Monday 30 April 2007

Spuds away


Once I knew I was getting a plot I started to look for seeds and sets I could plant. I know mid April is a bit late for potatoes but the good news is that means what you do buy is reduced! I was lucky enough to pick up 3 bags of Charlotte seed potatoes a few weeks ago for 99p each. These have been nicely chitting ever since so once the plot was prepped they were going in asap. Sunday evening Helen and I went down to the plot ready to plant. We dug a trench 15cm deep and planted each seed 30cm apart. The deeper soil was still clumpy but it soon broke up and there were only a few weed roots so the rotovating had done a good job. After gently covering them up they were watered in – definitely not the easiest task. The well is nearly 100m away and we only have a bucket. After three trips you are losing the will so the new way of watering can’t come soon enough. Still it works for now and we earthed them up to keep the moisture in. The third row was planted the day later to complete the lot and that’s when the above picture was taken. So that’s it the first crop is planted – plot62 is officially off the mark and growing yeehah! Onions are going in next followed by a whole load of other crops so watch this space…

Scrapheap challenge!




One of the key tools on any plot is a wheelbarrow. When I was clearing the plot I borrowed a neighbour's but it wouldn't be long until I needed one of my own. As luck would have it when we searched the plot on day one we discovered a couple of old discarded wheelbarrows waiting to be dumped. Individually they were no good but between them there was a good wheel and a good frame. I saved the bits and had my own go at scrapheap salvaging!

I used some 2”x1” wood from pallets I’d obtained to make hubs using a large 25mm drill. These were bolted onto the frame and greased. Secondly I had some old plywood and shelving in the garage that got converted into a tub. It's a bit Heath Robinson (who is/was he?!) but its certainly unique.

Like the proof of a pudding is in the eating I guess the proof of the barrow is in its use. Well what can I say it works even better than the real thing, even if I do say so myself. Also did I deliberately make the sides of the tub bigger than the base so that it wouldn’t fill with water when it rains, or did I measured it wrong? Hmmm definitely the latter!

So there we have it a scrapheap barrow. For less than £5 I've got a fully functional barrow that works great and has saved extra waste from being landfilled. Best of all I can leave it on site safe in the knowledge it will be there the next day. Now what else can I salvage……?

Friday 27 April 2007

The big dig - part 2




Three and a half hours later and I decided to start to rotovate. There were still a few piles of soil, weeds and roots to clear but I only had the machine for a couple more hours.
What an amazing machine! I takes some getting used to but once you realise not to fight it it works really well. I hadn't realised in the morning how efficient it was an before I knew it I had turned over most of the ground. I stuck with it right through until the hire van arrived and took it away. By the end I had covered the whole plot (minus the bits with weed piles still on) to about 6" depth of fine tilth. Near perfection!!

So that was it I stood back and marveled at a days work. My back was aching really bad from stooping over the machine and my hands had blisters from clearing weeds earlier. I raked over a section to see what it was like then packed up and went home. Time will tell if the rotovator was the right idea as there are still many small weed roots in the soil. At least its easily workable soil and what is left of the roots can be raked up eaily. I may even trand and coarsly sieve areas where I plan to plant root vegentable. Anywau I'll try and finish the clearing over the next couple of days and then get the crops in but right now its time for a rest....

Thursday 26 April 2007

The big dig - part 1





Thursday saw the first real action at the plot as I attempted to convert field and weeds into lovely soil! I had the day off and hired a rotovator to do the hard work. There seems to be quite a divided opinion on whether or not to use a rotovator on land like this. Some say all you result in doing is chopping the weeds into more weeds but my opinion is it makes the soil instantly workable to a good depth - plus its good fun!!




My original plan was to cut the weeds with a mower but sadly it conked out after 20 minutes and no effort on mine or Edwards part (who had wandered over) could get it going again. Nevermind rotovator it was and I got stuck in. It worked amazing well cutting out the roots and leaving the weeds on top. By 11:00 it was done and I started the mamoth job of piling the weeds and raking the surface.

We've got a plot!


On Sunday 22nd April 2007 we signed up for the princely sum of £12 to secure Plot 62 as our very own piece of Oxfordshire land. As you can see its a bit rough and ready but a bit of effort should see it come good. Now, where to start?!

Unfortunately Plot 62 has been a bit of a dumping ground so there was lots of rubbish and asbestos to move off the site. Some of the weeds were knee-high but none of them seem to be too much of a challenge to remove.

Anyway, that is it for now. Good news is that we are up and running ...