Thanks to a generous “seeding grant” from my parents (thanks again, folks!) we were able to buy a strimmer and start work on Saturday. Sadly, the strimmer doesn’t seem to be designed for quite such strenuous work and developed something of an overheating problem. This could be down to my technique, or possibly some issue with the fuel/air mix (the spark plug is already quite sooty after a short afternoon’s work, which I seem to recall might indicate the mix is too rich) but the upshot was that we didn’t manage to get quite as much done as we’d hoped…
On the other hand, we did manage to meet a couple of our new neighbours. First, there was Bob, a fellow Scot, who has two plots next to each other and is growing an impressive array of butternut squash, sweetcorn, potatoes and beans. He was also keen to show me the sweet potatoes he’s growing in his greenhouse (news of which, in turn, prompted Mum to ask me to pass on a request for some advice…) Bob also presented us with a bag of new potatoes; as delicious a welcoming present as we’ve ever had.
Another neighbour, Richard, recommended a friend of his who’ll happily flail and rotavate our plot for us for a nominal sum. This is an attractive offer, not least because I wasn’t really looking forward to digging over all those beds. If the plot’s been rotavated already, then building the raised beds and preparing the paths should leave us with an allotment that’s pretty much ready to go! Okay, we’ve missed the main growing season, but there’s always late crops and winter brassicas. And next year…
Heh. Getting ahead of myself there, did you see? Walk first, then run. I’ve booked three days off work this week to spend some quality time with Julie before the kids’ summer holidays start driving her to distraction. We’re taking the Roo swimming, we’ll go for walks and rides and I’d like to think that some of that time might be spent pottering about on the allotment. It certainly felt like quality time on Saturday…