Busy Weekend

Ann went off to Lichfield at the weekend to look after her mother's 88 year old friend who had just come out of hospital. So I was able to get on and catch up with some jobs whilst she was away. The first job was to erect the bean poles we had won last year in the best plot competition.

On Saturday, Nev on the plot next to me asked about the greenhouse we were planning. I said that Ann had decided on a poly tunnel but that she was away with the car. Nev very kindly offered to drive me to The Range so I could buy one (£89.99) and we then cleared an area for it and erected it. Inside I have placed some mini greenhouses on which the covers had rotted and placed them as staging supports. Staging was created from long lengths of wood from old pallets placed on the supports. The staging is almost full now with seed trays and some Penstemon cuttings. I also set up some lengths of old guttering and filled them with compost and have sown mypeas in them. When they are sufficiently grown they will be planted outdoors just by sliding the matt of pea roots and plants out of the guttering.

The next area to receive attention was the area where we had made a raised bed over a patch that was low and boggy most of the year by surround ing the area with straw bales and filling with horse bedding manure and compost. Main crop potatoes have now been planted in the bed and wooden support rails placed on top of the bales which are starting to collapse. Grow bags with strawberry plants have been place atop the support rails.

The rest of this year's potatoes are going in the second plot next to the compost bins.