With all the work commitments I’m a bit behind on the allotment, so my stock of tomatoes, squash, purple sprouting broccoli, sprouts and some cabbage at home have been waiting to be planted out.
Finally managed to get all of the plants out today. I spent quite a time erecting an experimental wind break for the tomatoes. I bought the material for this last year but didn’t get round to doing the work in time. This year though, I was determined to experiment with this material as protection for the outdoor tomatoes. As the allotment site is completely open to the elements some crops could really benefit from some screening from cool / destructive winds.
So, the pictures below record the start of the experiment. I am hopeful that the results will be worth the effort. Getting inside the screened area today I was fairly well protected from the brisk wind that was blowing. The tomato plants weren’t moving at all, so the temperature in the enclosed area should help mature the plants and eventual fruit.
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| Tomatoes in - waiting to be 'enclosed'' |
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| Let the experiment begin! |
Strawberries are still fully productive as are the blackcurrants. The rhubarb plants have been really hit with the dry/hot weather and I don’t expect to pick any more this year.
On the cycling front I managed to join the leisure ride with the club on Saturday morning; managing to keep up until we stopped for drinks/cakes at the Tewkesbury garden centre. At that point, we had averaged 16.7 miles per hour which was a bit brisk given my lack of Saturday rides recently. It was good to get out though, and I was encouraged that I had the energy and enthusiasm to do this after a fairly busy and tiring week of work. I decided to cycle home from the café at my own pace – I wanted to have some energy left during the afternoon to do some jobs…
So the week ahead is busy, basically a full 4 days of work. Pretty varied set of jobs including border tidying, weeding, pruning (shrubs and trees), lawn cutting. My weight is down a bit but I think now stable at 10st 13lb. So since starting the business and being really physically active I’ve lost 8lbs in weight. I had to buy two pairs of work jeans last week with a waist size 2” less than what I’d been used to, as some of my clothes are now getting too baggy to wear!
