Kitchen Garden Forum

There may be more dry and sunny weather on the way, but I happened to look at Metcheck for the outlook for the next fortnight for us and, guess what, folks, there is snow and hard frost forecast from about 20 April onwards, at least for our spot in North Yorkshire. So, be warned! We planted our first potatoes out today (Swift, Kestrel and Anya) but we have enough fleece to cover them if they pop their heads out before the cold weather.

We're never happy are we? I loved the Easter sunshine. We were away for 5 days and on returning yesterday I had to get the hose out because all the strawberries which are now flowering freely in my front garden border were as dry as a bone. But the good weather has enabled me to get on with a lot of gardening chores today so I won't complain if we have a little rain soon.

Yes, it's too dry!

The soil in my allotment is rock hard and almost impossible to dig & break up.

And yes, I should have done it before now so I only have myself to blame


Colin

My soil, at least where it was bare earth, became seriously waterlogged earlier in the year when I was trying to mould sections in to raised beds. Now, the top is so hard that virtually nothing can poke through it from below. However, where the soil was covered with grass, whenever you move this, the earth underneath is easy to work. The same is true in the car park. During what seemed to be a whole month of rain, exposed areas of bare earth flooded, while those with grass growing through didn't. I don't know if the situation where you are is analagous to that round here, but virtually everybody has concreted over their front gardens to form car ports, so when it rains we get floods of rain sweeping down the street, which is on a hill. Moral: never leave soil bare; never concrete over it either!!!!

Dear OH, I tried your recommendation to Lynne for breaking down hard clods of earth (see earlier this posting) and it worked a treat. So thank you very much.
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Granny

I'm trying to dig the last bit of my plot which is where the last few leeks have finally come out. Getting the leeks out was hard enough but digging it over is so difficult because the ground is rock solid. I was banging the fork in, only to have it bounce off and after three or four stabs I was standing on it like a pogo stick. All of me and it STILL wouldn't go in easily. Two inches down and the soil is fine, but the upper crust is far too hard. I've been getting tennis elbow again from the impact so I've left the last bit until it rains. Nice sunshine though

Dear Granny, glad it worked for you.

Dear Chantal, sounds as if you need a hunky fellow to do that digging for you.

A man on my plot? This is not going to happen; this is a girls only allotment. Men can visit, (as Tim does) sit and watch (as Tim does) and on occasions sit and do the crossword and drink a beer (as Tim does); but no digging. Mine.

She's right!

Ok who complained it was too dry. We've got rain forcasted until Sunday. Boo hiss

The sun's struggling to make an appearance, so Nugget and I are going out to plot regardless. We'll hide out in the greenhouse and talk to the beans sprouting.