Early March preparations

I took a day off to start to get some more work done on the plot as time has been ticking along, the weather has been lousy and we've been so busy as of late. As you can see below, I've started to demolish the huge pile of soil/roots/grass/weeds left over from the digging of the plot last year. Also, you can see the fire in the background, which is the only way to finally get rid of the roots.





There is a fair amount of soil, so I have taken the chance to fill the raised bed area near the shed, as you can see below. Unfortunately, one of the wheelbarrows broke in the process, so down to one now, unless I can fix it.



So the potatoes are chitting away, I've done the digging in preparation for their planting, so with a bit of luck over the coming weeks I'll finish this area off, stain the shed and start building the frame and netting for the strawberries. Oh and I took a savoy cabbage home and it did look good. Let's hope it taste that way too!

Come on the Spring !

First update for 2010....

First things first, the shed roof survived! Hoorah. So after all the wind and rain and then the snow I was pleased and pretty amazed that the roof had remained intact, ensuring it stayed dry inside, so that's all thanks to my Dad, his felt and black gooey stuff....oh and a few nails.

So here it is, now I need to stain all the wood this year to help protect it and make sure it lasts as long as possible.


Whilst having a look around the plot, I was also amazed to see we still had a few carrots left and the savoy cabbages had survived the birds and the weather, so with our Sunday lunch we were fortunate enough to have some fresh tasty veg. I've a few cabbages left which you can just about see in the photo's, so they'll last a while.

As for things surviving, Tom brought home a bean plant from school late last year and although it was the wrong season I just planted it out, more to get it out of the way and amazingly, although the original stem died, it has sprouted another one, so I've protected it and we'll see what it does. As Tom keeps asking about it, I'll have to try and keep it alive!



With a while to go before we start on the potatoes, I wanted to get all the beds dug and as you can see, they are all looking pretty good. Nice crumbly soil, even with it being quite wet and as I did the double digging last year, it was much easier this time around. Took no time at all.


I also wanted to start to get rid of the small paths dividing the beds and just leave myself with one single path down the middle. You can see below where I've started, but this took me right back to all those weeks in all weather, when I first got the plot, as this is covered in that awful couch grass ( I think that's what it's called), with roots everywhere, making it hard work to dig the soil, rid it of the roots and turn it over in preparation for planting. I got this one side done, but will need to do it once more to make sure I've got rid of as much as possible.

I'll be burning all those roots, just to get my own back. With luck, I'll manage to find the time to get all the other sections done too and then set to work on the large pile at the bottom of the plot next to the compost bins.



Finally, it was pretty quiet down there and Mr & Mrs Fox put in an appearance. Healthy looking too, so they must have plenty to eat. You can just see them between the sheds. By the time I got the camera, they decided to walk off....very camera shy!



Well lots to look forward to on the plot this year. I'm hoping for some nice days ahead in the spring and some more success in the harvesting. Good luck to one and all.

Fixing the shed roof

Well here it is. Thanks to my Dad for supplying some roofing felt and bitumen, I got to work last Saturday on fixing one side of the shed roof as the previous felt had been ripped off.

It was a perfect size as it covered the whole side with enough to fold over the top and seal on the other side. I used plenty of tacks, bitumen and the batons on the sides to try and hold it whatever the weather. Sunday was due to be extremely windy and wet, so a big test.

I haven't been there yet to see if it stayed on, but here's hoping!

This coming weekend, I shall be getting back into the digging habit and making the plot ready for the winter. I've plans to expand the beds a little bit, so over the coming months that's the work schedule.

I'll keep the updates coming.........Have fun this Autumn.

Preparing for the Autumn and Winter

Well, a truly lovely weekend of that late Summer/early Autumn weather, so although having trouble ridding myself of this cough and 'man flu' I wanted to make sure I'd got down to the allotment and sorted out the strawberries in preparation for next year, having done the raspberries last week.

First of all on the raspberries, I weeded, cut back the grass edges, tied up any shoots that needed it and used the huge pile of cuttings from the council to mulch all over the raspberry bed. With luck this will keep the weeds down and help them over the winter. Here they are below;-
...and a close up of the autumn raspberries. We've been lucky enough to have had a few from them , so that's always a good start.


Sometime over the coming weeks, my Dad will be coming up to check them over and make sure I cut the right stems away and make sure all looks good for next year. I have high hopes for them and look forward to getting a pretty good crop.

Anyway, on Sunday I set about tidying up the strawberries. As you may remember I've not had a great deal of luck with them, but thankfully from all the healthy plants that survived, there have been plenty of tubers and so, I set about cutting these new plants out and replanting them. As a result I have over 40 plants, which look pretty healthy, so there is always hope!

Just like the raspberries, I weeded the entire bed, cut off the tubers, cut the grassy edges and then used the council cuttings to offer the plants some help over the winter, as you can see below;-

I just hope they all survive and then I'll make sure I have proper netting and fingers crossed we'll have a great harvest. I know Tom will look forward to that.

Finally, We have had a few strawberries and as you can see below they are still trying.


Well, long may these weekends continue and I shall continue with the rest of the plot, clearing up, digging, etc. I have also to replace one half of the felt roof as it was destroyed, coat the shed with another layer of stain, demolish the large pile at the bottom of the plot, spreading all the soil everywhere else and burning all the weeds and roots as well as a few other things I've forgotten.

