There’s a small patch of grass at the front of my plot, which Moog thought made a good place to sit but needed mowing. I resolved to get hold of a push mower or petrol strimmer to sort it out.
I returned on Tuesday to drop off another carpet donation, to find that someone has already mown it – Moog thinks the chap next door must have done it for me.
Excellent news, the wisdom tips are already paying off!
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Moog’s Visit: First signs of a change
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Moog thought it was a while since the blog was updated, and that it would be good to go and visit the allotment, so I took him:
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Moog thinks the weedkiller has done a great job on the bindweed, with only a few green leaves still showing. I’m quite pleased myself to see that it has worked, too! Moog thinks the last bit in the bottle of weedkiller will be enough to finish off the last few stragglers.
Moog thinks the carpet is building up nicely, thanks to more donations from my colleagues at work. About half, maybe, is covered now so any weed seeds in the soil shouldn’t have chance to germinate.
Unfortunately I now have to start digging… Moog thinks, "I love digging!" He's right, of course, The Moog loves to dig. Unfotunately I feel his 'help' will be more of a hindrance; that's a shame, since he's ever so keen on digging. Here's a picture of Moog digging on the beach (his favourite place to dig).
A poem from Moog’s friend
Moog’s friend Nicola has sent in an allotment poem for the blog. Moog thinks his friend has got a vivid imagination (unlike his good self) but perhaps she shouldn’t give up her day job. Not just yet anyway:
There was a young man from Bletchley,
who tried hard to grow his own tea.
He got an allotment,
but the number of weeds meant
he got awfully bored and hungry!
Moog thinks rhyming “allotment” and “weeds meant” was nicely done, considering they can only rhyme depending on the reader’s pronunciation of allotment. Moog would have been more impressed if his friend found a rhyme for ‘Wolverton’ instead of ‘Bletchley’. [Ed: 'Wolverton' wouldn't scan, Moog].
While he had his literary criticism hat on, Moog thought it was interesting to note that if you read this limerick as prose, it actually makes very good sense; Moog’s friend hasn’t had to use any techniques such as poetic inversion to make it rhyme and force the words into the limerick format. However, if you take away the enforced rhythm and read the poem as prose you also take away the feeling of comedy that Moog’s friend has brought to the story. She uses a familiar comic tone to indicate to the reader that this isn’t meant to be taken as a pure statement of fact. So although the words aren’t funny in themselves, the limerick and the ending exclamation mark bring comic appeal to the poem.
I don’t know where Moog gets this sort of stuff from, I really don’t. We changed his food recently, it might be that I suppose.
There was a young man from Bletchley,
who tried hard to grow his own tea.
He got an allotment,
but the number of weeds meant
he got awfully bored and hungry!
Moog thinks rhyming “allotment” and “weeds meant” was nicely done, considering they can only rhyme depending on the reader’s pronunciation of allotment. Moog would have been more impressed if his friend found a rhyme for ‘Wolverton’ instead of ‘Bletchley’. [Ed: 'Wolverton' wouldn't scan, Moog].
While he had his literary criticism hat on, Moog thought it was interesting to note that if you read this limerick as prose, it actually makes very good sense; Moog’s friend hasn’t had to use any techniques such as poetic inversion to make it rhyme and force the words into the limerick format. However, if you take away the enforced rhythm and read the poem as prose you also take away the feeling of comedy that Moog’s friend has brought to the story. She uses a familiar comic tone to indicate to the reader that this isn’t meant to be taken as a pure statement of fact. So although the words aren’t funny in themselves, the limerick and the ending exclamation mark bring comic appeal to the poem.
I don’t know where Moog gets this sort of stuff from, I really don’t. We changed his food recently, it might be that I suppose.
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Shed thoughts
I've decided on the location of my shed, it will be in the top right hand corner, with compost bins, water butt etc. placed behind it out of sight. I have received a donation of 4 metal post holders with which to start construction, these, with fence posts in, will form the corners, and I'm going to nail planks between them to create the shed. A bit of work, I know, but cheaper and more satisfying than buying one, and my one won't blow away.
Moog thinks it will be unique, I don't know whether that's a complement or an insult!
Moog thinks it will be unique, I don't know whether that's a complement or an insult!
Weed blockers
The cheapest weed control fabric I've found is £19.00 for 1x150 metres, from Wickes, which isn't bad but I'd prefer it to be free of course.
