21st Sept - Friends in Green Places

The weather for the weekend looked a bit Marti Pellow (I cannot believe I did that joke). Rain for the whole weekend with the exception of Friday evening and Sunday afternoon. We had a few tasks that needed completing over the weekend that were not allotment related, so we plotted our timings accordingly.

Si spoke with Mole who in turn spoke with Ruth (owner of http://www.freshandgreenvegetables.co.uk/About) to see if we could borrow a rotivator for the weekend. Next thing I know, I receive a photo of a lovely machine raring to get its teeth into our soil. As soon as work was finished, I drove like a demon home so we could get a wiggle on. Time was of the essence.

The whole of the plot was still not cleared but in light of the weather forecast, Si made a decent enough argument that we should peel back the plastic and make a start on the already dug side. It was a good idea, even if it wasn't mine.

We peeled back the plastic and soon discovered how much our digging techniques had improved over the past 5 weekends of ownership. There was a distinct first panel of weeds that were trying their very best to grow in darkness. My mission had very definately been to remove docks and see what else came out, rather than the latter, dig every square inch and remove everything whilst also digging in and loosening the soil. This wasn't me being lazy in the beginning. It is just an adjustment with experience. The result; weird albino plants that looked a bit like beansprouts.

The bonus of covering the ground in plastic for 3 weeks was that the ground was beautifully soft and broken up, making removal of the ghostly weeds a walk in the park.

(Simon) Itching to get going on the rotivator, we manhandled it out of the trailer, down the allotment paths and chose to start on the freshly, and more professionally, dug spot from last week. It swept through like a dream. It purred its way up and down in the most satisfy stripes. I actually felt for one tiny moment, like we were finally winning! Although the photos don't show it, I did have a go, I promise. I even have video evidence but haven't worked out how to add it!

Having made a start after work, the light level soon started to make it difficult to see what we were doing so we had to call it a very satisfying day. We headed home with light hearts and even more enthusiasm to return as soon as the rain allowed so that we could complete the whole plot!