How much wood would a wood chopper chop...

...if a wood chopper chopped up wood?!!

Well actually, it's a bloomin' lot!

I lost count how many barrow loads I've heaved up and down the muddy hill today. I hope it's going to be worth it and keep the horrendously muddy paths covered for a while.

Said wood choppings, AKA chippings, were a bargain too. I traded them for the remaining Halloween sweets ;-)

Thanks for reading

A wild life for wildlife?

Don't all die of shock!!

I'm here again...just like buses as the saying goes.

 

Right, well as the title suggests this post is along the lines of wildlife and the wild life they may lead if they come to live on our patch.

 

Well, I say may...if I show you something secret I hope you'll keep it under your hat.

Mind you, I believe it's not allowed...to keep it under your hat!  Even to touch I do believe.

But we can look...

 

 

Any guesses?  Oh OK you Facebook friends, you already know.

I found a Great Crested Newt on my plot this week.

A protected species and you need a licence to handle them, but if you're lucky to come across one you're obviously welcome to watch.

I'm as happy as a pig in muck!

(or should that be happy as a newt in a squelchy part of the plot?)

 

Well, as planned we cracked on with our wildlife area seeing as we already had an important guest.

 

 

Only made on the cheap as with the rest of the plot.

We were given the liner and after making the pond at home we had plenty

left to make one here too.

In the first photo above you can see the stack of pallets, this will become

a 'Bug hotel' completed in the next few weeks so any more visitors can make reservations

for the coming Winter.

Oh, and yes, I took my wellies off and hopped into the pond to get the liner straight.

The rain will soon fill it up.

(to think I even worried about water on the plot when I took it on!  I live in Macclesfield for goodness sakes...it RAINS!)

 

A trip to B&Q for some eye hooks (another planned project) and I spied

the plant hospital.  The boys laugh how

we call it that and it's the first place I stop at.  That place is so MEAN to little plants :o( They have a week, like a sell by date, on them and if they're still there after that week  then they have to go...and cheap!  I often ask the chap in the garden bit to make them even cheaper...and he does!  So I got 3 Coreopsis Sunray for only £1.50. Butterflies like them apparently.

 

I also had a rescued Angelica (from a local garden centre) that needed planting so that went in too.

 

 

Hope the pond and plants survive this monster...

 

 

He's always checking I've got things right.

 

Well after all that hard work it was brew time. 

Tidying up the shed was the best idea I'd had that day...

 

 

(It's vintage darling! The stove.)

 

I've hardly seen a soul this weekend and I've LOVED it!

Life sometimes deals you tricky moments to live with and the last few weeks

have been a huge strain.

Who needs therapy when you have an allotment eh?

 

Right...well that's it for now.

 

Lets hope I can get down there again soon.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Love Claire. x

 

 

 



Long time no see...!

Well I'm not going to fib,

but the allotment has been way down

at the bottom of the list this Summer.

Not the usual way things should be for families

that have an allotment but that's how it was this year.

 

Saying that...things have picked up again over the last month and we've been busy tackling the jungle that has covered most of it. Unfortunately for you guys there are no photos of said jungle, nor is there any of it now after I've tried to bring it back into shape.  But I do have this...

 

 

Does it remind you of anywhere?

Yep, it's my shed!  Due to the lack of Veg to enter into the village show I looked at the other categories and entered them instead.

Not only is this ink drawing hung in my home it got me a 3rd!  I was thrilled.

 

I also won a 2nd for my rhubarb and vanilla jam against a huge class full of the local W.I.

 

Fruit scones are things my Mum is a champion at knocking out. So I asked her for a recipe and advice and although I made 2 batches at midnight the night before both couldn't be more different in taste and looks...same recipe, same technique but anyhow, I chose the ones I liked best and they got a commendable 3rd. Again, against the formidable W.I. ladies :o)

 

A plate of 8 plums, stalks intact!!  Well, it's been a bad year for fruit trees apparently and my normally laden plum tree was a bit thin on the ground for fruits but I picked what I had and chose the best and guess what?  I got a 1st!  Oh OK, so what if I was the only entry, hee hee.

