
December Allotment 2016
December allotment diary 2016… and its going to be a quiet month for growblogs. We are both normally very busy preparing for the Christmas rush in work. Evenings start in the afternoons generally pitch black by 4pm now. So, apart from a few fleeting visits to harvest some of our hardier vegetables, and to replenish the bird feeders, the December Allotment 2016 Pages are going to be pretty bare. That is up until the end of the month at least.
This doesn’t mean that we haven’t been planning tho, the end of December I will have a full week of work off, and intend to make the most of it up at the allotment. I started a low fence along the front of our plot a few months back. The reason it is so low is that the sun crosses along the front, and we wanted to allow for maximum sunlight. I dug holes and positioned the posts to the edge of our boundary and fixed with postcrete. I will be digging a trench an under pinning the chicken wire fence beneath the ground to deter any burrowing creatures.

The second job will be to securely fix the greenhouse, to the greenhouse base that I installed in the summer. With the weight of the PVC paneling that we used to glaze the greenhouse, currently holding the frame in position. I didnt fancy taking the risk that a possible high wind might cause some damage. So i will drill the bottom of the frame and use plugs, screws, and washers to securely fix the frame to the concrete slab base.
Should I Cover Raised Beds Or Leave to the Elements OverWinter ?
Ive been asked a few times since the growing season has slowed to a freeze, are you better to cover your raised beds to deter sunlight and starve the weeds. Or are you better to leave the beds to the elements and let the frost penetrate the ground, and kill off anything that is still growing. On our plot we have two identical size beds which were made at the same time, so we have decided to cover one with a thick black builders pvc, and the other we have left to the elements. Come February or March when we come to work the ground again, we shall show which we think worked best.

Our Allotment Wishlist for Santa
Dear Santa Claus
Connor and Myself have been really good boys all year. We hope you and the missus and all your reindeer’s are keeping well. We would please like the following if not too much to ask. A 6x3m polytunnel with a window, loads of sunshine and it would be just dandy if you could do something about the mares tail please.
All the best
The lads at growblogs