Whether to weather the weather or not..........
Quite what motivated me to get off the sofa this morning at 11:00am with England on 211 for 1, and beer & pizza in the fridge, to go down to the plot in the teeth of a Siberian gale I know not!...Such are the sacrifices expected of the dedicated Allotmenteer I guess!
But go I did, and regretted it before I was halfway there. The wind chill factor was so ridiculous I had no trouble convincing myself that I didn’t really need to do any digging, and could pretend I was only going down to open the coldframe and harden off my broad beans anyway.
Luckily, as soon as I arrived, Peter the site administrator (from the sensible shelter of his car) gave me the OK to help myself to some beech tree trimmings that will make excellent pea sticks. I have had my eye on this most useful resource since the hedge round the car park was cut last month. So have several other people it seems, and as I was last on the unofficial list, there were not quite enough sticks left to make a whole row. In the end I settled for three "wigwams" instead, (as vaguely visible below) and think this will be more aesthetically pleasing anyway.
Plus, it gives the oppurtunity to have three seperate sowings and spread the cropping period out a bit .
Sequential sowing is something that I’ve never really got to grips with previously, and in my twisted mind it's something that needs to mastered in order to be a “proper” gardener; so I’m intending to give it a good go this year.
Once I had set out my wigwams and at least done something constructive, I was about to go home, when a couple of old boys turned up and started digging. Stupidly this shamed me into have a go myself. After about half an hour however, it became apparent that it was too hot and cumbersome to dig with my coat on, but that without it, every time I bent down to pick out the wretched convolvulus, my shirt came out, and the wind whistled round my kidneys.
Being no stranger to risk assessment, I immediately identified this as a potential health hazard, which I quickly mitigated by packing up and going to the pub…..from whence I have just returned ‘ere posting this update, so sorry about the spulling.
But go I did, and regretted it before I was halfway there. The wind chill factor was so ridiculous I had no trouble convincing myself that I didn’t really need to do any digging, and could pretend I was only going down to open the coldframe and harden off my broad beans anyway.
Luckily, as soon as I arrived, Peter the site administrator (from the sensible shelter of his car) gave me the OK to help myself to some beech tree trimmings that will make excellent pea sticks. I have had my eye on this most useful resource since the hedge round the car park was cut last month. So have several other people it seems, and as I was last on the unofficial list, there were not quite enough sticks left to make a whole row. In the end I settled for three "wigwams" instead, (as vaguely visible below) and think this will be more aesthetically pleasing anyway.
Plus, it gives the oppurtunity to have three seperate sowings and spread the cropping period out a bit .Sequential sowing is something that I’ve never really got to grips with previously, and in my twisted mind it's something that needs to mastered in order to be a “proper” gardener; so I’m intending to give it a good go this year.
Once I had set out my wigwams and at least done something constructive, I was about to go home, when a couple of old boys turned up and started digging. Stupidly this shamed me into have a go myself. After about half an hour however, it became apparent that it was too hot and cumbersome to dig with my coat on, but that without it, every time I bent down to pick out the wretched convolvulus, my shirt came out, and the wind whistled round my kidneys.
Being no stranger to risk assessment, I immediately identified this as a potential health hazard, which I quickly mitigated by packing up and going to the pub…..from whence I have just returned ‘ere posting this update, so sorry about the spulling.
posted by Greenmantle at 4:07 pm
3 Comments:
Can't resist a bit of one-upmanship..... I managed an hour and a half digging this afternoon. And it was so cold I didn't feel the need to remove my coat. The ground was perfect; dry and the weedsslipped out....so I'm glad I bothered!
I think the pea teepees are a good idea...particularly the staggered planting!
Well they do say women have a higher pain threshold than men...
Ummmm - afraid I just stayed in the pub!
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