[Mr Dog]

Moved and spread a manure delivery - it's worth the cost just to watch the farmer reverse down to the plot! I am now ready for a long soak in a hot bath!

[booklady]

Moved the rabbits into their winter quarters, giving me loads of rabbit droppings muck for my new raised bed. Got to lay down the straw first.  Spread some soot and eggshells around cabbages as the slugs have been munching again was going to do a 🍺 trap but ran out of daylight. Tomorrow's another day.

[wneva]

More muck spreading!  Lots more to be done, but I'm making progress.  My aquadolce beans are up, planted them on 20/10, so pretty quick!  Hope to get some more spreading done over the coming weekend.

[wneva]

And some more manure spreading this morning before the rain started.  I've now covered about a quarter of my plot with manure.

I think I've been going about this wrong - I have had a weed problem - couch and bindweed-  since I started (8 years ago), and a few years back I bought a roll of weed control fabric.  Then I've been covering each weedy bed in the autumn after pulling up whatever was growing there, and leaving it covered over the winter.  This does deal with the weeds quite effectively.   Since getting my load of horse manure a couple of weeks ago I've been removing the fabric from a bed, spreading manure on it and then replacing the cover on it.  I think this is wrong.  Surely I should leave the cover off, once I've spread the manure.  Then the rain will wash the nutrients down into the soil.  If I replace the fabric, the nutrients will stay in the manure.

Presumably weeds will grow where it's uncovered, and I'll just have to pull 'em up when I see them.

As you can see, I'm flying by the seat of my pants!

[snowdrops]

And some more manure spreading this morning before the rain started.  I've now covered about a quarter of my plot with manure.

I think I've been going about this wrong - I have had a weed problem - couch and bindweed-  since I started (8 years ago), and a few years back I bought a roll of weed control fabric.  Then I've been covering each weedy bed in the autumn after pulling up whatever was growing there, and leaving it covered over the winter.  This does deal with the weeds quite effectively.   Since getting my load of horse manure a couple of weeks ago I've been removing the fabric from a bed, spreading manure on it and then replacing the cover on it.  I think this is wrong.  Surely I should leave the cover off, once I've spread the manure.  Then the rain will wash the nutrients down into the soil.  If I replace the fabric, the nutrients will stay in the manure.
Presumably weeds will grow where it's uncovered, and I'll just have to pull 'em up when I see them.

As you can see, I'm flying by the seat of my pants!

If the weed control fabric is porous the nutrients will wash down plus the worms will take the manure down over the winter, with it being covered it will stay a  bit warmerfor the worms to stay nearer the surface. There’s no right or wrong way what just works for you 😊

[Aled]

Put a load of wood ash over the plot.
Cheers
Aled

[MarkC]

Now that the fishing season is finished and that excuse is gone, finished digging an area of plot. Fair bit still to do but need to wait for leeks parsnips sprouts to come out.....

[robinahood]

Harvested the Oca, way bigger than the ones I used to grow at home, and much better yield. Found out I had a little success with parsnips, they were hiding amongst the turnips.... Small and few,but healthy! A lovely day with lots of birds about, cold and frosty but sunny. I would live down here if I didn't have to earn!

[New shoot]

A bit of a squelchy trip on the way to work today to drop off bags of green waste from clearing up in the garden at home over the weekend.

The Wizard beans are up, as are all the overwintering onions, garlic and shallots.  The soil is soaked though.  I think any more digging will be postposted until it dries out a bit.

[snowdrops]

Trundled off to the plot with my trusty steed(wheelbarrow) not once but twice, hubby has cleared the garage out of wood he doesn’t want, so 1 load taken to the plot in the hope I can burn it tomorrow, brought back the old shed roof felt & added that to the dustbin before it was emptied. Then trundled back with all the compost waste & another load of wood. Jus5 got 2 long heavy chunks to take, might do that if I get to go tomorrow for burning day.

[New shoot]

The plot is frozen today, but I did some productive work emptying out the sacks of spuds in the shed and checking them over.  I proudly reached into the Kifli to offer some to Sunshineband earlier in the week and fetched out a squishy one sporting tufts of white mould 

Anyway just 5-6 out of 4 sacks were binned so not too bad.  Also spotted a squash with a suspicious mark developing on the side.  That has come into the kitchen for immediate use.

Check your stores folk before the festive rush descends 

[sunshineband]

Check your stores folk before the festive rush descends 

Excellent advice. I checked through our onions yesterday and found half a dozen with softish patches, so they are now in the kitchen basket to make sure they get used in the next day or two

[rowlandwells]

been busy sweeping snow from the pathways had quite a downfall hear in the east midlands never bothered to open the greenhouse doors looked in on the poly tunnel dark and damp

maybe light the fire in the greenhouse stove tomorrow do a bit of tidying up pots need to get down the allotments to pick some veg also have some dahlias to dig up that was planned for today something like the best laid plans of mice and men comes to mind 

[Henwoman]

I have a Workawayer helping me and we have just come in having built five pallet compost bins this afternoon.  Shattered and cold, it's only 5°C here.  Tomorrow we will start shifting the "still to rot" contents of the old bins into the new ones.  The compost which is ready will be spread on the veggie and fruit beds.

[Plot 1 Problems]

Could barely make out where the raised beds were, so gave up and went home to build a snowman with the nipper! Just hope the broad beans will survive....