Friday 22 February 2013

New year, new plot, new methods

Nearly a year since my last blog so I thought I would give it a go again, firstly I would like to give a summary of 2012 allotment year. Dry with drought up until April praying for rain and then as follows-

April rain and floods
May rain and floods
June rain and floods
July rain and floods
August rain and floods
September rain and floods and so on and so forth............

Crops that did alright last year were runner beans, tomatoes and brassicas especially sprouts.

Enough about last year as this year I have high hopes and have taken on another half plot, it is the one I have wanted since I arrived back in 2009. The plot has 3 very old Victoria plum trees on it and the last owner done bugger all in the 3 years they were there.

The new plot will be a whole new adventure as I plan to have it completely no dig, this is a method of gardening where as it says on the tin you do no digging. The digging is done for you by nature it self i.e. worms, the way you do it is mulch and add organic matter. Due to this plot being plagued with couch grass I have laid a double sometimes treble layer of corrugated cardboard and then covered in a very thick layer of manure as you can see in picture below.

 
 


I will keep people updated through twitter @AllotmentGas and hopefully this blog and how well no dig works compared to other methods, one big advantage is you save your back from the pain of digging. I have to say though no dig does not mean no work so don't think you are getting off lightly if you adopt this method. Horse and cow manure still has to be forked in to wheelbarrow and wheeled to said area!

The other big winter project was acquiring a summerhouse as the wife and myself had nowhere to sit and relax while at the plot. After much deliberation I opted for beach hut style summerhouse which I bought from Waltons garden buildings. The construction was straight forward and barring another lick of paint and interior design being finished we are there. Here are some photos of progress so far.






 Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I promise to be back soon with more updates.

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