23 March 2005

Brilliant

Just walked in the door, having spent the afternoon down at the plot, preparing two beds using the sheet mulching method. So, no digging, but still plenty of fork action. Chicken poo and newspapers I have, but I also had to make several trips to the communal pile of leaves, grass clippings and shredded bark that I’m using. It seems I can manage filling, wheeling and emptying the wheelbarrow for far longer than I can tolerate turning over the soil. It’s just too darn dull and painful.

Right now I feel like I’ve had a fabulous workout. I’m sweaty, a bit tired, slightly euphoric and ever-so-smug. At least, that’s how I imagine it feels to have a workout. Being a hopeless exercise-phobe I wouldn’t know what it really feels like.

I’m not at all sure how successful this sheet mulching malarkey will be. I feel sure that it’s not the magic solution I would love it to be. But at least it does now seem as though getting most of the plot up and running over this year is a possibility using this method, so even if yields are low, the place should look better and I’m sure it’s all good prepartion for next year too. And this way I don’t feel I have to cross my fingers hoping that the resident allotment pixies will choose to work on my patch for a change (whenever I go down there everyone else’s allotments have had a bit more work done – and no sign of people at all!).

And more bonus vegetables! Ben was down there again, and found some stray parsnips, carrots and potatoes which he has kindly donated to the ‘let’s-make-sure-that-Owen-and-Clare-don’t-waste- away-to-nothing-what-with-all-this-physical-activity’ fund. I think we’ll roast them tomorrow.

Ice cream van update: Only a slightly annoying amount of The Sun Has Got His Hat On today, punctuated with The Star-Spangled Banner (first line only) and a surprise appearance by the classic The Happy Wanderer/Val De Ree (which always makes me think of Victoria Wood).

Filed under: Hard labour — Clare @ 6:41 pm