21st Novemebr

Nothing to report, has been to wet and sticky to do anything on the plottyment i am afraid.

Sunday finday 15th November

Been to the allotment, got cold, started digging, got hot took off jumper stopped digging got cold put on jumper came home

so much to do so little time to do it, and now the soil is saturated

god help me

7th November

Ok I am sorry, i haven't posted for a long while now but here goes a bit of an update:

Finished:
Brocoli, Runner Beans. French Beans, red cabbage, Cauliflower,

Still IN:
Swede, leeks, savoy cabbage,

Recently Planted:
Three rows each of red and white over winter onions - already 3 inches high!

I have ordered stawberry plants and rasperbrry canes, thanks to nic for the brithday money,

I have pruned my gooseberry, and have started to hack at my poor old apple tree.

I also now have a new shed, a big one and a green house, which i cleaned this weekend.
Can't remember if i told you all this but Willy has dug out my ponds and filled in the holes, has dug and rotovated and dug again my plot! and given my a whole tonne of ash to spread with my horse poo to help the soil structure!

Have put in my seed potato order too so will be getting them in January. Yet to put in my big seed order but that will be done next weekend.

then i have to think about making a bed for my soft fruit and laying the slabs around my shed and greenhouse, and making the staging for the green house,

23rd Oct

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO I have a green house!!! And a new shed! And a cauliflower one and a half times the size of my head! and more swede and leeks than i can shake a stick at!

WOOOHOOOOO

17th and 18th October

Yo!

Can't beleive it is middle of october already! Been digging again this weekend, took out my beans yesterday and have lots of lovely fresh seed for next year. My compost heap is looking pretty full so i think i am going to have to start a new one to make sure that the original one is rotted down in time for spring! I found a mouse in it too so i am a bit scared to go too near it again! What a daft jessy!

Bought home a couple of Savoy cabbage, yes mum one is for you, and another red cabbag, yes shelly that is so i can pickle you one specially.

Will has offered to level the ground for the green house and get that put up for me, and he has offered to get a fence put up at the front too! bless him, he has saved me about three years work!

11th October

Hiya,

Got to the lotty today and willy has dug it over, and rotovated it!!! oh yeah and dug another tree stump out!
So as a reult i have managed to get my japanese onions in 3 rows of white and three rows of red. alos spread a load of shit and harveste:

6 leeks - no smaller than 3 inch diameter!
a swede
a cauliflower - and a passer by said it look pretty perfect and asked what me secert was! i confesed it was beginers luck, but he look sceptical!
More brocoli and
A small but lovely apple from my tree - it might have been the only one but it was delish!

6th Oct

Hiya,

Got the seed catalogues last weekend, I am so excited it is ridiculous! Not only does it have veggie seeds in it it has flower seeds too! I can't wait to talk to viv and decide what we are sharing, if anyone else wants to come in let me know!

ooooppppps must post more often

Sorry everyone!

Well since the alst post willy has dug out all of the tree stups on the allotment, dug out the two large ponds, removed all the concrete chuncks and ahrd core that had filled them and generaly made himself vwery useful indeed!

And he showed me his putressing Eye socket this afternoon..........

He plans to dig my allotment for me then he'll rotovate it and if i want he will lay the path for me too!!! what a troooper!

Have the seed catalogues for 2010 and am happily planning next years crops, going to go for more sucessional sowing this year so i don't get gluts of different veg all at once!

Sunday 20th Sept

God over half way through sept already!

First off - THANK YOU MUMMY for the help this afternoon, my brassicas hasve never looked so weed free!

Well One Eyed Willy is a true trooper - not only has he dug out a little tree stup that actually went down a good the and a half foot he has also dug out the elder that was infront of the shed! Which Shaun knocked down last weekend and is now sitting in two separate piles waiting for a great big bonfire party come november!

Willy is also going to dig out the two ponds and fill it in with spare soil he has on his allotment! Also he is giving me a large shed and a cold frame! Oh and I also gogt a massive bag of carrots off him and 5 of the biggest parsnips i have EVER seen!

And all this guy wants is a 'couple of cans of Mansfield bitter' - god i'd be happy to buy him bloody shares in the company. he is a trooper!

I harvested the following today:
Calabresse - enough for three meals and some for viv
3 cauliflowers - 1 each for me viv and willy,
Runner beans - yeah tonnes again
3 red cabbaage - one for viv and two for me - gonna pickle one and braise another for the freezer.

We were certianly ladden down with produce when we left!!!

this weekend (can'tt hink what date)

Hiya!

