Winter pruning completed, preparing for Spring

Mild today, though windy. Strong gusts kept the rain away until we were on our way home – when the heavens finally opened – very lucky!

Winter pruning was completed – red and white currants, gooseberries and apple trees all getting a trim. This encourages open structure, keeps everything at a manageable height for harvesting and encourages the development of fruiting buds.

Fresh soil was added to the two beds nearest the compost bins. These tend to be less fertile due to the proximity of the hazel windbreak, whose roots can encroach and syphon moisture and nutrition. We have previously cut a narrow trench at the bed’s edge to limit the hazel’s reach. Hopefully fresh soil will boost fertility levels. We left small surface stones as this aids drainage and helps hold warmth – one of today’s lessons (every day’s a school day at the allotment!)

Our battle with alkanet continues, especially along path and bed edges. Fresh woodchip was applied to paths. Beds were cleared of last year’s dried leaves and stems, as insects are less in need of sanctuary now that Spring is round the corner. We spotted an adventurous ladybird out for an early reconnaissance – very exciting!

The seed potatoes have arrived from FEDAGA (Edinburgh’s Allotment Association). As ever, we’ll try a variety of Early and Main Crops. These were bagged and labelled, ready for chitting at home, after scientific activity with a stick to work out how many tubers we can fit into the two designated beds.

Jobs for next week: lay plastic sheeting in preparation for planting Early potatoes – this will help warm and dry the soil; give the fruit trees a nitrogen feed following pruning to encourage leaf growth; remove old growth from the strawberry bed; prepare the area earmarked for sweet peas; weeding; flatworm check.