Winter maintenance on the Allotment

Thursday was a gloriously sunny day and a busy one on the plot. We are cracking on with the winter maintenance and today the sheds were tidied out, the winter wash was sprayed onto the fruit to kill any overwintering pests, and we continued to take back the grass from the raised bed edges.

The protective guards on the apples were checked; in cold weather the rabbits start gnawing the bark, so it is as well to ensure the guards are all in place. The rabbits have already been eating the leaves of the strawberries and these were netted. The compost in the bins looked compacted so they were forked over and some soil and manure added to help speed up the rotting.

Each week we write up what we have done for the site noticeboard – very popular with the other plot holders as a reminder.

There is a spare compost bin on the plot, so the plan is to saw it in half and use it to grow carrots to see if that is more successful with us after last year’s failure due to slug damage

Jobs for next week

• Tidy up the comfrey bed
• Clean and sharpen all the tools
• Check all the fruit is labelled