Getting ahead!

Just about ready! I think he has something of a royal look about him!
Must be the ears; to which will be attached a couple of shiny CDs!

A snow shower this morning (1mm in the rain guage) stopped plot activities; visited my lottie buddy Drew at his flat to see how his gout was getting along!
I've decided Julian should have a new head for spring, so work started today, mainly because I found a very nice black floppy brimmed hat for a quid in Help the Aged charity shop!
I thought CD ear rings may also be a useful addition too!

Two months to planting, but I've started measuring and preparing trenches for spuds!

Then it started to rain!

Putting the job right!

The Mk.2 sugar snap pea frame, hopefully strong enough and able to withstand a gale! A wigwam for runner beans, made from eight foot canes. It may need some wires around it yet.

Had to heed advice!

The sugar snap pea frame was not strong enough, and the net made out of rope that wouldn't do a full growing season! These were some of the criticisms, so I dismantled it today.
I've used timber on top of the frame and shall replace the net wth canes.

Monday pics!

Muddy but tidy!Julian criticising the sugar snap net!

A full day!

Spent all day (9am till 3:30pm) on the plot today whilst the weather was good; we even had a little sunshine!
It was committee day, so quite a few people about early on. Some free for all woodchip was delivered, so I availed myself of enough to do a couple of footpaths. If it’s nice in the morning I may take a little more!
Stakes and net erected for sugar snap peas and Julian moved from sprout protection to take charge of spring greens.
Trimmed the grotty leaves off my late purple sprouting broccoli, weeded out my spring and over-wintering red onions, and used my new dandelion weeder to good effect!
When it started to rain I forgot to take any photos, so must remember tomorrow.

All day on the plot!

Spent most of the day making a (frugal) picket fence.

The posts are heavy duty pallet, the lats were given (20 Park Drives) to me and the 30 foot

of cross timber £6.96 from B&Q's with my 10% 'Wrinkly Wednesday' card! Plus a £1.68 bag of nails.

The Family Album!

My dear sister has managed to get hold of some old family photos!

Such a sweet little boy!

More sunshine!

I think my stevia bed will need a polythene cover, so the hoops are in. Just got to duck and dive for a suitable bit of polythene now!

More digging today as well; I took out a bit of cross plot footpath to give me a bit more planting space.

Sunshine!

First bit of sunshine we've had since the snow melted! I cropped and then dug up the early purple sprouting brocolli. Then dug in some of the leaves from the sprouts as green fertiliser.

Apart from a double row of sugar snap peas at the far end, it will be my potato bed.

In situ!

The bumblebee box, given a coat of anti-fungal and placed to weather before Spring.

Lots of bumblebee friendly plants around it by then!

Bumble bee nest box

My bumble bee nest box, almost ready to go to the allotment!

It needs a perspex viewing window under the lid, then I might get a photo if I'm lucky enough

to have bumble bees in residence. The black and yellow is to hopefully attractthem!

I shall give it a coat of preserver and leave it out to weather.This is the interior complete with nest material (pillow stuffing).
Here are the basic dimensions.

Cabin fever setting in!

Very frustrating not being able to get on with things on the plot!

A fence is in the making, but the ground's either frozen or too wet!

I want to get on with a bumble bee nest box, but its not good weather for bashing pallets apart!

I visit the plot most days, but only to make sure everything's ok.

So today I made something to keep the cold out, sweet and spicy beef and date tagine!

Just having seconds, but leaving enough for tomorrow.

Also pickled some shallots today.

View over the PSB!

Purple sprouting brocolli for the uninitiated!

I see the little darlings have been giving Julian a bashing with snowballs!Does this put Grantham into the twenty-first century?

Our first lap-dancing club! Bit chilli this time of year!

Became bored after lunch, and the sun was still shining, so I decided on a walk taking in the allotments as well. I'd been to check the weather gadgets, seed spuds and collected some purple sprouting brocolli in the morning.
I'm pleased I did; I spotted smoke coming from the lotties and went to see if there was anyone to chat to, fully expecting our resident 'arsonist'!
But it was a very pleasant get together with drinks! So I stayed.
Cara and Dave (second and third from the right) are my plot neighbours, and the gent in front is Walter who is ninety next birthday. He still tends his plot and looks after bee hives!