I really should be digging the weeds and rubbish out of the second side of the allotment. It was left to its own devices last year as we cleared the first side. So much work was needed to clear just half of the allotment we thought it realistic to put off the other half.

Now all of the plants have been put into the clean half it’s time to start on the last bit of mess. And boy, what a mess it is! This is much more hard to get dug than before because the weeds are so thick and so deep. And, of course, there is the huge amount of rubbish to be dug up also.

So the last few times I’ve been to the allotment I’ve managed to find other jobs for me to be getting on with. Weeding, watering and the like. All good things, all things that kind of need doing, but it’s just putting off the big job.

The second side needs clearing because I’ve got plants which will soon need to go in there – sweetcorn, runner beans, leeks. I must stop putting it off. I must!

Oh, I think the carrots need watering again…

The first bank holiday weekend of the year has brought virtually everyone to the allotment. It’s not just the weeds whose dormancy has been broken by the Easter sun! Most people are fixing their greenhouses after the strong winds of recent weeks, converting to plastic sheeting so that they don’t have to clean up the broken glass the next time the wind gets up, or more likely, the next time the kids get in and have fun throwing stones. Not having a greenhouse I have felt somewhat left out. Not that I am short of things to be getting on with.

I dug over the area where we are going to put the potatoes. It’s about the third dig through, but I still managed to pull a ridiculous amount of rubbish and weeds out. I did a bit of weeding around the plot then started digging over a fresh part of the allotment where the sweetcorn and beans are going to go. A fellow allotmenteer remarked that he has never seen anyone grow anything on the plot since he had started there five years ago. That’ll explain the weeds then. He also said that some people also used the plot as a bit of a dump. Not him of course, but some people did. That’ll explain the huge amount of rubbish! Still, it’s not too bad at the moment because a skip has arrived on site, of which I have been making good use.

Not much to show then, as it has been mostly digging. The photo shows the snow from today. It didn’t settle – it never does anymore does it!

Some days it looks like you’ve done loads. Other days (like today) you’re there for six hours and it looks like you’ve made no progress at all. My aching muscles know otherwise…

When we took the allotment on there was a pile of soil and rubbish in the top corner of the plot. We ignored it for the first summer, but knew we had to do something about it eventually. This photo shows how it looked in August 2007.

We started clearing the area in the autumn. We put compost bins at the top of the plot made out of old pallets. We eventually put three bins in. Digging through the rest of the pile was very slow work. Every spade revealled more rubbish; glass, metal, wire, netting, bottles, concrete, bricks, even three large window frames were found.

We’ve probably taken about 15 to 20 bags of rubbish out of this area. It’s frustrating to know that none of this rubbish is yours. Why can’t people tidy up after themselves!!! Anyway, this was the worst area of the allotment for clearing, so it was a really good feeling to be getting through it.

So this was what the rubbish pile looked like yesterday. It’s all gone! The three compost bins are at the top, two of then have been boarded up with old fence pannels, the third is still being filled. We still need to go through the soil one last time to get the last of the weeds and glass out, but its really satisfying seeing a flat bit of land where once there was a huge mound of junk. People keep saying that the soil should be really good. We’re going to put our potatos in here soon, so we’ll find out.

It’s time to get out and start digging again. This is a photo from last year when we were clearing the first side of the allotment. Over winter we started digging the second half, which was much more overgrown. We’ve not done too bad! Photos to follow.