February Allotment Update

Well it's been a couple of weeks since my last update so I thought I'd post what I've been doing gardening wise since then. 

I've still been going to the allotments even when its been snowing (hardcore). I like to see where the fox has been, clear the snow off the greenhouse and just take a walk round while it's quiet. Anyway, I took some video footage of the plot covered in snow...

I've finally lost patience with the old suitcase type of gas burner I had in the shed. The gas pressure dropped too much after only a couple of uses of the cartridge so I dug my other camping stove out and I'm now using that on the lottie for teas and coffees and sometimes cooking my dinner on busy days down there.

Every year I say I going to grow some elephant garlic and for one reason or another I haven't gotten round to it. But this year I have managed to get some elephant garlic cloves. I ordered them from wilkos online and had them delivered at our local shop so there wasn't any P&P.

So yesterday, I potted the six elephant garlic cloves up in the greenhouse, as well as some sturon onion sets I got from a pound shop and also some silver moon onion sets, I'd pick up in town the same day. I've covered them all with garden fleece along with leeks I set going a few weeks ago.

The onions I started from seed at the same time as the leeks, are coming along nice and steady. I've took them off the heat now as I want to get cracking with some more seed sowing and I need the propagator space.  

Last Saturday was potato day. So even though there was over a foot of snow on the ground I walked into our local town to pick my seed potato order up (Charlotte  Kestrel and Saxon.) Saxon is a new one for me this year so we'll see how we go with them. I usually do alright with the others unless we get flooded out like last spring. The onion sets in the small bags are Jet Set (new for me) and good old Sturon.

My seeds from VegetableSeeds.net have finally arrived. I ordered them the same day as my other seeds but they took weeks and weeks and weeks to come. I emailed them and got a snotty email back but two days later the seeds arrived. Needless to say that's the last seed order they get from me.  

We were in B&Q the other day to get some compost for home and we spotted the Pest & Weed Expert on offer for £3:49. Its a book and I've been wanting it for a while, so couldn't miss it at that price. But the funny thing was I'd just took a photo of the book and was tweeting that I'd found this bargain, when I received a tweet from @VGD_UK  saying I'd won a copy of  Dr Hessayon's Vegetable & Herb Expert, and it will be on its way to me shortly. I sent them my addy so hopefully I should be getting that great book soon. 

Thanks as always for looking in :)

Winter has arrived!

So glad I got the plot dug over before the snow fell. We haven't had that much but it was followed by hard frosts and now the allotment looks pretty wintry.

Cold Frame came with the plot. Just need to cut some glass for the lids.

 I've only been there a couple of times since the snow fell to check things over and to install a stove with a gas bottle in the shed. I did have one of the suitcase type camping stoves but I found that when the cartridge was half used the pressure fell too much and took an age to boil the kettle.

The snow, frost and ice will help to break down the clods of soil and I can level the plot and add my paths in the spring.

I've started pricking out the onion seedlings, most seeds took 4 days to germinate and this photo was taken after 10 days, when I started to prick them out into their own little plots. No movement in the leek seeding box yet but they're in the unheated greenhouse on the allotment.

Thanks for looking in :)

First sowing of the year...

Yesterday I sowed my first seeds of the new year, Lincoln F1 Leeks. They're the same leeks as last year as we were very happy with them (How I Sow My Leeks). I also started some onions from seed too. I usually just buy sets but I was sent a trial pack (Centro F1 info) from Shelly's seeds with my veg seed order so I thought I'd give them a go.

Not much more to add at the moment. The ground is still to wet to work on properly but I've been digging the plot over anyway. I stand on old scaffold boards so not to compact the soil too much. Not the ideal way to turn the soil over but needs must.

As usual thanks for looking in.

A New Year Plot Update:

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a good Christmas. I had a nice quiet one with my loved ones, just the way I like it.

This year I'm hoping for a drier spring and summer, I've got my fingers crossed and I'm touching wood *pats head*.

So what's been happening on the allotments since I last posted, I hear you all cry!!

Well if you read my last post, you'll know I've swapped my small plot for one that's roughly 100% if not 150% bigger than the one I had on the same site.

So even though its been over two months since my last post in my growing journal, I haven't forgot to take some photos as I work on the plots.

At the beginning of November we had the annual bonfire. My son was allowed to have the honour of lighting the bonfire again this year. 

 Then it was the task of clearing my old plot. I sold the shed to the lady who's having the plot. But I wanted the slabs for a project on the new plot.  

 Last look at the old plot. I winter dug the bottom of the plot just after this photo was taken. Lovely soil but being under the trees it just didn't get enough sun.

