Losing the Plot

Sweetcorn envy

2011-06-14T12:14:00.001Z

This is Chris's second plot - It is always immaculate, his crops always appear to grow bigger than anyone else and I am on a mission to discover his secrets.......

This is his first plot from the greenhouse up towards the strawberry bed....

This is his strawberry bed & his greenhouse beyond - which is already producing good sized cucumbers.

And this is his sweetcorn - and it's massive, about 5 times the size of mine. He must feed it on rocket fuel! it is far more advanced than anyone's on the site.

Mmmmm.....undercover operations are required here I think!

Balls

2011-06-13T20:47:00.001Z

I was wandering round Asda when I spotted bargain ball pond balls so snapped up a bag to use as cane toppers to stop me poking my eyes out on the canes.....Lots of people round the site use old milk bottles for this purpose but I think that the balls are much nicer to look at & add colour!

The front of the plot...

My front flower bed.... many of the plants got caught by the frost & looked like they would not make it, but they seem to have made a comeback & are starting to flower.

Domestic Goddess

2011-06-12T20:00:00.000Z

Well at last came the rain - a whole day of it so rather than get completely soaked I decided to do some inside jobs, and here's the result....... a beautifully clean & tidy shed.....

Once the shed was done I moved into the greenhouse & potted on the aubergines...

and some of the chilies......

and the curly kale.....

Emma's tomato emporium

2011-06-12T08:00:00.000Z

Have now planted the tomatoes I started in the greenhouse, into the polytunnel - There were alot of them!

Down this side there are Costoluto Fiorentino, Sungella and Garden Perle

Down this side there are Moneymaker, Roma & GardenersDelight

and at the end Cucumber (Telegraph)

Mmmm....now what to do with all those tomatoes!

Chips but no fish

2011-06-11T22:40:00.002Z

By some fluke I went to the plot & came in a different gate to the one I normally do and spotted a huge pile of woodchips - Quick phone call to son bribing him to come & help me barrow woodchips to my plot from the far end of the site and this is the result - all the paths now have woodchips on them and the plot looks much better.

Look what I've been up to...

2011-06-11T22:01:00.004Z

First; dig a load of holes....

Then make a door & door frame out of treated timber......

With the help of a chicken that thinks it can read the instructions!

Next hammer posts into the holes, then put anchor plates over the posts and back fill the holes, with the help of a lovely assistant....

Then slot hoops over the posts & fix the ridge pole in place & attach bracing poles to each corner.....

Next fix door frames to hoops at either end and base rails to bottoms of hoops....

Put paving slabs up the middle to form a path.....

And then cover the whole structure in plastic (try to do this without swearing!)

And there you have it...... a polytunnel!

Just add plants......

Look what I found!

2011-06-11T21:45:00.003Z

Fabulous tasting carrots, baby beetroot & radishes

and broad beans....

The chickens absolutely love the radish tops.

Hen house

2011-06-11T21:33:00.003Z

Went to a meeting, and got back to find that my daughter had gone out leaving the back door open, my son was in his room oblivious to what was happening below......the chickens decided to investigate how the other half live!

May update part 3

2011-06-11T20:40:00.004Z

Buddy posing for the camera!

Got the courgettes planted onto half of the sweetcorn bed - There are 8 plants 1n here....just as well we like courgettes alot!

The sweet peas have started producing flowers, and these 2 coloured varieties smell lovely

I sowed some peas in root trainers then planted them out. they have grown away really well, however the ones I sowed straight into the bed germinated well but then the pigeons spotted them and have nibbled every single one - I covered them in fleece and it looks like they will be ok. The pigeons have not bothered with the ones I started off int he greenhouse.

Planted out the climbing french beans & sowed runner beans direct on the other side of the frame.

This is a view down the plot.

Harvest time, broad beans, mixed salad leaves & carrots.....yum yum!

May round up part 2

2011-06-11T19:59:00.003Z

I have been planting flowers as well as vegetables on the plot and this rose is one that Stasha gave me as a thank you for all the greenhouse glass I gave her. It is a lovely red one which should look great against the blue shed.

Sweetcorn planted out

The garlic is doing really well.

This is my roots bed - I have carrots (early nantes), beetroot (boltardy), radish ( french breakfast) and parsnip (white gem), all of which I have grown in succession, every few weeks.

Onions & leeks - all of which are really starting to come on, particularly the shallots and onions I grew from sets. The leeks are growing well also - I thought these would not do anything as thew were extremely skinny when I planted them out.

May update part 1

2011-06-11T19:06:00.009Z

I have been trying to upload photos of my progress on the plot repeatedly and all it keeps doing is saying 'bad request'. What is going on with Blogger? - Is anyone else having any trouble? I managed to upload these photos one by one which also took ages!

Over the past few weeks I have been very busy on the plot, getting everything planted all the final bits of digging done, general titivating of the plot and.....harvesting!

Got most of bed 4 dug over & planted out the kale and sprouting Broccoli. When it came to cover the plants to protect them from the pigeons I had a brain wave - I used an old IKEA bed canopy - fits perfectly and the holes are small enough to prevent all but the tiniest insects from getting through.

My fruit trees have established well, but none of them have much fruit on so I don't think there will be any harvests this year. Hopefully next year they will produce fruit. It's not surprising really as I only planted them out this spring.

The carrots (paris market) that I grew in the greenhouse produced lovely little roots and gave us about 4 meals worth. They were delicious!

More digging!

2011-04-24T10:12:00.000Z

Yet another baking hot day - got to the plot this afternoon after it was not quite so hot, and started digging bed 4 so that I can put out my brassicas - all of which are growing like mad, particularly the kale. Even so I was very quickly drooping as it was so hot! - stuck with it and eventually it got cooler and I managed to dig about 1/4 of the bed.

In the greenhouse the sweetcorn I sowed has started to come through.

I use loo roll inners alot for sowing into because you can just plant them as they are into the ground, but they are great for those seeds that need a good depth of pot like peas, beans etc. The only thing it I have run out now and I need a load for my climbing and runner beans!

Done digging bed 3!

2011-04-21T09:50:00.003Z

Another scorching day - but when are we going to get any rain - am having to water everything which is a pain, this early in the season. I finished digging bed 3 at last - Hoorah! and then got on with planting out all the rest of the onions & leeks. The whole bed is nearly full and I have sown some more leek seeds as we like leeks alot so I don't know where I am going to put them - I think I need another plot!

Publish Post

Planted the leeks into holes I had made with my dibber and then watered them in - some of the leeks were spindly so I will see whether they grow into anything worth eating.

The potatoes I planted are starting to come through & will need earthing up soon.

Just before I went home I harvested some salad leaves & radishes, which I ate for my tea with eggs from our hens.

Sweet Peas & watering

2011-04-19T09:36:00.000Z

Another beautifully warm day today - Went to the plot with the aim of finishing off bed 3 but it was so hot I couldn't face it so built the other two arches for the sweet peas to climb up, then put them in their final positions & planted some sweet peas at the bases. Husband & son arrived just at the right time armed with lovely cold beers & also got on with some watering - my son slightly more grumpily than my husband!

Seed sowing fest

2011-04-16T19:26:00.002Z

Got up ridiculously early today thanks to OH who took someone to the airport at 05.45 and was not at all quiet when he was getting ready. Cleaned kitchen, cleaned fridge out & hung washing out, then hot footed it to recycling centre to pick up another load of council compost. Got halfway through unloading it & the rain came - retreated into the greenhouse & potted on the rest of the tomatoes. Also sowed some more lettuce (Webb's Wonder), leeks (Pandora & Musselburgh), sweetcorn (Sundance), poached egg plant, butternut squash & courgettes (Zuchini, All Green Bush & Romanesco). By the time I had done all this, the greenhouse looked like a seedling factory & the rain had stopped.

So ventured outside and watered the raspberries - these are the ones I dug up from under the shed & they are nearly all sprouting. I am not exactly sure that they are actually raspberries & might be blackberries - time will tell.....

The strawberries have started to flower & I am looking forward to eating some with cream..... Mmmmmm

The Apple tree I recently planted has just started to flower & what a lovely colour!

The last thing I did today was build the bean frame. I have put enough canes in for 10 runner beans & 10 climbing french beans. We all love beans so if I think I need more I can always put a wigwam up for them.

Of course Buddy had to make sure he was in the photo!

Pecking order

2011-04-13T21:58:00.003Z

The hens are settling in & have been laying eggs - not in the nest boxes of course!

These eggs will be te ones that were in progress from being at the battery farm, I have read that ex-battery hens often go off laying when they have been re-homed until they get used to their new surroundings.

The only one that has got a name so far is this one - she's called bossy & spends most of her time charging around chasing the others bossing them about.

There has been the odd squabble but on the whole they have settled down quite quickly. I have made sure the hens lower down the pecking order can get out of the way and as there are 2 food & drink stations, they can also get enough to eat & drink - even bossy can't be in 2 places at once!

This is the house & run. I will move it round the garden every few days or so.

I put a good layer of bedding inside the house & when I checked them this evening, after they had put themselves to bed I thought I had lost 2 as I couldn't see them, so fetched the torch & found all 4 squeezed into one nest box -I know they like to be cosy but that was taking it to the extreme!

I prised 2 out of one box & put them into the other, but I don't know if they will stay there.

I will try to teach them to perch as it means that their bottoms stay clean & they will not poo in the nest boxes so much. They have spent all their lives in packed cages so have never done what normal hens do so this might be a challenge!

Welcome to our home!

2011-04-10T21:29:00.001Z

Well after a short time thinking about where to get some hens from (my brain does not work well over long periods of time) we decided to rehome some battery hens, so contacted the British Hen Welfare Trust. The whole process was very quick & I was told that the next delivery date had been filled so would probably need to wait about 6 weeks before collecting some hens, but I could be put on the waiting list if I wanted to - The date was a week away so jumped at the chance & only a couple of days later received an e-mail offering me some hens on the earlier date if I wanted them. As I had everything already prepared I decided to go for it & today collected 4 very bedraggled looking hens.