The old shed is down, dismantled and in two large piles ready for a bonfire party come november! Willy has continued to be a trooper, has found me a cold frame, and a water butt and is currently in the process of digging out one of the 6 FURTHER tree stupms he intends to do. He has already done 5!

Planning on harvesting a couple of caulis and some brocoli tomorrow - and i'm dead excitind cos vivi is coming to my lotty tomorrow!! now what jobs can i give her to do, should i give her the hoe or should i set her up with a treestump or should i be nice and giv her a fork and tell her to get digging......]mwhhh hhaaa hhhaaaaa

Thursday 10th september

Way got a fence put between me and Colin! also got down most of the hawthorn chopped down!

6th Sept

Hiya!
Round uped a whole loads of weeds this afternoon, Willys wonderful work has inspried me to get going a bit.

Oh and he gave me a greenhouse!!! How cool

For tea tonight the only thing i bought was the gravey granules! - how cool is that

5th Sept

God i can't believe it is september already - where did the year go!!!

Any way I have shovelled half a tonne of hos shit this morning, it is all where i want it now it smells really good and is all crumbly and steaming! how sad that i get excited about pooh!!!

Anyway harvested my first cauliflower this morning, got a red cabbage last week and used my first leek for the sausage casserole this eveing! Colin gave me some brocoli and Roger gave me 15lb of Damsons..... Now what the hell am i going to do with 15 bloody lb of damsons.

MUMMY can i borrow the jam Kettle!!!

On another note got to the allotment today and one eyed willy has pulled down and replavced his fence, and ripped out all of the old tree stups on my side, dug up the willow tree, puttede out a whole load of bind weed and got rid of most of the nettles, filled the big pond anf has offered to fill the little pond too!! What a shock I wasn't happy at first as my carrots got trampled and squashed but they probably wouldn't have amounted to much anyway so I am very grateful as he has saved me a whole heap of work. Going to Plant an apple tree and a plum tree in the bit he has cleared later on in the year and grass over the pond for a sitting area - all very civilised!

22nd and 23rd Aug!

Wow two days in a row!! Wonders will never cease.

Spent yesterday evening dodging mozzies and picking runner beans - 15 bloody pound of the damn things to be presice! also watered everything cos my soil is looking somewhat akin to a dried and drought ridden african river bed a week before the rainy season is due to start!!!

This afternoon the sun was shining and the birds were singing and i could practically watch the bloody bind weed grownin in front of my very eyes! However i managed to win a battle agains the weeds that were swapming the brocoli - which is only starting to get florets on it WOOOWOO. Also pulled up a lot of nettles and nettle roots - always good in short sleeves.

Everything is going really well actually. The carrots i sowed in the empty ground left by the potatoes have srung up - not sure they will amount to anything but i'm not loosing anything trying. Both the savoy and the red cabbage are hearting up nicely - won't be long before i can harvest them!! the brussels are coming along nicely and will be ready before xmas as well - oh joy.

EERRRMMMM The caulis are looking good, as are the swede, catapillar attack not withstanding. I hoes a leek but that seems to be part of the course for me at the moment.

And a bit of a mystery - there are hundreds of dead slugs all over my allotment. I havebt used any nematodes os wondering what is happening there, not that i am complaining about dead slugs!

15th August - Blight Saturday

I have potato blight - stinky nasty slimy potato blight - 1 in 10 of my tubers have had to be thrown away and i would imagine in the coming weeks i will have to throw a lot of the sotred ones away as well.

Have had to dig my main crop even though they should be in the ground until october and all my second earlies are up and out. fingers crossed that the tatties in storaged will keep ok.

gutted

Sorry a bit of a catch up!

Everything is doing really well. Been down this evening and collected my first runner beans, probably enough for a couple of nights dinners if we are not too greedy!

The weeds have taken over recently and i really need to spend some time ripping roots out and burning dried weeds, am growing quite a nice patch of dock leaves so must get around to doing that!!!

other than that nothing terribly exciting to report. the bloke oppistie has picked the monster tomoato since last sunday so that highlight has now gone :(

oh well - where is my weeding fork?,.......

Sat 19th July

Wow - How fast do weeds grow?!?! must have pulled up at least 3000 tonnes of bind weed today!

Harvested all my beetroot which is now pickling!! and harvested all my spring onion too.

Had my first lot of tattie too woohhhoooo they were LUUUURRRRRRvly!

Friday 10th July!