 

My big win of the day was a photograph I'd taken of the canal bridge near my house. A strong class with many entries but guess who won?  ME!

 

 

 

Right, well I've been a busy bee on the plot today (ouch!)

Finally, the terrible paths have got the better of me and although I'd hoped for lush grass all I've got are horrid stumpy weeds that make you trip and twist and hurt yourself... (remember the poorly hip a few months back? Grrrr!) and MUD, oh crumbs the mud!!  To visit my plot without coming home looking like a mud monster from the deep would be luxury. So I've splashed out and bought heavy duty membrane and pegs and have been busy playing working on putting that down today in hope that the local tree surgeon will drop me some wood chippings off to lay over it.

 

I've also made a list of all the things I'd like to change before next year. So as we near the end of this season, my first on this plot I feel happy and confident that although I haven't had much of a harvest I still love my little life on the plot.

(just a shame I don't live in the village...soooooo far away!)

 

Right, well I'm sorry I have rambled on for too long and not shown enough pictures..

Here's a couple of the plot looking better than it does now...early Summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and again.

 

Right, I will be back.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Love Claire. x

 

 

Calm before the storm?

If I stand right up on my tippytoes I can just about see Summer over the horizon.

If I listen really carefully I can almost hear plants growing,

and if I close my eyes I can almost remember what my house used to look like before it became Kew gardens!! Hee hee.

We're bursting at the seams with trays full of pots housing my little babies. Note the use of the word babies....you'd think they were human the way I chat away to them all day, how I peer intensely at them inspecting every new leaf. I seriously 'heart' my little plantlings.

Being so precious over them means I'm not ready to let them go out in to that big world outside just yet, I think we have more wild weather coming in and although my plot is fairly sheltered compared to most I don't think they'd manage well enough.

Saying that I have managed to plant some things out and the night I spent tossing and turning worrying about them should be embarrassing for a normal person...but you see, that's just it....I'm no longer normal! (come to think about it, was I ever?)

Have a peep at the Brassica bed,

...spuds.  All 7 varieties!

Broad beans.

...and look,

Live-in security guard!

Sleeping on the job!

Next up is the Allium department.
Onions at the rear, Shallots to the front/right, Leeks to the front/left.

These little leeks are what I lay awake worrying about. Did I plant them too early, had I planted them incorrectly and would they survive?  Well they're all doing OK up to now.

Now this bit is tricky for you to see, but look carefully and you should be able to make out some kind of cane structure, possibly for beans (as yet unplanted, gulp!)

I've got a big disadvantage to many gardeners, that being I'm such a midget!  So I had heard that this X frame is good for easier harvesting and also easier for me to build. It's VERY sturdy too, I'm impressed with my little self. Lets just hope I manage to encourage the little beggars up and along the right poles and they don't end up in a tangled mess.

Finally a shot of everything.

Well that's it for now.

Thanks for reading.

Love Claire. xxx



Birds with beards?!

Just a quickie but I couldn't resist putting this picture here for all to see.
If you enjoy feeding your garden birds and have a dog or a friend has a dog, try collecting the hair you would normally throw away (or compost!) and put it out for the birds to line their nests with...
Check out my army of Sparrows growing beards.

Love Claire xx

What has become of me...?

There was once was a time I would wear varnish on my nails and be known to stand waiting outside a pub for it to open. But here I was, stood waiting for Wickes to open so I could buy a bag of nails with no varnish insight!
But the sun was shining and I'd already been to collect a whole load of measured and sawn wood (kind friend's Dad I heart you!!) so was eager to get down on the plot and get hammering.
I am the first to admit I don't know what is best or where to start but I'll have to learn from mistakes and grab help offered when I can. I think my patch is doing alright with this method for now.

Right, off I go to the plot and I get busy banging in huge nails and before long I have the middle tier/step in place and a couple of the beds organised. A chum rings about midday and offers his help so I jump at the chance and he pops over and gets busy with the aforementioned nails. We have a good laugh and all the bits of wood are soon fastened in place.