The process was very slick & only took us about 10 minutes from arrival at the collection point to departure.

What a sorry sight!

Once home the hens were put into their house to settle in & after a while I let them into their run three of them managed to work out how to get down the ramp & one decided that it would sit in the entrance watching & refusing to budge - even when it was dark & the other three were wanting to go to bed this one resolutely refused to move, creating a line of hens up the ramp!

I decided to leave them to it & returned later to find the other three inside but this one was still sat in the entrance.... I had to shove it inside so that I could shut the pop hole!

I was very surprised that they put themselves to bed, particularly as they have never been outside before now.

New additions

2011-04-03T21:20:00.003Z

My daughter got a new hamster today, and whilst collecting it mentioned that it would be great to have some more chickens.....So I have been scouring the internet & trying to decide whether to get point of lay hens or ex battery hens.

Whilst trying to decide I have been giving the hen house a revamp - Had to repair some bits & the whole thing needed a paint job.

And here it is...the house that Emma Built - all ready for it's new inhabitants.

Please note that I didn't just use blue paint this time!

Planting out

2011-04-02T20:52:00.002Z

Arrived at the plot after I had taken a trailer load of rubbish to the tip and collected a load of council compost. Spotted Mike who let me borrow his rotorvator to break down the soil in the legume, root & onion beds. I had put a covering of council compost on each & rotorvated this in. Once I had done this I planted out the broad beans I sowed in loo rolls & poundland shallots.

Broad beans

Shallots

In the greenhouse the radishes have sprouted.

All the onions (Stutgarter Giant).....

And shallots have started to sprout also. I will harden these of over the next few days & then plant them out.

I still have loads to do including more digging (groan!), seed sowing and planting out of seedlings & so it goes on......

Raspberry relocation

2011-03-29T20:26:00.004Z

I was going to carry on with digging bed 3 today, but once I got to the plot I completely lost all digging willpower - Had a bit of a tidy up at the side of the shed & found what I think are some raspberries growing there & rather than cut them back I dug them up, especially as they were all sprouting.

As I had dug them up I then needed to plant them, so got on with digging a couple of trenches in the fruit cage. Once I had dug the trenches I refilled them with soil, first taking out all the weed roots and mixed in some compost and feed.

I then planted all the raspberries in to the trench, although once I had planted them it became apparent that there are too many to fit into one trench. In the other trench I planted all the raspberries I previously dug up from the next door plot.

There will be two more rows, one of the canes that Rachel gave me which are an autumn variety and another of the 'under shed' variety. The only problem is that I do not know whether the 'under shed' or 'next door' are summer or autumn varieties...only time will tell I suppose!

Last but not least, I took a peek under the cloches and found that the perpetual spinach has just started to sprout....Hoorah!

I love growing things, but I am never too sure about what I am doing - it is all a bit trial & error, so it is always cause for a celebration when it actually works!

Done digging bed 5!

2011-03-28T18:50:00.004Z

At last I have finished digging bed 5 - Hoorah!!

I am hoping to see Mike (3 plots along from mine) who has a tiller, as he said I could borrow it. I want to put a load of council compost on & till it to create a finer tilth ready for sowing. The trouble with our soil is that the clay, once you dig it turns into small, rock hard boulders, which are rubbish for sowing into. The frosts do break down the soil but unfortunately I can't wait that long. However it does have it's good points though in that it very fertile.

I again did some digging then some painting to rest my back, so also got the fruit cage completely painted. It now looks much better, rather than a load of old wood cobbled together.

Buddy, master of all he surveys....only thing is, he is surveying Wayne's plot not ours!

The carrot (Paris Market) seedlings that I sowed into the crate int he greenhouse are finally showing their first true leaves.

My lovely daughter Chloe visited me at the allotment after school and 'helped' with the watering - she got more water on the dog & herself than on the plants!

Multi tasking

2011-03-27T20:25:00.004Z

Now I know why I am an advocate for the no-dig system.... I hate digging & any one who says that they like digging can come & do mine any time! I have tried to get the dog interested in digging but he just went to sleep instead.

As my back has been through alot over the past few days I decided to do 3 things in turn, so I dug a strip of bed, painted a section of fruit cage & set out & planted the potatoes. The theory was that I would be able to give my back a regular break from digging and be able to stretch it by reaching up in order to paint. this worked quite well and I have now managed to dig about 3/4 of the bed.

The potato bed with all the potatoes set out ready for planting.

Potato bed on the right, bed 5 on the left and behind, the fruit cage half painted. As you can see, I only have blue paint!

All the seedlings that I have been hardening off ready for planting outside.

Andy & Dominic's plot with weed membrane down for paths

Today I have been mostly....

2011-03-26T19:55:00.001Z

Digging.....

Still carrying on with bed 5 & it seems to be taking an eternity. It was cold & dull today which was a bit of a let down after the past few days of gorgeous sunshine & I soon got cold & had to take refuge in the greenhouse. Sowed some more cosmos, stocks, marigolds and nasturtium. I also sowed some gladioli & triteleia into the front flower bed. Once I had done this I had to go home to defrost.

Yesterday I was mostly.......

Getting on with the fruit cage

I have put in the corner braces and finished off the top rails. It feels much more sturdy and not about to fall over!

I also did a little more digging of bed 5

This is my neighbour Wayne's plot

A few days of plotting

2011-03-24T22:34:00.006Z

I have had a few days off work this week and have been keeping myself busy up at the plot. The weather has been beautiful and it has been wonderful to be able to wear a T shirt and feel the sun on my arms. The sunshine has also brought out plenty of bare chested men, unfortunately some of these really ought to remain covered up! There area few specimens however that really are a sight to behold and can carry on wearing no shirts as far as I am concerned - Vegetables are lovely to look at but it is nice to have a bit of variety!

I have been to collect a couple of trailer loads of free council compost, which is great for lightening up the clay soil and for mulching. I put a load into the front flower bed, & will mix some topsoil in with it before planting anything in there. I put a thick mulch onto the long Rhubarb bed and I am hoping to grow sweet peas over the arch.

I also mulched the strawberry beds. If you put this stuff on thickly it helps suppress the weeds, conditions the soil, helps retain moisture and provides some nutrients.

I covered the potato bed with clear plastic in order to warm it up in readiness for planting the potatoes this coming weekend.

I met my new plot neighbours this week - Juliet & Stephen. They have been hard at work clearing their plot, and managed this much in one day.

Today I have been working on the fruit cage, and have nearly finished it. I just need to fix the braces to make it sturdier, and get a few more lengths of wood to complete the top rails. All that will then be required is the netting, which I will order via the internet.

I also thickly mulched all the fruit bushes & trees.

The view down the plot

Seedlings galore!

2011-03-23T22:04:00.002Z

Nearly all the seedlings that I sowed recently have come up...

The broad beans (Aquadulce Claudia) have all germinated and are ready to go out.

These are the beetroot seedlings that I sowed as Monty Don suggested, in clusters in modules.

Cosmos seedlings.

Tomato seedlings

And finally - poundland shallots - going great guns - so far well worth the pound that I paid for them.

I am hardening off the shallots & broad beans at the moment so that they will be OK when I plant them out.

That's shallot!

2011-03-20T18:30:00.004Z

It was a dull day today, but not too cold. Managed to get to the plot in the afternoon, ventured into the greenhouse and noticed that loads more of the poundland shallots have sprouted - hoorah!

I filled up 2 of the grey crates with compost and planted out the lettuce (little Gem). The tubs are very deep & so next time will put some council compost into them first, then top them off with ordinary compost.

A art from pottering in the greenhouse, I got on with more digging on bed 3. The couch grass is very thick & it is hard work getting it all out - I think it is worse than the bind weed!

Rather than completely dig the beds in turn, I think I am going to get a bit of each of the ones I still have left to prepare so that I can get the seedlings out. My broad bean seedlings need to be put out ASAP, and as yet I have no where to put them.

Digging

2011-03-19T18:40:00.000Z

Started digging bed 3 - Very hard work & my back aches!

I hate couch grass even more than bind weed!

A little poem to cheer things up!

Spring is sprung

The grass is riz

I wonder where the birdies is?

Some people say the bird is on the wing

But that's absurd -

The wing is on the bird!

Don't know who this was written by.

Taking it easy

2011-03-14T18:03:00.001Z

was off work today and it was a beautifully sunny day and at the plot it was nice & quiet, it seemed so peaceful after the business of yesterday. There was only me & one other person there - bliss! I was still recovering from rotorvating the plot so decided to take it easy today & give the greenhouse a spring clean. Took all the staging out and painted it with wood stain to try to preserve it a bit. Whilst the paint was drying I cleaned the glass inside & out and did any small repairs that were needed. I put up all the spare green house shelves that I had and then replaced the staging. I had a bit of a reshuffle in order to be able to make the most of the direction of the sun, and also to make space to use some big crates that I inherited.

The greenhouse looking much better

I bought some shallots from poundland and potted them up ages ago and thought that they would never grow, but they have decided to prove me wrong as the first one is now sprouting.

The view down the plot - looking much tidier. I also started constructing what will be the fruit cage & put in the four corner posts using wood that I salvaged from some old fence panels. I will need to buy some timber for the rest of the posts as I have now run out of suitable timber.

Another view down the plot

And the view from the other side.

Around the site

2011-03-13T21:49:00.001Z

The site was positively buzzing today, with lots of people around - still no sight of my new plot neighbours though.

Once I had finished for the day I took Buddy for his evening constitutional walk around the site

This is Mary's Plot

After I had finished rotorvating my plot I let Dominic & Andy use the rotorvator for their plot & this is the end result

This is Chris' plot looking immaculate as usual.

As I was walking round the site I spotted this air balloon.

Once I got home, I sowed a load of tomato seeds (costuluto fiorentino, roma, gardener's delight, garden pearl, sungella & money maker), aubergine seeds (black beauty)and pepper seeds (romano, californian wonder & rokita).

Greenhouse

2011-03-13T00:18:00.000Z

I have had such a busy few days at the plot but am feeling very proud of what I have achieved.

