Allotment, episode 1

We started at the allotment this weekend by cutting the long grass with a strimmer, and in order to get at the soil we find digging with the fork is best. (A spade makes no impact through the roots of the grass.) (You will notice that we still have just the one fork because it was such an expensive purchase, although I would really like to buy another. 

We have to shake the earth off the clods, turn them upside down and spread them out to dry and rot. This is according to advice from a combination of Bob and Nick. Nick is a bit of a guru, who has a very tidy and productive allotment across the path from ours. He has white hair and a white beard and could be a retired academic; he knows exactly what we should do. In order to save our twin young apple trees, which were planted only a couple of years ago by the previous cultivators, he said we should dig a kind of moat around them to water the roots. If we water from the top the roots will come up to the surface. So we did that on Sunday and today it rained a bit, though clearly you can water your apple trees as much as  you like, even when it rains. 

Nick suggests I get some compost from a garden centre and mulch the two trees, then put cardboard over the earth and a black membrane before we leave to go to Australia. I wonder if we can do all that? He has also given me some spinach plants and a lettuce to eat. 

In the garden I have a tub of potatoes but I planted them quite late – they have big tops but haven't flowered yet – should I leave them till we get back (end August) or should I dig them before we go?