Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Grubbypaws on December 24, 2022, 11:43
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We have just had a complete power outage. To sort out the problem National Grid have had to dig up my entire set of raspberry canes and destroy my parsnip bed which I have tended for years. Gutted. All the soil from digging has been put between my raised beds. What a mess. So much mud where once there was calm order and productiveness.
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Aw, that's bad news :( Any chance of compensation, to help you put it back to rights?
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Oh no :(
What a horrible mess for you to sort out.
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Aw, that's bad news :( Any chance of compensation, to help you put it back to rights?
They will come back after Christmas and shift the soil back into the massive holes that used to be where my raspberries grew but we have only been able to save a few canes. Much of the emergency work was done after dark and through the night so it was difficult for them (and us as we shivered!). The parsnip raised bed had to be emptied and moved so all the parsnips had to be harvested. We are trying to get them dry so hopefully they will store for a bit. I will want to put that bed back together myself so I can check what it gets filled with!
They had to put a lot of the soil on the lawn. If it is there til Wednesday we might ask them to reseed it. They made the final connection to the Grid yesterday in the pouring rain so there is mud everywhere; steps, kitchen and cellar. I have had a great Christmas eve cleaning the house before guests arrive while thinking about this years raspberry harvest. It was a bumper year.
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:( :( :(
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I don't know if I am missing something, but were there underground power cables.....right through your garden?
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I don't know if I am missing something, but were there underground power cables.....right through your garden?
The electricity supply is normally delivered into houses through underground cables
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I understand that Mr Dog since I have worked in construction all my life. It's just that they normally come from the road side of the property.
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I don't know if I am missing something, but were there underground power cables.....right through your garden?
Yes, they come up from the road under my front garden to the cellar. The front garden gets all the sun which is why I have my wee allotment there. It is an old Victorian house, too old for there to be any plans so they spent ages trying to find the cable in the dark. The cable that burnt out was probably the age of the house. They managed to take out my neighbours electricity in the process; he wasn't happy!
I would try and put the soil back from the lawn and raised bed area but am not sure if there is a correct method for covering high voltage cables and junctions. Plus there is a large keep out barrier by the front door. I think it is best to wait for the contractor to return.
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Oh, I am SO sorry to read this. I really hope you can get some help to sort it out.
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What an upset! Hope that they do sort it all out to your liking
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What an upset! Hope that they do sort it all out to your liking
They filled in the holes, made it look neat and even reseeded the grass! There was a lot of mud for us to clear up but we are nearly there now. We have remade the raised bed ready for the parsnips and will try and replant some of the raspberry canes that were dug up.
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Only comfort I can offer is that in my experience raspberries are almost indestructible.
Certainly given the way they pop up all over my plot, generally especially where I don’t want them!
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I understand that Mr Dog since I have worked in construction all my life.
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Only comfort I can offer is that in my experience raspberries are almost indestructible.
Certainly given the way they pop up all over my plot, generally especially where I don’t want them!
I have replanted all the dug up canes so we will see. I haven't pruned them back as that would mean no raspberries this year :( but I am not sure how wise this is. Will it be too stressful for the canes being dug up, replanted and then expected to fruit as if nothing has happened?
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There will be some root disturbance, so potentially that could affect water and nutrient uptake.
A feed, a decent layer of mulch and some watering if we have a dry spell should help a lot.
I agree with HH that raspberries are virtually indestructible, so they should be fine if looked after.