WOO HOO we have a fence (or at least a bit of one) Yay - soon my domain will be rabbit free and my beans might have a bloody chance to grow more than 2 inches!

Also pulled more beetroot and spring onions for lunch too.

Thankyou shaun for all your help and expertise!.

Love you loads

Saturday 4th July

How fast do these bloody weeds want to grow? I turn my back for thirty seconds and i am confronted with a bloody jungle of bind weed and bloody dock leaves!

Spent most of the morning weeding and watering, but also ripped out my dwarf bean canes as there was no sight of them doing anyting after two months int he ground. Replaced them with a whole load of brocoli, clabrese rather than purple sprouting! Haven't abandonded my dwarf beans totally though, I have planted some up in a pot on the patio just to see if i can get a few.

Went to see Roy (my favourite allotment buddy) and have asked for the generator for 10th July. We are fence building so next time you see our lottyment we might just have a fence!!! woohoo all mod cons and everything!

Had our first baby beetroot Wednesday night - yum yum. they were lovely, going to leave the rest to get bigger for roasting - might plant another lot soon so i have some baby beets for pickling at the end of the year (ooooohhhhhh how domesticated!!!)

Not seen rita for a long while, think that rat poison i put down may have worked :(

mid week mutterings

OOOOOHHHHHHHHHH I pulled my first baby beetroot wednesday evening! they were delicious! How exciting.

On a not so good note i had to eject an unwanted visitor from my cabbage patch :( I'm going to put up a big sign

"No Catapillers Welcome"

Sunday 28th June

Wow what a nice day we have had here then! I feel a bit like i spend most of my life watering and weeding at the moment but hey ho.

Onions still looking good, cabbages are comeing along, runner beans are running, swede are looking good and so are the brussel sprouts! 2nd earlies and main crop pots are looking good, and so are the beetroot.

I ate my one and only gooseberry this afternoon
SHIT it was sour!!!

Saturday 27th June

Did nothing today :( shifted paving slabs i bought on ebay. Thanks dad for helping out - you are a star!!!

And thanks shaun too your fab!

20th and 21st June

Well we are exactl half way through the year now - so it is down hill all the way to 21st December now!!! Cheerful though eh?!

Got lots doen this weekend, yesterday we all went down and measured up for fencing. then went to B&Q to get the extra bits we would need. oh and a few hose type attachments. Zach had a bit of a boogie in the aisle when he heared the music bless him.

This afternoon i watered and weeded everything, it was exhausting, but well worth it. Got some weed membrane down so the hard work should be worth it. Also picked the last of my raddishes, sowed some more of them and some spring onions and a few extra runner beans on the canes that didn't sprout last time.

the swede are coming on really well and so are the red cabbages. The brussel sprouts are roming away as are the potatos and onions. My leeks are looking a bit happier than they were last week but my cauliflower have been eaten by something (i'm thinging a rabbit) that got into the netting that i didn't secure propperly. lesson learnt. My Savoy cabbage have white cabbage fly so going to have to see how they go otherwise might need to treat them cos they will spread to the brussels and the reds. Not a good thing.

Can't wait to go back down again, see what has changed!!

13th and 14th June

Can't be bothered to do two seperate posts sorry.
Just weeded and watered, got some caulis in and replaced a couple of savoy which had gone belly up. Tore up a whole load of nettles and shit infront of the shed and started to gather all the broken glass together.

Oh yeah - found another well. Already filled in but still pretty dangerous seeing as it is filled with broken glass and metal spikes. Gonna take some out and refill it with soil. What a nightmare - how many more will i find??!

Saturday 6th June

OMG what happened to the weather - i thought it was gloriously sunny? oh well. Talk about weeds!!!! I was only gone a week and the allotment has been taken over by bloody bind weed!!! Flaming stuff. Other than that everything is coming along ok actually, runner beans are begining to make an appearance but the dwarf beans aren't. All the potatoes are up and running and my leeks are happy too. The swede have started to sprout which is cool too.

One casulaty - A savoy cabbage has died - don't know why but the others all look fine. Got my brussle sprouts in and another row of swede too. Managed to rescue the salad bed and the beetroot are romping away too!

Glad to be back at it, depsite the weed infestation

Monday 25th June

Got me cabbages in! netting up and all secure against erics cousins and those pigeons. Also got a row of swede sown and a bit of weeding done.

My salad bed seems to have survived roys over excitable rotavating. my rows have been obliterated but there are still seedlings growning so - cooooooool!

Plan on going down again tomorrow so watch this space for more updates!

