I thought the digging was over.

A couple of weeks ago I put the finishing touches to the last bit of cultivation and started looking forward to an easy summer. I made the mistake of complaining to the allotments officer about the hordes of slugs coming from the unworked plot next to me and asked for an organic cure.

He sent me an application form on re-cycled paper!

Oh well" Only 5 more poles to dig.

I will be using the tactic of mix and match as there are a number of permenant plantings to work around. The new plot has revealed a bit of soft fruit, mostly in poor condition but there are a number of crowns of thornless raspberries that look worth saving. Soft fruit is a favourite with me and next spring I will plant much more.

This plot also has a rather unique problem as at some time in the past when allotments were in decline, the council established a hibernaculum for the slow worms and newts bang in the middle of the plot. I have to maintain it.

This year it will be a matter of making the plot tidy and fertile ready for an early start next year. Until it is cleared, it is difficult to assess properly.