Dig a stripe - Weed a stripe

At about 10:30 this morning I purchased a pair of gloves on the way to my plot. I had not anticipated the extent to which allotmenting would help to combat all but the faintest hint of post-holiday blues. Packing the essentials into the car, and unable to find any gardening gloves I made my way to the local home bargains. It seems it is not yet gardening season in home bargains as they did not have any gloves. You will be pleased to know that I safely exited the store with out getting distracted by any impulse buys. I did however get the bright idea that having some gloves would be better than no gloves. I darted into decathlon and collected a thin pair of glove liners, that would at least help prevent blisters from hand-tools. Satisfied, I headed to the plot.

After grabbing my stuff from the car and taking a few essential 'before' photos I trundled off to locate a wheelbarrow, which by the end of the day had been filled and emptied at least four times.

Since my last visit Dad had moved lots of the branches to one corner, and the deputy chair of the allotment association had moved some of the bigger bits off the plot and over the fence. It is almost a dead-hedge and if I had thought about it I would have put more of it to use. Already, just by moving this loose mess, the shape of the plot is becoming clear. I did a very rough sketch in my notebook, along with a few basic measurements. The site of the plot with the gate is 8 meters and the other side is 9 meters, so almost square. It is divided in half by what appears to have been a path heading from the gate to the opposite fence. Oh, Dad has also added some string to the gate so it no longer flaps about.

I headed to the very back corner with a fork, my gloves, and the wheelbarrow. Turning up the music in my ears (Paramore mostly), I settled into a rhythm, dig a stripe, remove the main weeds, dig a stripe, and repeat. I worked along the back fence-line into the plot. Once I had completed a patch that is probably about 4 square meters I gave it a quick rake over. The purpose of this activity was to clear and tidy, not to move onto soil preparation. I left the patch a bit lumpy, with stones that need removing, and with nettles and grass right up in the fence line that will need some attention. The glove liners did just about ZERO to protect me from the nettles. Having left the allotment at about 13:30, and scribbling this at 16:30 my hands and forearms are still tingling from many, many stings.

After that patch was done, I cleared out a small section of path, and having initially planned to keep going with the dig a stripe, weed a stripe, I got distracted by the fruit beds. Amongst the weeds - a good amount of which were foxgloves - were some fruit bushes. I also dug up, and then replanted, a small, slightly sad rhubarb crown. The same bed had remnants of lots of rhubarb roots which have an unexpected carrot-like appearance. After popping the small crown back in the ground, I marked the spot with a tiny pirate gnome that had been living in the nearby mud. Officially the rhubarb is the first thing I have purposefully (re)planted. The bed is big enough that the crown from home will move to keep it company. It is early enough in the year that I can get that moved without causing it too much distress.

Much like the mystery tree, I now have mystery fruit too. There are a few plant labels about, but they are not really close enough to the bushes to say for sure what is what. I think I have a golden raspberry, a loganberry and also some kind of currant. After clearing three of the 6 fruit beds I took a break for more photos and water. The fruit-bed clearing did not need the beat of the music so I switched to simply enjoying the relaxing and not so relaxing sounds. Birdsong, the rumble of the motorway, the breeze, and the occasional ambulance.

I was cheered by the huge number of worms and other little beasties, and relieved to find that although the ground is still quite damp, clinging insistently to my boots, most of the weeds took little encouragement to be ejected from their temporary home. It was not long before all six beds and the surrounding paths were clear. On my water break I had a flash of inspiration. Maybe the allotment shop has gloves. They did. For £2 I got two pairs of much sturdier (but not bramble proof) gardening gloves.

Prior to heading home I raked around the plum tree, and unfurled a thick tarpaulin over the bulk of the weedy area. The various rubble and broken pavers were used to hold it down. Hopefully, these will keep the wind from lifting it up. The tarp is not likely to be over the area long enough to kill off the weeds, but hopefully they will prevent them from growing much more, giving me a head start for more dig a stripe, weed a stripe.

Things found on the plot:
- One pair of intact glasses
- One pair of sturdy, wet gloves which seem in good condition despite being the home to a couple of slugs
- A small pirate gnome

Mood Word: Tingling (is that excitement or nettles?)
Spend: £13:99 - all on gloves
Time on the plot: 3 hrs