...and it started on the first pull

...and it started on the first pull.

Sounds so much like a joke punchline, doesn't it, but I am referring to my trusty allotment lawnmower, which burst into spluttering life the first time I pulled the cord this weekend.

I actually made three visits to the plot in as many days, some accompanied by sunshine, and some by hail showers. Buoyed by a couple of weeks of settled and warm spring weather I had intended to get my main onion sets in the ground, but as the weather has now turned cold again I settled for a mixture of jobs. This is the first real activity on the plot since last year when I actually had time to dig over about half the plot in time for winter. The winter rains have done their bit and the soil is quite workable now.

This spring has been much warmer than last year, so one of the first jobs had to be to get the mower out and tame the grass.Getting rid of some of the paths and raised bed borders has done wonders for my time-efficiency and it is much easier to keep on top of what needs doing when you don't have to spend ages on silly unproductive jobs like mowing. I suppose there is a small benefit to mowing, apart from keeping the place neat and accessible, it means my compost heap gets a nice big nitrogen fix.

After the grass, I also weeded my overwintering onions which were being slowly mugged by weeds, mostly grass and speedwell at this time of year, although dandelions have made remarkable progress on some other parts of the plot. I will need to weed the garlic soon as well, which has put on some fairly good growth with all the bulbs I planted coming up well. The onions are looking a little weedy in comparison, they could both do with a high potash feed to give them a boost. This phrase sounds like I know what I am talking about after all these years, doesn't it, but I don't  know really what makes a high-potash feed; I will have to go to the garden centre and look at the labels.

I did start to prepare some ground for the onions, this was hard work and has made the plot start to look loved again, at least in one corner. I didn't rush to get them in the ground, as I said above I'm fairly relaxed about the timing when the weather is not reliably warm. Dismantling my bed system has also made me dither a bit more about where to put things so I may need to draw up another plan soon. Otherwise I will start at one corner and put things in as they become ready - a strategy which seems to work. All I do is try to avoid putting the same crop in the same bed two years running.

Main crop potatoes have been selected, King Edward this year to make a change. An easily available variety but they must be popular for a reason, methinks. They are chitting at home in the spare room and will not be put in the ground too early either. Easter is late this year so I may not wait that long, but I won't hurry them. They will have all year to catch up. Besides, it will take me a while to prepare all the ground; I still don't know where I'm going to put them.

Distractions

I have been trying to be more disciplined. It's not working all that well. There are just too many interesting things to do once the weather warms up. It took me about three weeks to get two short rows of peas in the ground, amongst all the other things that were calling for my attention. On one memorable evening, I spent an hour sitting in the shed because the rain was hammering down so hard, complete with thunder and lightning, that I couldn't even make it home never mind do anything. Luckily one of the distractions was coaxing my lawnmower back into life, otherwise I wouldn't be able to find the plot by now.

As for progress, I can report the potatoes have survived the frost and are growing on well. Carrots and parsnip seeds are sown, finally. Garlic and onions are doing OK, despite the weeds. Both raspberries and strawberries are flowering away, promising another good fruit crop.  Sadly most seedlings that I was growing at home have been a complete disaster, meaning about half the plot is still empty, so I'm going to look out for some young plants in the next week or so. Hopefully garden centres will be stocked up ready for the jubilee weekend.

Whooosh... brum brumm.

Oops. Whoosh, there goes April. And most of May. Time flies...

The grass and weeds are growing like crazy, and I spent far too much of my time last year mowing grass. So I decided to procure mechanical assistance. Item 1, petrol strimmer. After a few false starts this proved to be a lot better than my old battery powered one, no surprises there. Grateful thanks to Wise Mike for the gift. I have to say it is the noisiest thing I have heard for a long time, and have to wear ear defenders just to look at it. Brumm, brum! Or, WAAAAAAAAAAAGH more like.

Item 2, petrol lawnmower (oops, whooosh, there goes my carbon footprint). This came from someone else called Mike, and I haven't tried it yet. It is the sort that goes along by itself so I can't help being a bit worried about careering over all my crops by mistake. We'll see what happens. Long grass beware! Here I come! Poop! Poop!*

*(that's a Mr Toad reference in case you didn't get it)

No mention of April should go by without mentioning my wonderful wife, who as a birthday gift painted my whole shed, and provided me with all sorts of domestic items to keep in it, like cups, washing up liquid etc. and a box to keep it all in. A merry little scarecrow is also now standing outside. I was particularly impressed yesterday to find a jar of instant hot chocolate, so I had a cup whilst waiting for a long rainstorm to pass.