It was pretty overcast this morning and threatening to rain, but I went to the plot anyway and typically, not long after I arrived it started to rain - and it was not the drizzle that had been forecast - it threw it down. Managed to sow some perpetual spinach in between the broad beans in small bed 3, cover them with cloches before the rain & once it had started I decided to retreat to the greenhouse where I could remain dry.

I sowed shallots (red sun) and onions (stutgarter giant) into modules. I also sowed beetroot (boltardy) into modules in clusters as per Monty Don on Gardener's World....If it is good enough for him then it's good enough for me!

I then sowed some Kale (nero di toscana), Broccoli (early purple sprouting), cabbage, and some flowers - stock, cosmos & more sweet peas. The greenhouse is starting to look like a veritable seedling factory!

The rest of my seedlings are doing well. All of them are making steady progress.

Once I had finished all the sowing, the sun had come out again and I got on & planted all the strawberry plants (Elsanta) that I bought from B&Q. I did not quite have enough plants to fill the bed, butI will fill in the gaps using runners over the next year.

Fruit planting

2011-03-12T10:01:00.001Z

It was such a lovely day when I ventured up to the plot today - warm & sunny - enough to make me feel positively chirpy, even though I was still extremely achy from the previous day's exertions!

I installed the edging boards round the other half of the long rhubarb bed and transplanted the rhubarb so it is nicely spread out - The entrance to the plot is looking better bit by bit.

I also planted the fruit bushes into the area I rotorvated & levelled yesterday - I still need to get another Red Gooseberry and some blueberry bushes, but I am nearly there.

Further down I planted the apple (Cox's orange pippin) & plum (victoria) trees. I will be adding to these over the next year as the season for bare root trees is nearly over. They are planted quite closely together, but this is because fruit trees do not grow particularly well on our soil (clay top soil 1-2 spades depth above clay/chalk subsoil) so you end up with smaller trees even with fairly vigorous root stocks. I will prune them to keep them within a sensible size.

Rotorvation

2011-03-11T23:32:00.002Z

After the aborted attempt to share a rotorvator with Dominic, My husband came up trumps - his landscape gardening friend let me use his for the bargain price of 30 pounds - Result!

Anyway today was the the day for rotorvating the bottom of the plot & once I had been shown how to use the machine, they left me to it.... I eventually made it home completely exhausted & aching so much I could not even sleep. The machine was a very heavy beast with absolutely no sense of direction & it would only go round a right hand corner. I also ended up with numerous bruises all up & down my legs. The soil was not broken down enough to sow into but was ok to level out.

This was the beast, and I can honestly say that I felt just like Barbara from the good life as I motored it back home at the end of the day.

This is the bottom of the plot once I had rotorvated it and evened it out. It has gone from huge great craters to slight undulations!

I can now get on with putting out the fruit bushes and the apple tree that I have got ready & waiting.

Rhubarb 'n' Raspberries

2011-03-09T19:56:00.000Z

Once I had had enough of studying I went to the plot and dug the ground where the other half of the rhubarb bed is going to be. It was not too bad to dig, although full of bindweed. All I need to do is to get two more gravel boards from B&Q and put the edging round, even up the soil, add some manure and relocate some of the rhubarb plants, as they are too close together at the moment.

The only thing is that currently the bed looks like a recently dug grave......Now where did I put my Husband?

Whilst I was there I went scouting for raspberry canes on the overgrown plot next to mine, found about 5 canes which I think are autumn ones as they appear to be sprouting from the bottom, and 8 which I think are summer canes as they seemed to be sprouting from the along the cane. I might be totally wrong of course, but will be able to see once they actually produce something. Transplanting them might not work, but I thought it was worth a go as it will save me some money. These, if they grow on OK, along with the ones Rachel gave me will give me enough cases to get going with, I can then add some more if needs be.

I heeled these into the strawberry bed temporarily until I can put them into their correct place.

By the time I had finished all that it was almost dark, so called it a day & went home & made a crumble with some of the Rhubarb a fellow plot holder gave me.

It was delicious!

Door swap

2011-03-06T22:03:00.001Z

Well I made it back from the X Factor live & I must say that I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it & of course Matt Cardle was great! (I also have a photo of him to put up in my shed!)

I was slightly jaded today though after driving to London & back, then I had to be up early for music practice so managed to make it to the plot at about 2pm this afternoon. The bushes in the greenhouse are all putting on plenty of green growth, even the one I strimmed is trying it's hardest to reach for the skies!

Of course by the time I made it to the plot, the sun that had shown it's self in the morning had conveniently hidden & it was very cold - typical!

Decided to carry out the mammoth task of swapping the ends of the greenhouse round - This involves taking the whole of both ends out at the same time and then rebuilding them. There is always a bit of a dodgy moment when there are no ends at all & the greenhouse feels very rickety, but I managed to get it done & with only one broken pane of glass.

So now the door to the shed & the greenhouse will be able to lead off the same path, which means that I can make a proper 'entrance' to the plot & hopefully when there is an arch to walk under & flowers in the front bed it will look lovely!

It went from this end...

To this end!

Dig in

2011-03-05T15:40:00.000Z

Had to make sure that I got to the plot in reasonable time this morning as I am off to Wembley with my daughter to see the X Factor Live (She likes one direction but I think Matt Cardle is great - if only I was a few years younger!) Any way, decided to try to get the digging finished on bed 2, which was easier going as I got towards the end of the bed.

I actually managed to finish it before I needed to leave which was a relief - Now I need to tackle the grassy ones which will be MUCH harder going, as I will need to take out all the couch grass....and there is loads of it!

As I was digging away Rachel came over brandishing what looked to unaccustomed eye, a load of twigs, but it turns out she was actually clutching some raspberry canes that she had thinned out from her plot & did I want them? Oooooh yes please! So I followed her advice & heeled them into one of the soon to be strawberry beds for the time being, until I can plant them into their proper place in the fruit beds once I have rotorvated & prepared the ground.......Mmmm that's another story!

Dominic & Andy were at their plot but were having bad luck with the rotorvator, as the first one they picked up wouldn't start and the second on was working OK on cultivated land but was just bouncing around & not digging in on the uncultivated areas, so They gave up and took it back & got a refund. Now we are on plan B - the options are to try to get a very hefty rotorvator from somewhere or dig the whole area.....What to do?

I really want to get the poly tunnel up and also at least have the ground prepared to plant the fruit bushes and trees, so that I can then plant out the bushes I already have and plant trees as & when I manage to get them. I wouldn't bother rotorvating but the ground is so uneven with great big dips and craters in it, if I want to have a grassy orchard area it really needs to be flat. It would lake me ages to dig, so still think It will be best to rotorvate, particularly as I need to focus the digging on the veg beds.

Oh well - onwards & upwards...

Ready for rotorvator

2011-03-04T21:31:00.001Z

Did not do that much at the plot today apart from taking the veg waste to the compost bin and then cleared all the carpet off the bottom of the plot, as I wanted to dry out the soil a bit and it was quite damp where the carpet had been. I will probably not put carpet down once I have rotorvated, instead what I have decided to do is to mulch round the bushes and trees and let the grass grow in between, then I will mow it & with any luck make a grassed area where I can also put bulbs in. I also tidied up all the polytunnel hoops and put them out of the way, so now everything is ready to rotorvate next week.

Rhubarb rhubarb...

2011-02-27T21:42:00.002Z

I could not go to the plot this morning as I was out, but decided to go at lunchtime thinking that I might be able to catch a little of the sunny weather - well of course it started sitting as soon as I left the house! Carried on anyway. The site was pretty much deserted, but when I took Buddy for a walk round the site I bumped into Dominic & Andy, started chatting about their new plot, which they are making great progress with. and was offered two Rhubarb plants that they did not want - they have loads at the other end of their plot. This was a result and I hot footed it back to mine to collect the wheelbarrow & a spade and here it is....

I was then left with dilemma of where to put it......Of course that required a complete rearrangement of the area in front of the shed, so now the plan is to move the muck area to the bottom of the plot where the compost area is and make a long bed for the rhubarb. The bed that you can see will eventually be the same length again and there will be an arch way between the two front beds, making a nice entrance to the plot. Of course, this will also need me to change the entrance to the greenhouse, which will consist of me taking both ends out and switching them round, so that the shed and the greenhouse are accessible from the same path.

Once I had split the rhubarb I ended up with 10 plants, so there will be 9 in the long bed and the other one I have planted into the other rhubarb bed to replace the one that was dug up.

When I got home I decided to have a go at making spiced apple wine. First assemble all ingredients.....

Then plonk into a sterilised bucket with pectolase, leave for 24 hours, add yeast & nutrient, cover & leave in airing cupboard, stirring daily for 5 days....

This smells gorgeous! Mmmmmm

I also strained the elderflower wine into a demi-john, which is now fizzing away nicely.

a little while later......

2011-02-24T21:19:00.001Z

Sun was shining so off to the plot I went. Started digging over the second long bed. This had been covered in plastic so it was dry enough to dig. The soil was pretty compacted though and I managed about 1/4 before my back had had enough.

Dug up last gooseberry bush (I thought) but found the stumps of one that I had inadvertently strimmed. On closer inspection I saw that it had started to sprout again so dug that one up also. Potted up both of them & they are now in the greenhouse. I now have 6 gooseberry bushes, 1 redcurrant & 1 blackcurrant. I also sowed some carrot (Paris Market) into a tray for hopefully early carrots.

Once I had finished that I pricked out the lettuce (little gem) into modules, and sowed some more into a tray.

The first batch of broad beans I sowed into loo rolls are starting to germinate.

All the seedlings in my greenhouse looking perky!

Coffee break..... it's a dogs life!

I have not had flowers on the plot before, but I have decided to put in a flower bed at the front, The edges are in & I have laid cardboard on the base. I will add topsoil & council compost when I have collected it.

View down the plot

I met some more new people at the site today, one of whom (Lois) lives just round the corner to me - I realised that I had only just picked up some 'freecycle' root trainers from her the day before.

Now where are my glasses?

