THE PLOT

2011-05-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

Looks like i have been caught out by the harsh frosts of May.
After tracking the weather and knowing that a frost was on its way i spent the day protecting the veg and fruit outside. All looked ok when i arrived the next day until i went to water the plants inside the greenhouse. The frost had managed to get in and ruin some of my runners and pumpkins. I couldnt believe that it had got some plants in the greenhouse however all plants outside survived.

2011-05-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well its been some time since I last posted so i will do a quick update of the plot for 2011.

In the Brassica bed i have planted cauliflower and broccoli, Due to the high winds we are getting from the east i have protected the young plants with plastic bottles and canes until they get well established.

The root bed is doing well even with the dry weather The only real pain is weeding round the small carrots

Inside the greenhouse we have runner beans which will be ready to plant out in the next two weeks once the risk of ground frost has passed

Also under the glass we have my three special chillia plants

2009-04-16T08:48:00.001-07:00

In shock

I have been on the top of the allotment waiting list for about a week now and as luck would have it the plot that backs onto mine came available and for once in allotment history its not overgrown and it isn't full of brambles .

Here's a little history of the new plot . It was started about a year ago by a young lad . It was a very overgrown plot . He spent a lot of time on it and in no time at all it was cleared . He then planted summer and autumn raspberries a few dwarf apple trees , a couple of blackberry's and one black current bush . It has also had a loverly pond put in . And then out of the blue the other day he said was leaving to take on another site and was giving his plot up .

It was a very strange feeling taking on an allotment that was already done and im still finding myself wondering around it like a lost sheep.

I have so far only made to changes . Number one was to build a new bed that attach to mine next year creating one large bed . And this afternoon i have been down and put in 12 Asparagus plants .. Apart from that i will continue to wonder round like a lost sheep for a few more weeks yet ....

2009-04-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

SPRING 2009

Well here's where the fun all starts. The greenhouse is starting to fill up and i am now starting to plan where im going to try and fit it all in on the plot.

The rhubarb is coming on very nicely and im already on my second crumble so far.

One lesson i have learnt this year is to never ever sow pea seeds in the greenhouse again it was a nightmare getting them out of the pods and into the ground.

So next year they will be sown straight into the ground and that goes the same for the broad beans to.

Also been to check on my onions today and they alook healthy even with the bad weather yet again.

2009-02-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

Greenhouse Take Two

Quite a while ago when i first had my allotment i did manage to obtain a free greenhouse . But it was set out to be a failure from start to finish and all i ended up with was a lot of bent aluminum and a pile of broken glass.

Well as luck had it , I was offered a second free greenhouse and this time i was determined that it would not end the same as the first one .

The problem with the first one was the workers who i had enlisted for the job they were as good as me in putting together a greenhouse ( crap )

So i bit the bullet and asked my step dad for his help and the master of fruit Mr Simon Chapman ( allotment bag rat )

After a carful dismantle , Only three broken pains and a steady drive back to the plot all that was left was a hopefully successful reassemble.

Not to much of a drama putting it back together but it goes to show you that if you have the right TOOLS then all should be fine

2009-02-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

Snow

I have only recently started to go back down again after the rubbish weather we have been getting

Winter update

Well as soon as the turkey hut went up , it soon came back down and was transformed into ash . A sudden change of heart was at fault .

2008-10-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Winter is on its way

Now that my freezer is full and the harvest has come to an end the plot is looking very empty. There is only a handful of leeks and 8 Brussels plants that remind standing , the rest is freshly dug soil .

There can be no better or fresher taste then growing your own veg , here are some freshly prepared leeks ready for the stew pot

I have also started to build my Turkey pen which has so far cost me nothing , as i have scrounged all of the material from around the allotment .

2008-08-21T07:46:00.001-07:00

END OF SUMMER UPDATE

well so far so good i have runner beans and courgettes coming out of my ears . Im still waiting for the tomatoes to turn red and my carrots are doing great , The sweet corn has come on loads so i cant wait to take the first harvest from them .

2008-08-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

Lets hope that now i have put a pond on the plot that this time next year i should have some frogs about to keep all of the bugs at bay

2008-08-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

THE WEED WAR

Well what a difference one year makes , This time last year i was ready to chuck in the towel as i was overgrown with weeds.

