I did a little work on the plot today, for the first time since I did my back in last June. It was a very little; I forked over a couple of square yards of a raised bed, and got home knackered. It's a start, anyway.
As you can see from the above photo, the rough ground across the lane from my plot is completely waterlogged, with standing water. The level on my plot is a little higher, and there's no water showing, but I know from experience that if I tried to dig it now, there would be water at the bottom of the trench. This is why I need the raised beds; the waterlogging makes it impossible to grow some simple crops, like shallotts, successfully without them, and a really wet summer can wipe out a great deal.
It's the first time I've been on the site for a month or so, as I really haven't been well, and I was relieved to see the brassicas have remained untouched by pigeons. Once they lose the habit, they don't touch them until we get a spell of hard frost or snow, and then they don't stop till things start growing the following spring. Occasionally, they keep at it all summer. I didn't have the energy to net them after doing a little digging.
It's going to be a slow process, but at least I've made a start. Next time I'm down, I should get some pots and a seed tray, and get some true potato seed started on a windowsill. The earlier the better as far as I can see.
