I know that many plotholders buy their chickens from Chelford Market. I have brought birds from there many times so I feel the following might be useful.

Four people have tested positive for the disease after the Bird-flu virus was found on a farm in North Wales, and five other people are being treated as having had the disease.

Thirty chickens on the smallholding have now been slaughtered after 15 birds died. They were 22-week-old Rhode Island Red chickens bought by the farm two weeks ago.

Dr Christianne Glossop, chief veterinary officer for Wales, said they had all come from Chelford Market, which she said was “one line of inquiry” being followed.

Both outbreaks are believed to be of the mild H7N2 strain and not the potentially lethal H5N1 strain which has killed 185 people in Asia.

The owners of both smallholdings bought poultry from Chelford on May 7.

Were you at Chelford on May 7?

As part of the tracing exercise, and epidemiological investigation, Defra would like to hear from anyone, who has not already been contacted by Animal Health officials, who has:

Purchased from or supplied to Chelford Market in Cheshire on Monday 7 May 2007 or
Any poultry keeper who visited Chelford Market on this date whose birds have subsequently become ill.
These people should contact their local Animal Health Office - see www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/about-us/contact-us/animal-health-offices.htm - or phone the Defra helpline 08459 33 55 77 (open between 9am - 5pm 7 days a week).

Now that I have finished taking you round my plot as it is, I will tell you some of the proposals for completing the scheme. I still have to lay paths at the side of the flower beds between beds 5 and 7 and between beds 6 and 8. I want to make a pond on the flower bed between beds 5 and 7 to encourage more wild life onto the plot. I also want to erect a pergola over the central path in the centre of the plots. When I get round to these is not fixed yet but they will be soon.

This cool weather is not helping with the germination of the seeds sown in the ground, I have already had to re sow carrots, however seeds sown in trays and transplanted are doing well.

I have managed to fill the first brassica bed with cauliflowers,cabbage,red cabbage sprouts and calabrese. I have just built a second frame for the remainder of the brassicas.

The climbing beans,runners and french, are hardening off to be planted out next week together with the dwarf french beans and sweet corn. i have planted some sweet corn in the central bed in tunnnel 2.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK
1. Erect frame for brassicas. Done
2. Fill cold frame with beans and sweet corn to harden off. Done
3. Plant out brassicas from cold frame. Done
4. Keep on top of the weeding.
5. Cut hedge between plots. Done
6. Plant sweet corn in tunnel 2. Done
7. Transplant lettuce into pots. Done
8.Transplant brassicas into large pots. Done

WORK DONE THIS WEEK
Sunday
Water.
Monday
Weed brassica bed and plant out red cabbage, calabrese andwinter cauliflower.
Erect new brassica frame.
Transplant lettuce into pots.
Plant sweet corn into tunnel 2.
Water.
Transfer rain water from but to storage but.
Tie in grape leaders in tunnel 2.
Weed tunnel 1.
Tuesday
Weed onion bed.
Transplant brassicas into larger pots.
Water.
Wednesday
Sow next row of spinach, coriander.
Water.
Sow rhubarb chard.
Thursday
Plant out celery.
Water.
friday
Plant out calabrese and sprouts in second brassica bed.
Plant out two outdoor cucumbers.
Water.
Transplant seeds from trays into modules.
Transplant winter brassicas into small pots.
Move seedlings from tunnel to cold frame.
Empty bins into skip.
Saturday
Water.
Plant tomatoes into tunnel 2.
Erect frame for runner beans and plant out.
Plant out letttuce from cold frame.

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK
Spinach
Asparagus
Spring onions

CROPS FROM STORE
Tomato
Potato

The cooler and wet weather is slowing things down so that there is not so much growth on the crops but the weeds do not behave in the same way.This means that as most of the crops are now planted out the weeding and tidying has to be done.

The sweet corn has been planted out in a block to aid pollenation of the cobs, and a few other crops have been planted out. This leaves very little left in the greenhouse except for a few beans.

Growth in the polytunnel is continuing with some cucumbers getting to size for cutting soon, and the parsnips and carrots in tubes are coming on well.

To finish the tour of my plot it remains to cover each end of the plot. At the top of the plot I have a manure area in front of tunnel 1 and an old shed, the only item remaining from when I took over the plot. I intend to remove this soon and replace it with a shed in front of bed 2 and enlarge the manure area.

The new shed will go in front of bed 2 in the place of two old timber compost bins which have been replaced by 3 plastic bins from the council’s scheme for recycling.

At the other end of the plot is my main shed with a potting shed at the side and a parking space behind, these are at the end of bed 7. There are two leaf bins at the end of bed 8, filled each year with leaves supplied by council contractors.

We are now coming to a period with a little time to do a few jobs other than sowing and planting, before we start planting out the tender plants, so I am continuing to prepare areas for planting as well as starting to improve the plot. I have several projects to carry out. The first is to lay a path between bed 5 and the flower border behind the tunnel.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK
1 Lay path. Done
2 Harden off plants. Done
3 Finish digging manure into bed 5. Done
4 Continue sowing seeds in the ground.
5 Sow the next row of peas. Done

WORK DONE THIS WEEK
Sunday
Start digging the manure in on bed 5
Sow a row of peas.
Tie in leaders on the grape vines in the tunnels.
Start laying the path between bed 5 and the border.
Water.
Monday
Finish digging bed 5.
Water tunnel, cold frames and growing crops.
Transplant lettuce from seed tray into modules.
Transplant brassicas into small pots.
Cut some comfrey to lay between potato rows.
Tuesday
Finish laying new path.
Weed potatoes.
Water.
Make a new temporary cold frame.
Transfer pots of seedling to cold frame.
Transplant tomatoes and cucumbers into larger pots.
Wednesday
Dig manure into courgette area.
Transplant brassicas from small pots into large pots.
Water.
Dismantle one of the old compoet heaps.
Thursday
Weed carrots and parsnips.
Water.
Erect canes for climbing peas and plant out peas.
Clear compost from old heap ready to prepare area for shed.
spread wilted comfrey between potato rows.
Friday
Water
Saturday
Transfer plants into cold frame to harden off.
Weed various areas.
Trim prune step over apples.
Resow carrots to thicken up.
Sow spring onions,radish and turnips in ground outside.
Sow next lot of letttuce in trays.
Water.
Plant out lettuce from cold frame.

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK
Asparagus
Artichokes
Turnips
Lettuce
Radish
Spinach

The cool weather this week has continued to give slow growth to the crops,but not the weeds. The potatoes are growing well and the earlies are begining to show flowers.

I have done a lot of weeding to keep thing looking neat and tidy. Watering the tunnels is taking a lot of time but the cucumbers are benefitting from it. The marigolds planted in the borders help to reduce the white fly population in the tunnel.

I have planted out the climbing peas and beans next to the canes,and hope that the weather does not give us a cold snap.