Pond and Polytunnel

Over the wintertime I had noticed that the level of water in the pond had dropped slightly.

At the time I was a little concerned about there being a hole in the liner as the local kids had been on the plot and had used bricks and even the ceramic frog statue to break through the thick ice.

As the weather improved slightly my fears were justified as I came on site one morning to discover that there was very little water left in the pond at all.



Hole in the pond liner, each arm being just over an inch long



I took the opportunity to clear out a lot of muck and fallen leaves from the bottom of the pond, and whilst doing so I discovered a huge hole in the bottom of the liner.

There had been a spare square wooden baton left next to the pond, and when I placed it next to the hole the edges lined up almost perfectly.

It appears that when breaking the ice with the stick the local kids had pushed straight through the liner.

Whilst clearing out the pond I discovered three frogs which had been hibernating in the muck underneath the old slate which allowed them to climb in and out of the pond.

Now that I had found the frogs it became important for me to fix the hole as soon as I could to help them survive if the water froze again.

I got advice from my local aquarium shop and took several pieces of plastic and some waterproof adhesive and fixed the hole.  I then added about 200 litres of water which nearly half filled the pond.

Some time ago I had decided to get a cheap polytunnel which I hoped would last at least one season and give me some idea of whether a poly tunnel was good enough, or if I would need to invest in a greenhouse instead.

I looked on Ebay and managed to win a 8' x 6' poly tunnel for £42.  This was easy to erect and was soon up and in place.



Start of the decked area



My original plan for the area between the poly tunnel and the pond was to lay flagstones to make a patio area, but after seeing the amount of flooding that this area was prone to I changed my mind and started to build a slightly raised wooden deck.

Weed fabric over the rotivated area

The ground where the deck, poly tunnel and eventually a shed would be put was very uneven and had a thick layer of silt which was causing any rain to stay on the surface, so before I could start to install anything I had to get out the rotivator again and try to level the ground, covering it all over with a layer of weed fabric.

Essential Equipment

I had also been very lucky on Freecycle and got a garden table and four chairs - essential allotment equipment!

Victoria Rhubarb

The rhubarb bed was now nearly ready to be planted up so I brought my Victoria rhubarb from home so it could be transplanted as soon as the bed was properly weeded.

Mid August Allotment Update

A quick update on how things are doing at the allotment.

About four barrow-loads to go

The muck pile has now finally been moved off the roadway.

There was about 10 tons in total, and the original pile was 7 foot high and about twelve foot across.

When I first started to move it, it felt like someone was coming in at night and dumping more on top, but what a great feeling to clear it completely.

Unfortunately we have changed our minds as to where on the plot it should have been put, so quite a lot will have to be moved, but not until the pumpkins have come out in October/November.

Jacl O'Lantern

Talking of pumpkins, the vines they are putting out are doing really well, but I am concerned about their root system.

Len, a plot neighbour, told me last night that he had watered them both for me through the day as they had both 'flopped' and were looking really distressed.

I had noticed that on the Mammoth when I had arrived so had given it some more water as well.

Mammoth

We checked the manure pile around the plants and it seemed to be quite moist, but the roots don't appear to be getting deep enough to take advantage of it.

I gave them both half a bucket-full of water each, which perked them up no end.  I will have to keep an eye on them over the next few weeks, especially if we get a late warm patch.

Female flower on the Mammoth

On the plus side, the Mammoth has started to put out female flowers.  None have blossomed as yet, but as the males are still waiting too that suits me fine right now.

The French Beans and Peas are both doing well and climbing their supporting canes.  No fruit on the beans as yet, but there are three pods on the peas.

I was sold the French beans as climbers rather than bush varieties, but only one appears to have the necessary tendrils, so I am not too sure right now.

Potatoes flourishing




The potatoes are still growing strongly. 

I will need to earth them up more very soon, but I am struggling to keep the soil around the stems as it keeps washing away, either from rain or my watering.  I shall have to ask for a bit of advice from the Vine forum and also the old hands on the allotment.

A Clean Pond

The pond I inherited has miraculously cleaned up overnight.

Six weeks ago it was choked with duckweed and filled with bits of old wood.  We cleared it out, but the water was very murky and you really couldn't see anything at all.

I checked it again last weekend and the water has become almost crystal clear so you can see the small colony of newts in there when they come out from the cover of the weeds.  Wonderful.

Five of the six raised beds have been filled with manure and left to settle.

The remaining bed is being left for now as it is still too wet.

The plan is to dig a drainage channel through the orchard at the bottom of the allotment in the hope that it allows some of the water to flow away from my plot.

Once that is done I can start to set out the fruit and herbs area, and also the patio area around the pond itself.

More Savoy Cabbages

Step Dad Ken and I have had a little bet on whose cabbages will be best this year.

I have planted three in the raised 'lasagne' method bed, whilst he has a further 11 in the double dug bed next door.

Mine have been put into a square foot gardening grid whilst his are in traditional rows.

We will see how they all grow, and compare at harvest time.

Waiting to go in

I have loads more plants just waiting to go in - plenty at the plot and even more back at home.

I need to get the third bed up and running as soon as possible to accomodate them all.  This may take some time, however, as I have decided to riddle the soil to remove as much of the weed roots as I can before refilling.

30 minutes of crumbling and sorting provided about a spade-full of soil, so I have ordered a sieve from the internet which should fit over the barrow and speed things up quite a bit - I hope.