Feed the Birds

Recycled juice bottle, a wooden spoon and a bird seed 3 course meal for the birds! The great tits and chaffinches just LOVE it. A 'well balanced' diet!

Poly3 - sowing and seeds

We have pruned back the overgrown vines and swept out the top half of Poly3 ready to make use of the space and tables to create a nursery. As a back up to the outdoor planting, the same seeds have been sown in pots and trays in case of crop failure or bad weather. They will also provide a second crop to plant out in PolyHQ tunnel. French marigolds have also been sown to add to the planting to help prevent white fly and pests. Some cut flower seeds have also been sown to create a flower garden near the entrance gate. Boy! is it hot in here!!!!

Sunny Delight

The White Stuff

For 6 months we have not been able to move forward with digging up at 'Flowerpots Allotments' due to a huge pile of nasty looking heavy unidentified white stuff. After much research it was concluded that this stuff was not toxic as was first feared, and was not lime as was also suggested but most likely to be Kaolin (china clay). Curious as to why this was stored in tons in a polytunnel, some research on Wikepaedia found that kaolin in a watered down form is used as an organic treatment spray for organically grown apple trees. This is most likely what it was used for as it was stored next to all that pumping machinery that was moved earlier on. This was a huge relief as we realised it was not toxic.

However, it took two days hard slog to dig out 2 tons of wet claggy white clay that resembled a thick gluey toffee texture. It was very very messy!

The Kaolin moved into piles for removal - the final stage

No More white stuff. Hoooorayyyyy......

The last flower pot up at Flowerpots! That was at least 2000 moved, phew! Now for the digging :(

Water Aid

It is a miracle! We have a tap with running water! No more carrying heavy containers up the hill in a wheelbarrow, and constantly reminding everyone of how precious the resource is. However, it helps to be mindful of how much we can waste.

It has taken months of research and searching the whole farm site and garden centre to find how and where the water comes from. There are three (yes three!) disused pumps at Boot Up! and no one knows which one feeds what. There is a borehole on site and a massive tank of ever=flowing water in amongst Tall Trees which we assume if fed uphill from maybe the lakes at the bottom or the borehole down in the car park. It is a mystery!

Our back-to-basics approach was to follow the blue alcathene pipes back from the site where we want a tap, down the hill to the vineyard where there is a valve which has water. This is pumped through a UV- filtration system at the farm pumped up from the borehole in the top car park and then up the hill to the vineyard. All we need to do is tap (pardon the pun) into the supply from here.

And YES! it works!!!!

Hoooray - the days of drinking water drought are behind us. Now we need to work on the rainwater harvest system - and our clever water-team leader has an idea ... watch this space..............

The Perfect end to a Perfect Day

Dig-In

It is a gargantuan struggle - the earth is heavy and dry and the grass is compacted and weedy on top. Cutting the turf off and digging the allotments is exhausting work. But satisfying.......

We get the chitted potatoes and broad beans into the furrows the kids have dug out in March and we are pleased that something is growing at last.

We turn our attention to designing the beds, drawing up planting plans and marking out the paths. The beds are going to be planted in drifts of colour, so we get going with a bed each.

Hard back breaking work in the hot sun. Still at least it's not raining!