APRIL 2007
End Of April
I've not been out and about this month as normal even though I know I'm missing the glorious weather and nature bouncing back into life after the winter break. I'm not wandering the woods and fields with my camera because I'm planning, digging and planting my new allotment patch (see last month).
Things have gone quite well so far. I've completed all the major digging and I'm using the 'bed system'. On my plot I have 12 main beds with permanent pathways between them. Why dig what you are going to walk on? The idea is to make looking after my patch relatively easy.
Here is a list of my planned crops:-
Potatoes - Early and Main crop
Beetroot
Carrot
Summer and Winter Cabbage
Cauliflower
Sprouts
Pumpkin (for Halloween carving!!) and Courgettes
Sweet Corn (worth a try)
Outdoor bush Tomato & Cucumber
Runner Beans (got to have those on an allotment!!)
Salad - Lettuce, Radish, Spring Onion, Garlic, Peppers
Leeks
Also fruit bushes - currants, gooseberries, raspberries and rhubarb - good for wine!
It's a bit ambitious for the first year but I've made a start already because of the lovely warm weather this April. On Easter Sunday I planted out my spuds in 4 beds with two rows each. My onion sets have also been planted out with a few cloves of garlic which I planted late last month.
Quote form the BBC weather website "April mean temperatures were the warmest on record across Wales (series back to 1914), with well above average sunshine. It was a largely dry month ..." It's almost been like summer and as a result my fellow allotment holders are taking the chance that we have seen the last of the frosts and are planting out their crops. Taking my cue from them I have also been busy.
So, by the end of this month, my first rows of beetroot, carrots and spring onion are showing;. I have a few rows of early lettuce planted out (both butterhead and cos). My onions and garlic are well established; my potatoes are all up and sprouting nicely; summer cabbage and cauliflower have been established under nets and, my runner beans are beginning to find the framework of canes I've placed above them, I've even popped in a few pumpkins and courgettes. In the garden I still have trays of sprouts and winter cabbage growing, with a few trays of leeks and loads of outdoor cucumbers and tomatoes bursting out of their pots! All in all it's been a busy month.
On the patch I've finished all the beds now and I've tidied up the bank that flanks the southern end of the site. I have ordered a compost bin which should arrive soon and I'm thinking about a small shed of my own even though I have access to a shared secure store at the site.
That's it for this month - it's been so hectic, warm and dry! I'm looking forward to some rain - the patch really needs it. Next month I'm going to try and get out and about and see what's going on in the local countryside and woodland.
See you in May.
Things have gone quite well so far. I've completed all the major digging and I'm using the 'bed system'. On my plot I have 12 main beds with permanent pathways between them. Why dig what you are going to walk on? The idea is to make looking after my patch relatively easy.
Here is a list of my planned crops:-
Potatoes - Early and Main crop
Beetroot
Carrot
Summer and Winter Cabbage
Cauliflower
Sprouts
Pumpkin (for Halloween carving!!) and Courgettes
Sweet Corn (worth a try)
Outdoor bush Tomato & Cucumber
Runner Beans (got to have those on an allotment!!)
Salad - Lettuce, Radish, Spring Onion, Garlic, Peppers
Leeks
Also fruit bushes - currants, gooseberries, raspberries and rhubarb - good for wine!
It's a bit ambitious for the first year but I've made a start already because of the lovely warm weather this April. On Easter Sunday I planted out my spuds in 4 beds with two rows each. My onion sets have also been planted out with a few cloves of garlic which I planted late last month.
Quote form the BBC weather website "April mean temperatures were the warmest on record across Wales (series back to 1914), with well above average sunshine. It was a largely dry month ..." It's almost been like summer and as a result my fellow allotment holders are taking the chance that we have seen the last of the frosts and are planting out their crops. Taking my cue from them I have also been busy.
So, by the end of this month, my first rows of beetroot, carrots and spring onion are showing;. I have a few rows of early lettuce planted out (both butterhead and cos). My onions and garlic are well established; my potatoes are all up and sprouting nicely; summer cabbage and cauliflower have been established under nets and, my runner beans are beginning to find the framework of canes I've placed above them, I've even popped in a few pumpkins and courgettes. In the garden I still have trays of sprouts and winter cabbage growing, with a few trays of leeks and loads of outdoor cucumbers and tomatoes bursting out of their pots! All in all it's been a busy month.
On the patch I've finished all the beds now and I've tidied up the bank that flanks the southern end of the site. I have ordered a compost bin which should arrive soon and I'm thinking about a small shed of my own even though I have access to a shared secure store at the site.
That's it for this month - it's been so hectic, warm and dry! I'm looking forward to some rain - the patch really needs it. Next month I'm going to try and get out and about and see what's going on in the local countryside and woodland.
See you in May.
1 comments:
Well said.
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