April allotment update

April already! A disappointingly sharp, chilly morning after a few days of sunshine. However, the sun broke through around midday, which was very welcome!

At the windbreak, wobbly end posts were replaced with fresh timber, requiring much sawing and hammering. It’s good to see small, berried trees and shrubs begin to establish themselves along the break as our hope is to provide a nutritious living hedge for birds and insects.

The second crop of the year went in – healthy broad bean plants – making history as a first crop seeded in The Caley’s new Greenhouse at Saughton Park! We immediately netted the bed, to keep fat pigeons from pecking the leaves and breaking stems.

Following discussion with the wider Bridgend Allotment committee, we have adopted a nearby raised communal bed. Work started immediately, enjoyable as it was in the sun. There was some satisfaction in removing the well-established matting of weeds, including some enormous Alkanet tubers. We’ve begun re-planting with pollinating plants, with a view to provide a larder for the nearby Bridgend Bee Hives.

Back in our own plot, the herb bed and edges were cleared of couch grass, expert at stealth creeping underneath and around hard to get at nooks and crannies. We also removed some of the Alkanet making a comeback in the Rhubarb bed, though left some for The Caley’s Plot Maintenance Workshop, which we are hosting in early May.

Exciting harvesting today – Spring cabbages and rhubarb.

Jobs for next week: continue work on the communal bed; weeding on our own plot – though we’ll keep some weeds in the ground for lucky workshop participants; source ericaceous compost for the blueberries.