I’m Back to Let you Know …

I know it’s a long time since my last posting and a big thanks to Mangocheeks, you’ve motivated me into sorting myself out and let you all know how things have been progressing since my last entry. So non allotment related news, promise its short and sweet, I’ve had my summer holiday, a glorious fortnight chasing lions and elephants and giraffe’s around safari parks in Kenya with a little bit of sunbathing thrown in. Three years of dreaming, saving and waiting, it was definitely worth it! But back to reality….

So allotment wise, I left you with news that the orchard had been approved, and we’d had an application for a grant to establish some bee hives approved. Moving on, we’ve (the community group) been on a course to learn about the good and bad ways of planting your fruit trees and an order has been placed for some Apple, Pear and Plum trees, 14 in all, which should be arriving sometime in November, Yipee can’t wait, 14 large holes to dig, ouch, but it has to be done! There is another course to go on sometime next month regarding the pruning and upkeep of the trees. In terms of the bees, it’s still very early days yet, until some training can be sorted it’d be irresponsible to get a colony etc, but I’ll keep you informed as things progress.

The Plot! Well it was rather overgrown when I got back off my holiday, sweetcorn had appeared from nowhere, not a bean in site when I left, a great jungle of them on my return, I had courgettes ‘eight ball’ which were the size of footballs, onions, marrows, broad beans, cabbages, caulis and leeks had all grown and a mass of potato foliage. So since getting back, I’ve pulled up the onions and put them to dry for over-winter use. The beans have been cut down, and I’ve put some to dry for storage, again for casseroles etc over the winter months. I’ve been slowly digging up the potatoes, and should get the rest of these all lifted this coming weekend, again more winter storage and I’ll have to sort out the sweetcorn. Leeks and cabbages will be left in the ground for now.

I’ve started re-arranging the raised beds for the new rotation system, taking into account the little area next to my patch which I will integrate this next coming season, and I’ve been winter digging areas as they have become empty. Plans for the coming weeks, at some point I’ve got 4 fruit trees arriving (expected sometime before the end of October), these will be planted in my plot (separate from the community orchard), I’d already ordered these trees before the funding was approved for the community orchard, so I’ll have to sort out where I want them to go and start to prepare the ground for them. I have a vague idea but at the moment the area I’m thinking of is used for storing my wood pallets and bricks etc, so I’ll need to move all of these before I can start to dig the holes. No shortage of hard work ahead, at least it keeps me off the streets!

Hope you are all doing well on your plots and the harvesting is going well.