Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

jtb2412

Hi everyone ...... it's wonderful out there ! Been down the lotty all morning, just popped back for a bit of lunch.

Will catch up on what you've all been up to later but thought you might like to see our first offerings from our lotty ......... http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll95/kaj030405/?action=view&current=rhubarb.jpg ...... I was so excited picking it ! lol

Rather sadly I've decided to start up a spreadsheet with what we've picked (weight) and how much it would cost in Mr Ts ..... don't laugh ! Will obviously take into account the cost of the seeds/compost etc and if we sell any plants at the car boot, that will also be offset. More for my own sanity that this is all moneysaving instead of money spending :rolleyes: especially considering what we've spent on compost so far this year :eek: .

So, my first savings are: rhubarb picked 900g - £5.82 per kilo in Mr T's = £5.24 saved :T . I'll not keep posting my savings on here though, would get a bit embarassing ! lol :rotfl:

Right, we're off again :j Have a lovely afternoon guys n gals xxx

Laura_D_3

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee... we're in and we're started....

Got the key this afternoon and spent a couple of hours turning the soil, other half enjoyed himself (I think) one of the main reasons for getting the plot is to encourage him to do a bit of gardening that and the chickens destroying everything

Managed to get some left over leeks to bring home and theres also some kale as well, the rest will probably just go to the chucks as its a tad old and battered...

Discovered on further investigation there is already:
Rhubarb
Blackcurrants
Blackberry (we think)
Autumn Raspberries
Far too many strawberries
Sage
Thyme

Its my birthday this week so my lovely parents have bought me a red and white gooseberry, red grape, redcurrants and cranberry bush so they'll all be going with me shortly.

Also got a load of seed sown this morning before I got my key, so far the list of veg over my garden and the allotment includes:
Tomatos (three varieties)
Purple Sprouting Brocolli
Brussel Sprouts
Courgettes
Aubergine
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Kohl Rabi
Celariac
Sunflowers
Nasturiums (apparantly fully edible - we shall see)
Basil
Carrots
Parsnips
Spring Onions

Got some very helpful advice from my fellow allotmanteers which is brill as a newbie to the site although may have to curtail my currently slightly eratic sense of gardening which usually pays off but may be frowned upon by the hardcore amongst them

The weather has been amazing and I'm now happily supping a glass of wine could life get any better than this :j :j :j

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95897&id=562821263&l=28ecbaeb28

Patchwork_Quilt

Hi everyone! You'd be surprised, Laura, at how erratic you can be on an allotment. Nobody minds. In fact, they'll all be looking over the fence to see if you're doing anything better than they are.

Well, I took DH to the allotment today to move some bags of rubbish left over from our previous occupant. As he says, it's a soul-destroying job doing that sort of stuff on your own. We went to the tip twice. Got rid of an old drum of oil, two batteries, a bag of sand, some rusty old tools and a bucket full of glass, amongst other things. It really helps to have someone with muscles for this sort of thing! What I am really pleased about, though, is getting rid of the old lawnmower. I wasn't able to move it last year as a really pretty plant was growing through it. Fortunately, it dies back in the winter, so we're just in time. We moved the pink bath, too. We can't lift it but we pushed it out of the way.

Last time I was there, I moved the rhubarb into the manure pile (goat) which smells lovely. I wondered if it would kill it off but there are shoots, so I may not get pickings like the pictures above but it can stay there now. The apple sapling that appeared from nowhere last autumn is just in bud, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens there, and we have a bramble patch too. I'm going to leave it to see if there are any decent brambles. Some plants just have fruit that's a few bobbles stuck together and some is really lovely.

If I ever learn how to post a picture, I'll let you all have a look. Have to ask DS! Have a good week.

Rummer

I have had my best gardening day ever . My OH built two raised beds for me! Then I assembled two arches that I am planning on growing my beans up, they are huge but I am going to put some netting between them to grow even more on!

We planted 5 trees today too which was very exciting and I am looking forward to loads of delicious fruit over the year. I also dug out most of the bramble bed but they fought hard to stay alive and I nearly got a thorn in my eye.