2011-02-24T20:30:00.008Z

All is not lost on the wine front, re-took the specific gravity of my elderflower wine & Hazel (at the Hill) came to my rescue showing me the error of my ways - It was my inability to read the hydrometer correctly that had caused the problem - it was not a faulty hydrometer after all......

The SG of the wine is 1.126 and it is fizzing away nicely!

Might just tell a white lie to the shopkeeper rather than expose my complete incompetence when I take back the replacement hydrometer that I bought this morning!

On a good note - I found some bungs on the internet that are for the plastic type of demi-john, so took a gamble and ordered 4 at 48p each & the postage was 1.90. I also got 4 one gallon bottles of water from ASDA at 95p each. The bungs arrived this morning & they fit perfectly, so this means that I have got 4 plastic demi-johns for 1.90 each. The cheapest I found them for on the interweb is 3.55 including p&p so I think this is a bargain!

I have also worked out that if I bought 10 bungs (7.30 inc p&p) plus 10 one gallon water bottles (9.50) then each demi-john would be 1.68 - even better still! because the p&p does not rise drastically for lots more bungs. The cheapest you could get 10 for on the internet is 2.57 each.

Specific Gravity & yeast

2011-02-24T10:57:00.003Z

When I measured the specific gravity of my fledgling wine last night it was 1.021, I took it this morning again and it seems even lower (which is what I would expect) but the reading is nowhere near what it should be - Is that because I have not put in enough sugar or have I done something wrong?

These are photos of the hydrometer

and this is the yeast I used - perhaps it is the wrong sort, but it was the only one available in Wilkinsons, however, a trip to Cutlack's showed me that there was what looked like ordinary dried yeast also available - I am now thinking that I have got the wrong sort.

I might need another trip to Cutlacks to get the right sort of yeast.

Elderflower wine - first attempt

2011-02-23T23:07:00.003Z

It was raining loads today and was wondering what to do & then the post man arrived - through my letter box dropped a parcel - I only ordered the elderflowers yesterday & they arrived today - what fab service!

Well of course I had to get on with some elderflower wine!

This is what I did today:

Sterilised all the equipment I was going to use.

Weighed out the elderflowers (25grammes for 1 gallon of wine) & put them into the fermenting bucket.

Then to that I added a small can of grape concentrate.

Plus 3 pounds of sugar.

Added the zest of 2 lemons and boiling water up to the gallon mark on the bucket.

Gave it a good stir until all the sugar had dissolved.

Left it to cool (& made dinner - vegetable lasagne for daughter & beef lasagne for rest of us)

When the concoction was blood heat I then added lemon juice, a table spoon of strong tea, yeast nutrient, gave it a stir & then added the yeast, gave it another stir, took the specific gravity (1.021), popped the lid on & sat it by the radiator. I have no idea what the SG is meant to be and I averaged out the amount of sugar that the recipes used - they ranged from 2 1/4 to 3 1/2 pounds in the recipes that I have.

I have got 4 different recipes for elderflower wine, so have sort of guestimated & amalgamated them & therefore this wine is a bit trial and error!

It's my birthday!

2011-02-22T18:12:00.003Z

Well today I have reached the ripe old age of 21 again! and look at the fabulous bunch of flowers that my son gave me.....Thank you Francis!

Spent the morning looking at home brew recipes and then set off in search of equipment, Initially went to the local hardwear shop which had everything you could have wanted, but it was very expensive, so took a trip over to Ely, where the nearest Wilkinson's is, to see what they had.

Came away with some seeds (Runner bean- Bunyards Exhibition, Climbing french bean - Blue lake, Carrott - Paris Market, Beetroot - Boltardy, some more sweet peas & some stocks) & more greenhouse clips.....plus most of the equipment I needed to start making my own wine.

I had hoped to get a beginners kit, but they did not have any, so got all the component parts and then returned to Cutlack's to get the siphon hose, smaller bucket (Wilko's only had ginormous ones) and a hose clippy thing to make it easier when siphoning. Cutlack's will be great to replace things when I run out, but for the initial buying of the equipment it made sense to further afield. Unfortunately they had run out of dried elder flowers & will not have any in until next week. Also scouted round the charity shops to see if any of them had any demi johns......there were none to be had, so as I have not had any replies from freecycle, I might resort to large water bottles courtesy of Tesco's but I don't need them imediately.

Impatient as I am - I hot footed it home to order some dried elderflowers on line, and now I must wait until they arrive - might get on with sterilising equipment..........

Plotting again!

2011-02-21T17:10:00.002Z

I am on annual leave this week and because the weather has been so grotty & I have also been feeling grotty, today I have been forced into watching TV, reading books and browsing the internet - It's a hard life! - The trouble with this is that my mind goes into overdrive & I start planning all the other things that I would like to do - Then my husband starts groaning!

I fancy the idea of having some bees on the plot, thinking that my new orchard would be a great place for them to sit.......Might have to think again as it might be difficult to steer clear of the hives on just one plot. I think I will need to find out a bit more before any decisions are made.

I have been reading Hazel's Blog & she has been making all sorts of wine - This is something else I fancy having a go at. There does not seem to be a home brew shop in Cambridge - too full of designer clothes shops! But there is a great hardware shop nearby so I am off there tomorrow to see if they keep items for brewing your own. I am also going to see if I can get some home brew items from Freecycle.

Best laid plans....

2011-02-21T17:03:00.002Z

I heard from the Allotment Sec today - apparently the bottom half of the next door plot has already been offered to someone who particularly wants a plot at our end of the site so I can't have it for an orchard.........Oh well - back to plan A then....

Updated Blog

2011-02-20T15:49:00.002Z

Introducing the updated blog - I went through all the links and took out all the out of date blogs, those that had not been updated in ages have been replaced with links to those blogs I look at. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Greenhouse weather

2011-02-19T17:30:00.001Z

Nasty wet horrid day today & I am definitely feeling grotty, managed to prise myself out of bed, after spending most of the morning browsing the internet, looking at other people's blogs, some of which I have not seen before.

I had eventually had enough of vegetating & went of to the plot planning to build a new compost bin. First I transplanted the final tray of onions into modules and potted up the shallots I bought from poundland.

I am not sure I have potted up the shallots correctly, but some of them were looking a bit iffy, and out of 2 bags of shallots I only got 20 that were ok to plant.

I noticed that something is definitely munching my rhubarb, so I have put mesh round them to prevent them being nibbled. There were 4 plants but one got dug up by an animal. The two neares are the best plants, but I thought I would protect the other one to see if it recovers.

I am planning to put a poly tunnel and fruit at the bottom of my plot, but then my imagination went wild and wandered what I could do with an extra half plot. I am not sure if the half plot next to mine has been taken, but I e-mailed the secretary and am waiting for a reply.

My plan would be to put fruit trees on this plot and keep the poly tunnel and fruit bushes on the bottom of my plot. Fruit is always so expensive to buy, so it makes sense to grow more of it.

The plot is covered in brambles and has not been touched in ages, so will need some clearing, but at least under the brambles there will not be much else.

After using up all that energy sowing & planning, I did not get round to building the compost bin....oh well there will be another day!

Roots - the remake

2011-02-18T17:00:00.000Z

I think I am coming down with a cold as I feel absolutely awful, but I made my self go to the plot today as I think this will be the last fine day we have for a while, as the forecast is for rain for the next few days. I managed to finish the second bed for strawberries, taking out a load more couch grass roots. There were 8 buckets like the one below full of roots from this bed, compared to 3 from the other strawberry bed & it was much harder work!

I put the last of the manure onto the beds, and now they are ready to be planted up.

I now have 5 of my long beds left to dig.

I also had a bit of a rearrange of my shed, which is now better organised and it is easier to get at things, it also means that there is more space to sit and have a cuppa!

And from the other angle - you can see my refreshment preparation area - Vitally important!

Dig that!

2011-02-16T17:00:00.002Z

Today, although much colder than last week, after a murky start, turned into a lovely sunny day. So I donned the wellies & headed off to the plot, laden with my camping stove that I had unearthed from the camper, replenished stocks of tea, coffee & biscuits and my freshly scrubbed out kettle.

I used to have the stove at the plot, but took it home to use when camping, and have since taken a flask with me, but last week I heard my plot neighbour's kettle whistling, which reignited my pleasure for making coffee & tea in my shed. The great advantage of this is you can always make cups of tea for allotment friends & neighbours, which is a great way of getting to know people & improving the community atmosphere, which our site could do with.

So tea making facilities installed, I got on with the main task of the day, which was to dig the next bed. Again this bed had been covered for over a year and all the grass had died off. The only thing with this one is that I don't think I weed killed before I covered it with cardboard then compost & black plastic & the couch grass roots were rampant, although fairly near the surface, whereas the previous bed had far fewer roots left. This is as far as I got, as I was trying to be careful about taking as many of the roots out as I could.

I was going to use this bed as a salad bed & nursery bed, but I am now thinking of putting more strawberries in here instead & intercropping the other main beds with salads etc. I start most thing off in pots & modules, so the need for a nursery bed is minimal. Once I have finished digging it I will put some more compost & manure in & plant up with strawberries.

My garlic plants seem to be doing well. They have grown loads since I planted them out, They have had a fleece shelter but I have now opened the ends up to harden them off more.
The Rubarb I bought from the garden centre, which was already potted up appears to have taken and is now putting out shoots.
As you can see, the sweet peas have now started to send out shoots from lower down the stems, which was the reason for pinching out the growing tips - I like it when a plan actually works!

The lettuce seedings I have had in the greenhouse are coming along and I will transplant them soon into a bigger tray - to carry on growing as indoor plants.

The broad beans I sowed in december are finally showing their faces - there are a few gaps, but I have some I sowed indoors that hopefully I will be able to slot in once they have germinated.

This is the other rhubarb plant that I bought. These plants were already potted up when I bought them, however I also bought 2 that were roots in bags & neither of these have done very well at all. In fact both went squishy, then they seemed to recover & I planted them out, and now they look very sorry for themselves. One has been dug up by something - probably the fox, and the rhubarb plants both looked chewed, strange that they went for the plants that came in bags rather than the ones that came in pots, which have not been disturbed at all.