I've just been in to order the potatoes from the Trading Hut for next year, once again at an amazing price per kilo and I've curtailed a little to make sure I don't waste them.

That's all for now...Happy Autumn.

Post holiday Summer update.....

Well I put a few of my Dad's sunflower seeds in and look at them now. What a picture. Now it's been a while since I posted an update as we've been on our holidays for a couple of weeks and the last time I went down to the allotment, I went with Ellie and Tom and they helped me with the harvest......and what a harvest it was too.

Ellie picked our first bag full of tomatoes and Karen has subsequently made a load of tomato sauce. I picked another bag this last Sunday, so this time we're ( I say we're of course, but really mean Karen) going to make a batch of soup as well. That is in addition to plenty of them that we're eating in the Summer weather and in my sandwiches! The tomatoes have been a great success, from the cherry ones right up to some really big one's. Tom was busy digging up carrots so we've also got a bag of them in the fridge too. All different shapes and sizes, but they taste good!



Also, before we went away I replanted the broccoli and sprouting, covered with netting to try and stop the pigeons eating them and just look at them now. I weeded all around them when we got back and it looks as if they should be ok now. So that's excellent news.


...and here's a close up of one of the plants.



Finally, the raspberry plants continue to grow and I've now started to tie them to the wires my Dad provided and helped me set up. We may even be lucky and get a little bit of fruit from them.


I finally finished digging up the rest of the potatoes and now have a very heavy hessian sack full of spuds for us to use, as well as bags of dwarf french beans.

There's not too much more for me to do now, apart from continuing with the harvesting and keeping the weeds down, whilst keeping notes on what worked well and what did not, so that next year, I can do even better.

As you look around the plots, there is plenty of growing and lots of harvesting going on so with luck lots of other people will be enjoying the fruits of their labour too.

Nature's lessons......

I know it's been a while since I had a chance to update my blog, but we have been so busy these last few weeks, I've barely had a chance to dash down to the plot, keep the weeds down and harvest some of the produce.

It really seems to be the time when you have to keep on weeding, watching how the plants are coming on and trying to protect them from all the scavengers who just love to eat everything before you can get to it. I'm already learning a lot this year and am starting to understand what needs to be done and when, to make sure we have the type of fruit and veg we like and use.

First things first. I shall not be doing as many potatoes as this year as we have so many. Here's the load I dug up at the weekend, along with our first dwarf french beans and climbing french beans. We've got so many, I'm bagging them up and giving them away. I've got a hessian sack and will be filling that up too, for us to use over the coming months.


As for the dwarf beans, all I did was put the seeds in the bed and waited to see what they did, so all very easy. They look really good, just like the ones you buy in the shops, so I top and tailed them and we've put 2 bags in the freezer. They dont need any support and as we like these, I think next year, I'll do a few more. I got the climbing french beans for a present, but I'm not really sure what to do with them, but I've put a bag of them in the freezer too, so will need to have a look and see what you can make with them.

Here's the bed with the beans in, with the peas behind. The climbing beans seem to have taken a while to get going, although I was speaking with Les on Saturday and he was telling me that's the same for everyone this year. In the background you can see the peas. I really like them too and we have a bag full in the freezer, however another leasson for me there, as I should have thinned them out a little bit and I missed the first batch as I saw them almost ready and then left them too long, resulting in them being past their best. So, next year I will keep a much closer eye on them. All they needed was the support and that's it, so another easy one for the future.

The tomatoes seem to be coming along fine, even though I've not been watering them as we have had a series of hot days followed by nice downpours. I've had a look around and everyone elses are still green, so with luck over the coming weeks, we should be able to get plenty of tomatoes too.


We have already had about a dozen sweetcorn cobs from the plants my Dad gave me and very sweet and succulent they are too. Here are the 6 I picked at the weekend.

I've had a bit of difficulty with the cabbages and broccoli, with the caterpillars loving the cabbages and it looks like the birds having a feast of the broccoli. As you can see below they really have been battered. However, I put a net over them and hope that they'll come back. We'll see.

those pesky pigeons!


As for the rest, we've had some carrots and plenty of salad leaves. I must also make sure I thin the carrots and lettuce properly next year and also, not do too much and spread out the sowing a bit more.

As for the fruit, the strawberries were a bit of a disaster, but some of the plants are still ok and I plan to get some more this autumn, sort out a larger bed for them and make sure I have straw mulch and also proper netting. So, next year is the big one for them. Here are some of them that have survived so far, with the sunflower left for the church competition and also some of the seeds my Dad gave me, going like crazy!

Finally, the raspberries are continuing to find their feet and shoot up a bit more, so I'm hopeful we'll get plenty of fruit from them next year.


So, nature continues to teach me and show me how best to play things going forward. So far not a bad first year, with lots of optimism for next year and still plenty of produce to harvest over the coming weeks and months. All in all, going along nicely. Just need a little bit more time (and sunshine) to get down there....if only!

Harvest time....

I kept forgetting to bring the camera in to the office, by finally I remembered and as you can see below I dug up quite a few potatoes and as it turned out, 7 bags of salad leaves, including some spinach and rocket.

....just look at these lovely spuds!!!!.....there were over 60 of them.



I'll have to find time to pop down this weekend and see how everything got on after the crazy hail storm we had in the week and make sure the weeds and slugs haven't eaten everything. Also, I'll need to dig up some more spuds and cut some more of the salad leaves for our visitors on Sunday.

More pictures and information on that next week.