Kitchen Garden Forum

Dear Monika, I know things will never be the same without your allotment but, so glad you are still tending the land and getting some walking in....and just as importantly, still coming on her.....

Now if we could just get a post from Clive, I would be a very contented man indeed.....

Hello Old H',

The mention of progressing some digging almost brought me out of hiding.!

...but with your prompt I felt I should re appear.

As you may note I watch and keep up with the news from the sidelines ever more these days.

I have progressed some digging at home here too and have got a little further up the garden than I managed last year...even got the potatoes lifted that had been in two years.!!

All best wishes for the New Year,

Clive.

Evening Clive, i was hoping you would reply, so i am now happy....

Glad you have managed to get a bit of digging done too....now which spade or fork did you use....?

It was the old S&J Neverbend No.1 grafting spade for the true dug section, SKJO flat tined fork for the potato area both for lifting out the remnants and for the final forking over...much annual meadow grass and buddleia that have seeded about.!
...and a relatively recent J. Bentley border fork for the tickle through the raspberry area.

Much use of microwave to keep us in dinner whilst also master of washing machine, drier, etc etc.....

C.

I knew I would be impressed by the selection of tools used...

Hope things haven't been too tough for you at home, Clive!

My array of tools has been lump hammer, sledge hammer, various chisels, crowbar and electric drill. The gale and freezing rain that Saturday in December snapped a rustic pole at ground level that was part of a structure holding up a fine American Pillar rose. Trouble is it was well concreted in through cobbles and I am having great difficulty getting the stump out, over four hours yesterday. I can't remember if I just concreted it in thirty years ago or if I punched my way through some old farm concrete like I did with some others. Planning to replace it with a socket and square post, better get back to chipping!

A tough job indeed, Geoff...years ago I made a really useful tool out of an old pickaxe head and a six foot length of scaffolg tube....just rammed the thicker end of the pickaxe head into the scaffold tube and that is it. The leverage you can get is unbelievable, made better by the angle of the point....you can ram it into the old rotten post and it will move most things....

Bought a new corner shed couple of summers back, for some reason this winter the door has swelled and I can't get in it, good job I have room elsewhere to park the wheelbarrow.

I got a couple of hours of work done on the 'lottie today. So I feel virtuous (to a limited degree).
Lifted some leeks. Picked some salad leaves. Otherwise just digging over (so many weeds to root out).

I'm impressed !!!! and thats not easy to achieve


On 29th December I placed a online order for seeds from DT Brown. received email yesterday (New Years Day) informing me that the complete order has been despatched.


Similarly on the 28th December I ordered 3 different Mushroom kits from Suttons on a buy 2 get 1 free offer.
One is currently out of stock but I received a email on New Years Day saying the 2 available kits had been despatched (ON NEW YEARS DAY !!!!) very unexpected

Sharp frost today and we have visitors over, so the grass won't get cut today!!!

That's impressive, Par Snip.....I normally find the things i'm not in a rush for, turn up immediately and the things I could do with quickly, seem to take forever....

Youwill soon be clearing snow, Tigerburnie....

Well that has just proved my last statement correct, as my seed potatoes have just been delivered...

Both of us got them earlier than we would best like. At least we have them, well all bar Estima for us, now all we have to do is try and hold them back until ground is suitable for planting without them over sprouting

Oh what fun we have.