Spring cleaning

Went down to the allotment today, knowing it would be too wet to do any digging, but I just wanted to see how things were going.

All the weeds that were sprayed a couple of weeks ago are dying off, so it should be a lot easier for me to clear those parts of the plot.  The ground that I've dug already still looks quite weed-free, despite the constant rain we've been having.

While I was there, I decided to clean out the shed I inherited from the previous plotholder.  I found containers of chemicals made by ICI and a Cadbury's Marvel tin (don't know what that contained - can't have been Marvel after all this time!!!)  Talk about a blast from the past.  

I swept away some massive cobwebs and an unbelievable pile of I don't even know what from underneath a 1960's cupboard unit (which I'm keeping).  And who remembers those paraffin heaters?  Well, there was one of those in my shed too.  I'll have to find a scrapman to take that away!  Old wellies, a kettle, a saucepan (what did he do with them?), a couple of 13 amp fuses, a big battery (to fit those square torches) but no torches, old trainers.  It took me about 3 hours to empty, clean, and straighten up. 

So after a bit of TLC, now I feel like it's 'my shed' and 'my plot', not an abandoned shed on a neglected plot.   It's still been a worthwhile day, so I'm glad I went up after all - despite the fact that it was raining quite heavily this morning.

Anyway, I'm at work tomorrow so I'll have to go back up on Wednesday to get rid of the rubbish!!

Birmingham weather

Here is a log of the weather recently in Birmingham: 

any day I'm at work - perfect gardening weather;

any day I'm not at work - rain, rain, rain.

And my Gardening Hero (Ralph) in Lincolnshire hasn't had rain for weeks.

Typical.

First plants in

Well my hero Ralph came and saved the day. We planted onions, lettuce, broccoli, beans, potatoes and cabbage. 

 
He thinks the next time I go up there I might walk past my plot because I won't recognise it. Very funny Ralph.  He says in a few years I might be able to dig and keep the soil level at the same time.  Guess I need to keep practising my digging technique.

Most of the centre of the plot has been planted, but I've still got room for carrots, peas and sweetcorn.

I can't plant them on Monday because my back and legs are killing me.  I don't think I can make it upstairs to bed.  Oh well, I chose to become a gardener, so I guess it's no pain, no gain. Tuesday I'll be at work, so I plan to go back down on Wednesday.

I think I'll put the sweetcorn in the empty patch to the right of the picture.

And now I'm off to bed.  Gardening's hard work.

Failings

Failing no 1

OK,  April's nearly over and I still haven't got the potatoes OR onions planted.

I'd made up my mind to go straight to the allotment after I'd taken the kids to school this morning, and guess what, it was pouring with rain.  In fact it's rained nearly all day. Tomorrow I'm at work, so nothing doing until Wednesday. 

Failing no 2

This is good news for me, but it is a bit of a cheat, so I'll class this as a confession too.  My mum's husband (the real gardener in the family) has sown some seeds for me, and they're going to bring the seedlings over in a few weeks.

End of admissions of my gardening failings for today.

On a more positive note, I've finally decided on a planting plan for this year; I'm now trying to add it to the blog.  Success!!   Click here to view my plan.

Seed potatoes have arrived

9.10am and there's a ring at the door - it's the parcel delivery man with a package from JBA Seed Potatoes. Now I've got something I can actually plant in the ground I've cleared already; some King Edwards, Caras and Pentland Dells, as well as 3 potato sacks (got to be ready for the harvest). I think the spare room will now be known as the chitting room. For a while anyway.

Proud owner of an overgrown plot

At some point over the weekend of 7-8 March I decided that my 40ft x 20ft back garden wasn't big enough for fruit, veg, flowers, patio and a dog run. Something had to give, and it would have to be the fruit and veg. (The kids would never forgive me if I got rid of the dog!!)

A couple of hours later, I had a lightbulb moment - get an allotment to grow the fruit and veg. I decided to go down to the allotment and put myself on the waiting list.

On Monday morning I took the kids to school and walked down the hill to the allotment. The Secretary asked me to come back on Wednesday morning. Me and the dog had a wander around; I could see a few overgrown plots though that doesn't necessarily mean that they're vacant. I was feeling optimistic and hoping I wouldn't have to wait too long for a plot.

Wednesday morning came and I went back down there again. Asked nicely please could I have a plot with a shed. The Secretary smiled ruefully and said the plot didn't have a shed, sorry. OK, can't expect everything to go my way, I'm about to get a plot so I'll sort something out about a shed - somehow. He took me over to have a look. Long, thin and full of weeds, as expected. Then he had a lightbulb moment, there's another plot about half the size of this one that had recently been given up, do I want to have a look. As we approach it he says "Oh, it's got a shed on it too". Blessings from Heaven. I've got to admit I fell in love with the plot there and then. Love at first sight. Just show me where to sign.

So, as of 11 March, I'm the proud owner of a lovely flat plot (many are on a slope), facing East-West so it will catch the sun all day. It's 96ft x 24ft - and like the other plot full of weeds - couch grass (twitch?), nettles and docks. 2300 sq ft of perennial weeds to get rid of, and no bonfires allowed on site after 31 March (until Autumn). Can I do the whole plot in 20 days? Doubt it. I'm not used to hard work, so I think it'll be 'little and often' for me!

Here's a short video I took that day, showing the view from my shed.

And here's a couple of pics taken yesterday. I've dug over a couple of plots of about 10ftx 10ft each, but I can't decide whether to go with beds separated by paths or strips running across the allotment.

And today, I've joined the 2 beds together, though I still can't decide on the layout!

Anyway tomorrow's Grand National day so I'll be at work (in the bookies), so I won't be back on the allotment until Sunday at least. All I can hear in my head is "it's April and you have to get potatoes and onions in this month". So much to do, so little time.