allotment, week 3!.

well not alot to share really!. i didnt go to the lottie last weekend as i had a sore throat and wanted to just get better, so tuesday was the next time i got up there. i spent an hour or so there about 730pm, which was a really nice time of day.....cool enough to not get heat stroke!!. i turned over the 2 beds i started the previous thurs and started another as well as water the spuds and rose. i noticed that what i thought was a spud last week, was infact a weed, cos next to it was a spud!!!.
then i popped up last night to lay another strip of black plastic and all my spuds had sprouted above ground!!. today i've been up twice....to fix the plastic- its very windy today and the plastic is a bit airborne, and to work on the beds. I turned one of the beds a third time and weeded it, so its pretty much good to go now, plus marked and turned the remainder of beds in the half of the plot i'm going to use.
i want to get up there at least twice this week, so that next weekend, i can start planting the stuff from my living room!. some of the plants are now started to show signs of having had enough in their pots and really need to get into the ground. i just hope they'll last the week.

in other news one of my 'kidlets' turned 1 yesterday, and his big bro will be 3 on wed!. cant believe i've looked after big bro since he was 4mths old!. that means LM will be 3 in about 3 wks!.
have got some photos to take off the camera of the plot, and my beautiful rose!.
til then, cya!.

Allotment, day 7!

I popped up to the allotment after work for an hour last night. When i got there i saw a new pile of compost, so grabbed my large blue IKEA bag and shovel and hauled 3 full bags to my plot before it all went this time!. Last week there was some as well, but it was all gone be the time i was organised to get some!.
After i got the compost, i inspected my lot....lol!!. my rose is going well, altho it has something...will need to do some research. theres spots on its leaves!. i have one potato plant coming thru as well!!!.
I marked out and dug over 2 more beds...no weeding, just turned it over and will go back over each of them this weekend.
I've decided my plan is to get the beds done and planted in the first half of the plot, covering the other half as i buy the plastic, then weed out the paths and get them tidy.....then slowly work my way thru the covered half!!. I think alot of that will be done in the autumn and winter as i wont plant anything that will need dealing with in dec/jan, as i'll be away for a month.
While its a big job, i'm not daunted by it at all....i can't wait to see how it all goes and what food i can grow!.

First weekend on the allotment!.

blimey! tis hard work, especially today, when i reckon we had the hottest day this year!.

Yesterday i went and got my compost from Anns and headed over to the plot. i started digging a patch but found it is riddled with ants, so need to find some cornmeal. Apparently the cornmeal is a humane-ish way of getting rid of the ants, because if left, they will undermine your plants. So i outlined the size of the plot and gave it a rough weed, then moved onto the next one for the spuds that need to go in. Whilist doing this i meet the man(Jim) who has the plot next to mine, and who lives in one of the houses mine backs onto. Nice fellow...gave me to allotment lowdown and the history of my plot!. My plot was held by the same old man for about 20yrs, and has only been lying idle for 2yrs. seems it always had plenty of produce!. Jim's not a gardener, just potters around!. He offered to strim the edge of my plot, so i decided to give him some spare spuds, as he'd mentioned he might try some if its not to late.


I worked for about 2hrs then went home for lunch and felt ill(headache) so decided not to go back.


This morning i went up at about 830 for about an hr and a half....got the spud patch ready....turned and weeded 3x. then went home for a loo break and off to Crews Hill for some black plastic to control weeds and a rose bush!. ( i'd been talking to mum about Abraham Darby, thinking it was a climber, but it isnt...mum has just trained it that way!!....happy dance from me...its my fav rose!)


Luckily for me there was one Abraham Darby rose left so i brought it, along with 10ms of plastic...thats gonna have to be brought each week, cos its not cheap!.


Went back and met Sarah, the lady who had made contact with me via the Grapevine. We had a natter, then i went and planted my rose, and potatoes. By then it was 130pm and boiling hot, so i went home. Feel like i have a touch of heatstroke, so didnt go back to work, only to collect the stuff that i didnt want to leave overnight.



heres some piccies...

this is the plot about 130pm this arvo.....since then Jim has strimmed the edge, so its looking a little more tidier around the edges!. I plan on covering the bottom half with black plastic while i get this front section in order, then slowly work the rest.

The first thing i planted on my allotment....Abraham Darby rose!.

the potato patch.....2 rows of about 7 chitted spuds!!.

I'm really looking forward to turing this into a productive garden.....full of vegetables, fruit, herbs and cutting flowers.

i'm offically have an allotment!!!

proof.....

And here is what the allotment looks like, as of 430pm this afternoon!. I dropped in to check the key works and take a piccie. I'll be in there in earnest this weekend, clearing and planting the stuff that desperately needs to go in the ground, then work on the rest after that!.

one happy bunny here!!!.

i have news!! i have news!!.

well well, it certainly pays to have a moan now and again!!.
Ms Lottie officers supervisor rung me today and advised me my paperwork was back in the post to me, so its a couple of days away for my keys!!.

Also, this morning on the grapevine, i had a message from the other new lady at the allotment site. she was my photo of the plot, recognised it and contacted me to say hi!!. thats really cool. she even offered to let me in to the site to check the state of my plot, but now that i've had this call, it should all be ok!!.

i'm a happy bunny this evening!!.