Clearing the allotment for the year ahead

After three consecutive dry days my allotment is now clear of last years debris. The bonfires are complete, that collapsed fruit cage has been dismantled, the tunnel cleared and all posts fixed. What a feeling!

To the naked eye this may not look like much, but it has been a mound of branches, leaves, and general pruning mess ready to bonfire for a couple of weeks now. I have been patiently waiting to clear it and now that it is done I can continue to plan the season ahead for my allotment. Pure joy!

The tunnel is now cleared and ready for my homemade compost. Two years in the making, my compost bins have had a mix of green material, woody stems and cardboard. Having now matured, this beautiful soil will sustain the growing season ahead.

This fruit cage was a casualty of one of the winter storms, whose name escapes me!

Now that I have dismantled and burnt the old fruit cage, a new one can be erected again to protect them this season. The ground is cleared and the invasive brambles cut down and hopefully in a months time we will some leaves rather than skeleton bushes! In here I have Redcurrants, Blackcurrants, Raspberries, Loganberries, Gooseberries and Blueberries.

 

Bean growing area now covered with membrane to stop the weeds growing through. Not pretty but it will be very productive. In the middle you can see the Apple, Pear and Fig trees - currently bare of leaves.This was my final clear up snap of the bonfire still burning.

There we go, ready for the coming months where I will be preparing ground, growing seedlings and sowing seeds!