Sat 1 Mar 2008
Weather : Extremely windy night. Sunny day.
Progress : Raked back the manure mulch around the Gooseberry bushes and loosened the soil to expose the Sawfly grubs as advised by Monty Don on Gardeners World last night. Removed the manure top dressing that I had put down on plot 3c as that will now need to be double dug per my revised rotation sequence. Used the manure to top dress the digging I have recently done on plot 1. Dug through the Strawberries in fruit area 1 and removed the dandelions and large stones then turned the soil over. Visited the local garden centre this afternoon and purchased a packet of mothballs in readiness for visits from the mole.

Sun 2 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny but windy day.
Progress : Fertled the soil around the Gooseberry bushes again in an effort to bring up any Sawfly grubs that may be lurking in the hope the birds may find them.

Mon 3 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny start then showers.
Progress : Trimmed some of the edges of the grass paths. Pruned the fruit bushes. Spread dung between the rows of Strawberries on fruit area 1. Discussed with a neighbour planting schemes to give all year round cropping. Sprayed systemic weedkiller on the weeds in the central paths but the rain came on as I was working and may well wash the stuff away. Sat in the shed and had a cup of tea but the rain persisted so I went home.

Tue 4 Mar 2008
Weather : Frost. Sunny but windy day.
Progress : Put some tea dregs onto the Blueberry bushes in fruit area 2. Double dug another trench in plot 1. Dug through the remaining area where the Artichokes had been to remove any tubers that may still be lurking. Even the smallest pieces I found were sprouting shoots.

Wed 5 Mar 2008
Weather : Frost. Sunny day.
Progress : Double dug another trench on plot 1. Lifted the Aquilegia plants which I sowed in plot 1 last year and took them home to plant in the herbacious border. Trimmed the edge of plots 3a and 3b. Dug up some Scorzonera which were holding on to each other for comfort during the ordeal. Noticed the Egret in the adjacent field.

Thu 6 Mar 2008
Weather : Mild, sunny spells.
Progress : Took back some of the allotment books to the library, having kept the two best ones for a bit longer. Collected and delivered another ten bags of stable manure. Double dug another section of plot 1. Found an active molerun so added a mothball. Cleared away surplus Brassica stems on plots 2d and 3d, disposing of the roots off site in case of Clubroot. Removed the manure dressing that had been around the Gooseberry bushes, also from the adjacent Blueberry bushes on fruit area 2 as it may be detrimental. Planted the Broad Bean (Jubilee Hysor) seedlings that I had grown at home to fill in the blanks spaces in plot 2d. Rather too much chatting with other allotmenteers today, but was informed that the old gent from whom I took on my plots 1 and 2 has just passed away. Took a couple of Leeks from another allotmenteer who invited me to take some as he was likely to be digging them in.

Fri 7 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny but cold wind.
Progress : No work today - on holiday.

Sat 8 Mar 2008
Weather : Cold wind and showery.
Progress : No work today - on holiday.

Sun 9 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny spells and cold wind.
Progress : No work today - on holiday.

Mon 10 Mar 2008
Weather : Gales, torrential rain, hail and thunder.
Progress : No work today - on holiday.

Tue 11 Mar 2008
Weather : Windy, sunny spells and showers.
Progress : A brief visit the check things over and pick some Purple Sprouting Brocolli for dinner. Had to retrieve the Rhubarb forcing pot which had blown over three adjacent allotments. Noticed that the Spinach (Campania) seeds have germinated. Also noticed that the weedkiller which I had sprayed on the3 central paths has taken effect, despite being rained upon.

Wed 12 Mar 2008
Weather : Very windy with sunny spells.
Progress : Delivered two carloads of fresh horse dung for the compost. Planted a row of Potatoes (Pentland Javelin) in plot 2c. Sowed a row of Beetroot (Cylindra) in plot 2b. Sowed a row each of Leeks (Musselburgh) and Spring Onion (White lisbon) in plot 2a. Loosened the soil around the Gooseberry bushes again.

Thu 13 Mar 2008
Weather : Windy, sunny spells then rain all afternoon.
Progress : Delivered a carload of stable manure. Picked some Purple Sprouting Brocolli. Bought myself the Royal Horticultural Society book Growing Vegetables which was discounted in Brown's Garden Centre.

Fri 14 Mar 2008
Weather : Wet morning, overcast afternoon.
Progress : Spread dung over the remainder of the sundry area by plot 3a and dug it in then sowed a row of Parsley (Moss Curled 2). Trimmed some roots and branches on the bank. Cleaned up the Artichokes that I have in store and found one that looked particularly pre-historic.

Sat 15 Mar 2008
Weather : Fair start, rain later.
Progress : Sowed a short row of Parsley (Broad Leaved) at the end of the row of Parsleyt I sowed yesterday. Dug a trench along the top of plot 3c to remove tree roots. Dug the last two Parsnips and cut the remaining White Sprouting Brocolli. My neighbouring allotmenteer was on site today despite suffering badly with his chest. He has his sister assisting him but is obviously frustrated in not being able to do all the work himself. Consequently, his sister is having a hard time but putting up with it. There are signs that children may have been onto the allotments last night or this morning.

