Plotting on

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

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

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)

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)

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

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!

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?

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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.