February 2009 Update
February, despite its snow and severe cold spells has proved to be a very productive month down on the allotment and we hope, will stand us in good stead for the rest of the year.
It began with the decision to enclose the whole seed bed area in a waist high chickenwire fence, in an attempt to avert the crop decimation we suffered in 2008 at the hands of the local rabbit population.
For this we inserted posts (old, new and re-cycled) into the ground and dug a ditch so that the wire could be sunk six inches down at the edges. The chickenwire was then put around the posts, secured and the ditches filled to complete the “rabbit proofing”. No half measures this time – bunnies be warned! This decision also seems to be appropriate as we have recently learned that Munkjack deer have also been spotted on the site, which are also well known decimators of crops.
After a few weekends worth of toil, digging and the removal of various roots and stumps which stood in our way – we found ourselves with a substantial and smart looking barrier against lop-eared pests. Complete with substantial gates for ease of access and the successes of this years harvests pinned on it, only time will tell if it proves its worth in keeping unwanted animals out. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed and you fully updated on its success.
Of course this is not the be-all and end all of pest control, there are still moles, pigeons, caterpillars, slugs and snails to contend with. Not to mention the ever present possibility of disease and viruses, which will always mean keeping a watchful eye over plants and the soil. However, we are seriously hoping that if we can keep out the main animal problem of recent years with the fence, we can concentrate on helping our plants to grow healthily by turning our attention to other offending creatures.
On the topic of fruit, we have seen this month – a little later than usual, the first signs of Rhubarb poking through the topsoil of its new bed. This is one of the main and heaviest producing crops we have on the allotment, keeping us in tasty sticks of pink flesh until late summer.
We also managed to complete some work on the netted fruit patch, moving one of our gooseberries to make better access to the end of the cage, the relocation of a redcurrant bush for the same purpose and finally, the planting of a red gooseberry to complete our collection. One last job in this respect was the moving of one of our blackcurrant bushes out of the cage altogether, in order to test the hypothesis that birds are not so fond of black fruits. Thusly, it found its new home next to the rhubarb bed and we’ll let you know how this experiment fares over the next few months.
Our fruit varieties have also increased this month, with the addition of a cultivated Blackberry. This was placed to the side of the plot with its very own trellis for it to grow and ramble over to its hearts content. Hopefully, this will only serve to further increase our fruit yields in 2009. Yet in line with the above action to prevent our plants from getting eaten, no installation to the plot this year would be complete without some form of protection. As such, this was planted with a liberal surrounding of chickenwire to look after it in the first few tender weeks.
The talk on the allotment at the moment is mainly about the possibility of an Allotment Association forming, which could provide us with extra resources and funds for small projects. This is something we have expressed and interest in and will be keenly keeping an ear open for, whenever news is forthcoming.
At home we are eagerly awaiting the first signs of life from our earliest seed sowings. Cabbages, leeks, cauliflowers, sprouts, broad beans and broccoli were all sown and potted up a few weeks ago, then settled in on the table in our conservatory. We have also invested in some small heated propagators to assist us in getting things underway swiftly. To accompany the new seedlings we have also set aside an area for our potatoes to chit, they seem most content and cosy in the space behind the fridge prior to planting out in March.