Wind, Rain, Vaccines and a Shed From Next Door — The Week That Tried Its Best

 One of Those Weeks Again

Right then. Where do I even start.

You know the ones. The weeks where everything wants to happen but the world has other ideas. The greenhouse is sitting there in her boxes, the base is ready, I am ready, and yet — here we are. Still waiting. Still drinking tea and watching the weather like a man who has personally offended it.

Let me take you through it.

The Weekend

Saturday as usual was baking day. That's the rhythm of this house and I wouldn't change it. Sara does what Sara does and the house smells wonderful and that's that. Sunday I did the dinner — by choice I will add, before anyone starts feeling sorry for me — and a proper Sunday dinner it was too. But after dinner I had a job that needed doing before that greenhouse goes anywhere near that base.

The slabs at the back needed moving and relaying. Now this sounds simple and in principle it is simple. In practice it involves a 60 year old man crouching, shuffling, lifting, muttering, and then standing back to check it's level. Repeat as necessary. The reason for it is entirely sensible — I need more room at the back of the greenhouse for glass replacement down the line and for getting the thing installed properly in the first place. Short term pain, long term gain as they say. And it's done now, so that's one less thing to think about.

Monday — The Weather Wins

Monday. Oh Monday.

High winds and heavy showers all day. I am not exaggerating. It was one of those days where even the dog would have looked at you if you'd suggested going outside. The greenhouse build was not happening. There was no version of events in which I was going to stand in that garden wrestling aluminium sections in a force whatever with rain going sideways.

So. Into the old greenhouse it was.

And actually — not a bad morning for it if I'm honest. There's something quite satisfying about being in a greenhouse while the weather is doing its worst outside. All warm and earthy smelling, radio on quietly, nobody bothering you. I got the overwinter cuttings potted up and started moving the larger seedlings about ready for potting on. Good productive work. Not glamorous, nobody's writing a magazine article about it, but the kind of steady quiet graft that keeps things ticking along. Then it was get ready and off for the evening shift.

Tuesday — Doctors, Carrots and a Bargain

Tuesday started with a little surprise. Apparently I needed a vaccine. I did not know I needed a vaccine. The text had other ideas. Better safe than sorry so off I went — done and dusted and no complaints. You reach a certain age and you just take the jabs when they tell you and move on.

After that, wellies on and up to the allotment. And what a difference a couple of dry days makes to the ground. Nice and workable, just how you want it. Out came the Mantis and I will never stop singing the praises of that little machine. It made absolutely easy work of getting the soil beautifully prepared — light, airy, broken right down — just what early carrots want to see.

We got two rows of Nantes 2 carrots in. A good reliable variety, Nantes 2. Not flashy, not trendy, just solid and dependable — much like the man sowing them, I like to think. We also got the first row of spring onions in alongside them. Whether it's quite warm enough yet for the carrots to germinate we shall have to wait and see, but the ground conditions were as good as we could hope for and sometimes you've just got to commit.

And then — just as we were finishing up — Gary from the neighbouring plot shouted me over.

Now Gary is a good chap and a decent allotmenteer and I had a feeling this wasn't just a social call. He wanted to know if I was interested in buying his shed.

I had a look. It needs a bit of work — but I could see straight away what it could be. We've been getting by on two small sheds up there and the honest truth is we were going to have to do something about storage this year anyway. A bigger, better shed has been on the list for a while. So we had a chat, agreed a price and just like that — another project on the horizon and a much needed improvement heading our way.

Some weeks try their best to slow you down. But you always find a way to get something done.

More very soon. Get your wellies on.