Friday 10 April 2015

Allotment Week Day 5: Both barrels and a flat top.

Didn't really get round to doing a lot today. Mainly because my back is still aching from previous days. But I did make a start on some watering... before disaster stuck.

OK, not disaster, I skinned my knuckles trying to get a watering can full out of the rain barrels. That prompted much thinking (and wrapping tissues around my bloody wound). Dipping from the barrels is a pain, because most of the water runs back out again as you pull the can out. Especially as the levels are pretty low at present. Both barrels are situated at the end of the greenhouse, where they collect the rain waters, one from each side of the roof. But one of the barrels has a functioning tap. Only problem is that that tap is very low down. So I went on a hunt around the waste bays.

I found a few large slabs of concrete that somebody had thrown away. Hurrah, just what I needed. I emptied out the one barrel with the tap into the other, filling it almost to the brim. Then repositioned the barrel on the concrete. That lifted it sufficiently that digging a shallow scoop was sufficient to get the tap raised enough to fill the watering can.

A piece of hose was then taken between both barrels and a siphon started. This way the barrels should always be level with water, and I can get at the water, albeit rather slower than filling by dipping. And no skinned knuckles.

there is not much else to do one handed on the plot. But I can wield a rake to level off the top of the mound. There is just that solitary daffodil on the top. Can't really reposition that whilst it's in fill flower, so the top is not 100% flat. But flatter. And looking the better for it.

Now is to be handed over to the Wife for flowering duty. Should be quite an impressive display next to the main track.


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