Chitting Potatoes

It's that time of year again, when the front north facing spare bedroom gets drafted for chitting the potatoes. It's low light and the coldest, but frost free room in the house. Ideal for the task as long as we don't have any guests.

I just have them in seed trays with paper labels so I remember what they are.

Shed on Plot 1

The lady on plot one has a rather impressive shed - not just green and purple but velvet curtains too.

It's lovely to see how some people take ownership of their allotment, making it into a real home from home

Greenhouse on Plot 3

The people on plot three have a greenhouse, more of a penthouse actually it's built so high.

Set on a double sleeper base it sets up new standards for deep beds. Only fault is you need a ladder to get into it.

Busy on the Site

It's been a glorious weekend, more like late March than the middle of February and the site is busy as people take advantage of it.

After the times when I've been up there on my own or just one other fanatic braving the elements, it's great to see so many people around.

Construction Site

Andy was busy building a new raised bed for his plot. I did tell him child labour was illegal but his poor enslaved son was being worked to the bone.

Actually he's the patience of a saint.

Rebuilt Path on the Plot

We had a delivery of wood chippings on the site so I jumped in quick and redid the main path for plot 5. Not only does it look well, but more importantly it's not a slide now.

I've gone over a few times on it, so this is luxury. Also did the paths between the raised beds. Certainly ached a bit after moving it all.

Raised Bed 4 Finished

This is the last raised bed on plot 5. I was going to build 5 beds but decided to make the fourth double depth, about a foot, because of the slope on the plot. I'm not a total convert to raised beds but they do have a number of advantages.

After I shot this I dug it over and the next task is to fill it with the municipal compost you can see piled to the right.

Frost on the Compost Heaps

I was trying to show the way the frost was lying on the wood chippings in front of the compost heaps on plot 5. Where things are shaded, it's not melted for the last few days.

Anyway, you can see the dormant comfrey bed and the sunlight flaring between the trees and blinding. It's not the photo I intended but I rather like the picture anyway.

Wood Chippings - Now You See Them, Now You Don't

We had another delivery of wood chippings yesterday. The pile was as high as me.

By this afternoon there was precious little left. Here you can see one of our plot holders getting some for his paths and it's down to a couple of feet high.

Notice the clear blue and bright sky. Quite amazing weather for February.