Moog thinks asking around at work will be a good way to secure some old carpet, to cover the earth before I get round to working it. So I posted a note on the Intranet, and I've had about 5 offers already, amazing how many people have old carpet lying around, that they're all keen to get rid of!
Picked up the first batch today.. (see picture below) only a few more square metres to go!
Moog thinks asking around at work will be a good way to secure some old carpet, to cover the earth before I get round to working it. So I posted a note on the Intranet, and I've had about 5 offers already, amazing how many people have old carpet lying around, that they're all keen to get rid of!
Picked up the first batch today.. (see picture below) only a few more square metres to go!
Work Starts - Buried Treasure Found!
Moog thought we should take advantage of the sunny bank holiday weather to get the work started on the allotment. So it begins.
I started by looking round the site and found a pile of old pallets and timber in the middle, which after stepping on and hurting my foot, I stacked at the side of the site. They could come in useful. I found a small section dug in the middle of the plot about 2ft x 6ft that the last occupant left covered with orange polythene, Moog thinks they were trying to provide a perfect home for slugs, snails and ants. I think they succeeded. Half the plot is bindweed and thistles, the other half is long grass.
There are some small hawthorn saplings, which I know from experience will be harder to uproot than they have any right to be; but I found no evidence of any useful plants growing. I did however find a nice old fashioned metal watering can buried in the undergrowth. Hurrah! Treasure! Unfortunately there's a small split in the bottom, so I took it home to use as a decorative planter in my garden.
After a trip round three different shops I found that Wyevale has the best selection of weedkillers. I chose a glyphosate concentrate (like Roundup, but not as expensive) and a couple of wide sprinkler heads for my watering cans rather than using a spray, because I didn't want it drifting on to anyone elses crops. Most people seem to have had a fairly poor year this year due to all the rain and lack of sun so I don't want to add to their woes with weedkiller!
It took two of us about an hour to cover the whole plot with trips back to the tap; unfortunately I'll have to wait and see if it works, since the stuff takes a couple of weeks to get going. Shame, as we had to leave the plot looking almost the same as when we found it.. I'm used to jobs with more instant results!
I started by looking round the site and found a pile of old pallets and timber in the middle, which after stepping on and hurting my foot, I stacked at the side of the site. They could come in useful. I found a small section dug in the middle of the plot about 2ft x 6ft that the last occupant left covered with orange polythene, Moog thinks they were trying to provide a perfect home for slugs, snails and ants. I think they succeeded. Half the plot is bindweed and thistles, the other half is long grass.
There are some small hawthorn saplings, which I know from experience will be harder to uproot than they have any right to be; but I found no evidence of any useful plants growing. I did however find a nice old fashioned metal watering can buried in the undergrowth. Hurrah! Treasure! Unfortunately there's a small split in the bottom, so I took it home to use as a decorative planter in my garden.
After a trip round three different shops I found that Wyevale has the best selection of weedkillers. I chose a glyphosate concentrate (like Roundup, but not as expensive) and a couple of wide sprinkler heads for my watering cans rather than using a spray, because I didn't want it drifting on to anyone elses crops. Most people seem to have had a fairly poor year this year due to all the rain and lack of sun so I don't want to add to their woes with weedkiller!
It took two of us about an hour to cover the whole plot with trips back to the tap; unfortunately I'll have to wait and see if it works, since the stuff takes a couple of weeks to get going. Shame, as we had to leave the plot looking almost the same as when we found it.. I'm used to jobs with more instant results!
Friday, 24 August 2007
Mike's Wisdom Shed: Tip No.4: Carrots
"Carrots are liable to carrot fly, rake in some naphthalene flake (moth-balls), if you can still get such stuff. Don't worry, the carrots taste fine! Grow two types of carrots, early & late, they will germinate profusely so thin them out a bit, not too much, then as they fill out, the small ones will make excellent eating as you continue to thin. The later ones will take a long time to fill out, but by autumn, you should have a good crop which can be stored in, say, a cardboard or wooden box full of dry-ish earth; they keep well like that, & can be used as required. Carrots will tend to fork root if in over manured ground, but still taste as good!"
Moog thinks carrots are not real food. If I give him one, he takes it ever so gently in his mouth and sits with it in his bed, maybe making a few cursory bites in case it turns out to be meat-filled, before leaving it on the floor for the other scavenger in the house to find and devour.
Moog thinks carrots are not real food. If I give him one, he takes it ever so gently in his mouth and sits with it in his bed, maybe making a few cursory bites in case it turns out to be meat-filled, before leaving it on the floor for the other scavenger in the house to find and devour.
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