Some maintenance on the Allotment
A day for maintenance with the posts for the espalier apples being replaced. The old ones were originally put in around 2008 so they have lasted well but all have now rotted at the base.
The Jerusalem artichoke stems were cut down to knee height and a delve down produced some good-sized tubers. We dug up the oca and mashua, since last year the crop was lost in an early winter cold spell. There were enough mashua and oca to keep for seed and a few for people to taste.
Mashua
The broad beans sown a couple of months ago have flowered but show little sign of developing pods so there may not be fresh beans for Christmas lunch.
There is now time to weed and tidy-up round the edges of the plot and that will be keeping us busy for the next few weeks. No bonfire today since the pile of material waiting for burning was wet with all the rain of last week. A plastic cover should help it dry out and maybe a bonfire will be possible next week.
Jobs for next week
- Weeding round the hazels and honeyberries
- Weeding the woodchip paths
- Continue clearing the new community bed
