First Spring in the orchard

Over Easter the rain let up long enough to pull the docks out of the orchard.  Due to the way the contractors dumped the new top soil over the ploughed up and leveled old soil, there are dock and other perennial roots really deep down.

Brook running along the edge of the orchard

The docks do come out but it is really hard to get down deep enough without destroying the surface.  As of the end of today, all the visible dock plants are out but some root got left behind.  From now on it will need to be a regular job to get the docks out as the appear.

I can't decide whether the dandelions need to come out.  It is meant to be a meadow/orchard after all - not a front lawn.

Equinox triggers activity

Now that the equinox has passed and the longer days are here again, work can begin in earnest in the allotment.

The ground is basically ready in the main bed, just the sweet William and herbs have been over wintered there.

Ready for planting one the ground warms up

The leeks, turnips/swedes and beetroot have also made it through the winter in a passable state.

The apple tree is now in bud - its a pretty late fruiting variety so this is normal.  I expect the blossom in early May.

Apple tree

Meanwhile, in the orchard, the peach trees are in bud.  There are a couple of self planted crocuses (one of which is a miserable silvery grey colour) and a snow drop.  We have added a few fritillaries for good measure.

Orchard pretty much complete

On Friday, the last parts of the main work on the orchard were completed.  The trees are planted and the grass is seeded.

View along longs side or the orchard.  The brook is on the left pf the picture

The weather is really warm (almost 20 degrees) so if we get a little rain the grass could germinate before the winter.

View from corner of the footpath and Ringstrasse.  Our house is on the right.

Today we planted some twigs from the fallen willow low down on the river bank.  Maybe they'll take.

All that's left now is to clear the picnic glade by the brook and then wait for the grass to grow and the trees to fruit.

Autumn shut down at allotment, but orchard nearing readiness

As the season draws to a close I have tidied up a large part of the beds at the allotment.  The big  hits this year were the chili peppers and the cosmos flowers.  The chili plants have each produced a hand full of hot red chili peppers each week.  The cosmos planted themselves and gave been a riot of colour for ten weeks now.  The frost should get them soon.

Chilis and a couple of yellow marigolds

Meanwhile, nearer home, the preparation work for our orchard is well underway.  The soil has been "worked" and the fencing should be going up in the next couple of days.  We spotted some mallow growing near where the willow tree was before it fell down.  Most of this has been cleared for the orchard, but some remains and I think it looks really nice.  I have also tried eating the leaves, flowers, et c.; they are not bad either.

Mallow

Yes peas. But no parsnips.

Yesterday whilst cutting the grass and doing a little weeding, I had a chance to chat with allotment neighbour Wolfgang and his wife.  They were kind enough to give me some rhubarb and some sweet William plants.  To say thanks, here is a picture of Wolfgang's allotment:

Wolfgang's allotment

In the working bit of the garden, the only thing to really see is the peas, which have nearly all germinated and are about 4 cm high.  No evidence of the parsnip plants yet.

I did see a posing cow:

and a big wasp:

Ichneumon wasp (Schlupfwespe - parasitic wasp) on the fence

First signs of Spring growth in the allotment

It was a short, mild winter but nothing much seemed to be growing up until about a week ago.

Whilst tidying up in front of the shed I left a hand mower leaning against the side of the wood pile.  Just a few days later a new one has appeared next to it.  They are pretty similar - just different colours.

I expect there to be three or four mowers before the Easter weekend is done and after that who knows.  I hope everything else in the garden grows that well this year.

There is a mole in the system - just like every year

Another year and a fresh set of mole tracks.

Lucky for the moles that I think they are cute, otherwise there could be problems.

Maybe I can blame the moles for the pathetic looking winter leeks.