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

Thank you Mr Postie!

I had a lovely time the other day, picking and choosing what I'd like to grow this year, popping things in my basket, then taking them out and changing my mind and all whilst sat in my cosy little armchair.

You may have heard of the website

EBAY!!!

Who'd have thought it eh?

Anyhow, the company came highly recommended, they're cheap and you don't end up with 1000's of seeds that I'll never try grow again.  Plus, no matter how many you buy you only pay 59p P&P.

Well they arrived today, look!

You may notice there are no pretty envelopes.  Well if you want a pretty picture to go with your seeds then there are plenty of other companies you can buy your seeds from, but beware...£££. 

For example: Gigantic Pumpkins (for the boys, of course!) from a well known company charge you almost FOUR times as much for the same amount of seeds!

Check it out for yourself (here) I paid 99p for mine (here)

That's the only difference.  I can enjoy trying to grow things that I'd not normally be able to due to the costs.  Now all I need to worry about is space and where I can put them!

They tumbled out of the parcel like sweeties.

Yup, I bought a few daft things.

Think I'll need a bigger seed tin now.

Right, well seeing as we've now got a just a few things to grow I thought we'd best make plans on where to start them when it's a bit warmer.

Thing#1 and Thing#2 were given the task of building the plastic mini greenhouse.

Thanks for reading.

Claire. x

Edit: I forgot to add that I sold a few bits and bobs at the end of last year on Ebay and the money was still sat in my Paypal account, I used it to buy all these goodies with. Even more of a bargain eh? x

There be some 'planking' going down on the allotment!

Just a quick post but I did promise to tell you first...I have some planks!

Here's the evidence...
(no idea how I'm going to cut them though :-/ )

Rain...then sunshine, YAY!

I was sooo fed up with the rain, after getting soaked wet through walking Basil AGAIN I decided that a visit to Plot 5 wasn't looking likely.

So I went off to the very posh garden centre to look at things I can't have.

I bought a bargain Lavender and had my free coffee, yes, I said FREE!
If you buy a membership card for £10 a year you have an extra 10% off everything, even in the sales and free drinks plus half price food in the cafe, good eh?

I found a book which the title interested me....

...and this one I though IS me!

Then I got a little distracted....

....so I paid for my plant and headed back to the car to find it had stopped throwing it down with rain and the sun had come out. So I hot footed it down to the plot and decided to prune the raspberries!

Now I hope you're impressed by that, I know I am!

Reading every book the library has on growing your own fruit and veg, twice over and trawling the internet every evening I feel is beginning to pay off.

The soil is looking a bit too drab in my opinion and needed brightening up, plus the muddy paths are driving me mad, so I have layed some carpet.

Do you like the colour?  Lovely I thought...

Flipped over it looked a little less wild, but there we are, we have a much safer pathway now, for the time being until the woodchip makes it's way to the plot.

So that's it, another little visit and more work completed.

'Hello Julie', that's our neighbour waving. We're both new to this game.

If I wish VERY hard do you think the scaffolding planks will make their way to the plot very soon?  With the wood chippings?

...and the manure?

Shed?

I'm greedy, I know. Be patient girl.

Thanks for reading.

Claire. x

Having to get my fix by watching others work...

I'm having to resort to You tube for my allotment fix at the moment as it's so wet down at the plot.

I've just watched THIS(click)

Now I want to know that why Alys Fowler on this clip manages to stay looking so good, her cutie little dog in that adorable woolly jumper isn't rolling in piles of slimy things that stink, where she got that fabby kettle thingy (neeeeeeeeed it!) and why isn't it raining or at least water logged where she lives :o( Pah!

S'not fair!

Right, I'm off out to stab around a bit in the garden, I need my soil fix somehow today.

I'll leave you with some Summery photos from my day out with Finley at last years Tatton Park flower show, to warm you up this grey January day.

Enjoy your weekend.

Love Claire. x

If you don't ask you don't get...!

Let me introduce you to my new friend

DUSTY BIN!

Makes a lovely addition to the kitchen don't you think?

A bit grubby but brand new and I got 90% OFF!

Bargain eh?

