[mushroom]

This is my first year with the allotment. In the summer, theres plenty of natural light to do stuff. In the winter, there is relatively little, but there's still stuff to do. If people haven't daylight, and there's no electricity onsite, do folks just do the minimum and wait till spring, or get a genny, or use camping gazlight, or a battery-operated light? What do you use?

[WG.]

Surely you know ... mushroom grows in the dark !!

[mushroom]

Surely you know ... mushroom grows in the dark !!

i knew someone would say that, lol  

[Aunt Sally]

Even in the depth of winter there is at least 8 hours of daylight each day  :!:   I wouldn't want (or need) to go digging after dark  :shock:

What do you need to do in the winter that won't fit into the weekends  :?:

[mushroom]

Even in the depth of winter there is at least 8 hours of daylight each day  :!:   I wouldn't want (or need) to go digging after dark  :shock:

around the winter solstice, there's around 6 and a half hrs at my latitude, if I recall correctly, but I'll look it up to make sure.

What do you need to do in the winter that won't fit into the weekends  :?:

I work shifts - shortest shift is 8 hrs, longest is 12 hrs. If i work for example an 8am-6pm shift between say the start of december and the end of January, i won't see daylight for that day. I might work a block of 7 shifts like that, or 5 then a turnaround onto nights. I don't like leaving the plot for days on end. Ideally, i like to go at least every other day. There are other things to do on the plot that don't require digging. Putting shelves up in the shed for example. Sowing stuff in pots. That kind of thing.

[Bigbadfrankie]

the winter is for this forum and dreaming sorry planning the following year

[WG.]

Get yourself a Tilley pressurised paraffin storm lamp, http://www.tilleylamp.co.uk/ also on eBay.  Gas lights from camping stores are also pretty good.

A spelaeologist's head-mounted lamp would also be ace for jobs on the move.

[GrannieAnnie]

Saw a solar powered light for sheds on a website the other day, but it was £79 and that was without the car battery!!!

[Aunt Sally]

around the winter solstice, there's around 6 and a half hrs at my latitude, if I recall correctly, but I'll look it up to make sure.

You're not far from me in Kent and in December it's light at 8 a.m. and dark by 4 p.m.  I found plenty of time at weekends thriugh las twinter the get my new aned very overgrown plot into shape.  Put a shed up and built compost bins too  

[GrannieAnnie]

Here it is!

http://www.solarlights.uk.com/solarlightingkits

[mushroom]

around the winter solstice, there's around 6 and a half hrs at my latitude, if I recall correctly, but I'll look it up to make sure.

You're not far from me in Kent and in December it's light at 8 a.m. and dark by 4 p.m.  I found plenty of time at weekends thriugh las twinter the get my new aned very overgrown plot into shape.  Put a shed up and built compost bins too  

found it. I concede defeat to Aunt Sally. Seems shortest day is 7 hrs 50 mins here:

21 Dec 2007   08:00   15:50   7h 49m 21s

(from http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=1338&month=12&year=2007&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1 )

maybe I didn't explain meself too well previously  :oops:  - the problem isn't just working around shifts in winter - it is that certain parts of the shift pattern go from day to night - when that happens, even though I've got 2 days 'off', most of that is taken in adjusting sleep, otherwise i'll feel like death on the next shift. So, even though the 'weekend' is on the face of it available, it isn't in actuality. I haven't got some hankering to garden at night  :shock:   it's just that my plot is the only relatively private outdoor space I've got, and if it was left for days on end without even a visit, I'd feel I'd neglected it.

And that's not all - i live in a flat that is on a busy road. If you've never done that, you won't have an idea of the stress that constant noise brings. It is relatively quiet and peaceful on the plot, so even if nothing is 'done' on the plot, it is still a place to unwind. It is just that I don't really want to have to unwind on the plot in the dark. Now that would be weird :!:

[mushroom]

Here it is!

http://www.solarlights.uk.com/solarlightingkits

oooo cheers for that grannieannie :!:

[muntjac]

you can get a small generator from b&q for £50 or so .it will run a halogen light for you no problem .just take it home when u leave  total cost for the set up will be about £60 including wire  

[mushroom]

Get yourself a Tilley pressurised paraffin storm lamp, http://www.tilleylamp.co.uk/ also on eBay.  Gas lights from camping stores are also pretty good.

Very nice. A tad pricey but I reckon it'd be worth it.

A spelaeologist's head-mounted lamp would also be ace for jobs on the move.

Yep, they're usually waterproof too. I'd use it if i was eg planting or sowing at night, but I don't plan to do that. it was really a shed light I'd be interested in, one that can be mounted or hung indoors or out.

[muntjac]

there are wind up camping lights available that may do the job