Plot 36 - This week on the Lottie

It's been a funny old week on the Lottie, lots of organising, a bit of weeding, very little planting...

On Wednesday my lovely OH came down and helped me to create this long pathway along the full length of the back of the plot. It is edged with planks from an old decking pathway, plastic sheet and then covered with lots of wood chips. It means that the children now have the full run of the plot, front to back and side to side without the need to step over any junk. they can romp from the kiddies corner to the shed and back again, no problemo. Thursdays job was to begin digging the dreaded bindweed out to make a new bed for my runners, there are only 6 of 16 plants in the ground so far, rootling out all of the snaky roots is a time consuming job.

I have needed to find a place to put all of the bamboo canes and useful poles and pipes that used to be stored behind the shed (until I shifted them due to imminent perimeter fence work).

 I have also been putting off making a decision on where to site my compost heap because I imagine it is going to get pretty big. Solving the two problems in one, Friday's job was to turn a kind of low table-like platform on it's side and cable tie big metal grills to each end to contain clippings and kitchen waste. The sections at the back formed between the platform legs and the back of the shed are and ideal storage spot for canes.

Compost spot in place, on Saturday the kids and I spent some time raking all the leaves and twigs up from kiddies corner and creating this fab picnic spot. I put layers of plastic sheeting down then we hunter gathered some logs from around the communal wood chip pile and brought them to the plot. This area is much bigger than it looks in the picture, you can easily fit two grown-up size bottoms on each of the longer log seats and it will no doubt become the heart of kiddie corner.

Our other Saturday jobs were to re-purpose some old-CD's to make bird scaring mobiles, give the Charlotte bed a big dreching with the hose pipe, to de-bindweed a spot in the back trench for Ruby's Sweet Peas that she grew at home from seeds and to make a second rough and ready trellis for them to climb up.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend too

Jolene x

Plot 36 - woodchip pathway....

I thought I would start my post with a picture of this lovely cheeky little Robin who pays us a visit every time we go to the allotment. He must have a field day grubbing for worms and bugs in the freshly turned earth I've dug that day.

The plan for today was to create a pathway from the front of the plot straight up to the area at the back which will become the kids flower garden.

 It is getting confusing for my littlest where he is and is not allowed to walk now that digging and planting has begun. Making good clear paths will help with that. I forgot to take a picture before getting started so this one has a plank marking where the edge of the main crop potato bed will be and a line of recycled plastic sheet to show where the edge of the path will be.

I dug a thin trench to finish the front left bed and a thin trench the full width of the plot an the right side and shored up the path/bed boundary with some wooden planks that I found behind the shed the other day. I covered the path with more recycled plastic sheet and tacked it down with old tent pegs then covered the whole path with a thick layer of wood chippings from a communal heap on site.

It has been the most glorious weekend, I hope you have managed to get out and enjoy the sunshine too, Jolene x