Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

Danni1979

yep hoe them out or if small pull them up by hand.

My spuds have started to break through the mound of soil, all tht happened in 24hrs!!!!!!!

shaz_mum_of__2

Nyk Have had a look in my book and Globe artichokes shold be planted a metre apart , in first year4-6 heads (when propogated from cuttings so probably next year for yours) second and subsequent years 10-12 then after the third they are discarded and replaced with new plants propogated from suckers sent up by the plant

after harvesting /november time cut the plant right down and cover with straw


Hope that helps

Shaz

shaz_mum_of__2

Hi guys

Nyk i was think about my sons sunflower patch and it made me wonder if you were growing any as a source of food for the chickens ??

he has about 30 plants growing in a 6 inch strip next to the fence , he has aspirations of winning a prize in the village show............

More pottering today and if the sun shines i will take pics and update blog

Shaz

Frugaldom

Good morning and thanks, Shaz, for the tips re sunflowers and artichokes. I have already planted some sunflower seeds along the southerly side of the garage in a strip behind some raspberry canes, but they haven't germinated yet. It may be too windy here for them to ever develop, but it's worth a try, especially as there's trellis already there for peas & beans.

The artichokes needing a meter apart plus sunshine couls still be a problem, so I'll end up selling a few of them. However, wild bird corner has a huge pampas grass in it - if I could remove that, then push bird corner right into the corner, that would give me a patch large enough for several more, plus au have space for 3 or 4 behind the raised beds, once that's cleared. Fenceline space is difficult here because of the cattle and sheep but, depending on who I get moving in next door, there's the chance I could fit several more in along the dividing fence.

We now have another veggie bed dug. It's triangular, but if I work it on the square foot method, then I should be able to get another 21 potatoes planted, as that's what I need most of throughout the year. Here's what it's looking like in the scrappy corner that was the 'tip' when we arrived here.



The bit behind it is what I fenced off to keep the hens out the raised beds. There are two raised beds, each 4' x 6' in there, one has potatoes earthed up with a mixture of soil, straw and compost, the other has artichokes, cabbages, spring onions, onions and snowball turnips all under glass (double glazed panels we freecycle rescued). The very far corner is home to the compost bin.

Top_Banana_2

This is my first 'success' so far!
Maris Peer:

Top_Banana_2

Here are the weeds that are coming through my mounds:

jtb2412

Hi everyone, glad to see you're all still hard at work lol

NYK things looking really great there ! I'm impressed at all your hard work - where do you find the extra hours please? lol

Things a bit slow here :rolleyes: as I've got another fundraiser tomorrow for Guides so having to spend a lot of time sorting that out. That's it for the summer now though and I've got a fairly easy term (other leaders are taking control and I'm taking a back seat for a while !)

Potatoes are growing at an alarming rate :eek: My second earlies in the growbags here at home have been earthed up as much as possible (bags now full), first earlies at the lotty are all up and growing very fast (will earth them up this weekend) but the main crop have still to pop through (only put them in last week so plenty of time yet).

We spent a lot of time last week potting stuff on so another couple of weeks and it will be time to get my outdoor tomatoes in place, the sprouts will be ready to go in and the courgettes/cucumbers.

Sweetcorn has all germinated, i'll start another lot off next week (succession sowing as they tend to all ripen together :rolleyes:).

Weeds are still plentiful on the lotty :rotfl:but I'm just about managing to keep on top of them. Top_Banana don't worry too much about the little weeds on the top of your mounds, the potatoes will soon grow and block out their light . Obviously if they get too big then pull 'em but I hate weeding so I'd leave them for now .

I've got a big decision to make over the next few months - whether to give up work or stay. Idea is to give up and try and make as much money in the summer months from selling plants/produce/chutneys/jams/cakes etc to last me the year. There are other options too (ebay/amazon etc) but it will need a lot of thought and planning to carry off. My mum (who is very wise ) said it would be great to make money out of our hobby and I'm itching to give up work now but practical thinking takes over and tells me to hold my horses for a bit :rotfl:

Anyway, I've got some cakes to fill (jam and buttercream .... drool !) so I'd better get on .......... ohh......... and I've lost 8lb in weight since we started our 'healthy eating' 2 weeks ago :j .

