Small helper added to the no. 16 workforce.

OK, the United Nations might not approve of child labour but when your five year old nephew announces that he wants to come and help on the allotment and that he has his own small spade, what can you do but accept and offer him his own piece of land to play with?  I have one last piece of no 16 to scut and turn over, so I will open it up into a series of boy-sized square beds and declare it his.

His Papa has come back from Belgium clutching packets of heritage seeds which give odd-shaped fruit and mad looking knobbly veg, and we are having a tell over them next week to see what to plant.  I am not sure what Reg will make of this continental imports.  He gave me a very dusty look when I said I wouldn’t be planting sprouts on no. 16.

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Very late, in time, very early.

Garlic and shallots late, onion sets on time and early potatoes went in today.  You might have to squint to see ’em, but there are little white labels stuck in the ground with the crops and date of planting written indelibly on.  The soil is lovely compared to the heavy, compacted yak I first scutted off almost a year ago.  Not perfect, but the compost trenching., manure mulch and frost has done good things.  Thanks to all who have advised I stick with improving the soil.  Now we wait to see what grows.

It doesn’t look much but that’s seven rows of seeds, sets, bulbs, seed potatoes and cloves in there.  Caulis waiting to go in.

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Must…not…go….to….allotment….

must work and not look outside at the sun.

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