2nd day of Digging

After a wet morning and a visit to our local garden centre to stock up on shallots, onions and garlic (and a packet of celeriac seeds), we had some lunch to fortify ourselves and decided to brave the spots of rain that were still being stubborn and went over to the allotment for a 2nd day of digging.  No-one else was there today so we had the whole place to ourselves which gave us the opportunity to have a good wander around and take a look at other plots.  Its strange, at first glance it appears that the allotments are very dormant this time of year but when you take a close look there are lots of things going on, broad beans popping up, green manure growing, winter veg awaiting picking.

So, the task for today was digging plot 3 and measuring the beds and generally tidying up a bit more.



So that is bed 3 done, and the hardest bit of digging so far, lots more roots, creeping grass and old potatoes!  All ready for the cabbages, chard, turnips and swede.  Been reading a lot about crop rotation and trying hard to get it right!

In the first year, bed 1 will be home to spinach, calabrese, kale and cauliflower.

Bed 2 will be for onions (3 types), garlic (2 types), shallots, leeks and red onions.

Bed 3 will be for summer cabbages, swiss chard, turnips and swedes.

Bed 4 will be for parsnips, carrots, beetroot and celeriac.

Bed 5 will be for runner beans, French beans, broad beans and a few climbing beans.

Thats the plan if there is room for it all!  Worked it out on www.growveg.com using their vegetable planner and it seems to work alright and the website allows you to calculate growing quantities based on your bed size which is really handy.