Sorry, been a bit off topic haven't I? Take care and have a great weekend - hope the weather stays good :eek::D.

Laura_D_3

Morning all,

I'm back to fighting fit again :j:j Thanks for all your messages, I make a really annoyingly rubbish sick person, full of self pity and frustration - don't know how the other half puts up with me :eek::eek:

Been back down the allotment this week and things are starting to look good, at least they're peaking their heads through the soil now. Picked 2.5kilos of rhubard, some leeks and cleared out last years chard which the chickens have thoroughly enjoyed.

The berry bushes aren't looking so good though, I gave them some feed and they've been watered well but they're looking a bit dead and burnt. Anyone got any tips on how to get them looking sprightly again?

Any more thoughts on giving up work jtb, I'd love to quit the rat race to do something with my veggies/ chucks/ flowers - basically anything self sufficienty would suit me to a T. Keep us updated on how it goes and maybe I can take inspiration from you, I'm not sure I'm brave enough at the mo. And congrats on the weight loss, I think I just need to quit the alochol and I might loose some poundage, but nothing beats a glass of vino on a Friday night :beer:

I spent yesterday afternoon with my mum putting up my freebie (second hand) greenhouse, still no glass buts huge (about 6x 8ft) it looks brill. I'm hoping the rain stops today so I can complete it, then the rain can start again cause I'll be under shelter. I'm trying to finish some of the garden projects lying around at home seeing as the allotment is coming along so nicely, so hopefully can make a cold frame this weekend and consider the outdoor beach hut and pond that I've got half the stuff for but not even considered.... Oh if only weekends never ended.

Have fun all, and put some more piccys up of your progress I love being nosey :j

Frugaldom

Well done JTB :T Congratulations on both the weight loss and the mere fact that you're even considering packing in the rat race. I already did. I've been self employed for years but also had employment to help tide over the quiet times, but all employment has been given up and I now work entirely from home. It does make the hours a bit strange, though, as I need the livestock and garden to take priority over the computer based work, so I tend to work to the weather and complete computer work late at nights. I am not aiming for full self-sufficiency, only financial self-sufficiency. That's why I have been restricting my budget for the past few years as, eventually, I would love a smallholding. I've almost got one now, but it's more of a tinyholding as we have no grazing land (yet).
Glad you are feeling better LauraD, it sounds like your lottie is going to be really productive! It's early days for the raspberry canes, maybe try plastic around them to see if it forces them on a bit? All but one of mine are starting to get tiny buds and my fruit trees are flowering! Any news on the Silkies?
Excellent work with the potatoes, Top_Banana, I could always send you a hen to scratch those pesty little weeds out the soil for you?

This weekend, I am taking delivery of some garden ornaments, planters, bird boxes etc from a house clearance, so I haven't a clue what's going to have to be incorporated into my garden. However, I have sussed out that there's growing space around the front of the garage, if I can work out a way of protecting it from the cattle that wander about our road. :rotfl:

My potatoes are all doing well, must get more photos of that sort of stuff and try to get the blog site up to date properly. It's all been about poultry recently and now my duck eggs are peeping at me, so it looks like there could be more new additions this weekend again! (We hatched 2 pheasants yesterday/day before - they're named Truffle and Bailey ).

Sun has come back out, so I'm away to earth up potatoes and potter in the greenhouse - camera in hand.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone! I'll be back looking for updates and photos from everyone later. (Rummer - I got the mini-pond sunk in but it's only about 24" x 18" x 6" deep. Coincidentally, it's just big enough for a duck to take a bath but too deep for the chickens to attempt to use it as a drinker. :rotfl:

Laura_D_3

You are all so inspiring, nyk whats the secret to giving up the rat race - you're so brave. Maybe when I see how much money I can save by growing, making my own it won't seem so scary... The aim is to be prepared to give up the rat race when I have kiddies so got a couple of years to toy with how to stay afloat....

The silkies packed in being broody when I moved them to a bigger location theres to much for them to do to think about being baby machines :j Although now I'm thinking I'd have loved some cute little chucks after seeing your piccys

I'll give the plastic idea a go, nothing to loose - heres hoping :T Right the rains stopped so I'm off :j