Allotment Hours: Me: 9hrs He:1.5hrs

All work so few photos.

This afternoon I spent my time up the allotment planting out my early potatoes

 Not many photos for all the work I did, I was too busy working!

First of all I made a line.

Then I filled up a wheel barrow full of well rotted manure - it was so heavy to push!

I dug out a deep row, layered newspaper all along the trench - it holds the moisture,

and the put a whole wheel barrow full of the manure along the trench.

 I snuggled the chitted potatoes in it and covered it up, then heaped up the row.

Then repeated the whole process for the next row, it was back breaking work for me on my hands and knees for most of the time.

A few allotments along from me, a man had a big rotorvator that cut a groove in the soil - his wife walked along  behind him throwing the potatoes into the trench -  like sowing grass seed - she didn't even bend down but did it from elbow height - hmmm I wish I could do that!

I was so exhausted and aching from all my digging, manure shovelling, and on my hands and knees planting the spuds that I didn't even have the energy to take any photos of the heaped up rows.  

It was all I could do to pack up, lock up the shed and drive home!

Resting my bones today - it's a cold windy day so a good excuse.

Allotment Diary - Me 19. He 19. Eggs too many to keep count!

I was determined to get the rest of the potatoes in today - but first....

The pigeons have been tugging at my onions and shallots

It looks ugly - but I just had to cover some of them up to protect them until they can get their little roots secure into the ground - so it's only temporary

The earlies we planted are tucked in safely, and the fruit bushes behind them have all greened up.

I have planted Romana on this spare piece of ground in the fruit cage

Patrick had dug out the weeds at the top and the rest of the area I had covered over for two years

So I ran the rotorvator over it  to loosen it up and then dug trenches and added lots of well rotted manure

Romano was planted in the fruit area and in here

Last year in here I grew sunflowers along the fence,

Courgettes, and squash.  Climbing beans and green manured any gaps

On the right I am still using up leeks and parsnips

I dug over this bed which held the pumpkins so it's really rich with manure - and planted one of my favourite main crop potatoes - Cara - which we are still eating now at home.

We hope to return tomorrow to mow the lawns and paths, and I have some little broad bean plants ready to go out too.