Allotment Prize Certificate

Last year, third prize. This year second - perhaps I'm starting to get better at this gardening lark.

I missed winning the site first prize by 2 points. Should have spent an extra hour weeding the path. Well I got ?10.00, which isn't bad.

The full results and pictures of the prize giving, which we missed because I was in Spain, are available here on the Crewe and Nantwich site

Green Manure and Comfrey Bed, Plot 5

Started cutting down the agricultural mustard green manure and mixing it with the last few leaves of comfrey as I added it to the compost heap.

A rich compost is vital to the soil's health and the comfrey will both accelerate decomposition of the material into compost and add additional nutrients to the compost.

Weeding the Leeks on Plot 5

Weeding around the leeks to give them a bit of room to grow. The weeds are piled in front awaiting the trip to the compost heap.

I find weeding an area with the hoe only takes a short while but weeding around the leeks is best done by hand lest I hoe off the leek, which I have been known to do and takes a lot longer than you think.

View up Plot 29

Having cleared over half of the plot, it looks so very empty.

I find this time of year quite sad but also filled with promise. There is lots to do to prepare for next year and there are still crops to harvest, but still kind of sad.

Top of Plot 5

Leeks to the right and parsnips behind. In front you can see how the weeds are popping up.

Nature abhors a vacuum! Sometimes I think you only have to blink and a weed jumps up from the soil.

Still, the better the soil, the more the weeds will grow.

Planting Pyracantha

I decided to gentrify our site and planted a Pyracantha by the fence.

It has really attractive autumn colours and the berries will feed the birds. Oh yes, nearly forgot, it also has wicked spikes that might cause some difficulty to those lovely young people who climbed over the fence to nick my squash.

First task was to dig a hole - doesn't look much for an hours work but it was almost solid rubble.

The Pyracantha Planted

There it is in all its spiky glory. I could have taken a close up but here you can see just how open the fence is at this point.

Further down (to the right) there is a pretty thick Hawthorn hedge so security is not too bad there.

The plant, along with the other two Pyracantha, which I've still got to plant, accounted for my winnings for second prize.

Refurbished Allotment Gates

To improve security on the site, the council refurbished the gates with weldmesh replacing the old netting that was falling apart.

The top of the gate has the upward metal from the mesh, which are rather like naiils and quite sharp. I reckon it isn't easy to climb,