Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

jtb2412

Hi everyone

[STRIKE]
Some of you will know that we've been on the list for an allotment for a long time now ! Well, we've managed to find someone to 'share' with (a lovely lady !) and I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread (for my own sanity partly !) to show progress .

Basically, we've got about 365 sq feet to sort out (pics to follow). Beds need digging (a few existing ones need clearing/tidying) and the shed and compost heaps need a good tidy up too.

Seeing as this is a money saving site, we're going to try and manage this as a money saving exercise and spend as little as possible on it (hoping to blag some stuff from freecycle, pallets from various companies etc etc). We've already got lots of seeds etc and can start things off here at home (managed to get a huge greenhouse from freecycle earlier in the year).

Have to pop the kids to school now but will be back later with photos of the plot as we took it on and some pictures of how it looked after our first day.

Please feel free to post any pictures of your plot(s) as I'd love to see them and get some ideas !
[/STRIKE]

Well ........... we've just today received a letter offering us our very own plot :j :j :j :j :j :j

It's on a different site to the one we've been sharing but still within easy reach .

DH is on his way home from work and we're going to have a look (armed with camera of course).

Very, very excited but a bit daunted at the prospect of digging again. But, we're young, fit and healthy so no excuses ! Just means we have to start all over again lol

It will be lovely to do exactly what we want though and looking forward to it becoming our little 'haven' :D

Will be back later with pics :T

Hope everyone else is doing well with theirs ! :beer:

stormchaos

congratulations on getting a plot,

may you have many happy hours there

sparkleworld

Congratulations!!!
We were lucky enough to acquire our allotment in July and it is hard work!! However the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks..
I have found a complete new circle of friends from all walks of life and ages.
Our plot is situated next to the "City champion" who has held the title for the last 23 years Summer & Winter :eek: .I dreaded walking up the path in case I disturbed something, But after a few weeks of hard graft and he could see we were really trying he came across bearing gifts of fruit and veg. He has turned out to be a lovely man who is so patient and helpful he doesn't mock our efforts but is always ready to share his secrets, we have named him the "oracle" which secretly I think he is pleased about. We have 2 children and even they enjoy the allotment it has become a real family affair.
This is the start of the season apparently and have been advised to get my onions,garlic and broad beans planted up ready for an early crop in Spring.

I can't wait to see your before and after pictures-wish we had thought of that,we were just so excited to get a plot we just "dug" straight in.

I will be watching your thread with great interest.
Good Luck and Happy Planting.
Regards
*Sparkle*

Rummer

Congratulations! We do not have an allotment but we do have a huge side garden that we use as a fruit and vegetable garden and we were so excited to eat meals made from the things we had grown, it is a wonderful feeling! I look forward to seeing you pictures

jtb2412

Thank you for all the good wishes ! :beer:

sparkle - well done on getting your allotment too ! We're looking forward to making new friends as well, especially since we moved here away from all our family and friends ! Must be lovely to be situated next to the 'oracle' (love that name by the way !) - if you want to share any secrets feel free to PM us ! lol

We've got 3 children here (2 girls, not too much into gardening, and a boy who is our own miniature Alan Titchmarsh !) He absolutely loves being in the garden, digging, planting, picking etc etc. If I was to buy him a shed for Xmas he'd be in his element !

I don't think we will get anything planted this year now (not even onions or garlic). We mainly want to concentrate on getting the plot up to scratch. As you will see from the pics, it needs a lot of tidying up !

Rummer - part of the reason why we wanted an allotment is because we can't really dig up any more of our garden ! Got 4 raised beds in it already plus a huge greenhouse so had done all we could here ..... must admit though i'm a bit worried about what we will do with all the produce as i've already got a chest freezer full of lovely stuff from this year ! I'm sure i'll find somewhere for it though. You are so right about eating something you've grown, nothing like it and such a sense of achievement ! :T Have you thought about an allotment? (I'm just being nosy now lol)

As promised .... here are the pictures at the start of day 1.

http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qWlS6gMHlbKYv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qbilmfTZRiqAv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qVjB9MKgtpv-v4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qVwIdCCsljOCv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qbzTLNVWnnuzv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qTyNvSJQw2T4v4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qWpJD7CCVQNdv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qUBYi7ZY29ZUv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qeoiqjWhbY8Vv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qVwt0KoTAVUUv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg

So there you have it - got a fair bit of work to do but we'll get there !

I'm finished work at lunchtime tomorrow so i'm going to hop on my bike and go down for a couple of hours before I pick the kids up from school. I think hubby will be finishing early too somehow so we should get a good bit done tomorrow too.

More pics tomorrow ! :beer: (Apologies for the long post ! )

[Deleted User]

Wow, looks really great. Plenty of areas to develop.

We live on an acre in the middle of a tiny village, so plenty of room for gardens, greenhouse, orchard and hydroponics.

Are you allowed to plant fruit trees or are you restricted to vegetables?

Rummer

What an amazing space, you must be bursting with ideas! We were thinking about an allotment when we lived in a flat but we bought a house instead . Only been here for one growing season and we did not make the most out of what we have. Busy trying to decorate the house while getting used to have loads of garden to look after!
This year we are going to extend our beds and dig new ones so that we have even more space, we are also going to put in a couple more fruit bushes and mini fruit trees. We learned so much this year and I think we will be better prepared for next year. One thing we learned was that we need to sow little and often instead of all at once :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Maybe after a couple of years of exhausting the space we have I will ask the OH for an allotment, I think he might leave it I asked him now lol!

kazwookie

Wow what a lot of space you have.

You will find some of us lurk over on this site as well!

http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php?action=forum

Loads of ideas over there as well.

Well done for getting the plot next to the oricale, a great source of knowledge right next door.

Good luck

jtb2412

Ohhh ! Thanks for that Kazwookie (yet another forum to keep up with lol). I've just registered so will pop on tonight and have a looksie.

Just off up to the allotment for Day 2 - photos to come later .

jtb2412

I'm kernackered ! lol

Well, day 2 has been and gone and we've done quite a lot today, and drunk lots of tea and coffee . The weather has been great, albeit a tad windy :eek: !

Dug out 2 beds and finished tidying up the strawberries and digging up the raspberry runners (which will go in my garden here at home).

Cut the grass with the mower - now we can see where the beds are and the walkways.

Also cleared the top off one of the compost heaps ready to put on the beds in a couple of days.

Plan for tomorrow (if the weather is good) - tidy up the shed (a few cobwebs need removing :shocked: (ugh !), dig out another bed, strim where the mower couldn't go and tidy up around the side of the shed where the cloches are kept (loads of nettles need taking up).

Here's some pics of today's progress:

http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qZVPgd4KoTGcv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qfZHZwHvx4f9v4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qYfWDHalcLpEv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qYCz5*a9B6fBv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qU5LJDrEYu1vv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qe9QzCzUp8cNv4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg
http://links.pictures.aol.com/pic/7cb0NKBTmFm9-FN-9c42tc87qVGGyMu87-u5v4xQp5Fd3Ig=_l.jpg

More tomorrow !

Rummer

I am so impressed at the amount of work that you have done in just a few days! You have put me to shame :rotfl:. When I am feeling better I will get my garden sorted! What are your big plans for the space (it's huge!).