Spring Sunshine! Stuff gets planted!

Planted peas, broad beans, potatoes, spinach, parsnips and rocket. Even managed to get the rest of the family to come and help for half an hour. Also I think that the Allotment Police have decided that we can keep the allotment so things are looking up!

Spring is in the air!

Freezing weather, Christmas, hectic work schedule, family commitments and rain have all conspired to keep me out of the allotment until today.

Today : -

- Fixed the shed window
- Put compost on one of the raised beds (Jerusalem artichokes to be planted)
- Dug over another bed (for potatoes)
- Decided to plant peas and broad beans in the front bed so that I can get the manure dumped there in Sept.

Will book a week off in March to : -

- Finish off digging the other beds
- Tidy up the front of the plot (remove wood, strim grass)
- Dig around the plum tree at the back
- Put more wood chips down on the pathways

Major digging completed

Finally finished digging the front of the allotment which was covered in bindweed.

IT and Gardening in perfect harmony

Planting Onions, a week in Sri Lanka and more progress

Lucky enough to spend a week in Colombo, Sri Lanka getting our development team ready for a big development project for the NHS. Managed to spend an hour planting onions and shallots in the second seed bed (top pic). After a fantastic week in the sun and eating far too much Sri Lankan fish curry its good to get my hands dirty again and get stuck in pm the third seed bed (bottom pic). Think of having a couple of herbs tubs in the middle to make better use of the space. Will get started on digging the front of the allotment possibly for potatoes. Must get the planning sorted so I know what's planted where and decide what to grow in advance so I can get things prepared.

Time to get started

OK, I've decided to take over responsibility for the allotment from my wife who after a promising start has simply lost interest in it. There's a waiting list of over 500 people for an allotment in my town and I've been given until the end of March to get the allotment 'cultivatable' otherwise we will lose it. I'm a Managing Director of a software company with two young boys so time is always at a premiumfor me. However, due to myworking lifestyle I don't have time for the gym so this project should help me switch off from work, get fitter, spend more time outdoors and hopefully I'll grow some great vegetables as well. If it all fails then it won't be for my lack of effort and at least the next owners will have a head start! Today was my

first day working on the allotment. The top picture shows the state it's in. I spent a couple of hours and managed to dig over a raised seed bed, plant some garlic bulbs and make a start on controlling the weeds around the raised bed. Must remember to pump up the flat tyre on the wheelbarrow and buy some shallots and onions for planting later this month. I also need to think about how I will keep track of what's been planted in each bed.