October was fairly quiet at the plots (I think?) as I was away for
eight days on the Isle of Wight (read part one here and part two here). I have
also been battling LauraFlu for a couple of weeks. Just a sniffle and a sore
throat, but a monumentally foggy blurry head, and it has left me feeling really
rather lethargic and rundown. Added to that, a practical physical job at which I
do the bulk of well, everything, so I have also been nursing sore muscles for a
while.
One of the big jobs that I have completed (mostly) is the
almond tree! I made this raised bed in August I think, but only recently had the
money and the works van to go compost shopping. I dug out six wheelbarrows
worth of crud and grass clippings from my compost bin and made a layer cake of
thick cardboard, crud, more cardboard, more crud, cardboard, and then fresh
brand new peat free compost. The crud is used to bulk out the bed otherwise it’d
take a lot more than ten bags to fill! The cardboard acts as a biodegradable
weed suppressant but also gets rid of waste cardboard, and saves me a trip to
the recycling centre. I don’t use weed mesh or matting wherever I can as this
is plastic and it degrades into smaller bits of plastic. After ten years I am
still digging up plastic tarpaulin, weed fabric, or pea netting that I used
when I first started on the allotment.
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| The selection of bulbs for the almond tree bed. 3kg of daffodils, 100 crocus, 50 allium and 15 tulip. |
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| Ta-dah! Almond tree with two rings of flower bulbs around it. and two watering tubes straight to the roots. |
So now the bed is done! It has been filled with crud and
fresh compost, and it has had two rings of flower bulbs planted. I have planted
daffodils, tulips, alliums, and crocus. In the middle I have planted an almond
tree! I am SO excited for this. It will be a beautiful tree even if I never get
any almonds from it, it will give somewhere else for the birds to sit, and as
it grows it will provide a bit of shade to the bottom of the plot. The next
step is to buy some 20mm decorative pebbles to put over the top. This will a)
be decorative, b) deter foxes and birds digging up the bulbs, and c) act as a mulch
which will help to retain moisture and hopefully reduce how much watering I have
to do.
As well as planting a tree and loads of bulbs, I also spent
a squelchy wet day digging slop to plant bulbs in front of and alongside raised
beds. I dug four trenches; one by the compost, one at the side of the herbs,
one in front of the raspberries and one in front of the almond bed. Each trench
has had a mix of daffodils, tulip, crocus, snowdrop, anemone, and alliums. I inverted
the clods so that the grass will rot and fertilise the bulbs a bit, but also so
I could see where I’ve been digging. I am determined to have the most bulbs in the spring!
On Plot 4, Momma P and I laid a path! It is a very simple
construction. There was a ditch which has been filled in by Momma and lots of
compost dirt, and levelled off. We then laid some weed control fabric down (Momma does not share my plastic reducing ideas, plus it is actually a useful thing to use - I just don't like it),
pegged it in place, placed 300mm slabs on top using the handle of a spade to
ensure the same distance between slabs, and then we poured loads of 20mm
pebbles around them to hide the fabric and make it look nice. It is so good! Very
simple, very effective.
Back on Plot 31, I have cut down the raspberries and have been enjoying the
last of the harvests. There are no more carrots left! It is very much sprout
and chard season at the moment. I have planted my onion sets and the garlic
that I bought from the Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight. I have replanted the
garlic a couple of times – I think I am going to put some mesh over the bed to
protect them from the birds while they establish.
So it has been another productive and busy month on the
allotment although it doesn’t feel like I have done much, and it is hard for me
to remember how much I have actually done. This is why I take so many photos. My
allotment time is mostly restricted to weekends now, though I do occasionally
pop up after work to harvest things or feed the birds. I have lots of plans for
November – I will get the paving slabs done this side of Christmas!
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| Plot 4 sprouts |
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| Plot 31 runner beans. Still producing beans on halloween! |
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| An October harvest. Pumpkins, apples, chard, leek, raspberries, courgette, sprouts, carrots, nasturtium, sorrel, and physalis. |
