Terry Walton spreads ‘black gold’ on his plot
That means the green manures are dug in and the 'black gold' is spread!
Over the last couple of weeks there’s been a lot of puffing and blowing on the hills in our Welsh valley. No, this isn’t the strong winter winds that blow off the mountains, but the sounds of the allotmenteers on our plots digging in the green, green grass of home!
Yes, the green manures that have protected the plots since September are dug back into the soil, enriching them with bulky rye grass and improving the nitrogen from the roots of the vetches. The mild autumn and early winter with plenty of rain has made the task this year a lot harder as the grass never ceased growing. Any temperature above 8C (46F) will allow the grass to grow – not a lot of people know that! Back in November a man and his van or, to be correct, four men and a van went off to the local stables to collect the ‘black gold’ that’s stored there. Plenty of manure, which is at least three years old, was bagged up and brought back to the allotments and left stored on the paths for use now. The manure is rationed to the greedy feeders like legumes, potatoes and onions. I remember the good old days before climate change, when manure was spread on the soil in autumn. The inhabitants of the soil then slowly dragged this into the earth to improve its fertility. These days the constant downpours would deplete this manure of all its nutrients and only the local river would benefit from them!
Another task that was a ritual of autumn was making the brassica patch look as if it had an early snowfall. This area was heavily limed to increase its pH, as members of the brassica family thrive be er in alkaline soil. The autumn application is no longer the case and this liming now takes place in late February or it, too, will be washed away and do no good to the soil. Anyone who doesn't believe in climate change should ask the opinion of someone who’s kept an allotment for years!
On a sunny day, the silence of the allotments is broken by the sound of gentle tapping – that of a busy plot holder with hammer in hand. At this time of year the decision has to be made: does the old shed remain and do you do urgent remedial work by replacing the ro en wood and re-felt it so it will last another 20 years? Decision made, remedial work!