What are we going to do today Pinky? Same as we do everyday; spend too much money.

Not much to report today.

Same routine as yesterday. Same lack of work on the teaching front. Same weather. Same walk to the garden plot.

Then it changed. There was a top of the range North Face jacket in Emaus' window for a mere 45 quid. Phoned MeWally who said he'd like it. So no money earned today, but a hefty sum spent. Was it a saving in reality. I dunno, depends how you view it. Best not look too close, eh?

The hardware shop took a very small amount of money for the last of his garlic. I thought it would be more than enough to plant up the row and a half left empty in bed 3, but, as it turned out, I was a bit short. Gordon must have sold a sack of garlic in about a week. A few years ago, nobody grew it, now it's a standard in every veg patch..

Here's how to prep garlic for laying to rest in the cold, cold ground.

First, Buy your garlic...and everything else in either, paper bags, or loose, taking your own bag. So pious.

Then split the heads of garlic into their individual cloves.

As you do the splitting thing, put all that papery skin to one side. If you don't, you'll end up rummaging through your own, home made lucky dip. Except the prize is the same every time.

Run a string line.Get your little dibber, otherwise known as a bit of wood: 4ins long and  use it to guage your spacings and to make your  2in deep holes. Drop in garlics, one per hole. cover and label, or in my case label first of all.

And rest...........

I suffered a rush of blood to the head and went for starting bed number 4. Oh yes, ever the optimist, I want broad beans and winter peas in before we go away. At a metre an hour to double dig and clean the soil of roots and weeds, I have no more than a snowballs chance in hell of managing this..

I ran a line and dug the outline of the bed, then began to dig for real. 1 metre into the project, and a trug overflowing with roots, I stopped. No chance of finishing this bed before we go away...probably. I'll probably start the peas and beans off in loo roll inners. Maybe, out here, under glass. That'll buy me the time I need to make a nice, snuggley, bed for them all.

Went for lunch in Green Spirit; Debbies yummy soup, lentil and tomato. A good natter. Off to Brutons, our other hardware shop. How does such a small town support 2 hardware shops? answers ona postage stamp please. They didn't stock any garlic this year??? Why not??? I'm gobsmacked.

Loins girded, I was ready to do a job. A good job to do was to cover one of  the weedy  patches with Gerry the Dairy's silage sheet. I rather enjoyed doing that.

I have to admit to my concern that the bed I've just started, number 4, runs along the lower edge of the plastic sheeting. If we get heavy rainfall, it'll belt down the sheeting and soak the bed. That'll make digging hell.

Decided clear a small patch to put in the rhubarb crown.

By the time I finished, the light was going. Take it from me, this little patch looks very different now.

Home. Change. Solicitors. Make our will/s.

Home. Chill.

Me blog. MeWally looking through our movie footage to see if we can create another film. Have software, will create.

QUESTION OF THE DAY


Why on a blog site, does the spell checker red squiggle the word BLOG???