

I gave the tree roots a good soaking over night as the label recommended, then planted them with lots of lovely, old chicken poop amongst the soil...I hope not too much, well we shall see.

 The apricot,

 and the cherry.

I brought some old fencing panels for the sides of the compost bin, so now that's cosy and secure,

 

and an old bit of green house staging for in the shed. So I have some useful shelves... I love useful shelves.

 

I sowed some carrots, (Nantes 2) but the seeds are a bit old so I don't expect much. We will begin the sowing proper in a couple of weeks when the soil has warmed up. I'll put some more carrots besides them and see what happens. I sprinkled that box of wild flowers I bought the other day around the perimeter of the plot. It looked more sawdust than seeds..I'm doubtful anything will grow. I know it was budget, but I did expect something more than handfuls of dust. Now I'm in a pickle because I can't add to it because I wont know whats what...Well, if nothing has sprouted by the end of the month, I'll sow some more anyway. I do want wild flowers to encourage pollinators and to look pretty. I met Ray the chicken keeper from across the path, and learnt all about red mite and the struggle to keep that in check in the hot months. so a very informative as well as productive afternoon.

Finaly we grabbed an hour when it wasn't snowing....

to get going,

 planting the potatoes, ('Foremost'...earlies) red onions and garlic.

 

We got a couple of cheap, (very cheap...£6.99each, ) fruit trees from the Range; a desert cherry, 'Stella' and a self fertile apricot. (I can't remember the type, I'll check the packaging tomorrow when I plant them,) I've left their roots soaking in a bucket over night. We plan to put them in the old chicken coup so the birds can't get to them. We dug up yet more parsnips...and there are still some left in the ground, can you get fed up of spicy parsip soup? Yes I think you can.

and inbetween snow falls...

I had a quick pop down to the plot...
a quick weed,
a quick look at the stream,
admired the snowdrops,
and the hens....

 My friend Bev gave me all these seeds... all we need now is some warm weather to sow them.

 

 I plan to edge the plot with lots of flowers to attract the bees and pollinating insects.

As it says on the box simply shake, rake and water, then we rock and roll!

Here is a sparrowhawk eating a wood pigeon

We have been away, and since our return the weather has been too yucky to go to the plot.

Yesterday through the window, I watched a Hawk eating a wood pigeon in our suburban garden. My camera was nearby, the photos weren't very good, but the bit of film was OK. Well, its a bit boring to be honest, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway, as the bird is beautiful. Nothing funny happens...   Just a hawk eating... It seems to eat a lot of feathers. Maybe they like feathers.

Yesterdays digging...

The sun was shining again, and as I knew I wouldn't be around this weekend to finish the digging, I took advantage of the clement weather and a free afternoon to finish the crop rotation beds. My friend and allotment inspiration Scarlett assures me photos of half dug beds are not boring so...here you are...

 

 Dah dah!!
I chatted to Ken Austin, the vintage lawnmower man today. - He keeps all the grass verges and paths trim and cut. Here he is with his wife Jean, who writes the news letter and who developed the wildlife part of the allotments. She is weeding the raised beds in the adjacent plot to mine, used by the Thomas Wolsey School. A school for disabled children.

Here is Ken with a couple of his beauties. The first is a ATCO (standard) made in 1925. Ken had  finished reconditioning it, when, he was at the dump, and spied a handful of transfers just chucked away seconds before. He quickly nabbed them and they just finished off the job nicely. What were the chances of that?- For him it was better than winning the lottery.

This is a Colwood Motor hoe with a Villers engine, circa 1949, with trolley. This machine can have all sorts of bits attached, its very versatile. Ken hasn't finished the painting yet, because he uses it all the time.  He has adapted the trolley, and he can put sides on it, to lug, gravel, sand, wood chip and of course, grass cuttings....