Mother nature had well and truly won the battle . But i wasn't going to take it lying down so i thought hard with my fork and spade and it looks like i might have won the battle for this year anyway

2008-08-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

RATS

I have been getting quite a few unwanted visitors during the night since i have had the chickens . Got my first catch today not a very nice sight

2008-08-06T05:18:00.000-07:00

River cottage

Thought i would post the pictures from the river cottage spring fate that i went to , If it wasn't for me watching the river cottage programs then i would of never found interest in growing veg or keeping chickens . And hopefully Turkeys soon

2008-07-22T15:33:00.004-07:00

Summer Veg Update

courgettes

onions

runner beans

Brussels

2008-07-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Summer 2008

Well after the rubbish summer and the last month of constant down pours the chicken run began to smell . This was down to the layers mash they eat once it gets wet it goes sour . I have changed their diet and put a plastic roof on the run and have put bark Chipping's on the floor this seems to have done the trick

2008-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Chicken coop update

2008-05-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

Well it's been all go this weekend. On Friday I decided that I was going to build a chicken run as I was obtaining 10 free, ex battery chickens. So Saturday morning came and off I went to buy some materials, just for the job. £120 pound later, with 14 posts and 75 meters of chicken wire I set about constructing the Hilton chicken hotel. By teatime I had dug a trench one foot deep around the parameter to keep the foxes out and knocked in the posts.

Sunday morning came and the weather was terrible, it was thrashing it down with rain, I felt like staying in bed but the chickens were coming on Tuesday so I had to motivate myself. Off I went down the plot at the shocking time of 8 in the morning. It wasn't long 'till I got moving and by dinner I had built the roof beams and fitted the door at the front of the pen, before long it was three in the afternoon and as I had to go to work I had to call it a day.

Well, with the weekend gone and only one day left 'till the chickens arrived I had to get a move on. So I finished off wiring the pen and by midday it was finished. I'm still waiting for the coop to arrive so I have borrowed a large fox trap to home them in until the coop arrives, which is still better then the appalling conditions they are use to in these battery farms.

Chicken day arrived and by eleven I was down the plot and waiting for the delivery of the birds. They were soon here and in better shape than I had imagined, a couple of them have their neck feathers missing, I believe this is due to them putting their heads through the cages to reach the food. Also one of them has a bright red behind where it has been pecked at for what looks like quite some time. I'm sure that after a couple of weeks and lots of worms and slugs they will be fine and back to their former glory

As an extra bonus I found two eggs in one of the delivery boxes. I put these on top of the pen and off I wandered to talk to my neighbour, (big mistake). The next thing I saw was a dirty big black carrion crow fly past with an egg in its claws! With shock and horror I looked over to my plot and saw a further two more circling my last remaining egg. Off I sprinted shouting my head off to protect my dinner. So on the first day I'm down 50% on losses, its my first lesson I've learnt in the art of keeping poultry.

2008-05-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

I have been down to check on the veg after the harsh weather we have been having and all looks good

potatoes

purple sprouting broccoli

onions

2008-05-02T08:22:00.001-07:00

Its alive

2008-04-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Please check out this web site for any help or information on growing fruit or vegetables . It has a great online community with lots and lots of knowledge

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk

2008-04-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Its spring

So the time of year has come again where we have to get all of the plants and seeds into the ground .

I assembled a mini team just for the job , And on todays list of jobs to do was ....

Plant potatoes

plant broad beans

plant onion bulbs

weeding " and lots of it "

2008-03-15T09:40:00.001-07:00

Fruits of the loom

Well after my recent development on the plot i thought it was about time that i went out and bought some cuttings for my fruit patch .. After searching through all of the different kinds i have ended up getting a Black currant and red current bush i also purchased a couple of strawberry plants ..

To make sure that these don't get attacked by the weeds i dug a square trench out and sieved the soil to eliminate any roots they will come back to haunt me one this was done i then soaked the cuttings in water and then transplanted them into the soil ...

Now they are in place i will leave them for a week so that they set ok in the ground them im going to cut out some membrane and put it around the base on the bush as a second defense system from the weeds .....

2008-03-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today i have dug over my new vegetable bed again to remove any weeds or roots i missed the last time . I have also been on a website and ordered a Instant Small Vegetable Garden pack which should be Suitable for filling a vegetable patch approximately 10m²

The kit contains

Rocket x 20
Mixture of lettuces x 40
Dwarf French green beans x 12
Runner beans x 8
Beetroot x 10
Cauliflower x 6
Cabbage mixture x 6
Courgette x 3Organic seed potatoes x 20
Carrots x 20
Giant Red Mustard x 10

Here is a plan of how the patch should be planted

Jobs to do until my vegetables arrive

Membrane all of the paths

fix shed windows

Tidy up remains of the old greenhouse

Buy and plant fruit bush's

2008-03-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well after a long winters break i decided i had to go and face up to the plot . I was dreading going there seeing how bad it had become .