The rest of the time I spent tidying the garden and digging over the herb bed, as well as laying bark around my raspberries to suppress the weeds so I have a tidy and fabulous garden! We also found a pond kit reduced to half price while out at B&Q so we snapped that up and will work on the pond over the next few weeks. I also filled a hanging basket with some fabulous violas and sorted out all the tubs I had from last year.

Oh the excitement of it all! Now all I need is the compost to fill the two beds and to get the grids organised for my square foot gardening! :D:D:D

I am just so happy I keep peeking out my windows to look at my garden, leaning over my freshly planted seed trays as I do it. So good to hear you have also had productive days!

jtb2412

Evening everyone xx

Extremely tired here, have been working our little socks off today but we've achieved a lot

Patchwork sounds like you're making great progress. We were fairly lucky, all we had to do was dig our plot, no rubbish to get rid of. I bet you can see a difference already ! Keep an eye on the rhubarb, you might get some bits off it a bit later in the year. We put our first crowns in the garden last year and had about 8 stems off it, even though it was it's first year. It's coming up a treat now too so didn't do it any harm .

Would love to see some pics - I use photobucket (not sure how to put them straight on here, never seems to work for me ).

Laura yayyyyyyyyyyyyy ! Loved the pics, you've got a fab plot there ! And you've done well with the digging too :T . That's some strawberry patch you've got there :eek: . Nice that you've managed to salvage a few veggies too and i'm sure the chooks will appreciate their little treats !

You've intrigued me when you say your eratic sense of gardening - do tell ! As Patchwork said, you might find the others having a good nose and pinching some of your ideas. I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress over the coming weeks .

Feeling a bit achy and tired now (although that could be down to the nice glass of red we've just had ). Bean supports have gone up, parsnips, kohl rabi and spinach been sown (under cloches) and I've weeded all the beds (not too bad I'm glad to say !) I also started digging over our sharers beds - they were becoming rather overgrown and I'm not sure when she'll get down there so I'm hoping she doesn't think I'm interfering by doing them . They do look much better though.

However, I did have a shriek (well two actually) when a likkle mousey came sprinting up out of the bed, ran over my shoes (eek ! :eek: ) and under the shed. He was quite cute though so I wasn't too scared, I just hope I didn't fork him :shocked:. I carried on digging and out slipped another rather loud shriek , much to the amusement of our neighbour, as another one scurried out and ran straight into the rubbish bag. He was quite calm after that and the kids got a great look which I was pleased about. I did let DH set him free though :rotfl: .

So, all in all, a great day ......... and the rhubarb crumble for tea was delicious !

Will pop on shortly and post some pics on here (once I've uploaded them). Then I'm off to bed .... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz xx

jtb2412

Hi everyone, pics as promised.

http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll95/kaj030405/?action=view&current=rhubarb001.jpg - Under the cloches are parsnips, kohl rabi and spinach also in this bed.
http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll95/kaj030405/?action=view&current=rhubarb005.jpg - The bean supports - we did have to buy the wood for the uprights (£7 so not too bad, will add that to my spreadsheet ) but they are secured to 6ft lengths of metal (part of our old bed which we recycled :money: ) and the beansticks are from last year.
http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll95/kaj030405/?action=view&current=rhubarb004.jpg - Our neighbours beds which I've weeded for her - will do the rest later this week weather permitting. The bushes are blueberries.
http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll95/kaj030405/? action=view&current=rhubarb003.jpg - The neighbours beds again.

Rummer, glad you've had a great day in the garden :T - glad i'm not the only one who keeps admiring their handy work . We used bean netting last year and it worked really well. I did have to keep 'guiding' them when they were starting to climb though but once they got a proper hold, they were off !

Right i'm off to bed but must put some aftersun on first - we got a bit sunburnt today :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: - need to dig out those sun hats :j .