A nice day at last!

2011-02-11T15:06:00.003Z

After the lovely day we had on Tuesday, I was so disappointed when I saw that it was miserable on Wednesday. By lunchtime though the sun had managed to break through so off I toddled to the plot, with dog & waste veg in hand. I had only intended to take the dog for a walk & put the veg waste into the compost, however once I got there it was so nice I decided to stay. I added the veg wast to the compost heap, checked the beans & garlic - both growing nicely. The leeks & onions look slightly better & the sweet peas seem to be sprouting from lower down the stems.

I then started digging what will be the strawberry bed. It was fairly dry as it had been covered up and I only managed to dig out 3 buckets of bind weed & cough grass roots, and most of these were fairly near the surface. All I need to do with this bed is put in some manure & compost, then I will plant through some sort of mulch - Just need to buy the strawberries.

Plotting on

2011-02-11T14:40:00.007Z

These are the leeks and onions I sowed and germinated on the windowsill at home. They need potting up so that is what I got on with today.

In the picture above they look quite perky, however once I had transplanted them they looked decidedly bedraggled - hopefully they will perk up a bit!

I planted up the rhubarb that I bought a few weeks ago. One of the plants was looking a bit dodgy in that it was a bit slimy on top, pulled off the slimy bits & found a decent bud so hopefully it will be ok.

Sweet peas - all a bit leggy but I have pinched out the tops and apparently if you do that then they bush out a bit more.

These are the fruit bushes I bought from homebase - 3 for 10 pounds

one red gooseberry, 1 redcurrant and one blackcurrant. I potted them up because I will not be able to plant them out for a while as I need to get the ground rotorvated first.

Strimming

2011-02-09T12:44:00.009Z

Moved the wood pile from in front of the greenhouse, burnt the rubbishy wood and have put the rest down at the bottom of the plot, then strimmed around it so it all looks nice & neat.

I have been strimming the long grass and look at the difference it has made!

This picture shows the bottom of the plot after I had removed the majority of the brambles & roots, but.......

This picture shows the bottom of the plot after I removed the old bushes and transplanted the ones that I wanted to save and then strimmed all the long grass. It looks so much tidier and much bigger than I thought... The only thing is that I can now see very clearly that the ground is so uneven that only a rotorvator will do the trick.

Next jobs are to transplant the last gooseberry bush, dig out the few remaining bramble roots and then rotorvate.

As my plans are to put fruit in this area I am toying with the idea of buying some more bushes and trees and potting them up until I can plant them out.

Any ideas?

January round up part 2 - Major post (internet & computer problems)

2011-01-24T23:19:00.013Z

This is the Gnome that Buddy my dog found on the plot ages ago - He normally lives in my shed but I thought he might like a little winter sunshine, although Buddy was eyeing him up -I think with the view of making off with him!

All this area had loads of bramble roots in it - I have managed to hack them out with my azada with relative ease - much much better than trying to get them out with a spade. I was dreading starting on the roots, thinking that it would take me ages, but it was amazing how much I achieved in a relative short space of time.

This is a view down the plot - It is looking decidedly better that it was in December.....still quite a long way to go though to get it into a state where I can grow veg in the beds!

A view of the bottom of the plot - I have removed all the bramble roots from the area covered with carpet, and have about the same area again to clear. Once this is done I need to see which fruit bushes are worth moving. I know that there are 2 black currant and 3 gooseberry bushes that are so old they are past their best and are completely in the wrong place so will get rid of them, but there are also some new bushes that I have planted since I had the plot, so I want to see if they can be saved.

As a final flourish before I took the dog for a walk round the site, I gave the shed a bit of a tidy up, brushed off my chair and sorted out all my bits & bobs, so I could check what I actually have stashed in there.

This is the last area I have left to clear of bramble roots, the two piles are the roots I have dug up so far. I also need to cut back the hedge by the fence as it is now about 5 foot deep & taking up too much room. If I cut it back hopefully it will thicken up a bit.

January round up part 1 - Major post (internet & computer problems)

2011-01-23T22:09:00.018Z

Finally received the garlic that I ordered from DT Brown - I think it got stuck in a snowdrift - My husband could not believe that I had sent over 7 pounds on it - he said I could have got from Sainsbury's - Doh...

All the garlic that I have now sown into pots and modules. My plan is that as I did not get them planted out before Christmas, they will get a bit of a head start in the greenhouse, then I can plant them out later.

I have covered up the bed that the garlic is going into - to make it a bit warmer as I am starting the garlic off in the greenhouse and I am assuming that this will help the process of moving it from the slightly warm greenhouse to the decidedly cold open bed.

This is a view of my plot from the right - a view that was previously obscured by the shed & brambles that have now been removed from the neighbouring plot

This is the plot to the right of mine. It was over grown and there was a rickety shed made out of doors just by my manure enclosure which as been taken down. It is amazing how bright & light my plot feels.

I rough dug this bed - it was quite hard going and too wet to get any of the weeds out.

Once I rough dug the bed I covered it in black plastic, hopefully so that it dries out enough to dig again & get out as much of the bindweed & couch grass as I can. I will also put some manure & compost in here as it is where my sweetcorn, courgettes & pumpkins will go.

This is the Bed beyond the one I dug, which I have covered with 2 layers of cardboard ready for a layer of well rotted manure & then a layer of topsoil. I am planning to put potatoes into this bed, planting through weed membrane. As you can see it was almost dark when I finished - time to go home!

Bed time reading

2011-01-06T14:28:00.004Z

I have been re-reading a book called Digger's Diary, which is the account of a man's allotment over the period of a year. It is a pleasure to read as it portrays the richness of life on allotment sites, but also it has loads of tips for gardening, which is why I am re-reading it so that I can write down all the tips into my notebook and then will hopefully be able to find them again a little easier than trawling through a reading book. What's great is that the author is not a 'perfect' plot holder but very normal - makes me feel that there is hope for me yet!

Happy Christmas everyone!

2010-12-28T12:43:00.002Z

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and it was all that you had hoped for.

Well I haven't made it to the plot since 12th December. Had planned to sow garlic into the bed I had prepared but unfortunately the snow arrived before the garlic did. The weather forecast is not good either, so I will probably sow into pots and put them in my greenhouse which is unheated, then plant out later.

I have been browsing the Internet and came across The Dobbie's Pumpkin Patch and mrs dobbie keeps a balance sheet of money spent and money saved by not buying veg & fruit from the supermarket, and I have decided to do the same. I am just keeping a running total in my allotment notebook. I think this will be an interesting exercise to carry out so watch this space.....

Have also been reading Joe's allotment by Jo Swift where he extolls the virtues of an 'azada', a tool which looks like a very heavy duty hoe, but can be used for all sorts of things and apparently makes lighter work of digging, particularly for getting out roots etc and for breaking up compacted soil, whilst giving less strain on your back than traditional digging does. I had heard of them before but did not know how to get one. So again searched on google and came across Get Digging (website: www.get-digging.co.uk) who supply azadas in all different sizes. There is loads of information on the website and lots of testimonials, so I have taken the plunge and ordered a medium one at a cost of £27.00 including delivery. Probably approximately the same cost as a decent spade but if it delivers all that it promises then it will be far better value than a spade.

I will report back once it has arrived and managed to have a go.....

Oh garlic...wherefore art thou?

2010-12-15T10:36:00.004Z

Hmmmph.....The Solent Wight garlic that I ordered over a week ago has not arrived yet & I wanted to get it into the ground before the next round of snowy weather hits us.

Will have to think of a plan B.......probably cover bed up with plastic or fleece so if it does snow as threatened I can at least just remove the cover when I do come to plant it, leaving a snow free bed.

Bonfires & paths

2010-12-12T18:35:00.009Z

Today I went to the plot & achieved loads - managed to burn all the brambles that I had cut - rather more successfully than my last attempt at having a bonfire.

Brambles burning....brambles burning....

My son came with me to the allotment and he was an absolute star & ferried barrow loads of wood chippings from the pile that had been delivered by the council at the far end of the site to my plot. I had used some of the carpet I got from freecycle as weed control & then put the chippings on top to make paths between the beds.

We managed to cover all the paths from the bed that has been dug nearly to the end. I just need a few more barrow loads to complete the paths. Then I will put woodchips around the front of the shed.

As you can see it looks so much better!

This is from where the bonfire was looking up the plot towards the shed.

I decided that I also wanted to plant something and as the Garlic I ordered has not arrived yet, I sowed some broad bead seeds. I used Aquadulce Claudia as they are ok to be sown in the autumn - They are meant to be sown in November but I thought I would give it a go. I Have covered them with some fleece to keep them slightly protected so that they can get going.

I will plant garlic (Solent Wight) in the other half of the bed.

Muck & more clearing...

2010-12-12T18:15:00.009Z

Went to the plot last weekend to carry on with trying to clear the brambles at the bottom of the plot. It was a lovely sunny day and Buddy enjoyed himself also.

Buddy chewing up some wood that he had ''collected"

You can't see it very well, but this is the heap of brambles that I have cut down so far.

I also collected a trailer load of horse manure.

After a bit of rearranging I stacked the manure in its enclosure - I only filled it about 1/4 full so will need to go back & get some more.

This little robin kept popping up when I was clearing the brambles hoping to clear up all the bugs I was unearthing.

The next plans on the plot are to sort out the middle bed that still has slates around it - replacing the slates with wood. Then start digging out all the bramble roots.

Something to inspire plotting

2010-11-25T14:29:00.004Z

It was my son's birthday this week and whilst ordering his present from amazon, I decided to slip a little something for myself into the order......

It is my hope that by reading the book it will further inspire me to do marvellous things with my plot this year - I enjoy reading books about allotments particularly those that have lots of lovely pictures in them. I find them a great source of information and find that reading them gets my plotting juices going.

Freebies

2010-11-24T16:48:00.003Z

I love freecycle!

www.uk.freecycle.org

Last weekend I managed to get rid of an unused bed, old 3 piece suite & a defunct piano....I have also been offered lots of old carpet to use for covering the bottom of the allotment and a never ending supply of well rotted horse manure.