I dug over the strawberry patch and this summer I'm going to be busy trying to catch the runners to produce some free plants for next year as I think these are on their last legs.
Did I tell you I'd dug over a new bed and put most of the potatoes in too? I'm so worried that although I'd worked so hard digging and weeding that I may have put them in too close together :-(
But we'll see and they are earlies so let's hope it won't matter. On the other hand they may be at the correct spacing and I need to just stop worrying...time will tell but I like to mention it here so I can look back and learn.

The seeds are coming along ok, I may have lost some to the cold snap recently (SNOW!!) but again, we'll see.

Well, thanks for reading and happy digging folks!

Love Claire xx

Soil therapy!

Well I've had a right old day of it today!

So when we arrived home I pushed open the front door, ignored the kids, the dog, the cat, threw my bag down and grabbed the seed tin and went straight out the back door and over to the greenhouse.

I was out for an hour messing with compost, plant pots and watering cans. Writing seed labels (this time with a different pen!) and planted lots and lots and lots of seeds.

Sorry about this but I'm going to do a very boring list of them so that if by some miracle I'm still keen on this allotment lark next year I can look back at this blog and use it as a record of what I grew etc.

I hope I remember to add to this as I go along as we have YET MORE seeds to plant and some to go straight into the ground, PLUS the 7 varieties of potato I have ready to go in ASAP.

Vegetables

Broad bean - Aguadulce

Courgette - B. Forest

Tomato -San Marzano and Bejbino F1

PSB - a freebie from T&M

Chives

Calabrese - Autumn Spear

Celeriac - Giant Prague

Parsley - Moss Curled

Cauliflower - All year round

Cucumber - Marketmore

Borlotto bean - Lingua Di Fuoco

Brussels Sprouts - Fill Basket

Dwarf french bean - Tendergreen

Pumpkin - Jack be little and Atlantic Giant

Squash - Yellow bush scallop and Spaghetti

Chillies - Friggitello, Scotch Bonnet and Yellow bumpy

Flowers

Marigold - Tagetes patula

Nasturtium - Jewel mix

Cosmos - Sensation mixed

Verbena bonariensis

Cowslip

Teasel

Sunflower - Skyscraper

Lupin - Russel Strain Mixed

Sweet Pea - Royal family mixed and 2 other varieties that the packets are still in the greenhouse used as labels so I can't type their names here right now.

I also have a load of Dahlias and Hollyhocks to start off in some compost too, before this gorgeous weather breaks all ready for when it snows next week!  Ha ha, I'm JOKING, well, I hope I am!

Did I mention we had our first cooked meal at the plot last night? Bacon baps and hot dogs was on the menu. I don't think we'll get more adventurous than that but it was lovely. Our very own patch of countryside was so relaxing in the evening. No noisy posh gardeners with their leaf blowers, sit on mowers or petrol powered hedge cutters to hurt our ears, just birds singing and the evening sunshine keeping us warm for our evening picnic tea.



Thanks for reading

Love Claire. x





Great things...!

Well, since we last spoke there have been some exciting things happening on the allotment front.

• have become very proud owners of a shed

• managed to erect said shed

• finally managed to light a fire (3rd time lucky!) although Basil was rather worried about his treasured stick collection ending up as potash :-(

• have planted more goodies in the form of shallots and broad beans which we started off at home-see pic and also a rather huge quantity of onions

• built a large plastic green house :-)

• planted lots of seeds and condensation wiped all the names off the labels, so we are in for surprises later on we reckon

I'm writing this very late, in the dark and whilst in my bed all by using the app on my phone, so I'm not sure how it'll turn out. Hopefully you'll manage to workout what photo is of what piece of news I want to share.

Good luck and thanks for reading.

Claire x x

Spring is springing.

Well firstly I feel I need to apologise for absence.  We have many excuses but mainly they're boring, we've had illness (the lads AND myself) we've had an operation (on a boy and a on a Saturday too!) we've had a waterlogged pitch (well it was sodden before the snow so that just made it worse) and we've also had an attack of several other hobbies and birthday parties and rugby matches and oh I could go on, and on.  Worrying really as to how we'll manage to do keep on top of the work load an allotment brings but we can but try.

