Hard Work Now Showing Results

Every weekend since the middle of March except for one Himself and I have been slogging our guts out, digging our new allotment with a little help from Badger Boo although BB's help was mainly in a supervisory capacity.  

When I took our allotment over it had been left for sometime, although it wasn't in as bad an overgrown state as some of the others I looked at. Yes I was lucky, I had the choice of four. 

Looking up the plot.

Looking down the plot.

It's a big plot it's what is know as 10 rods, but our last one was very tiny and as we have such a small garden I wanted the largest I could get, so this can become our garden to sit out in as there is a fabulous community spirit there.

So we set about digging and got some Potato's  planted the first week.

Backbreaking work for Himself :o)

We quickly dug three beds in the bottom quarter, it was backbreaking work as it is over run with Couch Grass. We decided we would work the rest of the plot slowly over the rest of the year, and rid it of as much Couch Grass as we could, then really go for it next year.

As most of you know, neither of us are in the best of health, so we don't want to knock ourselves out, as then we may lose interest. Then the weather changed and the sun came out which is great after the long cold Winter we have had.

BUT

That meant the weeds and couch were growing like wildfire! So we had to cover most of them over and get the rest cut down, our lovely new allotment was looking like The Dingles Homestead in Emmerdale  compared to everyone else's. We've still got to buy a petrol strimmer, so it had to be done by hand with a pair of shears and the first assault  of "Operation Kill the Couch Grass" had began.

It was bloody hard work but we are very pleased with the results.

First part of "Operation Kill the Couch Grass"

We laid tarpaulin to kill off most of the couch grass, when it's all dead we'll dig and get the roots out as it's really resilient stuff. Himself had to sift the couch roots out of the compost, I'd been putting them in there, not knowing it was the wrong thing to do. They are now all happily drowning in the buckets of water and holding down the tarpaulins, so they can be burnt in a few weeks time, on the advice of one of the other allotment holders, they really are a helpful lot there.

A well earned cup of coffee for Himself as he surveys our efforts.

We've been offered the third shed down from our plot (in picture below) it needs a new roof as it has completely rotted but that's easily sorted. It's basically sound for an old shed, so Himself we just need to level a spot for it and find some helpers to shift it. Complete if we can as it may not survive being taken apart. Whatever happens, if it falls apart we can always rebuild a smaller shed with it's wood. I do love a challange to adapt and overcome.

We still have a lot to do, but thanks to the glorious weather over the Bank Holiday weekend we are getting there and our hard work is showing results at last. 

Very pleased with the end result, still loads more to do but we are getting there.

The Apple Tree on the allotment is now in blossom, I'm really looking forward to try out my very own home grown apples later this year. 

I wonder what type of apples these will grow into?

  Now go check out the other links to The Gallery theme The Weekend.

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