The plan is to strim the weedy beds, put round-up on them and then cover with cardboard then council compost & manure and then top them off with weed suppressing membrane. Hopefully the worms will do some of the work for me over the winter.

Blitzing phase 1

2010-11-24T16:40:00.000Z

Ventured up to the plot today to have a play with my new toy and start tidying up the plot. I have to say I now think that the task is a bit of a mammoth one.

The brambles are a nightmare......so if anyone has any bright ideas as to how to get rid if them they would gratefully received!

The 'before' photo

The after photos

I need to get some more glass cut for the greenhouse. I do have some spare glass but the sides of the greenhouse are shaped, so if any get broken I need to get new ones cut specially.

It's not that easy to see on the photos but I have strimmed around all the beds so at least I can see them all now & know where to walk!

Buddy posing

My greenhouse & shed with my neighbour's strawberries in the foreground.

I also gave the greenhouse a bit of a clear up.

This is the plot immediately to the left of mine - It was mine but I gave it up as I was struggling with one let alone two plots.

The plot opposite mine - practically completely covered in black plastic...Definitely the way to kill the weeds & clear a plot.

This plot is next door but one to mine, to the right. It's good to see that someone has taken it on.

This chap took on his plot last year - there are photos of it early on this year on the blog.

I chatted with him today about manure, clay soil, free council compost & he said that he had got loads of produce from it this year.

This beautifully dug plot is further round the site.

Someone has taken this lot on this year and it looks to have been very productive.

I like this dinky fruit garden!

There are blackberries growing on this structure - I like it because it is not only functional, it also looks great.

This is their whole lot - another one favouring raised beds.

Raised beds are becoming more & more common over the site - I do say I find it much less daunting contemplating digging one bed rather than a vast expanse of ground, plus it doesn't mean that I am compacting the earth by walking on it.

Someone has just taken this plot on & he has a big pile of rubbish to take to the dump.

Changes

2010-11-24T09:17:00.003Z

When I went to the lot I had a walk round so that Buddy could partake of his favourite past time - sniffing - and it seems that a few more plots have been taken up by new tenants, which is good news, but there are still a few more that have been left to go to pot. Our site must be one of the only ones in Cambridge that cannot seem to let all it's plots.

So if you know anyone in the Cambridge area who would like a plot or a half plot there are some available.

The site is nice - not too big and everyone is friendly & helpful.

It would be great to have all the plots being worked particularly as the council are putting pressure on all the allotment associations to ensure that their sites are being utilised properly.

Am thinking of offering my services for PR etc... What do you think?

Any way am now off to the lot to play with my new brushcutter (before it snows)....will also take some photos of the site so you can see the changes.

Plotting

2010-11-23T18:39:00.003Z

Haven't been to the plot in ages - mostly due to work, doctorate and just mad busy life, but that doesn't mean it has been forgotten - I have been making cunning plans.....

To put in some fruit trees and build a fruit cage on the bottom half - particularly as all my family love fruit and it is always more expensive to buy....like this one, probably not quite so big though.

Ventured there this week and although there are loads of brambles again the beds are still nice & snug under the plastic and look pretty clear of weeds. I have purchased a brush cutter so that I can get the plot looking tidy then I am going to;

Clear the brambles & dig up the roots.

Rotorvate the bottom half of the plot to break up the soil & make it flatter.

Cover the whole area in black plastic & carpet to stop too many weeds growing.

ready for planting of trees and fruit bushes.

Sprouts

2010-01-22T11:08:00.003Z

As it was so wet & miserable just did a quick visit to the plot today to take the household waste to the compost bin, had a look at how my seeds etc were getting along and found that some of the garlic has started to sprout - Hooray!

I was reading a blog the other day, and it's author has decided to stop blogging because he could think of nothing new to say about vegetables. I think this is very sad - I love looking at other peoples blogs, particularly the ones with lots of photos - even if they say similar things each year. They are a great source of inspiration.

I don't think I could ever tire of the amazement that seeing things grow from such tiny seeds gives me.

So for now I shall keep on blogging and if I repeat myself...so be it!

More round the site...

2010-01-20T16:29:00.007Z

A few more photos of plots around the site...

As you can see my plot neighbour is making great inroads into getting the base ready for his new shed.

These are Ron & his son's plots.
Planting in raised beds is becoming more common - I was the first on the site to use raised beds but more & more people are now doing the same.

This plot has only just been taken on & they are slowly getting it cleared.

This plot is always immaculate - even in the middle of winter.

This is the first plot that you come to upon entering the site from Ancaster Way. They have used every possible container in which to grow things - some of which I can't fathom what they were originally.

Well that's all for now;

I will take some more photos of the site when the weather warms up a little & hopefully more people are around.

1 done 9 to go!

2010-01-20T16:05:00.006Z

Spent a couple of hours at the 'gym' to day - managed to dig half of this bed over.

The other half has comfrey growing in it which I cut & use on the compost heap and for making the smelliest plant feed ever!

I put some compost in it and then whacked it down with the back of the spade, & will put the rhubarb in here once it has settled a bit.

Weeded round the comfrey with my 'garden claw' and put a mulch of compost round each plant.

Filled 3 of these with bind weed & bramble roots from only 1/2 a bed!
I bought a couple of rhubarb plants from B&Q - don't know if they will be any good but they do have buds on them and because I need to wait until the soil has settled before I plant them I have put them into pots to get them going.

Also put these shelves up by the window in the shed, which I will chit my potatoes on.

Around the Site

2010-01-18T22:12:00.010Z

Once I had finished removing the bramble roots I went for a walk around the site and took a few photos....

This plot belongs to a chap who has only just taken it on - The pile of wood on the left was a shed & when it was actually standing it leant over at a 45 degree angle.
This plot is always very neat and tidy - something to aspire to.... The dog also looks impressed!

I'm not entirely sure what other animals are on this plot but it definitely looks like a menagerie.

In what was a very over grown area covered in brambles this enclosure has been built....

on closer inspection you can see it is full of bee hives - the fox used to live here and I did wonder where it had gone to but saw it running acroos the site when I left at 3pm this afternoon.

This is a close up of one of the hives with bees to-ing and fro-ing. They are modern style hives - not the lovely sort that you always think of.

Another sunny day.....

2010-01-18T21:26:00.012Z

This is the view from the back of my shed to the right of my plot

This was what the dog was up to (yes pinching bottles & sticks from other people's plots then chewing them up)

Whilst I was busy digging out bramble root from two of the beds - some of the roots were huge!

This is the view from half way down the plot up towards the main pathway. The two beds on the left are the ones I have cleared of all bramble roots. The one nearest the shed has comfrey in half of it and is relatively weed free, the other half has some grass growing which I need to dig out. The nearer bed also has some grass browing but I plan to grow potatoes using cardboard, manure & planting through black plastic.

I also sowed the remainder of my broad bean seeds into more loo roll inners.

A day of sunshine!

2010-01-17T19:31:00.011Z

I took advantage of the first dry sunny day we have had for ages and descended onto the plot;

This is the back of the shed, with water butt in situ, guttering re-arranged and all the canes etc hung up...nice & neat.

This is the usual view down the plot

I went to the plot with the aim of clearing all the top growth of the brambles that had taken over the bottom end.

This was similar to how it looked before hand;

This is how it looks now;

I have manage to clear all the brambles, all I need to do now is dig up the roots strim the grass, then I am going to transplant the 2 smallest gooseberry bushes into pots for the time being, dig up the oldest 2 gooseberry bushes and the blackcurrant bush because they have been there forever and are in the wrong place, they never crop very well and I think it would be good to get a couple of new ones for the new fruit beds.

Once I have done this I will rotorvate the whole area, put in the beds, plant the fruit bushes and then mulch around the bushes and cover and bare soil with weed proof membrane.

I know that rotorvating will encourage the couch grass & bind-weed to regrow but I do not have the time to dig the whole area over as I want to get the fruit bushes in this year & need to get them in whilst they are dormant.

I also plan to do the same with the trees - plant then mulch then cover the whole area with weed proof membrane. They will prefer this anyway as they will not have any competition from weed growth.

These are the two huge piles of brambles waiting to be burnt;

I did also manage to plant something... on the right garlic and on the left in loo roll inners, broad beans (Aquadulce Claudia)

It does feel nice to actually sow something at last!

Plot update

2010-01-10T19:28:00.005Z

Over the last couple of weeks I have managed to get to the plot a few times even in the freezing ice & snow....

So far I have started digging one of the small beds in readiness for rhubarb which I want to move into it. I have covered the other small beds with black plastic to prevent further weed growth.

I have now moved everything off the other plot so it is now available to be re-let, apart for a very large pile of cut brambles and rotten wood which I will burn as soon as it is dry enough.

I have cleaned the greenhouse and replaced all the weed membrane under the gravel.

The green house looking much tidier..

Yesterday I started clering the brambles from the bottom of the plot, just cutting the top growth at present, leacing the roots in the ground with enough stumps so I can see them when I come to dig them up. Luckily 1 bed had carpet covering it and the other had black plastic on it so hopefully once the brambles are cleared it should not be too difficult to prepare as I want to put soft fruit in them.

Reading Material

2010-01-10T19:09:00.005Z

Was browsing for books to spend the vouchers I received for Christmas on and found these....

Unfortunately I am a sucker for a book with lots of pictures and not alot of writing and these fitted the bill nicely. This is also my benckmark for a great blog! lots of lovely pictures of people's allotments and not too much talking!

The first book has lots of practical projects for building on the allotment such as raised beds, bean frames etc and the second is a guide on what you should be doing on a month by month basis - I really like this book.

Anyway...happy reading!

Wordle

2009-12-30T21:56:00.000Z

This is my wordle for 'Losing the Plot'

Robin

2009-12-28T20:01:00.004Z

This little fellow was checking out what the flurry of activity was.
I took this photo from about 1 metre away.

Shed shifting 2

2009-12-28T19:51:00.004Z

This is how I moved my shed;

I unscrewed the base from the walls, added handles to all 4 corners of the shed, took out all the windows and took off the door, and hey presto...