I asked the chap if I could have it because it was so scruffy and that they'd never sell it, hee hee, so he said yes but they would have to charge me something as giving it away wasn't really allowed, so there we are. The boys main reason for having an allotment is FIRE!  They're keen to burn everything and anything so having one of these was definitely on the list, I just didn't think it'd be such a bargain at a couple of quid.

 I also bought these. Cable ties.

For our first plot project/construction.

Too wet for digging today :o( so I just dropped off the incinerator (AKA dusty bin) and had a mooch round, and I discovered something I'd never noticed before.  A little twiggy thing with big thorns...behind the raspberry canes and next to the rhubarb crowns....I do believe I've got a gooseberry bush!

Just hope I don't find a baby under it eh?

Thanks for reading.

Claire. x



Todays wildlife spotting.

I think from now on I'm going to call these kind of posts

PLOTWATCH!

If it's good enough for Spring/Autumnwatch then it's more than good enough for me.

The part of Kate Humble shall be played by my good self, hee hee!!  I wish!!

Right, well as I'm working away I hear a noise from above and I spy 5 (yes FIVE)

Common Buzzards

(click here)

(image STOLEN from Google images)

I sat and watched them circling above me for a while and I started to feel like a character in a Disney film when they're lost in the dessert and the Vultures start appearing, ha ha!  They're fairly common in Cheshire where I live as the link to the BBC nature website above will tell you.

Saw none of my furry friends today, only Basil.

Claire. x



Ohhh my aching bones! ...and legs, and arms, and oh everything!

After spending all afternoon on the plot digging and weeding, bending and stretching I am now rather sore. A hot bath seems to have eased my aching limbs a little but we'll see how I am tomorrow eh?

Unfortunately I didn't take my camera and the sunshine had gone in before I'd finished my work for the day but I took some photos using my phone for me to look back on this evening so I can feel proud of little self.  I'm not sure if I do feel proud or just plain mad spending my precious time playing in dirt.

Right, well if I was to be all posh I'd tell you that today I dug and weeded my soft fruit beds.  But really it's the remains of the previous tenants raspberry canes and strawberry plants along with a whole lot of that blasted buttercup!!!!  Grrrrrrr....!  To come across the odd Dandelion was welcome relief.

You can see how the plot is sloping and how steps/tiers have been created previously.  I'm hoping that the soil will keep it's shape until I can replace the timber and therefore work with the old design of the plot. I see no point in changing it and anything to help me organise the space is welcome.  With having children and children like my boys the neater it is the easier it will be in the long run and I've more chance of us sticking with this allotment lark if ease is top of the list.

Unfortunately, the pathways between the beds are in terrible shape!  In the Summer this plot had grassy paths between the raised beds (I have photos to prove it!) As you will see from the next photo it'll take a lot for these paths to recover...

Grass means maintenance in the form of a petrol strimmer on this site and I don't have one and don't want to give time to this chore if I'm honest. So wood chip over a membrane is planned, but only if muchas cheapas via a friend of a friend.  There is a plan hatching regarding that so lets see how it unfolds, my blog shall be the first to know, I promise.

Now then, it seems most, well OK, I'd like to say half, maybe a third, ha ha(!) of the plot weeded and organised. The next photo is showing my worst area.  Yeah OK, I know, I'm so lucky. It's a smashing little plot to get started on, no more work than that of someone who has had their plot for decades really. I just really hope that I can do it justice.

Things to organise/source:

Shed (including flags for the base)

Wheelbarrow

Manure (lots!)

Wood chippings

Membrane for paths

Something to sit on!

Before I go let me tell you that plans for building our compost bin (x2) are afoot!

If you want to see how I'm planning on doing it have a peep at this

video

(click)

The posh hinged doors this lady makes are probably a step too far for me, but I thought I'd share how easy it is using cable ties.

Thanks for reading.

Claire. x

Testing, testing 1,2,3!

I've downloaded the Blogger App to my phone so I'm just trying it out.
It appears to just have basic things such as being able to type and add a photo. I don't really need much else, it'll be handy for when I'm out and about and see something i'd like to make a note of for the plot. Anyhow, let's see if it works.
I'll try and include a photo too, here's one I took of a little sketch of how i think the plot would look if I followed a plan.... As if that's ever likely, ha ha!!

Thanks for reading.

Claire. X