This is the day...

...I have been looking forward to all winter. A good few hours down the allotment, really getting stuck in to all the big jobs that need doing.

We decided to call it a day for the Tayberries as they were so rambling, and would get mildew before they ever ripened properly. As well as having so many nettles amongst them that you could never get near enough to harvest what was there anyway!

So, today I set to it. Started grubbing up the plants and nettles. There were nettle roots in there easily as thick as my thumb, and creating an impeniterable mat of roots. However, 2 hour later, and there was definite headway made. Clear ground, and a growing pile of stuff to burn! Having said that the nettle tops went in the compost, and I have brought the roots home to wash, as apparently they make a good hair rinse!

I also managed to move the pallets from the old compost bin over to a distant corner, ready to be made into an insect hotel, and also spread some leaf mould from 2009 over the bed ready for the onions and leeks. As I could only find one gardening glove, my hand looked decidedly grubby, and I now have that very appealing ingrained dirt look about me! Do you think it is a thing that could catch on?

I know one thing for sure though, I am going to ache to high heaven tomorrow! But it is worth it, to be back out in the sun, with my hands in the dirt, dreaming of what will be growing, and all those days to come this growing year, spent down the allotment.