Nothing much has happened in August as I have been very busy/stressed
with work. I haven’t done much digging, but I have started doing some clearance
work – cutting down plum tree suckers, chopping back nettles, removing scabby
apples from the tree and letting the bigger ones grow bigger, and painting
timber in anticipation of raised bed building.
I am very impressed with how Plot 31 is looking. I have been
a plot holder for ten years now (!) and it is finally starting to look how I imagined
it would all those years ago.
.
Harvest-wise, we are doing very well for peas, runner beans,
salad, nasturtium and herbs. From Plot 4 we are overrun with courgette,
pumpkins, beans and patty pans! We must be picking a basket full of cucurbits
every three days or so with no sign of letting up!
I spent a happy Bank Holiday Monday painting and cutting up
timber, digging beds over, planting leek seedlings and generally getting
frazzled out in the sun. Five minutes work, ten minutes in the shed is
definitely my new favourite work routine. A friend of mine has kindly agreed to
make me something for Plot 31 so I am trying to get a bed built so that she has
a better idea of what I want and how it will look when it’s all done.
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| "healthy glow" |
Do I have time for more carrots and salad? I am going to
clear a couple of beds and have a go to see if I can squeeze in some more
harvests. It has been a good year for carrots – truly awful for parsnips, I’ve
had NONE! – so I am keen to get more seeds in while the weather is good.
I am relocating lots of things on Plot 31 and having a
shake-up. My quinces that I thought would look nice along the edge of the plot
need regular rescuing from the dogwood and nettles, so I am going to make them
their own bed. I am also planning for next year – I want a blueberry bush or
two, and am still trying to maximise space and land usage on the plot. I have
also decided that I want a pond and a picnic bench, but I’m not sure where I’m
going to fit either in!
