Now I’m a Farmer

Black Gold

For want of something better to do we thought we’d rationalise the compost heaps that have been festering away over the winter.

The main heap which had been layered up with manure and compost last autumn was already half-empty due to recent activity and we emptied the remainder into plastic sacks.

Down at the bottom there was some real ‘black gold’.

We next dug out the neighbouring heap that has been the repository for unusable vegetables from the plot. As we dug down it was interesting to see how plants decay at different rates and evidently how some don’t really rot down much at all.

All of this was transferred onto the main heap and covered with plenty of fresh manure. It will be left to its own devices for a few months.

You Can Bring Me Flowers

We harvested a massive amount of surplus vegetables last year. Instead of doing the same again this year we’ve decided to use more space for flowers.

We’ve already emptied half a dozen packets of seed into various beds around the plot and await the multi-coloured results. Some are annual and some perennial which should have influenced our planting plan, but it didn’t. We might end up regretting that.

We might also have sown the seeds rather densely, but it’ll probably work out OK in the end. Time will tell.

The Sun Always Shines on TV

By now nearly every plot owner will have heard of the upcoming ‘Great Allotment Challenge’ to aired weekly on BBC2 from 15th April for six weeks.

Considering the already published challenges – growing radishes, sweetcorn, aubergines and melons – we presume that filming started quite some time ago.

How all this will be edited into six episodes will be interesting. Will it be pure entertainment or will there be some in-depth insights for more seasoned plotters?