Now whilst I'm on a roll I'll also mention for anyone who doesn't know that there is no significant other to help with this crazy fun packed life I lead, so all the work has to be done by me and the kids, oh and Basil of course who scoffed a load of grass at the plot today and then promptly up chucked in the middle of one of the beds....nice!  Arrrrgghhhh.....!

Now then, don't let me go giving you the impression that it's all moans and groans around these here parts, in fact, it's quite a happy time.

Today I became the proud owner of a little shed. Yipppeeee.
A pal on the infernal Facebook knew I was on the lookout and he needed a new home for one so offered it to me. A quick ask round and I was able to borrow a trailer to hitch up to the car and around midday today I was towing a dismantled little wooden shed to it's new home.

It may take a couple of weeks to get organised and build it up again but it's definitely mine and it's definitely down on the plot ready and waiting for a sturdy level base to sit on.

When we arrived Basil and Thing#1 dashed off to check out how things are around and about whilst I messed about with the rope that had kept the shed attached to the trailer on our journey, when something caught my eye. Something small, green and waving at me from my plot. I peered through the hedge and yep, it was definitely waving. Dashing round to the gate, skidding on the still heaped up manure delivery I skidded to a standstill and did a little squeal!

There, in the exact spot I'd planted a couple of rows of garlic was now a row of bright green, brand new sturdy green shoots.

The garlic has grown!  Yayyyyy!

I still don't believe anything else will grow, why am I full of self doubt with this growing thing?

Anyroad, we unloaded the trailer, plonked the shed pieces on the plot and got to work.

I tidied up the rest of the bed in which the garlic is in (I can be posh now and call it the Allium bed!) and along with Thing#1 we planted 2 different kinds of onions (sets) I can't remember the names, I'm so organised NOT, but there was a bag of brown ordinary looking ones and a bag of bright white ones.  I have the names of them on canes at the end of each row, so I'll check next time I go as I'd like to right it on here and then I'll know for next year.

Next on the to do list was to carry on digging the potato bed, we failed at that and didn't do it.  Bad girl!  Thing#1 dug and weeded what shall become the root bed and then covered it with black membrane to hopefully keep the weeds at bay for a couple of months. Bless him he did this completely on his own.  I wrestled with some pallets and tried to level the area reserved for the shed. We had a brew and a biscuit and then decided it was time to come home.

A busy day.

Oh, but wait.....

Photo mad Claire hasn't shown any photos of the day :o(

Well, I've had a play with an App on my phone and made you this...

A little collage of the day.

Basil in the trailer.

The shed pieces on the plot.

The garlic.

A retro deckchair that insisted on coming along for the ride with the shed!

I hope this post wasn't too wordy and you've made it to the end.

Thanks for reading.

Love Claire. x



Snow day down on the plot.

Well a week ago it snowed.

I know we had 6 INCHES of the white stuff because I actually went out and measured it...honest, I did, I'm mad like that.  But we didn't mind, we're very keen on snow in this house.

Along with the addition of very cold temperatures we haven't been to visit Brambly Corner.

Until I found myself driving in that neck of the woods yesterday so I couldn't resist having a peep at it.

I was surprised to see that there was still so much snow on the ground.

I couldn't get in to my little patch of land because the gate was frozen shut.

The garlic I planted is under there somewhere...and here was I worried that I'd planted it too late.

Hope it grows...in fact, it's hard to believe that anything will grow looking at the ground right now.  How amazing nature is eh?

Now I know I'm not the only one to visit the plot lately...

These huge footprints were a giveaway that I'd had a visitor.  After some investigation I believe they belong to my daft friend Mr Pheasant. Mind you, he can't be as daft as I thought if he can survive out there in this weather. Even though I will most definitely cursing some creatures out there later in the year I do hope they're all OK and tucked up somewhere warm.

I see the owner of these prints has been busy hoppity hopping up and down the paths.

Mr Rabbit!

I'm really pleased I saw these though, I made a point of checking all around the rabbit proof fence to see if there was an obvious way in/out for these pesky pests. There was no sign of activity within the hallowed ground, just the pathways between the plots.  I may stand corrected on this but I came away happy that the fence is up to the job it was intend for.