I called a favor and borrowed my friends rotorvator as it would mean less work for now but lots more work in the long run .. There are so many for's and against's when it comes to using one ... But the main thing is that it makes the job easy .

All i needed was the weather on my side and we were looking for a go . I woke up about 10 and things were looking good , We picked up the rotorvator and off we went .. God what a shock i was in for once we had the beast up and running , talk about hard work and heres me thinking this would be easy the beast had me all over the place getting stuck and going where it wanted , you had to wrestle with the damn thing but hey its still easier than digging ...

My plan is was not to rotorvate the whole plot as i want to be able to keep on top of it this year so ive done three sections which im hoping i will be able to keep on top of ...

...........................................................................................................................................................

Plans for the coming week

BED 1 this will be kept weed free until i can fill it full of potatoes

BED 2 as this is the less weeded bed and has great soil this will be my veggie patch for the year

BED 3 not sure what to put in here yet .......

more updates to follow

2007-07-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

They say a picture says a thousand words

Well all this one says to me is

OH DEAR

I had put all of my plans into action that this weekend was going to be the takeover of the plot and rescue it back from the nasty weeds

But the weeds used there secret weapon yet again Mother nature and her dreaded rain so it looks like it has got the better of me and my petrol strimmer yet again . I think im going to have to sit it out with a few cans of carling and maybe one or two magners and see what tomorrow morning brings ...

New update will follow soon ....................

2007-07-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Not enough time

Unfortunately i have let the plot get out of order and it is now looking like a wildlife sanctuary . I have let work and other hobbies take over my life and have put the allotment to the back off my list .

I think i have visited it about twice in the last 3 months and that was just to fetch some tools which i left in the shed down there .

Also the weather has been a big factor of why i haven't visited but that is no excuse .

I am just waiting for the rain to pass and i will nip down there and take some pictures to show what poor state i have let it get to .

2007-03-28T09:51:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures from around the plot to update you since the last lot

Now im sure there's something wrong with these next pictures as im working and my mates chilling mmm im sure it should be the other way round

Also we had the young one down there with us it wont be long till we can get him digging and earning his keep hahaha ( child labour )

2007-03-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

The start of the growing season is here at last .

So i thought i would go down and plant my broad beans. The soil just needed a quick going over with the hoe to break up the big lumps and then we transplanted the broad beans into there final position.

There was 28 plants altogether which we started off in my grandads greenhouse.

2007-02-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

The first plant to go into the ground since I took over the plot so hopefully in two years time I should have some good rhubarb ready for picking.. ( mmm rhubarb crumble )

2007-01-31T07:58:00.000-08:00

Went down the plot today and did a few runs to the tip I chucked all of the broken glass and a couple of old rusty barrels . I also got time to assemble my new compost heap and did a bit of digging . If the weather stays dry then I will be going down tomorrow to felt the shed roof for a second time this year. I can still remember the last words I muttered when we did it last time . " I bet the next time we do this will be about 10 years time " me and my big gob

Would like to say thanks to Dave who came down in his landrover to help clear my junk. I made sure i got a pic of him to add to my blog so dont think he did the digging lol he is just posing for the camera and trying to look the part

2007-01-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

As you can see the shed fits in well now with its battle scars.I have also noticed some plants had sprouted through my membrane and to my surprise there was a bunch of daffodils a bit early I though but with how nice and warm its been I bet its confused things I sure the frost that we have coming and the warning of snow will kill them …

2007-01-24T06:08:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update I went down the plot today to tidy up some of the glass that had smashed in the winds I took my lad down there with me to keep him happy as you can see he looks the part …

2007-01-24T05:52:00.000-08:00

Well since the last time I posted on here a little bit has changed in fact I have took 20 steps backwards. It looks like all of my hard work on felting the roof was a waste of time if not that then a learning curve.
It all started when the strong winds around 80mph hammered England. I was driving down the lane to the allotments the day after the storms and I noticed something strange about my shed at first I thought the roof had been ripped off. I parked up the car and began to walk up to my plot I then notched that the window had disappeared in fact the shed had moved to.
It was at that point I realised I was quite lucky I had not lost the roof as first thought it just had a new function in life yep it was now The floor) yep that's right the shed had been blown over 180 degrees. Amazing the whole thing was still intact accept for one window the guttering and my newly laid felt.

I didn't want to open the door to see what carnage I had too deal with I felt like building a big bonfire and burning the lot …
That night I rang round my mates and got myself quite a bit of help, we went down at the weekend and started to empty the shed once the shed was empty it turned over quite easily and back onto its base. We then put 10 concrete blocks on the back wall of the shed to keep it weighed down for the next lot of high winds if I get time I will put some stakes in the ground and screw them to the side of the shed to act as anchor points.

