Our Allotment Journey - Day 1 !

Frugaldom

Hi guys! I'm really interested in seeing how the paddling pool paddy field goes, it certainly looks interesting! My ducklings would love that! LOL

Shaz, your garden just keeps sounding better by the minute! I hope mine turns out as productive as that one day in the future. At the moment, it's more likely to get blown away by the continual high winds we keep getting here.

Spirit, whay a real cheap that bloke has. You could forgive the chat up lines and hints for veggies but to use your plot as a short cut is taking it a step too far. Well done blocking his way! Maybe a nice blackthorn in the corner might help, too.

My latest seeds arrived plus the ones sent from a friend. I now have another 3 varieties of potatoes:
Salad Blue
Blue Vitelotte (Truffle potato)
Another purple one that friend has forgotten the name of

In the tomato varieties, I now have
Cherry
Moneymaker
Tumbling 'Gartenperle'
Black Krim
Inca Andean
Talacouloula
Black Truffle

Unfortunately, the final 3 varieties are the ones sent by friend, but she mixed them together, so I haven't a clue which is which. :rolleyes: The Black Krims I bought, so they'll be labelled.

My ideas of vertical gardening have been severely curtailed after realising how difficult it is going to be to grow anything above ground level in this windswept corner of the land. My fruit trees will need staked all the way around if they are to survive and anything climbing will need to be able to hold on very, very tight! Maybe I'll just need to save and get that extension on the greenhouse! :rotfl:

back on the cereal growing topic - I do have a large bucket planted with wheat and it is growing really quickly. I sowed it as a mini garden for the hens and it's one of the few lots of seedlings that they HAVEN'T tried to eat, despite it growing in their run! :rotfl:

spirit

I like the sound of all those varieties of toms nykmedia - where did you get them from?

re er, your wind problem :rotfl:what about creating a windbreak using some of that debris netting you can buy cheaply from e-bay?

I've got a hop plant in my back garden (as opposed to the lottie) it's purely for ornamental purposes as the hops look good at the time of year when there isn't much else of interest cliimbing the garden walls.

I've done something to my knee, it keeps clickiing and is a very funny shape (more than normal i'm told :rotfl:) that's annoying :mad: as will severely curtail my digging plans this weekend.

shaz_mum_of__2

Nyk thought you might like this

http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/09/10/green-walls-and-green-roofs/

loving the sound of those tomatoes i think i am developing a tomato fetish but not quite this bad ....................yet

http://www.tomatofest.com/heirloom_tomato_seed_home.html

Spirit ...ouch rest up and you'll be outside digging in no time

Shaz

Laura_D_3

Hi all

Shaz - I know what you mean about needing more compost. I really do need to learn how to make my own a bit better than it currently is any suggestions gratefully received as always

Spirit - did you grow the hop plant from seed or did you buy it grown? Is it an ornamental one or one you can make beer with cause I can't seem to find one in the shops

Rigth I'm off for a soak, have fun gardening everyone :T

Frugaldom

Hello

I wish I could say I had a green roof and a massive assortment of tomatoes. Unfortunately, all I have are the dodgy knees :rotfl:

Spirit, it could be cartilage damage caused by wear an tear, unless you gave it a hard knock or have knelt on something that caused the damage. Be careful, they take a long time to repair IF they ever do. I think that must be why you hear of 'knee-capping' in the thug films and books LOL It doesn't leave you incapacitated, it leaves you kneecapacitated and it's very painful.

I tried windbreak plastic and it got shredded. Apart from that, we'd need it wrapped around the entire garden - it's a bit like living in a vortex, never knowing what direction it's turning to catch you out. Maybe one day it'll drop to deathly calm and we'll actually be in the eye of the storm watching cows, sheep and chickens swirling overhead!! :eek: :rotfl:

spirit

Laura_D wrote: »

S
Spirit - did you grow the hop plant from seed or did you buy it grown? Is it an ornamental one or one you can make beer with cause I can't seem to find one in the shops

i bought it as a small plant a couple of years ago. It's a perennial so once the display of hops is over then I cut it down and put it in a sheltered spot until the spring. I'll get m'camera out on it tomorrow.

spirit

nykmedia wrote: »

Hello

I wish I could say I had a green roof and a massive assortment of tomatoes. Unfortunately, all I have are the dodgy knees :rotfl:

Spirit, it could be cartilage damage caused by wear an tear, unless you gave it a hard knock or have knelt on something that caused the damage. Be careful, they take a long time to repair IF they ever do. I think that must be why you hear of 'knee-capping' in the thug films and books LOL It doesn't leave you incapacitated, it leaves you kneecapacitated and it's very painful. i did spend all 3 days of the BH weekend down the lottie and most of the time i'm working hard on digging, weeding etc so i might well have damaged the cartilage. In the evenings I notice a hard lump on my knee - no fluid. it could be a misplaced knee cap. :eek:

IMaybe one day it'll drop to deathly calm and we'll actually be in the eye of the storm watching cows, sheep and chickens swirling overhead!! Oh dear, you might end up with scrambled eggs!

jtb2412

Morning everyone ! Apologies for not posting for a while but i've been lurking and keeping up with all your progress .

Still busy here (especially with the garden/allotment!) but progress is great and we're starting to enjoy the fruits of our labour (radishes, salad, spinach, rhubarb and dare I say it maybe some gooseberries this/next week :j).

We've got growbags galore in the garden (decided to sell the produce rather than the plants themselves) with yet more to buy - i've got approx 40 tomato plants of differing varieties but not quite sure where they're all going yet .

The strawberries both on the plot and here at home have lots of flowers and small strawbs are starting to form .

I won't bore you with everything (it'll take far too long lol) but I'll take some more pics today and pop them up later tonight.

How's the rice coming along Laura - how long does it take to germinate?

Interesting about the hops/wheat - might have to give that a go next year .

Plans for this weekend for us - housework this morning (which desperately needs doing :rolleyes:), lotty this afternoon (sowing sweetcorn, dwarf beans and runners, carrots and maybe some more salad where I can fit it in) and lotty again tomorrow (hoping to finish digging the other side). I think the weather is set to be pretty good here in the south so we're going to make the most of it and give it one last good slog to get everything done .

I'll make an effort to post more now I'm slowing down work/guides wise - it will be nice to have some spare time for a change :eek::D.

TTFN and happy gardening/lottying :beer:

Frugaldom

We need some of your good weather up here as it's raining again and we even had hail last night! :rolleyes: We had every sort of weather except snow yesterday, I think, unless I missed the flurry!

JTB you're doing really well with your lottie, everything seems to be growing well for you. Maybe I should treat my garden more as an allotment (with marauding chickens) and just have raised & covered beds everywhere. Did manage to sell some plants and eggs, just need to sell about 100 times that to recoup the initial expenses. :rotfl:

Looking forward to seeing more photographs. I'll get one of the latest 'babies' as soon as ferocious hen is prepared to let me see her brood without attacking my hands or the camera. She's a scary bird!

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i know this is off topic a bit, but there is a programme on bbc 3 coming soon about how convenience food is made/prepared abroad, which by the looks of the trailer will make a few more people want to grow and prepare their own food.