Hope next week is great for you all xxx

Frugaldom

Hi guys

Glad you have all had really productive days. Love all the photographs and can't wait until I have my own rhubarb for making crumbles! JTB, I don't mind seeing your savings marked up, in fact, I'd be really interested in seeing how much you save. I'm doing a similar thing but without the spreadsheet as I'm trying to work up to self-sufficient in veggies, eggs and fruit for baking. The weather here decided to stay bright and sunny, it was like a summer's day by lunchtime. I got so much done today, including planting the first 8 squares of my square foot garden and harvesting my first lettuce/salad leaves. :j Now that we've started eating them, I'm hoping that they'll be available all year round. Last year's got stopped in November because we were moving house. :rolleyes:

Does anyone know if I can use my rhubarb this year? It's stuff we dug up from a friend's very well established rhubarb patch at the start of the year and planted here, but someone said I shouldn't use any of it the first year after moving it.

jtb2412

NYK - you technically shouldn't pick any stems the first year after moving a crown. BUT ..... we had about 8 off ours last year and it hasn't done it any harm. Entirely up to you but we'll be picking off our newly transplanted crowns on the lotty later in the year (put in just before xmas). They do say that it will make for a weaker plant the second year but I know a few 'old boys' down the lotty who've said not to worry too much - just don't strip it bare !

We did manure the lotty crowns put in before Xmas really well and DH put chicken pellets (not food ones ! lmao) in the bottom so they should be fairly well established by the time we come to pick.

In fact i'll do a bit of an experiment and leave one of the crowns on the lotty totally alone and see if there's a noticable difference next year.

Jealous about your lettuce leaves NYK - ours nowhere near ready, I'll make sure I keep them going in the greenhouse for longer this year (never realised you could get winter lettuce before - DOH !)

I'll happily share the spreadsheet results too, maybe update it once a week and pop on here a link so those that want to have a nose can .

Ok, I can't find my matchsticks for my eyes so I'm going to have to hop into bed (well, more like crawl - feeling a bit tender :eek: :rotfl: ).

'Speak' soon xx

Laura_D_3

Morning

Another unearthly hour of the morning due to the excitment of the beautiful weather and the prospect of some time in the allotment :j

Patchwork, thanks for your reasurrance that I can be erratic I was slightly worried yesterday that I would be kicked off the plot if I planted in the wrong place

JTB I'm erratic in the sense of I'll give anything a go and if it dies I won't get to sentimental, also I'll plant and treat plants how I feel is right. Although I have all the books I tend to go on intuition. Not necessarily one for uniformity more country cottage garden appeal - I'll have to battle that out with the other half though as hes going for the uniform approach. The Allotment key man already thinks I'm a raving looney, think the bright pink wellys and summer atire I turned up in yesterday helped cement that idea. Also when he commented about the good life I told him I had the full DVD collection which I guess is probably quite normal, I think I just topped it off when I told him I have an autographed photo of Tom and Barbara Good currently residing in my kitchen :rotfl: :rotfl:

You lucky thing Rhubarb for tea, I can't wait till mine is ready for picking. If I put a bucket over it will it get a riggle on?

Definatly loving the spreadsheet idea may have to give it a whirl myself.

Right off outside for a cuppa with the chucks, seeing as they've heard me and now they're clucking for some feed greedy beggars :A

feefeelalabelle

hi all,:hello:
i ve been lurking around reading all of your posts
i havnt got an allotment but we bought our house last year and have a huge garden so will be making full use of it! This year im going to have to use pots as OH has his own ideas of how he wants my veggie patch to look:o Im a complete novice at all of this and to be honest every plant ive had has died Ive just spent a small fortune on ebay for some plugs eg 5 carrots, 3 cucumbers ect. The problem is i dont know how many i need really, theres me, my OH and our 18month old princess(shes the main reason im doing this) could anyone advise on how many of eah plant i would need to see us through the year/ the season or whatever it is you guys call it:o
Also i know your probably fed up with reading this now but.... ive planted some seeds and nothing has happened, OH felt the need to ask if id watered them haha
how long should i give them?

love all your pics and hope to pick u your tips on the way as you all seem very good at this xxxxxxxx