Sunday 24th May

WOW super hot today! my poor burnt shoulders were covered up i am afraid!

Mostly weeded and watered today, 4 of my potatos have sprouted so pleased they are making an appearance (better late than never hey)

My onions are still not swelling - not happy :(

D'Oh!

I knew there was something else I ment to mention!

Me spud have sprouted! well two or thee have - i think or they are weeds that i have never seen before and are suspiciously close to where the tattie were planted.

Saturday 23rd May

Hiya!

The shed is up, which is cool - i now have two sheds!!!! Gonna have to put some putty round the windows, they are currently held in with rusty nails!!! Think i am gonna give it a coat of fence protector too - make it look nicer than it is.

My onions are not swelling :( not happy at all, they will be bloody big spring onions if they don't get going soon.

Roy visited us again - told me all about his national service in North Devon and his career as a lorry driver afterwards - he left shcool at 14 you know and worked on his grandads farm from the age of 11 and had to do his chores after school. I think Roy has taken a liking to me! Lovely bloke actually and very helpful.

Off down there again tomorrow morning, i want to get everything watered well and then get my cabbages and their netting set up. Want to get some swede sown aswell and maybe some more salad veg put in.

The Nerw Shed

I got a new shed off Roy for £40 so that is all good. We are sticking it up at the back next to the other shed - i still can't decide what to do with the other one... keep it, rip it down, keep it..... errrrmmmmm still can't decide.

Anyway the new shed...

It is only a small one - 6x4 but it is good and water proof - and only £40!!!

Roy also gave me a whole loads of pallets to help put it on. But the plan is, a concrete block at each corner and a pallet in the middle - would be easier to show you but I still can't be arsed to take the camera down to take photos. or use the main computer and upload the photos on my phone on the puter.

Sorry guys.

Sunday 17th May

Phew what a foul and horrible day it has been hear - my toes are just about thawing out and i think i am dry....just about. Talk about pissing it down - eurgh.

Well my first attempt at erecting bean poles went well! I got 10 canes of Runner beans and 8 of climbing beans in! YAYAYAYAYAY I LURRRRVE beans! Also got my 2 an a half rows of leeks in too. I ran out but if any kind and generous mummy has any extras I know i would be very appreciative!

Oh and I had a wee in a bucket in my shed! How exciting is that.

friday 8th may

Got the whole of the rest of the second bed lossened so roy can rotovate (hopefully soon so i can get the last few tatties in and a couple of rows of swedes too.) Also I have a new shed, or will have soon, about 6x4 with windows down one side and new roof felt - very inpressive, sepcially as the floor is level! And roy offered me a hose pipe for a fiver (ooer missus) which was great cos i have been dealing wit a watering can till now.

Got a few mini rows of salady type things in today too - 3 3ft rows of beetroot, 2 of spring onions and two of raddishes. looking forward to tucking into them later this season!!

Right Roy get that rotovating done so i can get my swede in!!

Thursday 7th May

Well the A team of gardening gathered today and 'dealt' with the allotment. VIV and PAUL came over and helped me slash back nettles cut back trees dig out pampas grass emty sheds and fill in wells hiden under the shed (10 ft deep with sharp metal fragments at the bottom - now safely filled in and walkable on.)
We can now get into the (wonky) shed and all my tools are in there now!! Paul built a bit of a brick patio in front of the shed and the pond is a bit more filled in!

Two and a half more rows of paotatos are in and nettle population has been reduced to about 30% of what it was when i got the allotment.

MASSIVE THANKS TO VIV AND PAUL FOR HELPING OUT!!!!!

sunday 3rd May

Well today i totaly knackered myself loosening the soil for roy to rotivate again. fingers crossed it will be a bit more sucssessful this time and i will be able to do something with it. nothing else to report. I have a resident robin and a black bird called elmer who comes to eat my insects. Oh and i have a rabbit too - not ideal for an allotment but these things are sent to try us.

Can't remember if i told you in the saturday post but i planted a row of raddishes on saturday - thrilling i know.

Foraml apology

I have to formally apologise to my Dad for not posting more often. I will endevour to post more often.

Saturday 2nd May

Well I braved a trip to the allotment despite feeling like half of the rio carnival was travelling through my guts this morning. Glad I did, I planted a row of radishes and dug a row over - doesn't seem much but I didn't want to go hell for leather feeling as rough as i do.

