Well it seems that vandalism takes place on elsewhere than allotment sites. Thanks to a number of these people it has been impossible to work the site for some time. The vandals  got into the codes which make the site work and fiddled with them so that the site would not function. I hope that they enjoyed themselves.

The good news is that it is now fixed and can be used again, so i will have to get into gear and start writing and taking photos again. I hope to get started this week with a summary of work done since the last my plot and back to normal next week.

I hope to continue with my plot and to do a monthly item on the Alderman Hill Cup winners plot , he has won it twice in a row so there must be something to be learned. I also hope to do a regular item for new plot holders, pointing them in the right direction.

WELCOME TO THE MEETING.

As you are aware I am not with you yet, but I am on my way. This is to show you how the web site can be for all sorts of different uses.

Hope you enjoy the demonstration and the site, if any of you want to contribute to the site see me after the meeting

Martin

This is an interim report on my plot to catch up on what has been going on since the last weekly post.

I have had a delivery of manure and covered the areas already dug with a layer of manure, except for the bed where I will be growing my carrots.

I have cleared the brassica frame of the old sprouts and red cabbage ready to start weeding and digging, the only things left are three or four sprouting brassica plants which will be producing soon.

I have started digging in the manure that I spread on bed 5 before Christmas, the thick layer that I put on is now only a very thin laye. The worms have worked hard and dragged a large quantity of the manure into the soil - the worms look healthy too. The texture of the soil on the beds is changing over the years with all the manure I have reincorporated into it. What was a very sandy soil is now getting heavier and looking more of a loam.

The leeks are standing well and providing good crops, as are the parsnips which will soon start to regrow as the weather warms up. I have pulled the rest of the carrots up in tunnel 1 ready to start digging and manuring for this years crop of tomatoes and cucumbers. The spring cabbage in tunnel 1 is looking good and will soon be use, leaving more empty space.

I have sown carrots in tunnel 2 for an early crop, together with two rows of broad beans and three rows of peas. I have also sown some beetroot and spring onions in the centre bed.

I have started sowing onions, cabbage, cauliflowers and lettuce in trays in tunnel 1 but I think that there are some mice around and they are eating the seeds or the seedlings as soon as they come through. Steps will have to be taken to put an end to this!

I wish to appologise for the break in the continuity of my weekly posts but there are two reasons.  Firstly for some reason every time I have started to add material to the site my computer has frozen and stopped me working, so now I have added a new browser and it seems to work.

The other reason is that I have had some time off with illness, I don’t do illness, but this time it caught me.

I think all is now OK so we will start again.