2007-01-01T04:54:00.000-08:00

2007

Well as this is my first year done on the plot I thought I would post a couple of pics of how it looked when I started and how it looks now..... As you can see there's still loads of work to be done but all in all not bad for a first timer

2006-11-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

Now for some good news .
I have acquired a 10 ft X 7 ft shed and built it up with no hitches .. It has also been reinforced with lots of extra nails to keep the wind at bay. I have filled up the shed with the important things first ---------> tea pot , kettle , stove , mugs , seat and last but not least my garden tools. I am just in the process of looking for a log burner to keep me nice and warm through the winter months. I should be getting some wood this week so i can make a start on the cold frames i hope to have plenty of pics to post on here and also some dimensions to give people a helping hand at making them.

I have told the other half that she is banned from the plot but she has ignored my order and made herself right at home

The shed is now turned into the workers tea hut , Just to keep

them all sweet whilst there digging in these cold conditions

2006-11-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

Bad news

Operation greenhouse has failed . We started to erect the greenhouse and somehow had managed to lose some of the steel plates So we left it half standing whilst we went away to make some new brackets . On our return we were greeted with a pile of bent metal and broken glass ( mother nature had her way and trashed it ) So with the glass i have salvaged im going to build a few cold frames and not bother with a greenhouse.....

2006-11-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Quick update

I Went down the allotment yesterday and had a nice bonfire to keep me warm while I spent most of the day chatting to the neighbour... When I finally did some work I covered all of the top end of the plot with some black weed membrane .

I will be removing this in Feb some time ... I have now joined my local free cycle group so when I got home I checked my emails to see what bargains were going for free . And to my surprise there was a greenhouse so off I replied and won it .. Picked it up today and dropped it off at the allotments . If all goes to plan I will be going down on Saturday to build it back together ( looks like one hard puzzle in a million bits ) Hope to have some pics to post up after the greenhouse mission is completed...

2006-09-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

MAIN CLEARANCE

After debating long and hard on where to start I decided to hit the worst area first. The majority of the weeds consisted of brambles and nettles. After a good few hours of digging the roots out and removing the growth I had cleared half of the bottom end of the plot.

I then decided to give the weeding a rest and to start laying the shed base. After a bit of raking the ground level I started to move the slabs, which I had acquired for free off a mate, into position. The base is 10' x 8'. After I had finished this I went back to my weeding duties and finished the other half of the plot at the bottom end. I have also found a network of tunnels which belong to the rabbit family so I did the right thing and filled them in! There will be no more rabbits on my plot!

Looking at how much work I'd done in a few hours I was very pleased with it and so I decided to hang up my fork and spade until next time.

My next jobs are as follows ....
For the month of october
Clear all of the scrap metal off the plot ( trip to the tip )
Burn all of the weeds I removed
Continue to dig over the middle section of the plot
Cover all dug beds with black weed suppresser

2006-09-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

I went down to the plot today after a good month of neglect .To find that all the weeds had reared their ugly heads and I was back to square one. All my own fault for not finding anytime for it.So I have altered my diary for the foreseeable future and dedicated Wednesdays , Fridays and Sunday mornings to the plot. So there should be no more getting side tracked.

Had to call my mate to drop off the petrol strimmer and off I went and strimmed the whole plot again. Then me and Mr kerruish finished off the outer fence. Then it was time for the old shed to meet its end so off we went and knocked it down and built a nice big bonfire. Hopefully I will be getting my new shed dropped off on Sunday and some frame work with netting on it for my fruit cage.

Plans for the rest of the week are as follows. Tomorrow go and buy some more fence posts and also some black plastic membrane. On Sunday I'm going to cover the whole plot with black plastic to kill off the weeds. Just need to decide now on what system to use, do I go for raised beds or stick to the rows?!