The manure pile is still there.  I was hoping that the potato bed had dug itself and pulled a thick duvet of this over itself but alas not.  A teeny bit worried that the potatoes I have here chitting away will be too eager to get growing before the ground is warm enough, but there's nothing much I can do about it now, everyone else will be in the same boat no doubt.  These thoughts will be the same every year for me I guess, like if we'll be able to ever wear shorts and t-shirts down to the plot, feel the warmth of the sun on our faces...grow our giant sunflowers tall and watch them nodding following the sunshine round each day.

Ah well. I'm glad I stopped by yesterday to take these photos as here's hoping there will be days so warm this year that I'll hardly be able to imagine the ground so bare and frozen solid, layered with snow.

Thanks for reading.

Be sure to stay warm and dry.

Love Claire. x



One potato, two potato, 3 potato 4...!

I'd never heard of a potato day until recently,

so I had no idea what to expect when I visited one just down the road today.

I also didn't know there was so many different varieties, this made selecting which to buy VERY tricky!  So in the end I just went for ones with cute names. Do you think expert gardeners do the same?

The seeds were muchas cheapas too!  Although I feel I've got plenty of them so didn't have much of a nosey at them...unlike Julie! ;o)

Jacob enjoyed a cuppa and a Hobnob afterwards, and even took full advantage of the little jumble stall in the corner of the room. 10p for a bear was worth it as wages for being my little companion.

Also note the little plant...a horseradish!  No idea what to do with it but I couldn't resist.

So, afterwards we dashed over to the plot and started digging a potato bed to house the trillion tubers we'd just bought...not sure we'll have enough space but we'll have to just shove them in any nook and cranny if needs be.

We also planted a couple of rows of garlic.  Hoorahhh!!
They are there, next to that pipe, honest.

I can't believe the feeling this has given me, it's like the plot has suddenly become ours in an instant.  Folk had kept saying plant something (Fiona, I'm talking about YOU) and how it would make such a difference. So, I know it's a bit late for this variety of garlic (Marco) going in but we'll have to see how it fares.

I also found an old bottomless bin in the nearby dumping ground AKA woodland. I do wish other plot holders wouldn't just chuck things down there.  Mind you, I now have a very shabby-chic way of forcing a bit of rhubarb thank you very much.

So, after a very busy day it was off to collect Thing#1 from Mama's and Grandad's and back home to CHIT the spuds!  Can you believe I bought so many?  7 varieties.

First Earlies:

Duke of York
Lady Christl
Maris Bard
2nd Earlies:
Bonnie
Kestrel
Maris Peer
and I was rather excited to get some Pink Fir Apple too!

Did you notice the little plastic propagators?

Fiona, is that good enough evidence for you?

There are also some Broad beans planted too, but they're outside. I've planted them in modules as I'm not sure where they're going on the plot right now.

I've loved sharing my day with you, thank you for reading.

Love

Claire. x

Pooooooooh...!

We were just a bit excited with our delivery to the plot this morning,

so being the lovely girl I am I thought I'd share it with you.

We've got loads of the stuff!

Julie, my neighbour, and I shared the cost and the poop between the 2 of us and there's plenty to go round. We were sweating and very red in the face after 3 hours of shovelling and digging, barrowing it round to each of our plots, and the pile is still huge. We'll save the stuff that doesn't go on the ground this time for using throughout the year. This stuff only gets better with age and seeing as it's already YEARS old it's going to be like a bottle of vintage wine!

I do wish the video had been on me though, I was walking backwards down the slope with the barrow full of it...and then I slipped on my bottom and the poop poured on top of me!  There I am sat on a very muddy patch covered in manure...we howled laughing.

A different angle of the plot than normal, so you can see the 2 new beds which I dug, weeded and topped with manure today.

(between bouts shovelling and barrowing!)

Who needs gym membership when you have an allotment eh?!

Oh, and just for the record, I've lost 17.5lbs since October.

Possibly more to do with Slimming World but this exercise is definitely helping.

Thanks for reading

Love Claire. x