Allotment warming up

Mild enough today to get the jackets off as the team worked on the allotment. The ground was also dry enough for turning over, so the bed this year for the potatoes was double dug and compost added to the trenches. We follow a no-dig policy on the allotment but as part of the four year rotation, the bed for the potatoes is properly dug to reduce any compaction and get air into the soil. The onion bed was forked over and Tom’s shallots which had been growing on from seed sown at the New Year were planted out. The article in the current ‘Preview’ mentioned our plans to enter the pallet garden competition at Gardening Scotland with a display on Japanese vegetables. Visitors to the plot were very interested in these last year. City of Edinburgh Council kindly offered us the use of the heated greenhouses in their nursery just across the road from Bridgend so we went over to do the seed sowing – the first of three to ensure we end up with enough plants for the pallet, for the Caley stand at the Show and of course to plant out on the allotment again. The milder weather – relatively speaking – has brought on the fruit buds with the pear buds almost ready to burst. They are always the first to flower so if there is frost, we end up with few or no pears – a regular occurrence on the plot. The buds on the cherries are growing fast so time to get the netting over them before they become food for the bullfinches.

Jobs for next week: Another sowing at Inch nursery; Put the netting on the fruit cage; Carry on with forking over of the beds; Continue with repairs to raised beds.