Allotment and stuff!!!

[tommy the cat]

'Ask and yea shall find'
Brown gold.,.
Between 6 and 12 months old horse manure...

I've got as much as I can carry in the van 😄

Today's work.
Lovely warm day today, the pile of rubbish is what I dug out!
Hard going but I'm getting there

 

[British Red]

Perfect stuff - that'll do the soil real good. Keep grabbing it when you can - even if new, just put it in with your compost to rot and work it in next Spring.

When you burn those scrap wood offcuts, pile those roots on and burn them too - they will never rot!

 

[tommy the cat]

3 hours spare for digging this morning... 2oc with cold wind and snow in the air well wrapped up in thermals and then the Swedish snow smock.Well impressed with the smock its great at cutting the wind out😄
Mucked up one bed

For some reason tapatalk won't let me load more images?!
Anyhow hopefully more time tomorrow so ill construct the beds.
One question for you gurus I seem to remember reading somewhere that a certain vegetable didn't like horse manure??? I'm struggling to find the info now but obviously am reluctant to spread muck over all the beds if for instance roots don't like it!!!
Anyhow hopefully more progress tomorrow.
D

 

[Marco1981]

I'm no guru, but my understanding is that rich soil isn't too good for carrots. They will grow but be short and the root will branch out. Onions don't do too well with too much nitrogen and it is best to pit manure down a few months before planting onions or their relatives.
Again, I am no guru and I may be corrected.

PS. I am watching this thread with great interest!

 

[British Red]

Dave, root vegetables don't like over manuring. Its useful to establish a cycle (google four year crop rotation) and follow the manuring with correct crops. At this stage though, I wouldn't worry too much, soil condition is more important to my mind

 

[tommy the cat]

Ta for the replies.
Very cool today -2oc and pretty blowy but determined to get a bit more done.
No pics as Tapatalk still thrown its dummy out the pram...

 

[tommy the cat]

A pretty cool day.

But getting done

Sorry about my ugly mug! Note the dyed Swedish smock....😉

Two done... Enough wood to do one more bed although it will have to be in a few pieces...
Two foot between beds which is enough to kneel between for me.... The paths will be carpeted and then wood chippings.
Anyway all being well third bed in tomorrow then need to scrounge more wood!!!
I'm guessing the ground wants to be a bit warmer to get the first early spuds in? Froste here at the mo... D

 

[British Red]

Any time now Dave for earlies....beginning April for mains. The frost shouldn't get down far enough to hurt

Beds look great!

 

[tommy the cat]

Ok BR Ill get them in if its not too frosty tomorrow.
They dont seem to have shooted much this time??
I seem to remember them being better the last time I put them in.... been chitting I guess a month.
A farmer I kniow always chitted in the dark??? I thought it was the light that caused em to to shoot?!
Anyway mine have been chtiing in the downstairs loo which is cold and light.
Was looking at sweet potatoes?
We really like sweet spuds so was thinking it might be nice o have a go..
I notice from your blog Hugh youve put in more beds.
D

 

[British Red]

Never tried sweet pots.

If they haven't chitted, leave em till they have - or at least a week or two, its not time critical.

 

[tommy the cat]

The have chitted to a degree.

This is about the best one but all have shoots some more and bigger than others.
It's 2oc here this morning and sunny.
So was thinking about getting them in this afternoon whilst making another bed.
D

 

[boatman]

Not very useful if you have raised beds but when I worked our massive garden in Wiltshire I used a wheel hoe and long rows of veg to get the best out of it. Following on from my early Guru John Seymour and his comments on French horticulture where "they grow the best vegetables in the world, a row of this and a half row of that." in his Fat of the Land book.

Mine was a Jalo wheel (push) hoe with a number of attachments, even a plough, it could be hard work pushing it but it certainly did the job and I regretted giving it away when we moved although I had decided on a more hunter-gatherer lifestyle in Cornwall with foraging and fishing rather than the constant work of veg growing.

 

[boatman]

Different make to my Jalo but the principle is the same and the video does show ideal soil. Terrific machines without using oil products for power.
http://www.easydigging.com/Garden_Cultivator/wheel_hoe_push_plow.html

 

[British Red]

I wouldn't be worried planting a first early that well chitted Dave - bear in mind it'll be under ground a few weks yet which will insulate from frost.

 

[Stringmaker]

Nice work with the beds, you have a good amount of space to crop there.

Looking at your sturdy work reminds me that I need to re-fix our little beds before doing anything else.

I was given some Picasso seed spuds recently; they are supposed to be good with a high yield.

 

[tommy the cat]

The wheel hoe looks very useful!!!
Stuff coming up all over the place in the garden... quite novel to be in a garden that hasn't been planted by myself....

Third bed in but needs a bit of a fettle.
The spuds will go in soon....

The long piece is a bit like a dogs hind leg but as me Dad would say "your not making a billiard table"
D

 

[British Red]

Your dad is right!

Looks really neat - well done.

 

[tommy the cat]

Nowt to report today as snowed off!!!
Hopefully some progress to report tomorrow depending how hard the frost is! Been pricing up wood today for another bed... been looking at wooden gravel boards which so far seem the cheapest way to go. Not as cheap ad I'd like mind.
d

 

[British Red]

Get at least an inch thick tanalised Dave - it has to take wet and quite some side pressure as the soil builds up.

Have you thought of chatting up a scaffold company for discards? Used to be a good source but I hear too many people have cottoned on now

 

[tommy the cat]

Ok ta for that BR my cousin works for a scaffolders.....
Stuff coming up all over the place... onions

I'm hoping rhubarb but to be honest never grown it before...

Bird box put up got another to go up but needs a bit of fettling.

Found in the garden.... needs a sharpen😳

Probably the smokiest bonfire/signal fire ever!!

Finally spuds in with fleece on top to try to warm the ground up.

Forecast tomorrow 4" of snow!
D