Using the sunshine
I went down the allotment just before noon and ended up losing track of time and staying until it was nearly 3pm.
Weeded out some of the bigger weeds around the broad beans and picked some for tea. Weeded the big stuff around the onions and garlic. The onions suffered badly in all the rain, but some have survived. I'll dig them out soon.
Weeded absolutely everything down to the smallest seedling where I dug the shallots out a few days ago and levelled and smoothed the bed to make a new seed bed. We need to get some more stuff planted asap as we lost so many seedlings to the cold, rain and slugs.
I decided to give my beetroot seeds (Pronto) maximum tlc, so I soaked them in water while I prepared the bed. The soil is now free of lumps and stones. I used my string to lay out a straight line and used a corner of the back of the rake to draw along the ground to make a drill about an inch deep. I used the spout of the watering can to put a trickle of water along the drill so that the seeds would have a little water next to their roots, then I put a seed about every two inches. If they all survive, then I'll thin them out to half of that. I used the back of the rake to push soil back into the drill, smoothed out the surface and then used the head of the rake on end as a tamper to tamp down the soil without totally compressing it. (that should ensure the seeds make contact with the damp soil beneath them).
I actually remembered to take a pencil to label the row!
Tomorrow, I'll plant something else. Haven't decided what yet - I've several packets that are July/April sows. Probably chard or a leaf veg of some kind.
Still lots of weeding to go, but I'm starting to gain on it now. If the weather stays fine, then I'll clear another bed and see if anything can be done for the courgette plants. You know it's been a bad year when the courgettes look unhappy!
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comments.
Weeded out some of the bigger weeds around the broad beans and picked some for tea. Weeded the big stuff around the onions and garlic. The onions suffered badly in all the rain, but some have survived. I'll dig them out soon.
Weeded absolutely everything down to the smallest seedling where I dug the shallots out a few days ago and levelled and smoothed the bed to make a new seed bed. We need to get some more stuff planted asap as we lost so many seedlings to the cold, rain and slugs.
I decided to give my beetroot seeds (Pronto) maximum tlc, so I soaked them in water while I prepared the bed. The soil is now free of lumps and stones. I used my string to lay out a straight line and used a corner of the back of the rake to draw along the ground to make a drill about an inch deep. I used the spout of the watering can to put a trickle of water along the drill so that the seeds would have a little water next to their roots, then I put a seed about every two inches. If they all survive, then I'll thin them out to half of that. I used the back of the rake to push soil back into the drill, smoothed out the surface and then used the head of the rake on end as a tamper to tamp down the soil without totally compressing it. (that should ensure the seeds make contact with the damp soil beneath them).
I actually remembered to take a pencil to label the row!
Tomorrow, I'll plant something else. Haven't decided what yet - I've several packets that are July/April sows. Probably chard or a leaf veg of some kind.
Still lots of weeding to go, but I'm starting to gain on it now. If the weather stays fine, then I'll clear another bed and see if anything can be done for the courgette plants. You know it's been a bad year when the courgettes look unhappy!
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth where it has
comments.