Shed with handles...

I replaced the door & windows, I just need to adjust the guttering, reattach the shed to the base, put the water butt in the right position and away we go!

Ihave to say Ireally thought this was going to be a mammoth task but it turned out be be fairly straight forward with all the help.

So a big THANKYOU to everyone who helped with the shed move.

Shed shifting

2009-12-28T19:20:00.006Z

My husband arrived home last night announcing that he had organised some extra muscle in order to move my shed, so today I met Roger at the allotments whilst OH went to collect 'Harris'. A little time later OH arrives with no 'Harris' Apparently he had had a little too much sauce last night rendering him incapable of getting up before 10.30am!

We were just about to give up and rearrange for another day when I spotted allotment man (Chris) and considering it was his bright idea to move the shed in the first place managed to get him to help us.

Now I know what you are thinking - why does it require 4 people to move a shed? my shed, although not large is very sturdily built, and is heavier than others of a similar size. So needed alot of muscle!

Any way once all muscle was organised the actual moving of the shed was quite easy - heavy - but straight forward.

And here it is in it's new position...
And a photo taken from the access track down the plot...

In the foreground is my pile ofwood (which I need to sort out), a compost bin made from palletts and a load of water pipe which I use as a framework for cloches.

Base area for shed

2009-12-27T21:57:00.005Z

I have managed to put the paving stones in place ready for the big shed move. I levelled them and made sure they were level with each other.

I have now also used planks of wood screwed into the sides of the shed to be used as handles.

All I now need is some strong men to help me move it....Any offers?

Oh my goodness!

2009-12-19T11:21:00.002Z

I have just had a look at my old posts and reaslised that it was January 2008 that I last put anything in here - I think that means that it was then that I last did anything on the plot - that is seriously scary!

I must never let that happen again! - I am feeling renewed enthusiasm, particularly as giving up one of the plots means that although there is some serious work to do in reclaiming the plot, the majority of it is already raised beds and I had the foresight to cover most of them with black plastic to reduce weed growth. So nothing that a few days armed with a strimmer & incinerator will not cure....

Now all I need is for the snow to clear...

Snow patrol

2009-12-19T10:58:00.003Z

I braved the wrath of allotment man and ventured to the plot with the dog, and this was the scened that greeted me - in fact not alot different to the previous picture of the plot apart from the snow!

The dog enjoyed playing and sniffing around in the snow whilst I managed the move of all the stuff from the shed.

Having looked at the shed I was still very unsure of how to move it given that I don't have an army of men available, and once I got home was browsing other people's allotment blogs and came across an ingenious way of moving the shed...

You unscrew it from the floor, screw some posts across the inside like bars to hold onto, the you go inside and lift it up like a sedan chair and walk it to where it needs to go.

Here's the link; Thankyou very much earthwoman - This has given me hope!

www.earthwoman.co.uk

Oh my poor plot...

2009-12-18T19:46:00.002Z

Went to the plot today

The last time I went was in February of this year - 10 months ago! Yes I have been seriously neglectful.... Managed to move all the stuff out of my shed into my greenhouse and also moved the palletts etc that I had erected as compost bins.

I only have some timber to move which was to be raised beds and the shed....

I erected the shed on site so am not sure how I will manage to move it without completely dismantling it, which is something I really do not want to do!

The allotment guy said that I should get a bunch of strong men together and I would get it moved very quickly - This sounds great in theory but in practice I need to move it by the new year and there appears to be very few people knocking around the allotments at the moment.....

I will need to ponder this one further....

Nearly lost the plot

2009-12-18T19:30:00.004Z

Oh hoe is me....

Had a call from the allotment committee guy who said that he wanted to know when I was going to move all my tools as they wanted to re-let the plots! ~Considering that I had heard nothing from them since the BBQ in the summer this came as a slight surprise....

Although I know that I am definitely guilty of neglecting my plots in the past year I have been so busy with new job and college work that I just have not had the time.

However the thought of losing the plots left me having to really think about what I wanted to do and what I realistically have time for.

I had actually decided togive up the plots until the night before last.....and I eneded up having a nightmare about losing my plots and never being able to find one again!

I woke up having completely changed my mind and contacted the allotment committee guy and managed to do a deal - I have managed to retain one of the plots - the one with the greenhouse and raised beds and have agreed to give up the one with the shed.....although he suggested that I move the shed (I'm not sure how to do this as I built it in situ).

I feel better about this as I think I will mange one plot - having two would have meant that I couldn't keep up with them both and would end up being at huge risk of losing them both, particularly as the allotment society is taking a tougher line regaring their use.

So now I need to get all the stuff out of the shed and move it into the greenhouse and then work out how to move the shed.

Pruning

2008-02-11T11:25:00.000Z

After visiting the plotI discovered that the hedge at the bottom of my plots was so overgrown that it had bent over on top of my fruit bushes. So armed with a saw, lopper and secateurs I attacked it. I have now got very scratched and sore arms but a neater looking hedge. I did not want to hack it back too much as it serves as a very prickly deterrent to the undesirables that break into the site on a regular basis.

I have also pruned the gooseberry bushes and black currant bushes and put a mulch around all their bases as well as a mulch round the bases of the apple trees. I am not too sure how to prune apple trees, so will need to read up. I have 2 bramleys seedlings so far and plan to add some more apples, plums and greengages. I would like a mini orchard with wild flowers growing around them which will give us somewhere nice to sit and contemplate.

...something like this

Through the undergrowth.....

2008-01-10T18:20:00.000Z

You can spot a dog --- this is just about the only thing you can spot though!

Where have all my raised beds gone?

Mmmm I think I might have a bit of work to do...... Now where shall I start?

What a scary sight - or site! This was the depressing view that awaited me upon my 'return' to my plot, waist high with weeds, all of which will have seeded themselves everywhere, just ready for the spring -Oh how I hate weeds!

I then took a walk around my little bit of britain and discovered that the beds I had actually managed to cover up last year with plastic sheeting and with cardboard topped with council compost had survived. Underneath the mulch there are hardly any weeds and those that are there are easy to pull out. This cheered me up and gave me the motivation to clean up the greenhouse.

I am going to tackle the strawberry beds next as they really need planting out - they have been stuck in the pots for a year, they do seem to have survived though - luckily strawberries seem to be fairly resiliant.

Oh the shame of it!!!

2007-12-28T10:00:00.000Z

I have a confession to make - I have not been near the plot for ages now

- I do have excuses though, I have been doing another course (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) which involves me having to write loads of essays, read loads of books so that I can pretend that I know what I am talking about etc etc....

I have decided to collect a load more free compost from the council and put it on all the beds then cover them in thick plastic, this should hopefully then make the soil easier to work and cut out the light to the weeds so they all die off, I only think I will manage to plant a few beds this spring. At least covering them up will keep them in good condition until I can do something with them.

I am going to visit the plot and will take some photos just to show how bad it has got!

Seeds at home..

2007-03-20T16:11:00.000Z

I finally got round to sowing some seeds at home including tomatoes - sungella, sungold, alicante and moneymaker.

Chillis, melons and cucumber - burpless

The problem I will have though is that they will need to go into a much lighter place than my windowsill and if the weather stays like this it will be too cold in my greenhouse for them - What to do, oh what to do....... any advice?

In the bleak early spring time...

2007-03-18T16:11:00.000Z

What a difference to last week! bitterly cold with intermittant hail, snow and rain - Why does all the horrible weather come at the weekend? -Despite mini blizzards I did manage to get to the plot for a while and finished digging the bean trenches - filled them with last years compost and topped off with soil. I then mulched the whole bed with newspaper and council compost. Erected the bean frame - somewhat sturdier than my previous attempts, which hopefully will not collapse under the weight of all those beans I am expecting - well I am being optimistic!

I have also planted my very pathetic looking globe atrichokes - they are pitiful specimens compared to my italian plot neigbours but I am hoping that they will compare themselves get jealous and grow like mad!

My outdoor planted broad beans are looking reasonably healthy.
And my rhubarb is finally coming along with lots of buds promising lots of lovely rhubarb crumble.
I am going to dig this lot up once the season has finished and split the root so that more plants can be made - I plan to fill the whole bed with rhubarb as not only can you make rhubarb crumble but rhubarb and fig jam is to die for, and of course the leaves are great for the compost bin.

Warmer weather at last!

2007-03-11T16:11:00.000Z

This weekend I made the most of the lovely weather (it actually feels like spring!) and managed to complete a bit of construction and did some planting of raspberry canes - So far I have put in early, mid and autumn - the late variety (octavia) came in pots so I repotted them into larger pots and they are in the greenhouse.

I made a sign and have stuck it on the shed - I wonder if anyone will google it from my allotment site?

I have finished painting the shed and have planted lavender either side of the fig tree .

These are the final leeks which I have dug up and made more leek and potato soup with - I pot it up and use it for my lunches at work and college. It tastes particularly lovely with crusty bread and butter! MMmmm...

Bramley's Seedling

2007-03-03T22:05:00.002Z

At last I've planted something!

Went to B&Q and bought 2 Bramley's Seedling apple trees, 6 lavender plants and some gutter bits. Then went to the plot and planted the trees at the bottom of the plot, planted the lavender either side of the fig tree against the shed and also planted the garlic plants which I had started off in the greenhouse. I now feel like a gardener rather than a construction worker!

I also finished off the guttering on the shed - it now runs into a waterbutt very nicely indeed. Now all I need is some rain - perhaps I should watch what I wish for!

I measured up the bed which will eventually have a fruit cage around it and have started putting up the support posts for the raspberries. I have also dug a trench for one of the lots of raspberries. I have 4 different varieties ready to plant - early, mid and late season and also autumn fruiting, so we should have a long raspberry season with luck.

At the bottom of my plots there are some very old gooseberry pants and some blackcurrant bushes aswell as some smaller gooseberry bushes which I propogated by laying branches - I am going to get rid of the very old ones, try to propogate the blackcurrant bushes and dig up and transplant the younger gooseberry bushes. I plan to plant some more trees in this space after.

