We had a big day in the allotment today.  Lynn constructed and treated the first of our compost heap containers (made from old pallets in common with most compost heaps on allotments) and I built the first two of our new raised beds, one of which Lynn planted up with strawberries.

We also had a mini harvest with some beetroots large enough for making some last batches of pickle for this year and some sprouts ready.  The brassicas were heavily infested with whitefly and there are quite a lot of slugs and snails around, but we look like getting a decent crop of sprouts and the purple sprouting broccoli look strong so with a bit of luck there will be a decent harvest next spring.  We tidied up the beds to remove some of the shelter for the pests and tried to smoke out the whitefly with a smouldering bonfire as well as leaving the protective net open to get some airflow for a few days.

We were down at the allotment pretty much all day, but when we got home, Lynn managed to sneak in pickling the red cabbage that I’d harvested from the garden yesterday.