More shed improvements

A good day down the lotty, more shed painting, plus the addition of some trimmings to tidy them up. I also removed the temporary porch from the original shed and replaced it with a new version.

A wide angle view of 6 from 7

From the centre of our plots, the cold frame to the right of the
shed holds our strawberry plants and sweet peas.

From plot 5

The buds are starting to burst on the Pear tree

The sheds from  neighbours plot 5

View of our plot from plot 5

From plot 6 gate showing latest digging

Seed sowing day

Today was mainly set aside for seed sowing, things have been delayed a bit due to the very cold weather. We only have a cold (no heating) greenhouse, so there was no point in sowing anything sooner.

Seed bed, soil has been riddled to give a fine tilth

Broad beans, Parsley and Globe artichokes

Seed trays with covers for extra protection.

Bed three with Covers to protect Carrots and Parsnips

 Raspberry canes are waiting to be planted so digging the fruit bed is now a priority.

Digging the fruit bed has commenced

Seeds sown today :  Broad beans, dwarf. Pots in GH.
                                 Carrots, two varieties. 2x rows bed 3
                                 Parsnips, white gem. 2x rows bed 3
                                 Lettuce, Tom thumb. GH seed bed.
                                 Lettuce, Lollo rosso. GH seed bed.
                                 Lettuce.  GH seed bed.
                                 Spring onion, two varieties.  GH seed bed.
                                 Leeks.  GH seed bed.
                                 Brussel sprouts. GH seed tray.
                                 Spring cabbage, two varieties.  GH seed tray.
                                 Savoy cabbage.   GH seed tray.
                                 Drumhead cabbage.  GH seed tray.

More shed work

A lovely bright morning with only a light breeze, proved to be the ideal time to finish the roof on the new shed.
A couple of hours later and the roof was on, just as the sun went in and it started to snow.
All thats needed now is to finish the painting.

New black mineral roofing felt

Recycled wood edgings all round

Finished wood carving

Tom the wood carver finished the job today.

Compost bins

Today I more or less completed the compost bins, I decided to give them a fixed roof rather than just a loose one. The plots are rather exposed to wind and I didn't want to risk loosing a lid/roof. Obviously this took a little longer and was subject to the restricted availability of materials for the job.
Never the less I'm fairly pleased with the end result.
I started filling the first bay (LHS) with the kitchen waste we had been saving over the last month or so.

Note the very small commercial plastic bin, this would be filled very quickly on an allotment, hence my bigger construction.

 From the back, note the ventilation slots, oxygen is vital for decomposition.

 Removable planks at the front for easy access. The roof is important to stop the compost becoming waterlogged in heavy rain and thus retarding decomposition

You may have noticed in earlier photos that the small shed was crooked, this was due to it being of a very light weight cheap construction. Having been moved several times it had become a bit rickety and shaky. I finally got round to adding some extra bracing timbers today. It now sits reasonably upright.

Sharon came down at lunch time with some lovely cheese sandwiches which we ate with a cuppa in the greenhouse, it was nice to get out of the chilly wind.
Afterwards, Sharon got on with straightening and levelling the small raised beds, which are destined to house her plants in front of our planned summerhouse.

Cedar carving

The wood carver is now entering his fourth week working on the Cedar stump.

 We now have an Owl, moon, clouds, apple tree and a Fox. Some ferns, houses and a Badger are in the process of being carved today.
It'll be awfully quiet around here when he's finished !

Bins and shed

A little more work done on the Compost bin and shed today.

I have made a removable front for the compost bins, the panels can be taken out or put back one at a time, according to the level of compost.

All that is left to do now is line the frame with old carpet or cardboard and cut a few more boards for the front.

I wire brushed the front of the new shed and applied a first coat of waterproof paint, it will need at least two coats if not three.

Compost bins

Today was bin day....a triple bay compost bin made from re-cycled pallet wood. Rain stopped play so its not quite finished, theres a removable front to be made and  painting with wood preservative to finish.

From outside the plot

Shed progress.........
The drying process continues with the new shed, if we have some dry breezy weather I may get the new felt on the roof in a weeks time. And then a coat of waterproof paint.
All the rotten wood has been replaced and an extra width of board added to the bottom to ensure rain water is directed away from the structure and the bearers.

Sculptures and Woodwork

The Cedar tree carving in our garden is slowly taking shape, the woodcarver has another weeks work to complete the project.

Spent a few hours today replacing rotten parts of the Lotty shed, most of the rot was around the base.
I also fixed a temporary tarpaulin on the roof to keep out the rain until it is dry enough to be re-felted.

Another shed for the Lotty

We had been getting a bit tight for storage space, so we were on the look out for another shed, there happened to be one laying on the ground in bits on one of the unallocated plots.
After checking that it was an abandoned one, I was given the go ahead to take it.
There was quite a lot of damage and some rotted timber, but as it was for free I considered it worth the effort to restore it.
I have plenty of recycled timber for the projec,t but will have to buy some new roofing felt.

With quite some effort Sharon and I carried the seven panels across the allotment site to our plot. They were extremely wet which made them very heavy.

 The general construction is quite sturdy with tongued and grove boarding throughout, including the roof panels

 One of the windows needed a new pane of glass, the other was ok and opens.

The whole structure is raised well clear of the ground on concrete blocks and recycled 4x4 inch fence posts.
Having got the shed up, we just need to finish the roof , repair a couple of areas and then give the whole thing a coat of wood preservative.

Another day on the Lotty

We spent another very productive day on the plots, Sharon started on her brick path and raised bed in plot 7, while I continued with the raised beds on plot 6.

 We now have seven raised beds, which will allow us to rotate crops annually.

I topped up the soil levels on the fruit tree bed and planted a Rhubarb crown between the two trees.