Back to hoeing

Yesterday I went down to the allotment after work to feed the chickens and do some work.

The weather is absolutely glorious at the moment and I spent several minutes enjoying the sunshine before I got to work. The chickens were distinctly unimpressed with being fed after 12pm despite there being tons of food in the feeder. These ridiculous birds would have you believe that I never feed them!

After I fed the girls, I joined Steve, Phil and Cliff by the clubhouse for a natter. It seems the two hives that Steve moved to Stoke aren’t quite caught up with the one on site. Both hives have plenty of bees and honey stores but one has no eggs and the other only has a few. This may be due to slight weather and temperature variations between the different towns.

After we had put the world to rights and discussed bees, I went off to ask Phil if I could borrow his amazing hoe/mini rotavator gadget. He kindly said yes so I spent a good half hour hoeing the plot, enjoying how much easier it is to keep the weeds at bay with one of these. It’s definitely on my allotment wish list!

The heat by now was starting to get to me so I retreated to the shed. I had brought down a new cushion for the stool and some home-made bunting to cheer up the shed a bit more. It took a while to work out the best way to hang it, but it definitely looks the part. I was delighted to find some Beatrix Potter fabric with Peter Rabbit on which fitted the shed perfectly.

Once I escape work over the next few days, I intend to sort out the fruit section which is looking rather neglected and relaying weed fabric around the base of the fruit trees.