November 2016
November was a month of frenzied activity. I managed to sow a double row of Aquadulce broad beans in the last week of October and a second double row a fortnight later. The first sowing were up by the middle of November and the second just showing by the end of the month.
We began to move some of the other raised bed frames from Mile Oak and have planted some shallots in one and several varieties of garlic in another. It's a constant battle to keep them planted as some bird or animal keeps digging them up. I am told that some birds see the tip peeping from the soil and tug at it, thinking that it's a worm, and then discard it. I have remedied this by laying some plastic mesh over the shallots and resting an old pallet on the bed with garlic. I will uncover them in December to see how they are progressing.
We now have a variety of frames for raised beds from the old allotment and I responded to an offer on Streetlife - for wooden planks. They turned out to be slats from an IKEA bed, but they have made a useful small raised bed which I may use for herbs.
We also acquired some wooden pallets and several planters free on Streetlife and Luke has provided us with several more pallets with which Sylvi is building a fence.
The Weald is a very friendly allotment site and feels like a real community. People have offered to help, lend us things and our immediate neighbour has already supplied us with green salad and Jo, on the opposite plot, offered us a shed which was no longer needed!
The only problem was that it needed dismantling and re-erecting!
With an army of helpers, Charlie, Terry & Anita, Bradley and Luke (with extra assistance from Jerome), the demolition and move on to our plot was achieved relatively painlessly and it is now piled up in pieces awaiting a site to be cleared and levelled. It had no floor but was resting on pallets!
John Austin
Hove, November 2016
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