Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

shaz_mum_of__2

wow laura and topbanana you inherited tidy allotments

tisme shame about yours but i am sure you will get there in the end

Off out pottering in the new shed as i have lots of pricking out to do and my veg plants have just arrived


Shaz

jtb2412

Morning all xx

I can't believe how lucky we've all been with the weather this week ! About time too

TisMe wow you've got a bit of a job there ! I'm surprised the landlords (presume council?) didn't cut them down for you. I think they do at quite a few sites (ours included). I'm sure you'll get there though, you seem very determined and enthusiastic :T . It's good that your allowed bonfires too, means you can get rid of everything much quicker. It's something I keep meaning to ask about on our lotty, I'm sure we're allowed but has to be dry and not cause smoke etc. Will be double checking this weekend as I've got about 10 huge sunflower stems to get rid of and I don't think they will compost down .

Don't forget to keep us updated with your progress .

Laura - happy birthday :beer: :bdaycake: _party_ - hope you enjoy your day xx Back to the lotty tomorrow ??

Rummer glad you've decided where to put your beds - tis good you get the sun for most of the day and evening, we get it about lunchtime onwards so not too bad. Re: sowing outside, i've put a few things in - spring onions and radishes are just starting to pop up after about 3 weeks and i've just sown some beetroot (garden). Down the lotty i've put in parsnip, spinach and kohl rabi, could be a bit early but i've gone for it and will hope for the best ! They're covered with cloches so should be ok - fingers crossed ! I'll probably sow one more lot under cover and then the rest will be outside. We're away for a week during the easter hols so once I get back it will be all systems go !!

Shaz - glad you're enjoying your new shed - any chance of a pic? What delights have arrived today?

Am at work at the moment and itching to get home to get outside and potter about. Although I have housework to do and really need to concentrate on that - I can't see the TV through the dust :rotfl: :rotfl: . I keep thinking 'I'll do HW when it's raining' but there's no sign of any.

Also off to pick up another water butt from freecycle this PM (DH off sick at the moment so I've got the car :j ). I also popped to the garden centre last night as I've run out of sprout seeds and bought a couple more mixed salad leaves too - this should see us through !

Right, off to get some final bits done and then i'm off home - have a great day everyone xxxx

Top_Banana_2

Yesterday, I dig over half a bed and got out as many weed roots as I could. I couldn't get out every tiny weed leaf- will these just rot down as long as there are no roots attached?

Also, there are a few small pebbles scattered in the bed. Is this a problem?

Here is the end result:


How does it look?

Once I've done the other half, what else do I need to do to get it ready for planting my spuds? ie- what should I mix in?

shaz_mum_of__2

This is the new shed


have more pics on blog now

tisme that looks fine to me and if your putting potatoes in i wouldnt worry about adding anything but a handful of growmore (granular slow release fertilizer wont hurt ) as spuds get lots of attention hoeing earthing etc any missed weeds wont stand a chance and you can leave any small stones but pick out any big ones as you go

The cauli cabbage and broccoli plants i bought arrived and have been potted on into small peat pots i think its still a bit cold for them so will grow them on a bit

The first courgette seed has spruted but still no sign of the tomatoes?? but all 8 aubergines have popped up eventually (been about 6 weeks)

i wish the weather would hurry up i am itching to do more and i am betting its not just me


Shaz

Rummer

Hello Everyone!

Glad to hear that you are all enjoying your new allotments and Shaz the shed looks fabulous! Happy Birthday Laura!

Today I went garden shopping again and bought wood for the next raised bed, compost, seeds and sand to line the new pond. Then I came home and filled the existing beds and pottered around quietly planning my planting and enjoying the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day again today!

Hoping the weather holds this weekend so that I can get my potatoes in and pot up some new seeds, oh and add the grids to my new beds! It is just so exciting!