Sun 16 Mar 2008
Weather : Wet and windy.
Progress : Stayed indoors today.

Mon 17 Mar 2008
Weather : Cold night. Sunny spells during the day
Progress : Harvested the remainder of the Beetroot from plot 3c. Double dug the first trench in plot 3c and top dressed with manure. Was given some Rhubarb my my neighbouring allotmenteer.

Tue 18 Mar 2008
Weather : Bright but a cold wind
Progress : Double dug and top dressed another trench in plot 3c. It was very stony in the subsoil and I took away five bucket loads (by weight, not volume) for my neighbours path.

Wed 19 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny day with a cold wind.
Progress : Doing other things today. Just popped down for some greens for which picked off the remainder of the Sprout tops.

Thu 20 Mar 2008
Weather : Cold and dull.
Progress : Delivered another eight bags of stable manure. Turned in the top dressing that has been spread so far on plot 3c. Harvested a crop of goodies for our family Easter Lunch this weekend. Today was the funeral of the old fellow from whom I took on plots 1 and 2 and there was a piece about him in the local paper today.

Fri 21 Mar 2008
Weather : Strong wind and rain overnight then sunny day with hail showers.
Progress : Weeded through the Garlic plants which have overwintered having resprouted from the blighted plants last year. Found a lot of small slugs under the compost sacks and destroyed them. Removed the finished Brocolli and Brussels Sprouts remains, composting the leaves and stems and disposing of the roots. Hoed through the Onions and Broad Beans. Found that slugs or snails have eaten one of the Broad Bean plants so I put out some slug traps there and near all other plants that might be at risk.

Sat 22 Mar 2008
Weather : Blustery gale force winds with hail squalls.
Progress : Managed to stay on my feet to dig over about 1/3rd of plot 3d. This is for root crops so no manure had been added. The sub-soil is actually rather stony which may be a hinderance with the deeper rooted vegetables.

Sun 23 Mar 2008
Weather : Cold night. Rain, snow & sunny spells.
Progress : Brief visit to collect veg for dinner. We are starting to use a steamer to cook the veg but are not yet correctly judging the length of time it takes.

Mon 24 Mar 2008
Weather : Cold night. Sunny spells.
Progress : Had a rethink about the digging I did on plot 3d on Saturday. As it is so densly stony I decided to double dig to give the rootcrops a chance and be able to lift them out of the soil. Consequently I double dug the first trench which was really hard work. Noticed that some of the allotment books which I borrowed from the library have become overdue so I had better go in tomorrow and pay my fines.

Tue 25 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny spells but cold wind.
Progress : Double dug another trench in plot 3d (No manure added as this will be for rootcrops). The Purple Sprouting Brocolli is cropping very well at the moment and is delicious.

Wed 26 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Sowed a second row of Carrot (Nantes 2) in plot 2b and a second row of Pea (Kelvedon Wonder) in plot 2a. Picked off the dead and diseased leaves from last years Spinach in plot 2b. Raked off the surplus soil that has fallen down from the bank onto the access track and evened off the low spots.

Thu 27 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Planted two rows of Potatoe (Arran Pilot) in plot 2c then four rows of Onion (Sturon) sets in plot 3c. My sister called in on her way past then my wife dropped off a flask of tea. A little later our son was passing with his baby son and stopped off for some fresh veg. There were butterflies and dragonflies about today.

Fri 28 Mar 2008
Weather : Very wet morning, sunny spells later.
Progress : Managed to scuttle up to pick some Rhubarb from my neighbours allotment (I had been told to help myself) to make some Rhubarb and Ginger jam. As the rain cleared later I went back and allotmentised, mowing the grass and trimming the edges. The mower was not too keen to start after the winter layoff but a barrage of swearing seemed to do the trick, including encouraging other allotment users to leave. Mowed the grass around my neighbours allotment in exchange for the Rhubarb he has let me have.

Sat 29 Mar 2008
Weather : Bright start, rain later.
Progress : Cleared out one row of last years Spinach Beet from plot 3c and composted it, destroying any slugs and snails found in the process. Lifted the remaining Schorzonera and Salsify and heeled them in for storage elsewhere out of the way.

Sun 30 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny day.
Progress : Tidied up the remaining row of Spinach Beet on plot 3c by removing the dead and diseased leaves. Put down some slug bait in trays to attract any remaining varmints lurking in the foliage.

Mon 31 Mar 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Double a trench in plot 2d but did not top dress with manure as I will need to throw the soil onto that area when I dig the last trench. There were some huge worms in the lower levels of this trench. Used the hand cultivator to break the soil on the unplanted area of plot 2d as weeds are starting to appear.