Mike Ellard's blog

Hello everyone

The plot has begun to look weedy although it is desperate for water, so watered seedlings showing Peas, lettuce, radish and the early potatoes in bags

We have had to advertise for new families for the plot as we have lost some of the group as they have now found an allotment which two families have joined together on one plot , they all got on fantastically well. at least they have left with the knowledge to grow and wont be to much of a struggle.

We managed to get to the plot between the snow, managed a few jobs , built a cold frame not quite finished but nearly there, pruned the tops of the raspberries down to ground level, these have started to form growth buds at the base already , these were the autumn fruiting (Autumn Bliss) pruned the gooseberry ( var Careless) and managed to get some good size cuttings of them, went mad and sown som

Have been away doing a Master Composter course at Ryton, Garden Organics with the Gloucestershire county council, we took a look at a community composting scheme run by Lower Slaughter, Glos Compost club which is an extention to the allotments there. The above picture is off the composting scheme.

Hello
We have just started to build a polytunnel which has been donated to us and will hope to finish this by the end of January and we will be putting raised beds inside with good size paths, This will certainly start our season earlier this year.

Ideal way of starting crops without too much disturbance sow as you would a row of veg ideal for salad crops/beetroot/spinach/peas to get every thing started earlier these are in the protection of glasshouse, photo shows spinach/ mizuna and cut & come again lettuce