Chilly compost bins

It was a chilly 0.2ºC when I went out onto the allotment this morning, which explains why the small pool of water on top of the compost bin was frozen solid (above). Still, it made for a good picture! Despite the fact that it was so cold, with a northerly wind blowing to add to the chill factor, at least we had sunny spells and it wasn't raining for a change.


There were no volunteers today (Paul probably thought only mad people would be on the allotment today, and Peter's on holiday in Scotland) so David and I just levelled the ground in preparation for putting the chicken shed in place (we couldn't lift it between us, so that will have to wait for another day when there's more muscle around).

I also cleared the end of the sweet peas and nasturtiums from the rhubarb beds; cleared the weeds and took down the willow frames. We're trying different types of overwinter mulch on the beds - above is straw on the rhubarb and you can also see the green manure (grazing rye) on the far part of the roots bed behind.


The brussel sprouts are beginning to form and the broccoli is still going strong, although the cauliflowers are pretty much over now. This is a view across from the brassica bed, with the willow dome in the distance, looking a little forlorn now without its leaves. The bricks are weighing down another mulch: cardboard over manure.


The leaf mould bin is now full to overflowing, and I dug out the bucket of seaweed (very smelly after months of fermenting) from beside the compost bins to put on the asparagus, after cutting down the yellowing fronds earlier today.

Smell-a-vision a success

It's been a hectic day on the allotment and I feel I need to do some yoga within the next hour to get my back moving properly again. I didn't think I'd been doing anything particularly back-breaking, but at this time of year it's easy to get cold working outside without realising it, and my joints aren't as young as they used to be!

The jerusalem artichokes were finally cut down today, as they've just given up the ghost after a few frosts and turned black. Peter helped me cut them up (some were about 9ft tall) to put in the compost. I was delighted to pull up a few healthy, good-sized tubers from one of the plants, which Paul's taken home for tea. We can start pulling them up as and when now until February - just got to remember to leave a few in for next year's plants.


Paul made short work of a new flower bed (above) for the primary school's new area, recycling some old blue painted wood to make a great shallow bed along the fence for their tulip and daffodil bulbs.

The rabbits were on the allotment today and had a fantastic time, doing big jumps in the air in pure happiness inbetween digging and munching. Lavender managed to escape once, by burrowing his way out, but after a quick sprint around the allotment he was caught expertly by Paul and returned to the safety of the pen.

I cut down the excess willow for weaving some time soon and also tied up the willow dome before madness descended on the allotment shortly after one when a whole class arrived from the local primary school. I must confess to thinking about turning around and running in the opposite direction when I saw them all coming up the path!


I always knew that having 27 children on the allotment at once was going to be a challenge, and I wasn't proved wrong, but they seemed to enjoy themselves and my inspired 'smell your way around the allotment' activity went down a treat. They had to find a piece of plant for each of the following smells: perfume (sweet), savoury (herb), mint, lemon and blackcurrant and then stick them on the sheet. We also planted some tulip bulbs, gathered seeds and looked at different types of manure!

Earlier today the class had been into Chopwell Wood and collected bags of leaves for our leaf mould bin, which is now full to overflowing and will be a great addition to potting mixes in about a year's time.

I was exhausted when they left, but it was a great and worthwhile afternoon, as the children were really interested in finding out about different plants and seeds and when I heard one boy say it was 'his favourite part of the day' that made my day.

If I had a hammer...

I'm a bit behind on the blog, so this entry will be a culmination of a few days' worth of work.

On Thursday afternoon the Boy's Club from the local primary school had a masterclass in how to use a hammer and power drill without injuring yourself, and I'm glad to say that everyone had the same amount of fingers they began with by the end of the session. With a little help from Alan, they're creating two raised beds next to the willow dome.

Friday was another lovely day weather-wise and Paul and I tackled the overgrown area in the top corner in preparation for the chicken house, while Peter added spent compost to the raised beds and potted up the herbs to overwinter in the polytunnel.

We also tided up the entrance to the allotment to make the path a bit easier to use, taking out a few stray weeds and adding some of the spare rubble to the sides.