Monday 15th ~ 21st January. MORE DIGGING!

An update on progress begins with an image of where I left off at the close of play on Sunday 14th after three hours of quite tough digging due to the extreme density of the earth. At a previous rate of two feet per hour I was hopeful that week two could produce similar results.

CLOSE OF PLAY ON SUNDAY 14th JANUARY 2018 WITH A DIGGING RATE OF 2 FEET PER HOUR.

PLAY RESUMES AT 11:30 hrs ON TUESDAY 16th JANUARY IN BRIGHT SUNSHINE AFTER A VERY WET MONDAY.

CLOSE UPS SHOWING TRENCH SIDES AND COMPACT, WET SOIL STRUCTURE.

With one and a half hours toiling and a disappointing dig result of just one and a half feet over the twenty feet length completed, I decided to take some snaps before the anticipated rain arrived,...

WEATHER TOOK A WET TURN AT 13:00 hrs SO IT LOOKED LIKE TIME TO PACK UP. 1 ½ FEET OF DIGGING WAS DISAPPOINTING..

...including the taking of the first allotment video (below)

As the poor weather abated somewhat it was possible to continue digging for a further one and a half hours which increased the diggage to a whopping two and a half feet for three hours toil.

BACK TO A FORKING GOOD TIME FOR A FURTHER HOUR AND A HALF INCREASED DIGGAGE BY AN EXTRA FOOT. BIG DEAL!

Toil on Tuesday ended with mixed emotions. I realised from day one that things were going to be heavy going with the combination of dense soil, inclement weather and a lack of honed gardening muscles making the job backbreaking and mentally challenging as the plot got larger in mind.

AFTER DIGGING TO A DEPTH OF TWELVE INCHES THE HEIGHT OF SOIL INCREASED TO A FOOT ABOVE THE ORIGINAL GROUND LEVEL INDICATING THAT THE VOLUME HAS DOUBLED WITH THE INCLUSION OF SOME WELL NEEDED 'AIR' IN THE COMPACT MIX.

FRIDAY 19th January 2018. On plot at 15:00 hrs.

FRIDAY 19th JANUARY 2018 AT 15:00 hrs BROUGHT A SUN BASKED ALTHOUGH FRESH AND WET PLOT.

THIS IMAGE, AGAIN FROM 15:00 hrs, SHOWS BOTH THE GLORIOUS SUNSHINE AND THE INCREASE IN SOIL HEIGHT.

By the close of the days play on Friday at 14:20 hrs, yes all one hour and twenty minutes of it, I had managed a dig dimension of one whole foot by twenty feet length giving a further twenty square feet of freshly turned soil.

HOW TO EAT AN ELEPHANT = ONE BITE AT A TIME ~ HOW TO DIG AN ALLOTMENT = ONE FORK AT A TIME

 Although I didn't satisfy my expectations of two feet per hour I forgave the poor performance, as the soil was rather wetter and heavier than the previous digs, set my disappointment aside and look forward to a new week full of invigoration, motivation and possibly drier conditions.

I shall also put my mind to the problem of sparsity or lack of fibrous material.