Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

Frugaldom

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

...oh and online garden shopping and indoor seed planting ........well maybe just a little like some proper butterfly netting and some unusual tomato and bean seeds ...............black tomatoes anyone??

Shaz

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I like your wet day planning! Interesting about the tomatoes, as a friend of mine is supposed to be posting me seeds for 'truffle' tomatoes and weird potatoes. Not sure when, though, as she's been talking about if for over a month and so far all that's happened is I've posted her seeds, cuttings and eggs for her incubator! Hmm... must start chasing them up again. :rolleyes:

LauraD - what's the soil like? I'd love to start off with brand new, pristine condition soil, it would be brilliant! Is it already marked out or is it simply one giant plot?

Laura_D_3

Nyk - The soil seems pretty good, the council rotavated it twice I think and my dad reackons there are virtually no weeds ) He spent yesterday marking out the boundary between him and the next door neighbour, and started turning the soil ready to get some seeds and spuds in ASAP. Sounds like they spent most of the day just gossiping ;-) I'm really glad they're enjoying it, they're off shopping today seeing as the weather is so rubbish.

I don't think I'd like a brand new site as it kinda looks like a massive field at the mo, but at least everyones starting together and it seems a mix of newbies and people moving from other sites. The main drawback is there are no sheds and they're saying they can't put them on at the moment, and potentially when they do they will all have to be the same and no splashing any pink paint on them :-(( They do live in the posher end of town though. I don't think I could cope with out the quirky sheds and ramshakle look of my own allotment, next thing you know they'll all be putting up picket fences and summer houses ;-)))

Right I think I'll pop out to my greenhouse and sow some more seeds seeing as the weather is abismal today.

Hope everyones having a brill bank holiday.

shaz_mum_of__2

I went for the black tomatoes and white ones and green striped ones as well as red yard long beans and ying and yang beans

http://www.jungleseeds.co.uk/SeedOrders/index1.html



Laura your parents should be able to grow pretty much anything as this time of year is the time when everything goes in (indoors and out~)


Shaz

shaz_mum_of__2

Quiet week in the garden apart from planting out cabbages and caulis

Weather been wet and horrid all week just waiting for some better weather so i can move the stuff outdoors thats happily growing in the shed/greenhouse

Got some peppers to pot on (again ) and making plans to sell the surplus at the end of the month at a bank hol bootfair


progress outdoors is slow but peas are through the sunflowers are doing well there are baby apples forming and blueberries too all the potato buckets are topped up now and some have unopened flower buds theres a solitary gooseberry and hundreds of green strawberrys and a few stalks of rhubarb the greenhouse is keeping us well in lettuce and the spring cabbages are going strong

what you all up to?

Shaz

spirit

Hi Shaz,

yes i remember your pic of your lettuces - lovely, mine are tiny wee specs of things still. I spent all the bank holiday weekend down the lottie. I have dug the 2 small front beds in front of the polytunnel. I keep changing my mind about what to plant in there! I've also dug one half of the bigger bed down by the shed so have the other half to do this weekend.

I try to vary my tasks so I'm not doing all of the same thing? even so, my knee keeps 'clicking' the last couple of days so not sure what i've done

I've coated the shed with preservative, gone round all the paths and raised beds (with a paint stripping thing) and pulled out all the weeds. Still got to paint the raised beds with preservative though. i've sown mizuna, salad leaves, lettuce (red), swiss chard right outside the poly tunnel and then netted it. i've made a mini-polytunnel with some remaining polythene i had and planted courgettes, butternut squash and cape gooseberries in.

also I was sitting weeding at the perimeter fence weeding and trying to keep the stining nettles out (i side on to the farmers field as you can see in earlier pics). as i was doing that, a cheeky g1t who lives in a house down the back; climbed over the fence from the farmers field, over into my compost heap and basically uses it as a shortcut to go to our shed/shop! i just heard a 'morning' from behind me and frightened the life out of me. i spoke to a neighbouring lottie holder who's been there years and he told me he shouldn't be doing this and would have a word if he saw the bloke again. However, i've blocked up the gap in the hedge with bits of wood and prickly hedge prunings in the hope he'd get the message.

i know what that chap's game is. i first saw him coming into my plot over Easter, he told me he lived over the back. anyways he comes back from the shop armed with rhubarb and says he chats up the lottie holders (he doesn't have one himself, those houses have big gardens) and they give him things. I expect he thought he'd do the same with me as he said he'd like a cuppa tea when he got back!!!!! Not a chance matie I thought. Rant over.

I've got to sow more parsnips, carrots and beetroot this weekend, weed the existing sowings (when i can decipher what is weed and seedlings) fence off my peas (we have a big rabbit problem being right next to a farm). And am going to get some more tomato, strawberry and maybe pot-grown raspberries at the farmers market on Sunday.

then i can put my feet up (not!)

Laura_D_3

Have any of you lovely folk ever tried to grow rice. I have some risotto rice seed, and a paddling pool raring to go. Just wandering if you've any suggestions before I make a hash of it :eek:

I'll keep you posted how it goes

shaz_mum_of__2

Laura_D wrote: »

Have any of you lovely folk ever tried to grow rice. I have some risotto rice seed, and a paddling pool raring to go. Just wandering if you've any suggestions before I make a hash of it :eek:

I'll keep you posted how it goes

no but would love to know if it works

Spirit sometimes lottie owners are too generous .............cheeky beggar though ...............don't you need a card to buy from the shop ??

Shaz

spirit

no i've not grown or heard of anyone growing rice in this country either. i wonder if it's warm enough here to do so?

Yes you do need to be a member even if you don't have a lottie, to buy from the shed. the chap looks like a gardener though as he wears wellies so i guess that the guy in the shop thinks he does have one. We'll see what happens this weekend. Meanwhile i'll continue to make tea for the nice lottie-neighbours I have near me. :beer:

I agree with being generous. if someone gives me good advice or a hand to lift something I think it's worthy of me giving them something in return. But someone taking a short cut over my plot without asking if I mind and thinking he can chat me up to get given things - can get lost. :A

Laura_D_3

Right paddy field completed :j I bought the seeds from this website:

http://www.seedsofitaly.com/product/663

although it was a couple of years ago so if it doesn't work I'm blaming it on that :D

Step 1 blow up cheapo paddling pool


Step 2 fill to 10cm with Soil (although it doesn't say what type so went for mixture of compost and finely sieved topsoil)


Step 3 add 4-5cm water

Then maintain at minimum of 1cm water till rice has grown. Then spend hours shaking it till eventually I retrieve enough rice to make tea for a child (if I'm lucky) :eek::eek:

shaz_mum_of__2

Laura

will await results with baited breath

I saw an article in one of my mags where a lady grew wheat for bread and hops for beer on her allotment

Its weird because you think of those as large scale crops

Has anyone seen those progs on freeview about the changing face of farming(forgot the name but has tractor in the title) really interesting last week about tomatoes and wheat and how increased yield achieved by plant breeding and this was considered frankenstein food a bit like GM is now

edited in : Mud Sweat and Tractors on BBC4

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jzjf8

windy today so a pottering day and i need more compost again???

Have a great day

Shaz