This morning I finally got round to doing some measuring and mapping of my allotment plot. I had measured a little when I first got it but I’ve now got a few relatively fixed points, like the shed (definitely not moving that!) and the compost bins (could be done… in fact, I’ve got a few ideas sparking just thinking about it).

The plan is that, as we enter the winter season, I’ll add in a few more fixed points and then use that to start establishing the pattern for the year ahead. For example, I’ll move the polytunnel from the back garden where the cover now sheds little plastic squares every time it rains. The cover will have to go but the framework will serve as a fruit cage so I can grow things like raspberries without the birds having all the fruit. I’m also planning to get another cage type set up with a square footprint so that I don’t have to cover each individual growing bed. I can see from some of the path areas that there has been digging around. Whatever creatures those are (badgers or foxes have been suggested by neighbours) they haven’t tried breaking into the covered beds yet. I’ll still grow some stuff uncovered but I’d like to protect the bulk of the harvest but with less work each time it comes to water, weed or harvest.

The measurements I took have now been transferred to a vector diagram (in Inkscape) and I can spend a bit more time tweaking my ground designs before I start expending money and effort.