My plot is one of the highest on this side of the allotments, so to stop my soil falling over the low path I decided to edge the plot with the slabs I had. So this is the project I wanted the slabs for. I dug a 16" deep trench the length of the plot. And dropped a line down as a guide. The slabs are really heavy and as I was working on my own I wasn't too hung up on them being dead level. So as long as they were something like, I was OK with that.

 The first of the slabs went down really easily.  

The way the slabs were going down, I thought I'd get the job done before the weekend. But I twisted with the last slab of the day and put my back out for 4 days.

As soon as my back was alright I was back at it. 

 I wanted to get the job finished in case the weather turned really bad.

 When the edging is finished the path is getting 6" of top soil just to bring the level up a little.

The allotment was given the back off an old box van One of the plot holders is a painter so he gave it a lick of green paint.  It was white when we got it and it stuck out like a sore thumb causing complaint's from neighbouring houses within half an hour of its arrival! 

We hired a local farmer to help us move the cabin into place with his fork lift.

To be honest, the cabin went in a lot easer than we had anticipated.

 Now we have somewhere to work on the mower's when the weather's bad.

Edging finished and top soil on the path to level it off.

 Looking down the plot from the shed. I'm happy how the edging has turned out. Had my leg pulled about it a bit from some of the old chaps on the committee. Going to level and straighten the paving slab path at some point this year.

I've also added guttering and water barrels to the shed. I've have some water barrels for the greenhouse and they will be added when I get around to it. The water bosh is at the bottom of my plot, so there's no rush at the moment. 

As I said my plot is quite high up, unlike the one opposite. 

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As I've been really busy on the new plot the old one's been a little neglected.

I've dug the beds over ready for the spring. I still have leeks growing in one of the beds and I have onions and garlic in the small beds at the front of the plot. 

 This month is when we pay the rent on the two half plots on this site. We've decided to only rent one of the plots this year. We'll rent the half that has the greenhouse and shed on it for another year, but now I have a good size plot only 5 minutes from home. I'm going to give it up altogether at some point in the future. As you can see it floods and I just don't have the time to do it. Even though I'm giving this half up, I dug it over anyway so it's in better condition than when I took it over in 2011.

I was sent the Leeks to trial by DT Browns. We look forward to trying them.

 It's the first time I've bothered with over winter onions. But they seem to be doing alright.

Not sure if you can see the garlic properly in this pic but I can assure you there is garlic in this bed.

Bit of work to be done here in the spring. Not sure what I'll be growing on the plot yet. Something to ponder over the next couple of months.

Thanks again for reading and all the best for the New Year. 

As usual please feel free to ask questions and comment.

Plot Swap

As the title of this post says I'm swapping my small plot for a plot almost three times the size (18ft x 60ft half plot). I've been waiting to swap for about 18 months so I'm chuffed I got the nod last month. I've took lots of photo's as usual so here's a few to show what I've been up to :o)

 So as you can see it was in a bit of a mess to say the least. 

 All the fruit bushes are coming out. If I want fruit bushes I'll get my own then I'll know what they are.

 Wheelbarrow, compost bin and 3 water butts came with the plot. 

The lady who left sold me the leaky shed, It'll not take much to sort it out I thought.

 From the shed looking down the plot to the road and water bosh.

 Cherry tree to come out too.

 A few days on and we've cut back all the mint and lemon balm that filled the front of the plot.

Got the strimmer on the rest and dug over one of the beds.

 What a difference a week makes. The pear tree is going in the allotment orchard.

We cut the fruit bushes down and made 2 trips to the tip with the trailer.

 Can't believe how many slabs there are. 

At this point I'd got 3/4 of the plot weeded and dug over. I've been getting a lot of nice comments from other plot holders :o) 

Looking better by the day.

 Lifted two different  rhubarbs. Still a little to do up near the shed. 

  

Levelling the ground ready for the greenhouse base. 

Base was readied for the block walls which the greenhouse will sit on for more height.

Couple of days later and the block wall built and tarped up to keep the frost off.

Getting ready for next weeks big bonfire.

One greenhouse :o) I'm really pleased how its turned out. I gave the blocks a coat of weather-proof paint.

So now the greenhouse is finished. I can get on with clearing my old plot before the weather gets too bad...

Cuppa tea first in the nice dry shed he said..

Thanks for looking in :o)

A couple of new video's of what's growing in greenhouses and on our small plot.

Not been up to much on the allotments apart from feeding,weeding and harvesting so here a couple of videos of how things stand on the half plot and in both greenhouses.

Thanks for watching :o)