Throw in the plants

Today I got down to the allotment much earlier than usual. Everyone was busy beavering away. My first job was to move the chicks into their outdoor run. With some minor encouragement, they hopped into the run and I left them with food and water. The greenhouse door, I left completely open to try and keep the greenhouse cool. Tomorrow we will put them back outside again now that the frost and lower temperatures have finished (for now!).

I stopped to have a quick chat to Tracy before feeding the chickens in the main coop. All our girls were scratching and sunbathing when I arrived. My husband had brought down the exploded sunflower seed sack last night, so today there were treats. Pop and Snap came to eat from my hand while the others hogged the sunflower seeds I had thrown around the coop. In the nest box, I found two eggs. Or more accurately, an egg and the remainder of an egg. The broken one clearly had a very thin shell. Tomorrow we will put some more grit in the coop to try and make sure the eggs have a strong shell.

Leia and Rey let up enormous shouts on hearing my footsteps approaching the coop. I tried to hand-feed Leia but she wasn’t particularly keen today. I refilled their water and topped up their food before collecting two eggs. Their main aim in life seems to be to throw over their food bowl and spread the food everywhere. It doesn’t seem to matter where I put it, they find a way! I don’t complain too much as they are currently the only reliably laying hens we have!

With the arrival of my husband carrying massive bags of chicken food, I got busy digging over several sections of the plot. This should delay the appearance of weeds as well as help get rid of the massive clumps of soil. With two of us, we managed to dig over half the plot. The new sections were really helpful as it didn’t feel as massive to dig over. Actually, I think we dug over significantly more than we would have if we hadn’t put in the sections. The dug over sections were now ready for planting.

It took a good couple of hours to get in a myriad of pumpkins, courgettes, beetroot, two varieties of onion and potatoes. By this time the temperature was quite high and I was starting to melt. Leaving the remaining potatoes and beans to go in another day, I shut up the shed and headed home.

As I shut up the shed, I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye. A small brown furry face peered back at me. I stayed really still and watched as the mouse crept forward and had a drink from the plant tray. It was rather cute but I suspect we will need to find out where it is getting in and block it off.