Sunday On The Allotment - Winter Clearing

St Ives Cornwall Allotment - Winter

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As I looked out of the back door this morning I did wonder about going out to my plot - or staying indoors in the warm.

A bit wild and windy in West Cornwall today, but not too cold so I decided to brave the weather and was glad that I did. It wasn't so bad once I got moving.

For the last couple of weeks I've focussed on on simple task - clearing growing beds ready for sowing seeds in March. First to go in will be Potatoes and Broad Beans, so I'm working on the beds earmarked for those first.

One thing that I've learned in previous years is that putting effort into preparation now pays big dividends later in the growing season. Its also relatively easier because, while there are still some weeds to clear, they are fairly dormant and so easier to get out.

My method is simply to hoe over the ground, remove weeds and any big stones that pop up. Then I add a layer of leaf mould followed by a layer of compost from the bins on my plot. I don't do much more digging, unless I need to. I leave everything to bed down and work in naturally - as I've said before on this blog - let the Worms and Weather do the work!

So my potato bed is now pretty much ready. I'm just wondering whether to add a bit of manure from my pile and maybe some chicken manure pellets. Now I've just got to be patient and wait until March before getting my spuds in the ground.

If you are a new allotment grower and thinking about growing spuds, you might find this blog post from last year helpful:
Spring On The Allotment - First Sowings - Potatoes

Before I headed home I checked on the final crops I have left in to harvest over Winter. I still have a few Leeks - and some Turnips that are approaching monster size. I'll need to get those out soon.

Also my Swede - seem to be growing ok but a bit small to harvest just yet. I'll see how they grow on into Spring.

Last Summer I made plans to grow more crops over Winter and exactly as I expected I've had mixed results. As well as the crops above I sowed Winter Spinach and Autumn King Carrots - neither of these have come to much. But I will repeat this next year. If you are interested take a look at my blog post:
Allotment Growing - Autumn and Winter Crops

More news from my little plot in West Cornwall coming soon. More pics and posts are on:
Allotment With A Sea View - Facebook