TismE_3

Your shed looks fab laura:T

Did more clearing today, i dont think we will get much else done but clearing and bonfires this year!! lol

But im so pleased and also very amazed at what we discoved today!! still cant believe it ...we uncovered a massive green house that we didnt even know was there , take a look at the new pics.
There is a picture of me taken before we realised there was something hiding within the over growth, i was trying to show a good presective of how high and over grown every thing is, and the green house is amongst that behind me.
The structure is sound but it's very over grown and has a few planes of glass that need replacing, but wow itS great ! and a wonderful suprise :beer: im over the moon, but knackered, so off to bed, Got another early start planned for tomorrow. We can't seem to stay away from the place now :rotfl:

Tisme x
http://photobucket.com/Tisme_2009

jtb2412

TisMe ........ I'm just sitting here with my morning cuppa having a quick look over your updated pics ........ I'm astounded at how well you're doing ! I think I'd have cried if our plot was like yours and I've got nothing but admiration for how you're tackling this:T . I can't believe you 'found' a greenhouse hiding amongst the brambles :eek: ! lol It's huge :eek: :eek: !!!! Makes me wonder what else you're going to find .

Rummer, glad to hear your enjoying pottering - it's all I can do at the moment, just waiting for my seedlings to get bigger and the days to go by so that I can pop them in the ground. Got a few weeks yet though :rolleyes: and I guess I shouldn't be wishing away the days

Shaz, my tomatoes have only just started to pop up and they've been in a good 3 weeks (greenhouse). I've got 2 varieties and the other is still showing no signs. I think it's the cold nights, once they warm up a bit then we'll be off !

I wanted to potter about here at home today in the garden but DD1 has a teacher training day and needs some new school trousers so I've got to pop into Worthing this morning with her. I've also sold 4 books on amazon in 24 hrs so need to get them packed up this pm and get them to the post office. Will pop to the printer shop too as I've run out of ink for my printer :rolleyes: . So what was going to be a potter day has turned into a busy day . I've lost a day tomorrow too as I'm helping at a Guide event but Sunday is well and truly reserved for the allotment - getting our spuds in :j .

Hope you all have a happy Friday xx

Laura_D_3

Morning all,

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Had a brilliant birthday but kinda missed my allotment, so will be going down their shortly to get some more work done :j

TismE you are so brave to take on that allotment, but what a find with that greenhouse it'll be amazing I'm soooooooooooo jealous :cool: Keep putting up the pics it's brill noseying at everyone elses hard work and gets me all inspired :T :T

Have a brill day whatever you're all doing :beer:

shaz_mum_of__2

Wow what a find tisme

at least your being realistic about what you can achieve and you might get it done in time for autumn plantings or do some container veg

I loved spending the winter planning but getting frustrated now that the weathers not quite there...........

Decide to plant some seed for selling on today after realising i had way too many pepper plants to use i am planning a boot stall or fair at the school to sell my excess and maybe some jam too

spent £1.60 on veg seeds in wilko(6 packs) and some seed tray inserts to plant them in does a pound for 5 plants sound ok ?our garden centre sells cabbage,lettuce etc 1.99 for 6
i got
broccoli
cabbage
beetroot
psb
sprouts

i also have plenty lettuce pepper and tomato plants too

I have loads of flower seeds that mil gave me but some are 10 yrs out of date anyone know how i can test for viability?

Off back down the shed

Shaz

edited in
tomatoes have appeared since this afternoon :T:j:T:jboy am i sad:rotfl:

Rummer

Evening!

I have had a very productive evening, I came home from work and built a pond! In fact I have just finished and I am so impressed with it! Hoping to get rocks for round it tmrw and next week when the chlorine has evaporated I will get a few local wild plants to grow in it. I am hoping the frogs will come so that they can get rid of all the slugs I seem to be infested with!

Shaz Great to hear you are enjoying you shed and that you seedlings have come up. I still bound down the stairs to tell everyone when a new seedling appears, my OH is very tolerant bless him! It is just so exciting to see them! Today my squash, broccoli and cauliflowers showed their faces, it hardly took them any time at all to come up but I am still waiting (impatiently) for my cucumbers .

Tisme that is so exciting, I can't believe you found a greenhouse under all that growth! I can imagine there was a whole load of whooping when it was first discovered :j ask around and see if you can get spare panels to fix it up, there might even be some inside it, there are always a few advertised on Gumtree or freecycle. Hopefully you will get a few things growing this year but if you don't you will have a fabulously well prepared plot for next year .

Laura Glad to hear you had a good birthday, how did you get on at the allotment today?

jtb2412 Sounds as if you are really busy, did you manage any time in the garden today?

Top_Banana The bed looks great! I have quite stony soil and I have just taken out the really big ones and left the rest, and the roots should break down fine. I mixed in a bit of compost and some manure into my beds before I planted in them but they should be fine as they are, potatoes grow well in most types of soil.

Hope you all have a productive weekend! :j