Just taken on a new allotment, 10 rods (or 10 metric lettings = 250sq
metres), as we have been evicted from our old site. The new site is about
half used and is tucked away, so they tell me no vandalism except for a few
beer cans from the fishermen on the River Bourne once! It runs alongside the
site.
After the goings on at our last site that's sheer joy to our ears.

Had to mark out the plot ourselves, 12.5 metres by 20 metres, and it will
need rabbit fencing, about £140. as there obviously aren't any foxes locally
which is strange considering the position between a village and farmland
(and the M25/M3 Thorpe interchange!). Be cheaper to persuade them to stay on
the site with a ready built den but never mind.

Strimmed it off on Tuesday only to notice a few bricks showing in the soil.
Started digging on Wednesday and found a 3ft wide brick path running the
length of the plot (20 metres) buried under at least 4 inches of soil, so we
are now the proud owners of a huge pile of old bricks and sore arms. :-(

Went down there to start digging properly today and the soil is like rock
below a few inches, I can just get the fork into it, the rotovator won't
touch it due to the large stones we keep finding. Whoever had the plot
before obviously didn't dig a spit deep, ever; and why did they not remove
the large flint stones to make it easier the next time they dug, strange.

Still it will be nice when it done and the soil looks good. Somewhere to
grow stuff again, joy. :-)

And some friends arrived from Toulouse yesterday with plants and seeds of
Albizia julibrissin and Campsis radicans from plants in their garden. :-)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

On Sat, 1 Oct 2005 16:33:21 +0100, "Bob Hobden"
wrote:



Went down there to start digging properly today and the soil is like rock
below a few inches, I can just get the fork into it, the rotovator won't
touch it due to the large stones we keep finding. Whoever had the plot
before obviously didn't dig a spit deep, ever; and why did they not remove
the large flint stones to make it easier the next time they dug, strange.


I had a similar problem, compounded by a several buried broken
concrete paving slabs and hefty tree roots, when I recently converted
grass into a vegetable plot. My rotovator (old 4HP Mountfield) was
struggling a bit so I ran it without the outer tine set, concentrating
the full power into a narrower area. Very strenuous as it kept trying
to fall over and leaping in the air, but it lifted out most of the big
stones and identified the location of those it didn't. Biggest
problem was when one paving slab, buried on end, got jammed between
the tines and the gearbox. That stalled it and I had to knock it out
with a club hammer. As far as the thick roots were concerned, it was
more a matter of holding the rotovator back and letting it smash
through them, then pulling them out by hand. It jumped around a bit
but did the job. Cruelty to a rotovator, yes, but as I say, it's an
old one and it survived it. Next run with it to dig in the compost I
spread was a piece of cake. I've got a huge pile of flints and stones
now, wondering what to do with them. Maybe make a path.

In message , Bob Hobden
writes
Just taken on a new allotment, 10 rods (or 10 metric lettings = 250sq
metres), as we have been evicted from our old site. The new site is about
half used and is tucked away, so they tell me no vandalism except for a few
beer cans from the fishermen on the River Bourne once! It runs alongside the
site.
After the goings on at our last site that's sheer joy to our ears.

Had to mark out the plot ourselves, 12.5 metres by 20 metres, and it will
need rabbit fencing, about £140. as there obviously aren't any foxes locally
which is strange considering the position between a village and farmland
(and the M25/M3 Thorpe interchange!). Be cheaper to persuade them to stay on
the site with a ready built den but never mind.

Strimmed it off on Tuesday only to notice a few bricks showing in the soil.
Started digging on Wednesday and found a 3ft wide brick path running the
length of the plot (20 metres) buried under at least 4 inches of soil, so we
are now the proud owners of a huge pile of old bricks and sore arms. :-(

Went down there to start digging properly today and the soil is like rock
below a few inches, I can just get the fork into it, the rotovator won't
touch it due to the large stones we keep finding. Whoever had the plot
before obviously didn't dig a spit deep, ever; and why did they not remove
the large flint stones to make it easier the next time they dug, strange.

