Four hours, contd.

After lunch, I surface-weeded the bit below the row of onions I put in last week, and put in a long row of shallots. They were already growing in the allotment, left over from last year: I simply dug them up, divided them, and re-planted them. They might come to nothing, but if they are successful, I've got a crop of shallots for precisely nothing.

 

 

Below the shallots, I sowed two rows of Boltardy beetroot, and two rows of Perpetual Spinach/Leaf Beet. Then I called it a day. I was very parsimonious with the beetroot and spinach seeds, putting them in singly three inches apart. Each packet only cost 60p, but now I'm beginning to see the logic of Joe's insistance on saving seed and being very mean with it. Each beet "seed" is in fact a cluster of seeds, and will produce several seedlings, and if they grow three inches apart, that gives baby beet for weeding out and eating young, and mature beet for pickling.

Four hours on the Lechlade allotment

I spent four hours on the Lechlade allotment today, in beautiful sunny weather, trying to get as much done as possible. First, I cleared a patch by the wall, and planted some near-dead strawberry plants that I'd rescued from Big John's allotment in Swindon. He'd hacked up a patch of them beside the fence because he wants to extend his lawn across both his allotments. I think it was a terrible waste, but not everybody loves strawberries as much as I do.

 

I then started planting potatoes. I'd brought in that cardboard box about half-full of seed Charlotte potatoes. I planted two rows before giving up. It was terribly hard work. First I had to clear the surface weeds, then I had to hack holes deep enough. I started off by hacking trenches with my Man Hoe (that's what I call it: it's a mattock, or Italian hoe, a zappa). I call it a Man Hoe because it is so big, and I resort to it when all else fails. It is usually "man enough for the job" (NB. irony alert!).

 

This job was done in fairly hot sunshine, and I am aching now and will probably be unable to move tomorrow morning. Nevertheless, I got two long rows in, so nobody is going to go short of new potatoes this summer. I have brought the rest of the Charlottes home and will plant them in my Swindon allotment. I still have a row of Jersey Royals and a row of Desiree to plant at Lechlade.

 

(The basket, by the way, is courtesy of Jim in the shop. He describes them as French, and they may well be. He chucked my two out because they were broken, but they're still good enough for carrying weeds).

 

After that and a long sit down in the shade with a bottle of water, I started on the easier work (the chair is a shop reject as well).

 

 

 

More spuds

I put in a row of Charlottes in the Swindon allotment, just to give variety. I've saved the rest of the box for Lechlade, where I'm going today.

Had to remonstrate with some people about having a dog off the lead on their Swindon allotment. They were quite civilised about it though (they know me of old), and put him on a lead. You can't have dogs running around on allotments when people have just put their seed in.

Getting on reluctantly with the Swindon allotment

I went rather reluctantly down the Swindon allotment this afternoon.

After the pleasure of the beautiful surroundings and heavenly soil of the Lechlade one, my heart wasn't really in it. But I managed to build up a bit of enthusiasm while I worked, though it didn't help having two men from the Salvation Army on the allotment next door. Not that they spoke to me, but I didn't feel relaxed with them around. One of them was an old hand, and he was telling his new helper all about the plot. In fact, they spent most of the time talking, and very little time working.

I put in the two rows of Stuttgarter onions that I bought this morning, then decided to fill up the space down the bottom with the seeds I had left. So I put in another row of parsnips interspersed with radish, a row of beetroot, and about three-quarters of a row of Maestro carrots, finishing off the row with cut-and-come-again lettuce. I prepared the ground in the same way as I did that at Lechlade, but surface weeding only. It is too late to waste time digging: everything has to go in, and fast.

I started digging over the weedy patch up the top,

but the soil is so heavy and wet compared with that at Lechlade, I gave up after two rows, wondering what I was achieving by simply turning it over. I wish Nobby had rotovated that bit too, but I can't go on asking him for favours.

It's quite amazing how far you can make seed stretch when you try. I got two rows out of a 60p packet of beetroot seed. I must go to Wilkinson for more seeds next week.

When I was looking for the owner of the chickens that escaped I talked to a man who offered me a whole box full of seed potatoes (Charlotte). So now I can plant loads both here and at Lechlade, and won't have to buy any more earlies, though I might buy some more maincrops for Lechlade, something different from the Desirees.

The chicken whisperer

Four chickens escaped from their hut and were seen having the time of their lives pecking the soil around this man while he was digging.

 

I was on my way home, but I had to make sure the chickens were safe, so I went back and got Nick, who, with Taffy, had about thirty chickens in a big run on their allotment. Nick came and caught them and put them back. How he caught them was by stalking them till he was within pouncing distance, then grabbing their tail, picking them up, then holding them upside-down by their legs.

 

He put them back in their hut, which he said was "the Geordie's". Apparently it was the Geordie who caused all that trouble a couple of years ago. Nick said he was a thief, and stole his and Taffy's chicken feed, and he didn't look after his chickens properly. It was he who had left them without water, which was when Taffy "stole" them and put them in his own run and said he wouldn't give them back unless the Geordie promised to look after them properly.

 

I don't know this man's name, or what plot number he is on. It's down the bottom. This is the second year he's been on it.

 

Nick says he sold his chickens and now has only got three bantams left "for the kids". He said the price of chicken feed went up and he was only just breaking even selling his eggs, and it wasn't worht all the work, especially coming down twice a day in winter in the snow.

Potatoes

There are still seed potatoes and onion sets in Argyll Street Garden Centre. I managed to get a couple of rows each of International Kidney (Jersey Royals) and Desiree and a row of Stuttgarter onion sets for £2.65.

Raspberry canes

The raspberry canes I put in at Lechlade have taken well.