I'm cream crackered!!

2007-02-25T19:59:00.000Z

Got up early this morning and went to the local industrial estate. I got 4 large pallets, 2 small pallets and 4 square wood things that look sort of like gates. I then had to lug them halfway across the allotment site as it was too wet to take the car in.

After lots of re-arrangement (I am a woman - it's got to look right!) I got compost bins, muck enclosure, leafmould bin and waterbutt all in their correct places.

I was also asked whether my shed was going to be a cafe or a bar - someone else asked whether it was going to be a ladies loo - little do they know - it already is!!!
Set out two beds for the strawberry plants and started digging one of them. I also potted up the strawberry plants - all 45 of them! I have got Honeoye, Florence and Cambridge Favorite (the last being an obvious choice)

I also planted the fig tree and potted up the Octavia raspberry canes. I have put the other three varieties into water ready for me to pot them up tomorrow as I have not got any idea where I am going to plant them yet!

I want to build a fruit cage on one side of the plot with the raspberries, gooseberries and currants. I would also like to plant some blueberries in there but will need to dig a hole and change the soil for ericacious compost.

At last my broad beans are starting to sprout

A view across my plot. you can see where I've planted the fig - just in front of the shed. I have had to enclose it with mesh otherwise my stick loving dog will pull it up. It does not matter whether the sticks are growing or not, he's not fussy.

Talking of stick loving dogs here he is - very tired after a long walk yesterday and an afternoon at the plot - Just before this photo was taken he was snoring very loudly!

Saturday update

2007-02-24T20:33:00.001Z

Today at the plot I put the glazing into the other window in the new shed, put the hooks up for the tools and put up most of the guttering. I just need to attach a down pipe and sort out the water butt. I plan to plant the fig tree tomorrow after I have painted that side of the shed. I was given another rhubarb plant today which should mean that I have enough for the bed. Looking forward to lots of lovely rhubarb crumble...

In the greenhouse the strawberries I was given from a friends garden are beginning to sprout. I am going to pot up the others as it is still much too wet to dig any beds. The broad beans that I planted into plugs are finally beginning to sprout and the garlic is going great guns - I want to plant this out soon.

Shed update

2007-02-24T20:14:00.001Z

I have very nearly finished the shed - Up at the allotments people keep in commending me on the shed and asking if my husband built it!

What cheek

NO it was ME all by MYSELF with NO HELP

A veritable home from home!

All that is left to do is trim the felt, finish the guttering and painting and seal the windows.

Look what's been lurking!

2007-02-24T19:53:00.000Z

Look What's been lurking in my greenhouse - It even sat still (just as I told it) whilst I took it's photo!

I think it likes B&Q orange buckets!

Purchases

2007-02-18T21:42:00.001Z

I was surfing around ebay last week and ordered 30 strawberry plants 24 raspberry canes and a fig tree - 'Brown Turkey'

I am going to train the fig up against the side of the shed as it is south facing - apparently you should restrict the roots otherwise it would grow very large with loads of foliage and not much fruit I am going to sink a very large flowerpot with the bottom cut out into the ground and plant into that.

Door's on

2007-02-18T21:42:00.000Z

Well I managed to get to the tip and got myself a door and also quite a few new engineering bricks which I have been looking for so that I can raise my big blue water tank up to create some gravity for watering from a hosepipe - all will become clear soon....

The shed now has a door fitted and a chubb lock. I ordered the glass for the small window yesterday (I have temporarily put a wire grill over it until I get the glass) and have fitted the glass into the large window which I had already.

Francis 'helped' me start painting the shed - I now have a blue son and a blue labrador - I think I might finish it off myself!

Before I left the plot for the day I planted an early rhubarb plant and also christened the shed by making a cup of tea on my camping stove. Ahh lovely!

Unfortunately I forgot the camera but will take it next time.

Burnside Allotments

2007-02-18T08:30:00.001Z

There has recently been a surge in interest at our allotment site and nearly all the plots have gone - Went there yesterday and where my plots are it was a hive of activity- even the plot I only recently gave up has gone - Despite being covered in brambles.

In Cambridge we are quite well served for allotments. MAP You can get an allotment by either contacting the council or just by going along to the site and asking.

There is a Cambridge Allotment Network but the website is very out of date so I do not know if the telephone numbers are correct or not.

Here are some pictures of the Burnside Allotments: These pictures were taken some time ago.

This is the trading shed, which is situated at the Burnside entrance.

A view across the site

This is Giovanni whos has a plot near to mine. He always stops for a chat and supplied me recently with some parsnips which went into lovely parsnip soup.

Taken from the Burnside entrance - It was a scruffy site and unfortunately it still is. Hopefully this might change with more people around.

Nearly there!

2007-02-17T20:00:00.000Z

My shed is nearly finished!

As you can see it was pitch black when I finally managed to get the roof finished today. But all the cladding is done and all there is left to do is to put in a door, put in the windows, fit a very sturdy lock, put up some guttering and run it into a water butt. Job Done!!!

I plan to go to the household tip tomorrow and hopefully get a door, and anything else that looks useful, then go to B&Q to get a lock, handles, some more timber so that I can secure the windows into the frames and some shed paint.

More shedscapades

2007-02-11T20:30:00.000Z

Shed building again this weekend - managed to get most of the recycled cladding on to the frame. Some bits were just too full of holes to be used but the amount I managed to use wasn't bad for some old fence panels.

It is starting to look more like a shed now! - By the way I only plan to make cups of tea and ponder in this shed!

Operation shed build

2007-02-03T18:30:00.000Z

At last I have started to get round to building my shed. Thin momentous occasion was sparked of by having my wheelbarrow nicked so I have been drawing up plans for a sturdy shed.

This weekend despite the very rainy weather I put down the slabs which will serve as a base and built the framework.

Not entirely helped by Buddy the dog came with me and spent most of his time getting very muddy and 'fetching' old bottles from other peoples plots. He is nearly as partial to bottles as he is to food!

These are the garlic that I put into pots recewntly and theyve sprouted really well - I am going to get them into the ground in the next couple of weeks.

I went to Wilkinsons and found some gooseberry plants for sale - I bought 2 'red' and 1 'white' for the princely sum of £4 for the lot - bargain. Potted them up and have kept them in the greenhouse to geve them a headstart. I will plant them out when I have prepared my soft fruit bed. Mmmm dont quite know when that will be though!

Done some planting!

2007-01-28T19:25:00.000Z

Look - a slightly tidier greenhouse!

In the pots are garlic and broad beans.

Managed to plant the garlic into pots and also planted some broad beans into one of the beds which I had previously covered to get it very slightly warmer. Once I had sown the beans I covered them with fleece which will hopefully get them going a bit easier.

I also dug a bean trench down the side of one of the beds and next week I will dig another down the other side. Into these will go the kitchen vegetable scraps providing lots of food for the runner beans.

When I started digging I was surprised how easy it was on the beds that I have dug previously. Growing everything in raised beds is definitely the way to go. I do need to improve the soil as it is 100% clay though and will be digging loads of compost in (well the worms will hopefully!)

Tidying up

2007-01-27T21:02:00.002Z

I read on the Cambridge city council website that the composted contents of the green wheelie bins is available free if you bring your own bags;

Today Chloe and I went there armed with a little trailer, for which I have made taller walls, two shovels and a load of large bags. When we got there the VERY nice man told me to go to the other end of the site where some other VERY nice men would load it for me!! The whole process took about 10 minutes and absolutely no effort and best of all, no money. - I am going again next week!

We took it to the plot and covered her bed with cardboard first then filled it up with the compost. then put some on some of the other beds.

I tidied the greenhouse and picked up some rubbish to take to the tip.

This was 'before'!!

A View across the plots - Still so much to do........

Buddy - Who doesn't help much on the plot! apart from madly running around, frightening rabbits and saying hello to everyone who walks within a 50 metre radius of our plot!

These are the chillies that I managed to salvage from my very dead chilli plants in the greenhouse before they went into the compost bin. I am quite pleased with them and will be growing them again.

I bought some seeds; (Tomato - moneymaker, sungella, alicante; Pepper - sweet spanish mixed; cabbage - hispi; broad beans - Aquadulce claudia & perpetual spinach), garlic and some seed potatoes (kestrel, pentland javelin & king edwards) this week. I always manage to buy more than I will ever hope to use. I still have loads of seeds left from last year but I have decided to grow fewer varieties and stick to the things we love.

I am ashamed

2007-01-21T08:50:00.000Z

Hello everyone!

I am very ashamed for the fact that I have not only not put anything on the blog for months, but I have also not been to the plot for ages either! - There were legitimate reasons for this - Finishing my Degree - AT LAST it is done - As I haven't got my final result yet I can't say whether it was worth all the hard work - I should get either a 2:1 or a 1st but will know that on 30th March. I thought that I would be fed up with all that studying but I started another course - A Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Quite when I will be able to spend lots of time on the plot I don't know - I think I will be getting the undergardener and children to help. I originally had 3 plots with geat plans for lots of fruit bushes and a mini orchard, but as I am now doing another 18month university course I have decided to reduce my plans a bit and give one of them up - this will mean that someone on the waiting list will get a plot which is OK by me.

I did visit the plot last week but forgot to take the camera with me - It wasn't totally disasterous and I have a cunning plan to cover the beds with cardboard that I have been hoarding, then put compost on top so that the weeds are surpressed and the worms can do the digging for me - good plan isn't it!

I have loads of jobs to do:
Tidy the greenhouse
Cover all the beds & mulch them
Plan plot 2
Collect all the bits for the polytunnel that we want to build
Plant plot 2 with fruit bushes and trees
Build a shed

PLUS

All the normal digging, sowing and planting

Me thinks I might be busy

When I went to the plot last Sunday I met Silvano who is an Italian gentleman who has a plot near to mine he gave me some spinach, beetroot and some parsnips. I ate the spinach which was lovely and the undergardener has plans for the beetroot and this is what I made from the parsnips: After I had liquidised it the result was really tasty parsnip and carrot soup.

YUM YUM