As I riddle my way north through the 5th bed, far more slowly than a snail or a glacier, I keep wondering if I've yet gotten past what was the floor of the old shed. My reasoning is, the Predecessor probably sited the shed on a place where the earth was inhospitable to cultivation - that is, where it was filled with old clinkers. Maybe, just maybe, beyond that is soil which was once cultivated, and will therefore be less stony, and easier to riddle.

Above we have a satellite image of the plot taken just before I started to work it, back in spring 2015. And the technology tells me that the (now defunct) shed's north edge was 3.6m from the boundary fence.

So I'll check the distances when I next get to plot, in respect of which the weather, work, and family commitments all congregating to keep me away. Riddling 5th bed now looks likely to last up to Christmas or even beyond. But I'm still on course to have fully functional allotment next year: all beds cultivated, shed, and polytunnel; hedgerow planted.