9 - 14th April

At last I have planted the onion sets. Some of them are so tiny! I had made one of those devices which consist of 2 sticks with string between them that is strung taught over any length up to its maximum, only my string is bright fluorescent yellow builders twine that I have had few uses for over the years. So I strung out my line along the length of one of my sections, and planted the onions at 6 inch intervals. It is a simple process of pushing in a hole with my thumb and putting the onion in so that only the tip shows above the soil. Rows had to be 12 inches apart. I managed to plant 161 sets. According to Monty Don on Gardeners World last week, it is a good idea to plant them in good, regimented grids because then it is much easier to hoe down the weeds which onions really don’t like. Hopefully as they grow, my onions will show a precise parade of green shoots.

10^th April
As I was passing the allotments for work, I stopped by and saw my Dad working on his fruit cage. I popped in to check no birds had removed any onions overnight. They hadn’t, but it looked as though the rabbits had. So Dad and I set to with covering the section with the plastic sheeting – again, but this time trying to prop it up above the ground. The case for acquiring some protective netting is becoming a more pressing one.

11^th April

Again to the allotment, this time with half a bag of sharp sand, to make the carrot furrows lighter and easier for carrot roots to grow down and develop. I dug some short channels, width-wise in the section and loosened up the soil at the base, then filled in some of the removed soil and mixed it with the sand. I made 4 for the Chantenay carrots, and 2 for the Autumn King. The Chantenay are a mid season variety that you can sow in succession i.e. sow some now, and some later so that you have a crop over a period of time, rather than a glut of excess carrots that go to waste. I won’t need to do this with the Autumn King ones as they store much better, and you can even leave them in the ground until required. Unfortunately I did not have my plastic covers made out of milk bottles, so I left off planting the seed. I heard on Gardener’s Question Time that if there is a heavy shower after sowing carrots and before they appear above ground, it prevents them germinating (maybe it washes them away!) so it is a good idea to cover them. I plan to return tomorrow and sow.

12^th April

I took the 4 year old to the allotment and we started making the area where he will grow some sweet peas. We dug a hole, put a bucketful of home made compost in and I left him to fill in the soil. I made a 4 post wigwam for support for the plants. I left him to it and sowed the carrots. The packet says to sow thinly then thin out later. I read elsewhere that lifting the carrots attracts the carrot fly that has an incredible sense of smell (it can detect a carrot from 6 miles away). So I painstakingly sowed one small seed every 2 inches, then gently covered over the 2 rows I had sown. Then the heavens opened. Having stated my intention, and the necessity of covering the carrot seeds to protect them from heavy showers, I could hardly run for cover whilst that very thing was going on, so I got wet putting up my shelters which suddenly look a lot less sturdy than my imagination had me believe when I was safe and warm in the kitchen cutting up milk bottles.

14^th April

A quick visit to the allotment reassured me that my carrot shelter was still up.

Next post: 16th April