Empty beds

This time last year we were scattering green manure seed in our empty beds. It was supposed to be a great way of keeping down the weeds and putting nutrients into the soil. Anyway, in our heavy clay soil and our typical rainy weather it was a nightmare crop! My goodness, trying to cut it back and dig it in well I wrote about my frustrations and at the time here, but it isn't very clear just how angry I was ~ I was mad, cold, sore backed and mad!

This year we have changed tack and are trying a new/old technique. I say 'we' of course, I mean Andrew. This year the beds were emptied (by me) and Andrew dug them over good and proper, then added a heck of a lot of the finest animal poo which we had been composting over the summer. If you like compost and manure you'll love this photo, if you don't look away now!

It's really squelchy... plus I think you could wave a seed over the top and it would germinate - powerful stuff is rotten poo.

Once mixed thoroughly into the soil the beds were ridged up. Yes, that's what I said, they were made into little mountain ridges. This way the rain (the lots and lots of it that makes Ireland the Emerald Isle I guess) will run off the bed and drain away better. We still need to get hold of some of that gorgeous seaweed from the beach to put on top - such a rich bounty, free from the ocean. Seriously if you don't live near the water (we live right on it) go on a day trip with some big bags and gather some up, yes it will stink out the car but it is worth it on the veggies.

We took Maggie for a walk last night along the promenade - poor Andrew it took so much self control not to go on to the shore line and lift it my the arm full. The storms are good for one thing I suppose - there's loads of it!

So, what are your thoughts on green manure? Personally I shall never have it near my plots again but that's just me. It's good old cow/horse crap for me!! Never thought I would be so passionate about poo, hahaha.

Note: The Conservation Volunteer project I spoke about last week is on TV tomorrow night between 6pm and 6.30pm UTV - they need your votes!!!

Manure and Fruit

I'm eating cherries - yum. One day, one day in the not too distant future maybe I'll write a blogette eating our own from the Lottie. Happy days..... Also, just took the dog for a walk, by myself, for the first time this week, so I feel momentarily invincible.

The title is blunt, I know but for me the weekend truly was all about Manure (Green and Animal) and fruit bushes. I'll explain...

Andrew was driving me mad with his Fruit Arch shenanigans and the vibe on the Lottie wasn't great. When something is perfect and done in an instant, he gets very crabby. Enough said. I (to save my precious sanity) went to the other end of the plot and started to dig, turning over the green manure so it can start to rot down. Ahh, digging, thrusting your spade into the ground with force and getting a sweat going - does you the world of good when peeved off at the Hubby.

I did 3 beds in the end and it just happened to work out that it was a half and half split between Green and Animal Manure that I was turning. I have to say, so far I much prefer the cow poo (never thought I'd write that sentence!), the ground just under it was more friable and full of worms - in the Green Manure beds, it was compacted, very compacted and a pain to work with. I still have an open mind about the whole sowing a living covering for over winter but I am still to be impressed with the results. We'll see...

Actually what are you're thoughts on this???? I'd love to know.

I am not going to post a picture of 3 beds of muck to illustrate my work here. That would be very boring for all of us; have a look at this instead, much better. My Valentine's Day dinner, made by the hubby - yum.



Then I had the terrible, and I mean heartbreaking, task of cutting back the Autumn Raspberries. My goodness they've only been in there for a little while and looked sad enough as it was, i.e. 6 twigs in the ground. But now it's as if there isn't anything there at all. They get cropped right down to ground level - so harsh. (Oh, and my cherries are finished too - not fair!!)



Let's move on from this story and go to the big moment (for me) - Planting the Blackcurrant Bushes on Sunday. We were lucky a good few months back to get hold of 2 bushes a 'Ben Lomond' and a 'Baldwin' for the great price of a £1 each. This past weekend was the first time the ground was okay to plant in. I DID IT, ALL ON MY OWN. It was exciting, I did a totally text book job of it and Andrew was extremely impressed. It was in doing that job that I had a 'life- is- okay-and-so-am-I' moment and believe me they are very few and far between. After I'd tidied up after myself, I took a wee walk and there was a tear. (Think what you may of me but I didn't feel terrible and that is huge).

The before and after pictures of that will have to wait, I got the before but then the camera battery died a very untimely death - so no after shot. :(


P.S. Finally put up that new number sign, eh viola!




Update on manure debate:

My friends at Grow your own - http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/allotment-advice/green-vs-cow-manure_27946.html - have decided that both types are good ffor different areas, but over all they prefer animal poo.

Those friends at Grow Veg - http://www.growveg.info/viewtopic.php?f=861&t=13441 - also went with animal poo though again some felt green manure had it's place, especially as a weed suppressor.

The polls have only been going one night but this highly unscientific experiment seems to show (at present) that animal poo is the way to go.

green manure and a bug b&b

You know, the words aren't coming easily today, bare with me....

So, all the remaining Leeks are now either in our tummys or the fridge now; they really did us proud, we'll definitely be growing more 'Musselburgh' this year. The bed they where in only had leeks and green manure in it ~ the green manure was ready to be cut back, so Andrew did that and though it still needs dug in, it is great to see the new season taking shape on the plot.

I took on the bigger, full bed of Green Manure (B1) where the potatoes where last year but after cutting it all back, I couldn't face digging it in too. I had hurt my leg earlier in the week and the kneeling down was sore enough without getting to work with a spade! So all that will need doing the next time we're down (I now have a 'ladies spade'), so I've no excuses!

After cutting all that back I found an easy job to do ~ picking all the dead leaves off the Strawberry plants. And lo and behold who did I meet?? Mr/s Ladybird!!

This lead to a flurry of activity from me ~ I cut up lots of Bamboo canes and hollowed out the left over ends of the raspberry canes Andrew had just cut back and handed to me. And I made an insect hotel. Well, mine is more a Budget B&B for the student-y insect perhaps. It certainly is not anything like Donald's 4* Hotel and Spa in Field B, but I can work on it. Here it is both in all it's architectural glory and in-situ, under the shed. I hope to have some residents someday but I won't hold my breath ~ there are lots of bugs under the shed already though, we put loads of stones under there and saw lots of other ladybirds around that area in the Autumn.

More Weekend stuff

Heart broken that that was our last summer weekend; the weather man said that 1st September is considered the first day of Autumn - I'M NOT READY! It's already getting darker sooner and on Sunday, I couldn't see in the port-a-loo and we had to put the headlights on when driving home.

So, anyway, at the weekend we got some Green Manure for one of the old potato beds. It was a Thompson and Morgan variety, just multi-purpose stuff. The other old potato bed has Pak Choi, Scallions and Carrots in it, they're germinating fine, especially the Pak Choi which I'm very excited about. The carrots are the same as in the ones we're eating now 'Autumn King 2' and the Scallions, we have been growing throughout the spring/summer, 'White Lisbon'. Once they are all over, we have more Green Manure for that bed too.

Stuff we Found

Apart from actually gardening we also found some interesting stuff while digging around in the beds and weeding. I actually managed to get some more pics of bugs, though not the ones on our parsnips - Andrew squished them.

We also have some Prehistoric flint - an End Scraper and a sharp edged cutting thingy. There was also some 19th century black ribbed glazed earthenware. Andrew is the archaeologist, and knows exactly what they are and although very interested in the subject, I can't remember the details. Here they are anyway....

Best thing though was finding a horse shoe! All rusty and with the nails still in it - exactly what we wanted for the apex of our shed - for luck.

Then to top it all off, I found Alan, I had forgotten all about him, he was being smothered by grass and pumpkin tendrils, but I think he's okay. He is our ironic gnome.