The spring rush!

Reading and writing about gardening, despite weather in the way; wildlife station

I was already enjoying the thought of another whole weekend outside in decent weather but the forecast goes:

• Saturday: Grey Cloud
• Sunday: Light Rain

so I have to prepare myself for more miserable weather and less allotment than expected. Maybe there's still time for the weather to change...

Last night I had some time for reading, and I learned that chalky soil - with lumps of white chalk and flint like mine - agrees with grapevines, so maybe the plants are not dead after all, but only sleeping (very hard indeed by the look of it). Rosemary thrives on chalk as well, it seems.

Reading about soil improvers has reminded me that I need to sort my compost heap, which appeared in pictures some time ago showing that it is not really a compost heap, more... just a heap, and an ever growing one to boot! I could dig a trench and bury the material. It seems that peas would appreciate being planted on such a trench, after a couple of months from closing it up.

Or I could go back to my idea of getting pallets and build one like some other people on site. I must say that there are quite a few pallets thrown away at the garden centre that I could make use of, but my husband is not keen to carry them in the car... I should ask if they would take some home for me... but then I would also need to go to the council and ask for the key to the private drive to the allotment etc. so I tend to just dismiss the thought. The other day there was a skip on the road to the allotment with big wood cages that looked perfect: I wish I had the cheek to go and ask if I could take them... for recycling purposes, what else?

Anyway, talking of pallets, I have finally got round to taking a picture of the wildlife station I found on the Garden Organic magazine a while ago and that fascinated me at first sight. Here it is, compared to what I started last week (on the right).

I have a hedgehog box and a bird nesting box, and a couple of pallets, one of which I wrecked and which I started filling with brick fragments I scavenged around, and some twigs. I need to take with me a gorilla bar to pull apart the other pallet to put on top, and then fill the whole structure with - it appears - mainly hollow stuff.

What I have done so far felt really satisfying because that bit of my allotment behind the shed used to be just a grubby mound of soil; now, instead, it looks nice and tidy and will be put to good use :) This is in addition to the lacewing box and ladybird tower that were already there, and for which I have to find some attractant I had bought and seem to have lost somewhere in the shed...

Time to have dinner now: this is the fourth post since Saturday, my mind seems to be now all set on gardening, flexing her muscles (metaphorically speaking) for the spring rush!