Where your money goes....

A fascinating insight by the Guardian on where the public purse is spent.

Some of the Government Departments seem disproportionately funded vs others - e.g. both Dept. of Education and HMRC getting more than MoD!?

I would have thought that the HMRC could have been at least part self funding, but I assume that all excise goes straight to the Treasury and not to HMRC?

20 minute project

The Mk 1 wheelie bin rhubarb forcer!

A quick zip around the middle of a redundant small wheelie bin with a jigsaw & then place the top half of the bin over the rhubarb crown. So in 6 weeks or so, some lovely pale pink forced rhubarb will be mine!

Another looong day in the garden.....

Another long day in garden, shifting soil, putting bark chippings on the borders, manure on the fruit tree bases, pruning & dividing Rhubarb & Raspberry plants from neighbours garden & replanting into mine.

An afternoon visit to a friend at their new allotment to give them a spare crown of rhubarb & to see their progress at digging over a long neglected & forgotten plot - lot's and lot's of digging still required!

I also saw the most brilliant idea for forcing Rhubarb so I am going to give it a try. Cut the bottom 1/3rd off a small wheelie bin & use the top 2/3rds to cover rhubarb plant, easy access with the lid & total darkness - perfect for forcing an early crop!

All finished off with a nice soak in the bath, a roast chicken dinner with apple pie & custard to finish.

I will sleep well tonight......

Let the planting start!

I have now filled both of my new raised beds with all manner of manure, soil & organic material, so now the planting starts....

Blueberries, Loganberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Rhubarb and Honeyberries (new to me, but I thought I'd give them a go) have all been selected and will be transferred into #1 bed by the end of the weekend. After that a couple of varities of Potato will be put in bed #2 with a couple of frames of french beans.

Carrots & peas are on the list to try & I may experiment with a couple of heads of Asparagus as well.