Re-roofing

The weather has been really bad here after a mild February and last week there were high winds and storms which battered our shed and whipped off most of the felt roofing so on our latest visit Peter had to re-felt the shed. I think we are going to get some bitumen paint to go on top just to seal it all in. I was also quite cross at the amount of debris that had blown onto our plot, plastic pop bottles that had been used as cloches and bits of old cardboard, lids off composters and waterbuts were littered everywhere, I really think people should do more to secure stuff on their own plot so that doesn't happen. In actual fact we hadn't done to badly in the bad weather as one shed had completely collapsed and with things getting busier on the plot now it's spring I wouldn't want to be re-building a shed.

The peas and beans now have lovely green shoots coming through which is great and my sweet peas are doing well. I can't wait unti the produce starts growing. I've also got some radish and some lettuce in now, not sure if I mentioned that earlier. My red onion sets have arrived from Thomson and Morgan and as we have a weeks holiday next week we are planning on spending some time at the plot. I'm hoping to build a sandpit for Mini to keep her out of trouble. Will also try and take some new pics to show our progress.

Planting

We are zooming ahead with progress on the allotment, we have now planted carrots, parsnips, broad beans, early peas, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, basil and rosemary. Not bad going considering we only got the plot in January. We met some of our neighbours last week whilst we were their plot is attached to a Pupil Referral Unit and will be used to help children who are depressed and also those struggling with eating disorders, the idea is to help themj understand more about the goodness and nature of food and encourage them to eat well by being involved in growing the food. What a worthwhile project, they are also working with a local artist to design the plot and have wonderful animals and characters made out of reeds, I must admit it makes ours look a bit scruffy though I am pleased with the new raised beds I have built, they are only small but hopefully they will be very productive.

Mini is still enjoying coming with us, now the weather has dried up a bit it is a lot easier and she is getting used to her wellies and waterproofs. It can't be too long now until we start seeing some produce.

We finally joined the allotment society for a joint membership of £3, bargain or what, I also found myself volunteering to help the committe with IT stuff so I'll wait and see if anything comes of that. Looking forward to spending some time at the plot in the Easter hols and hoping for some good weather.

More seeds

Got some parsnip seeds and some early peas planted up this week, I've also covered the beans and peas with some mesh to stop birds and other creatures pinching the early seedlings. The forst part of this week has been amazing weather wise and we spent two full days down at the plot with picnics, one day we were all in t-shirts the weather was so fab. I think it is easy to start to think that it is spring and plant things that it's too early for in February, I am so desperate to plant stuff and see some early results that I have to be careful not to be over enthusiastic, as it is still february and hard frosts or snow are still very possible. The plot is looking great compared to when we took it on and I'm starting to see the real potential that could exist.

Mini has learnt a new game which was partly my fault as I sat her in the wheelbarrow when we were down there one time, now she likes to ride around it and when I take her out to try and do some work she just shouts 'more!' which is funny the first few times but then rapidly gets annoying. She has also started to eat mud if we leave her unsupervised with her little spade, aren't children delightful!