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