Weed roots and assorted rubble

Just for fun – and because I can – here’s another picture…

Just some of the roots and rubble I pulled out of the mound of dirt while filling it into the trench.

There are a few dandelion roots in there, a load of horsetail roots, broken glass (some of it still sharp – thankfully I was wearing gloves), bits of pottery, stones, some distorted metal things ranging from nuts and bolts to what I take to be cloche pegs.

I was going to use a more “normal” approach to double digging for the other beds, but after this haul I’m probably going to do them all the same way – I should have a much smaller weeding effort ahead of me this way.

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2⅓ down… 5⅔ to go!

I said I’d start posting pictures – well, get ready for a picture-overdose!

I didn’t quite get to spend a couple of full days on the plot as I’d hoped, but it has still been a productive weekend, and if I’m being totally honest, I might have struggled to do much more anyway!

The last time I went to the plot I started double digging my second “square foot” bed (in the 15’x4′ layout I’m using) but after it got far too dark to keep working I left it part finished:

As Square Foot Bed #2 looked when I arrived at the plot on Easter Sunday

I had managed to fork over most of the second spit* of the bed before night stopped play last time so that’s how it was to begin with, and this is it all nicely broken up.

Second spit of bed 2 all nicely dug over. As you can see - the sun came out!

To return the top spit of soil to the bed I used a fork to break up the mound, scraping off a small section at a time (which let me pull out a whole load of nasty roots like dandelion and horsetail – some of which seemed complete, so presumably quite young) making a pile of nice, crumbly soil which was easy to pile into the trench.

I’m going to have to move ahead with my plans to put some kind of edging around the beds to stop it all spilling out though, breaking it up has made it stand quite a way proud of the hard packed paths either side.

Now for a time lapse of the bed being back filled. From the picture above to the finished bed took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. It’s hard to guess what a ton of earth looks like, but going by the 3 bulk bags of topsoil I helped empty a while back, I’d guess that mound contains about 1.5 tonnes of soil. (That’s British tonnes, not American ones which are smaller than ours by 109kg or 240lbs.)

Breaking up the mound of soil using a fork.

Shovelling the broken-up soil into the trench.

Almost done.

Bed 2, as good as finished.

After finishing bed number 2 on Easter Sunday I popped back for a few hours today (Monday – this post will be marked as Tuesday) and dug out the top spit of bed 3. Another visit should see the bottom spit broken up and the bed finished on the visit after that.

In case you’re wondering, my plot actually goes past the row of concrete flags buried at the end of the beds. It goes all the way to the thin line of grass just beyond them. That’s where the path used to be. The soil over there is full of stones so I’m going to leave it until I’ve made a riddle; then I’ll dig out the flags, riddle the stones out and dig the soil over as extensions to the main beds. I have a feeling that soil might not be as productive as the stuff that’s not spent the last few years under a path, but I’m sure a bit of TLC will see to that.

It’s nice to see some progress at last… now I’ve just got to finish number 3 and then dig another 5! (…then the fruit patch, the seed bed and more still!)

* For those who’ve not heard the term before, a “spit” is the depth of one shovel head. In double digging you break up the soil to a depth of two spits. It’s a bit of a “country” term, so some allotment/gardening types will look at you like you’re using made up words, but I like it.

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Mode of Transportation

I took this just 70m (75 yards) from my house. I found a fatal flaw in my tying system when the blade of the shovel slipped down onto my back tyre! My improved system ensures that can't happen without something snapping first.

I could pretend this is for environmental reasons… something to do with my carbon footprint, climate change and middle eastern oil… and I’m sure it’d give my eco-credentials a boost if I did… but I’m not.

Nope, I just love bikes!

That the round trip cost of a visit to the allotment is reduced from £0.98 (at today’s 119.9p/litre petrol prices) to a negligible cost in tyre and drivetrain wear is a bonus I can live with, especially since the journey takes just 2 minutes longer by bike than by car.

Just 3 bits of string are all that’s needed to carry a fork and a shovel on the bike… a couple of bottles of water in the rucksack – along with a butty wrapped in parchment paper (I’m really trying hard to avoid using plastic wherever I can) and a waterproof “just in case” there’s no reason for me to take the car on a normal visit to the plot.

It’s a really nice bike – though far more suited to thrashing along bridleways, singletracks and the likes than trundling along a road… those knobbly tyres are wonderful in the mud but don’t half slow things down on tarmac – and in remarkably good condition for a bike I bought new 13 years ago!

The moral of the story?
Leave your car at home and ride to your allotment! (…and to the shops, to work, to visit your friends, your family or your significant other… bikes are great!)

Not quite “one less car” as I still drive sometimes – but it’s great to have “one less car… sometimes”.

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