Spoke to the ravishing Roy and he is going to rotovate my plot for me on Wednesday if not before. He invited me into his allotment and after introducing me to his (very sweet if not a bit stinky) doggy he gave me a cauliflower! Nice one Roy!

The only down side to the day was when i got there all Fred was wearing was a pair of shorts, a straw hat and a rather manic grin.....

He's at least 70.....

weekly catch up

Yo!

On sunday I did more digging (god it is never ending!!!) and should soon have enough ground for another row of taters. Managed to rip out a couple of large chunck of pampas grass as well so feel like i achieved something!!

The red cabbage seeds, the savoy cabbage and my brussel sprouts are shooting away! Really impressed with how well they have done, just need to get them to grow a bit more dig some more ground plant them, protect them from pests harvest them and cook them.... No problem!

The shed that never was

Roy called on Wednesday night to say that there was a shed going cheap whcih was great - called him backl on thursday to say YES I WANT YOUR CHEAP SHED and that was that. Got down there as arranged on sat morning and Jim had sold it to someone else! :~( He hadn't realised that Roy had promised it to me!!!

Very sad now as will probably have to ask for a shed for my birthday (or money towards one) and I really fancied a day at eden hall for my birthday :~(

Saturday 25th April

Well I finally got me tatties in! well, two rows of about 6 but it's a start. Carried on pulling down the rickety ole shed a the bottom and boy is that good fun.....

My onions are still sprouting - the bigest one has to be at least 4 inches tall now so I am well impressed.

Tuesday 21st April

Good evening!!

Not been down since Sunday and really getting with drawl symptoms now. Want to fin sh that unfinished potato trench and get my second earlies in (ooooh get me using technical terms) and clear the ground of rubbish near the shed, and get the ponds filled. Got to get it all looking half decent for 9th May.

Sowed my savoy cabbage seeds today, and my red cabbage seeds, oh year and some Brussels - if they all come up i have no clue where i am going to put them all or what i am going to do with the bloody things once I have harvested them - I hate Brussels!!!

Sunday 19th April

Well I wasn't in a nuturing caring mood today at all so after just half an hour of digging and getting half way across my first potato trench i gave up. After a quick cuppa sitting on my compost heap I decided to pull down the rickety old shed

Woop Woop!!!! I got to destoy!!! Only two nasty cuts from rusty nails and a few thorns stuck in my arms but DESTRUCTION REIGNED!!!!!

Oh and i had a wee on my other compost heap behind my shed! I was busting and just had to.

Breaking News

Exciting breaking news!!!!

Despite Roy's resevations at the depth of the onion sets they are infact sprouting! there are 5 in total out of a row of 10 - and definate signs of live in 4 out of 5 of the others.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

How exciting - i can grow onions!!!

Thursday 16th April 2009

Not been to my belvoed allotment for 3 WHOLE DAYS now.. boo hoo, can't beleive how much I want to be there! Oh dear I think i have been bitten by the bug good and proper

The story so far.....

WOOO HOOOOOOOOOO I have an allotment and I am going to bore anyone daft enough to read this regularly with updates on my triumphs, catastrophes and endeavours on a regular basis. So here is the story so far......

Got the allotment on Sunday 29th March - MY GOD it was covered in weeds and had a decidedly dodgy looking shed at the bottom but it is mine all mine and I can do what ever I want with it. First job is to pay Roy to rotivate it (bless him he has these great big mutton chop side burns and probably has a ferret up his trousers) Also need to fill in the dodgy sludgy ponds so that little Zacher Pooh can come and 'help' out in the summer.

Have managed to drag the old rusted bed frames out of the under growth and thrown a whole load of hard core and broken glass found at the bottom of the plot into the ponds. There is now no risk of drowning but still have about 18 inches to fill before I am happy to have Zach wandering around without me worrying about him.

Also have cut back a LOT of the undergrowth back, and ripped up a load of nettles. Have discovered a roll of PVC covered wire fencing at the bottom which I am going to get set up between me and miserable Colin next door. Found a couple of tyres that have been converted to planters so going to throw a whole load of wood chippings down at the front and put them up there with some nice flowers in to brighten the place up.

Got three rows of onion sets in so far, the soil is pretty heavy clay and hasn't been worked for a couple of years so is a bit heavy going. Still even if I only get onions and potatoes in along with some beans and peas it is all good!!!

Am planning on just getting by this year so i can get the soil worked and improved and really get going in the autumn hence the need for a ton of Hos shit. Am having a week off work at the beginning of May so gonna spend most of my time when Zach is at nursery down there digging and hopefully getting a bit further along