2006-08-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

FIRST HARVEST

Just getting my first harvest of tomatoes now. Seems a bit late but then again these have been outside and not in a greenhouse ...... As you can see the chief taster seamed to like them ( he wasn't to keen when he took a bite on a green one )

2006-08-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

Back garden
Even though this blog is about my allotment plot I thought i would add an entry to do with what im growing at home in the back garden ( small one at that )So here are a few pics of what im growing
We have runner beans , cabbages , beet root , carrots , herbs and tomatoes

Were getting loads of runner beans so im freezing them every day , At this rate we should have runners every day through the winter

2006-07-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY

Well Sunday didn't go exactly to plan , we didn't turn up at 7 we got down there about 9.30 after going out on the beer the night before . One of the other lads who was meant to help made some excuse about taking his Mrs. to work ( yeah right ) So it was just me and Kerruishy . I thought the digging was going to be the hardest bit but it took us no time at all , I think it helped with it not being that warm and the rain the night before softened up the ground ..... Once we had dug the trench we then positioned all of the stakes .Thank god i bought a post driver instead of sledge hammering them into the ground. They flew in using the stake basher as i have named it . Then we had to nip to B n Q to get some tin snips to cut the chicken wire and via the way back we stopped at a food van and had a couple of bacon butties and a cup of tea , once back we cut the chicken wire and tacked it to the stakes then we threaded the retaining wire through the chicken wire ( not before me getting into a mess with it ) and then we sat back and admired our work and called it a day. Even though there wasn't much sun we both still managed to get sun burnt. Think im going back down on Thursday to tidy up the last bits ......

I thought i best add a picture of my bald mug on here , Its a good job i look busy ( my work mates dont do all of the work ) Honest

2006-07-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

BINDWEED

When i turned up on Sunday i noticed that at least half the plot has been attacked by the dreaded bindweed . Im debating on whether to dig it up the hard way or kill it off using roundup. Think i will have to flick a coin on which way to go

2006-07-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

MY BROTHER While Kerruishy was gardening in Hathern
Some thought it was a total eclipse
But Mark had just taken his top off
And blocked out the sun with his tits.

Alan Titchmarsh he definately isn't
But what he is I just don't know
Well at least while he's helping out digging
It saves Limby getting a scarecrow.

With hair that looks like a haystack
And a body that resembles jelly
He's a dead ringer for Worzel Gummidge
Except for his much bigger belly.

2006-07-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

WORK MATES

This is one of my work mates who came down to help me , even though he spent most of the time looking into his smoking cauldron ,However he was good enough to lend me his petrol lawnmower for a small price of some home grown beet root

Hubble bubble cauldron of trouble,There's a spell which will make you tremble.Warthogs toes and dragon scales,Witches warts and vampires teeth,Sour blood and tongue of snake,Eye of hydra and acid of demon,Bats wings and leg of the grim reaper,Tail of hellhound and heart of tentacle.Hubble bubble toil and trouble,Here's a spellwhich will make you tremble.

And his side kick Simon salt on the right

Im all ready for the weekend now , My trench is dug and i have all of the kit to start erecting my fence , I even managed to get a couple more new volunteers to help me ( I DON'T THINK THEY REALISE YET WHAT THEY HAVE LET THEM SELF'S IN FOR ) ha ha .. Just checked the weather and it looks like rain for Sunday . At least it will be cool and even more cooler at 7 in the morning

2006-07-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Me and a couple of work mates waited for a nice day and then we hit the plot ( operation ground clearance ) was the mission name. With a mower and a petrol strimmer we went to work on it ... after a couple of hours and several bonfires later , it was starting to look quite good . We could even see the ground .

Whilst there we even had a visit from some of the local wildlife

So now that the plot is looking like a football pitch and not a mad overgrown field i have started to plan where i want my beds and greenhouse and few other things like that .Today im going to nip down to the local farm shop and get some chicken wire and then im off to a timber yard to get some fence posts. I will also try and get down on Wednesday to dig at least a 2ft trench around the perimeter so that the pesky rabbits cant dig under the fence .. But looking at the 5 day weather forecast it looks like its going to be to hot. I will have to see.

MY PLOT

2006-07-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have just rented my first plot , and at the minute it looks like an overgrown field ..... I have a lot of work to do and quite a bit of time as IM not planting anything till March next year , As I have quite a few vegetables growing in my garden at home .. IM growing runner beans , tomatoes , carrots , beetroot and cabbages ..
My first job on the Plot is to get the petrol strimmer out and flatten it all and then put a perimeter fence up to keep the rabbits out. Im also going to purchase some of the plastic membrane to keep the weeds at bay as I dig a bit at a time

THE PLOT

Rocket x 20Mixture of lettuces x 40Dwarf French green beans x 12Runner beans x 8Beetroot x 10Cauliflower x 6Cabbage mixture x 6Courgette x 3Organic seed potatoes x 20Carrots x 20Giant Red Mustard x 10

MY PLOT

Rocket x 20
Mixture of lettuces x 40
Dwarf French green beans x 12
Runner beans x 8
Beetroot x 10
Cauliflower x 6
Cabbage mixture x 6
Courgette x 3Organic seed potatoes x 20
Carrots x 20
Giant Red Mustard x 10