Random Stuff

Allotment | All dug up!

Saturday, April 10th, 2010 | Allotment, Environment, Money Saving | No Comments

Well I was away at Easter for a week and on my return I found a fully dug over allotment. My dad had been down working hard and done all the donkey work.  We’d been to collect some horse manure the week before I went away and not only had Dad dug the plot over he had also dug in the manure!  So guns blazing we went all out and got our first lot of produce in… The potato. First Earlies, Second earlies and main crop (three rows) all in and ready to go!

The potatoes

The strawberries were weeded and had some time to breath and fourish. As you can see from the picture below the raspberries and strawberries take up a fair section leaving only half rows to the left.  Not the best use of the available space!

Breathing Strawberries

The full plot turned over weeded and manure dug in… Just begging to be planted up now!

Ready for planting

While we were at it we decided to make use of some wood chippings that had been left for general use by the gates… Just really to tidy the area up under the tree. Looking a lot better don’t you think?

Tidy tree

Just behind the tree we made a patch of allotment especially for the little one… we planted some Creepy Crawley flowers to attract the good garden animals, a potato and a sunflower. There is room for more at a later date.

The little ones private allotment

Time to get some seeds in, Parsnip and Spring onions.. All that we had time for today, but the next plan of action is to get some onions in!

Three rows of Parsnips, one row of Spring onions

Tags: Allotment, potatoes

Allotment | Digging has begun

Saturday, March 27th, 2010 | Allotment, Environment, Money Saving | No Comments

Along with my little helper the digging has begun!

The little helper

I’ve decided to dig it over bit by bit and plant as I go,. I think this year it will be a case of just getting stuff in the ground, and the I can start planning properly what I want to grow where. the first bit will be for the potatoes.

The first section

There are quite a few weeds growing, clumps of grass etc.. but it all seems to be pretty free and easy to pull up.  The strawberry’s need a weed and today I weeded around the raspberries and pruned off the dead wood.

Raspberries and Strawberries

For some reason the Raspberries seem to have been planted down one side of the allotment. This isn’t really very good, so I am planning on moving them so that they go across the allotment. I also have some Raspberries in the garden that I will be planning on moving over. I need to read up on the best time to do this, which I assume will be winter when the canes are dormant.

To the right of that picture are the strawberries and again they go down the plot rather than across, I have left them in place this year, but in winter I will move them so that they too go across the plot. My plan is to have three rows, due to strawberries having a productive life span of three years, which I can rotate and replace the old plants with the new runners.

Tags: Allotment, raspberry canes, strawberries, Strawberry

You know that Allotment?

Friday, March 26th, 2010 | Allotment, Environment, Money Saving | No Comments

Yes that one I talked about a couple of weeks ago.. Well I took it!  It wasn’t in to bad a state, I was expecting a lot worse. It seems it was only just recently given up, and boy am I glad considering there is a plot at the back about three over from mine that is just a complete meadow! Here what I got offered.

View from under the apple tree

My plot goes up to the grey and green bin you can see. The is another plot behind mine and at one time the two would have been one single plot. I lose a fair chunk of my plot to the apple tree.. what with roots in the way it’s not really worth planting underneath it.

The apple tree

But I’m sure that it can be made more attractive than it currently is! There are a few odd onions left in the ground that will be no good now so they will be dug up when it’s all dug over.  There is a half row of something in there, I’m not really sure what it is, but I’ll leave it in for now just in case it turns out to be something good!

From the other end

Looking down towards the apple tree, in the corner there besides the compost bin is rhubarb. Then just in front of the bins are some strawberry plants and raspberry bushes.  now to start work digging it over and getting stuff planted.

Allotment plot reserved

Saturday, March 20th, 2010 | Allotment | No Comments

Finally after waiting all this time, well it was  the 24th November 2008 that I applied. I have been offered a reserved plot, number 38a. I got the letter this morning and I got so excited!

I’m going to go down to the council office on Monday with my Mum & Dad to get the key, £5 deposit needed! and go and have a look at the plot… I’ve already google mapped it, but you can’t really tell as the maps are fairly old.. and in that time a jungle could have grown! watch this space!

Tags: Allotment, self sufficient, vegetables