Still it will be nice when it done and the soil looks good. Somewhere to
grow stuff again, joy. :-)

And some friends arrived from Toulouse yesterday with plants and seeds of
Albizia julibrissin and Campsis radicans from plants in their garden. :-)

All the best, Bob. Enjoy!
--
June Hughes

"Janet Baraclough" wrote after...
"Bob Hobden" wrote
Had to mark out the plot ourselves, 12.5 metres by 20 metres, and it will
need rabbit fencing, about £140.

The cheapest place to buy rabbit netting, or stobs to support it, is
a fencing contractor. I paid something like £30 quid for a 50 metre
roll, 1 metre high, the year before last.

The cheapest place we have found here is in Ascot, Beaumont Forest, who are
wood and fencing specialists. The 4ft tall wire is about £39 + vat for 25
metres. But then everything seems a lot dearer down south.


Went down there to start digging properly today and the soil is like rock
below a few inches, I can just get the fork into it, the rotovator won't
touch it due to the large stones we keep finding. Whoever had the plot
before obviously didn't dig a spit deep, ever; and why did they not
remove
the large flint stones to make it easier the next time they dug, strange.

The other day, our gardening club had a talk by someone whose family
farm potatoes in Ayrshire. He said his father was particularly proud of
a potato field from which he had never cleared the vast number of
stones. It produced crops three weeks earlier than the cleared fields
all around, worth a lot of money in spring when he could sell new
potatoes at the highest possible price. He reckoned the stones kept the
potatoes warmer :-) I've heard of people in warm climates laying stones
on the soil surface around plants, to absorb heat, stop the soil
parching, and release it at night, while also condensing any available
dew moisture.


Could well do but the problem down here of late has been too much
heat/dryness. I still intend to remove the large stones if only to aid
digging/rotovating.

Still it will be nice when it done and the soil looks good. Somewhere to
grow stuff again, joy. :-)

Good luck with it. Have you brought any plants with you from the last
one?


Thanks. Not yet but I do intend to transfer my Tall Bearded Irises, some of
which I bred myself, and our Dahlias and Glads. The soft fruit I will
replace with new idc.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
Just taken on a new allotment, 10 rods (or 10 metric lettings = 250sq
metres), as we have been evicted from our old site. The new site is about
half used and is tucked away, so they tell me no vandalism except for a
few beer cans from the fishermen on the River Bourne once! It runs
alongside the site.
After the goings on at our last site that's sheer joy to our ears.

Had to mark out the plot ourselves, 12.5 metres by 20 metres, and it will
need rabbit fencing, about £140. as there obviously aren't any foxes
locally which is strange considering the position between a village and
farmland (and the M25/M3 Thorpe interchange!). Be cheaper to persuade them
to stay on the site with a ready built den but never mind.

Strimmed it off on Tuesday only to notice a few bricks showing in the
soil. Started digging on Wednesday and found a 3ft wide brick path running
the length of the plot (20 metres) buried under at least 4 inches of soil,
so we are now the proud owners of a huge pile of old bricks and sore arms.
:-(

Went down there to start digging properly today and the soil is like rock
below a few inches, I can just get the fork into it, the rotovator won't
touch it due to the large stones we keep finding. Whoever had the plot
before obviously didn't dig a spit deep, ever; and why did they not remove
the large flint stones to make it easier the next time they dug, strange.

Still it will be nice when it done and the soil looks good. Somewhere to
grow stuff again, joy. :-)

And some friends arrived from Toulouse yesterday with plants and seeds of
Albizia julibrissin and Campsis radicans from plants in their garden.
:-)

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London


Conratulations on your perseverance --I would just give in and use raised
beds--the cowards way out.

"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...
SNIP



Thanks. Not yet but I do intend to transfer my Tall Bearded Irises, some
of
which I bred myself, and our Dahlias and Glads. The soft fruit I will
replace with new idc.

--

Enjoy your new plot Bob, I hope you've seen the last of the scumbags.

Steve