Spreading manure

I have two composters on the allotment (see right). A large one (green) which I use to put all the weeds from the allotment in, and a smaller one (black) which I put all the plant waste and grass cuttings etc in. I emptied a couple of barrow loads from the large composter on Saturday to make space for some more weeds since it was full to the top. This allowed me to finish digging another strip of the plot and then spread a layer of manure from my pile (see previous post) onto it. The huge pile of manure no longer looks quite so huge (see below), and despite initially thinking I'd have so much that I'd have to pile some up at the back of the plot for use next year, I'm now thinking there won't even be enough to cover all the areas I had hoped to. But still, there is pleanty enough to cover most of the plot, and I need to leave some areas manure free for growing next years parsnips and carrots etc.

The winter digging is coming on pretty well. I've got another strip still to dig over and manure next time, then it'll just be a case of pulling up the now-dead pea plants and digging/manuring that area, plus digging over the carpet-covered areas near the back of the plot that used to be home to the strawberry plants and then everything will be pretty much finished for the year. I also hope to clear some of the piles of weeds from the very back of the allotment, and build a strong chicken-wire cover for the newly planted strawberry bed.

This weekend I also pulled up a handfull of leeks and some more parsnips.