Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I can't wait for spring! I have not been to the allotment at all in December, I know I should be making the most of the dormant season to dig and prepare for next year but the days are so short. By the time I get home from work it is dark and the weekends seem to be taken up with the house, food shopping and being a mum.

This photo was taken before we flattened out the entrance. We now have a lovely levelled area where we can have the table and chairs, ready for the summer!

I hope to have more to share with you next time, but here are a couple of photos - they were taken at dusk so are a little on the dark side, but you can see what we have acheived so far.

Seeds

Ooooh I'm so excited, the seeds I ordered this week from the Real Seeds people have arrived. Very quickly too I must say, ordered Tuesday arrived Thursday! They come with instructions as you would expect but also with a sheet on how to use the veg and save the seeds, very impressive. I got a bit carried away I think with the order but hopefully by the time we are ready to sow we should have some beds to sow in. Just need to sort out the greenhouse and get some glass ordered. I've put in a list of the seeds I have ordered, if anyone has any tips on growing I would be very interested.

Leek -Long de Mezieres
Chard - Leef Beet
Broccoli - Early Purple
Basil - Sweet Bicolour Mixed
Carrots - Giant Red
Fennel - Mantovano
Peas - Telephone
French Beans - Cupidon
Sorrel - Belleville
Squash - Summer (courgette) - Verde di Milano
Sweetcorn - Double Standard
Squash - Winter- Waltham Butternut

Think I might set up some sort of cronological file so I know when to plant each seed. I also intend to measure the plot and draw up some sort of planting plan so I know which beds need preparing.

The Play Area

Went to the allotment today, it was bright and sunny so we thought we would make the most of the fine weather. We had been loaned a flat bed truck so decided to collect the pallets and bricks that I had stored at Jo's.
After we had unloaded all the bricks Pete thought he would build a dry wall in the shady corner to dump the stone and other junk behind. Whilst we were busy with the wall Thomas and Mum started to move the pile of wood chippings from the front of the greenhouse. This meant loading up the wheelbarrow and pushing it down the lane to the car park, where there is mulch for the allotment holders to use. After about ten barrow loads I bumped into another allotment holder who needed mulch, so he brought his trailer round and we loaded that up too. Still left with a considerable amount of chippings I thought I would make a play area for Thomas. I cleared away some rotten carpet from the shady corner and we spread the remaining bark chippings next to Pete’s wall. Hopefully next time we go I can put up Thomas’s old swing on the chippings, and I will remember to take the camera.

We've got soil!

Every time we go to the allotment recently I forget my camera, but since I have now got proof that people are actually interested in my blog (thanks for the comments) I thought I had better post an update.

Dad and I made a fence and door from old pallets so now the site is a bit more secure, not that there is really anything worth protecting yet but it seems to make it more ours somehow.

We have cleared all the undergrowth but not yet dug out the roots of the brambles etc. Since clearing it all we had some wet weather and all the dormant seeds seem to have sprouted, so instead of a bramble patch we now have a meadow. It is a bit disheartening to have got rid of one weed for it to be replaced by another.

I had originally planned to rotivate the whole plot before winter but after taking stock we found there are a lot of roots to dig out and stones/ bricks to clear. Decided that we will mark out small areas and dig one bit at a time, removing stones and roots as we come to them. So when we have cleared a bed we can then start to plant and at least we can see a bit of return for our hard work.

Yesterday was lovely and sunny so we had (hopefully) the last bonfire and Thomas started to dig. We decided that since he is 11 now it would be good for him to be in charge of his own little plot, he can plant what he wants and keep it weeded/ watered. Got him set up with a small area in a sunny corner and gave him a fork. What I forgot to tell him was when you dig up a weed you put it into a pile to be disposed of later, you don't dig them back into the soil! Anyhow he did a really good job (with a bit of help from Mum) and now we can see the soil. It looks really fertile, dark and crumbly, I think the fact the plot hasn't been cultivated for years has helped.

I cleared all the bindweed off the frame of the old greenhouse and found the door is still OK. I bought some bolts to replace the missing ones and managed to find enough unbroken glass to almost complete the roof. At least we now have a bit of shelter if we get caught by a sudden downpour. The hardstanding is in pretty good condition and I have cut the hedge back so the hawthorn is on the outside of the greenhouse rather than inside. Just need to price some glass up, I'm told it isn't expensive. Then we can think about seeds and compost and seed trays, I can't help but be a bit excited about it all now.

Aghhhh Brambles!

I borrowed Jo's petrol hedge cutter today,
the hedges on the right hand side came down
fairly easily, and we had another fire. Whilst I was hedge cutting Pete and Thomas were clearing more of the undergrowth. As you can see not an easy job.

We finally made it to the far end of the allotment, it is a much larger space than we first thought, with the hedge cut back we have gained at least 2 foot either side. I cut back some of the hedge on the left in preperation for Jo to come with her chainsaw. Hopefully if the weather stays fine it might be this week and then we can think about rotivating.

Smoke Signals

Jo and I went down to the site yesterday with her petrol driven hedge clippers. She managed to cut down some of the hedges but one side was just too overgrown. We only stayed for about half an hour and agreed that we would go later in the week. Today I finished work early and met Pete to go to the allotment office to "officially" get the keys and sign the tennancy agreement. We decided since Thomas has gone away for the week on a school trip we would go straight to the allotment and burn as much of the rubbish as we could. We got there at about 4pm and I started a fire. Pete decided to rake up some of the old carpet that had been laid to suppress weeds but had disintigrated into fluff and nylon backing. As Pete found out it was a little tough!

When the fire was burning well I thought I would make a start on the part of the hedge that was too overgrown for Jo's hedge clippers. I estimate that it was well over 30 feet high, and decided that it should be cut to 5 feet, as you can imagine the branches were quite thick. Pete and I took it in turns to saw through them whilst the other used loppers to cut the limbs small enough to put onto the fire. After we had done about 6 feet of the length we decided we had earnt a drink.

We stayed until around 7pm, after burning
all the weeds we had cut down and the hedge clippings. We both agreed that we had never sweated so much in our entire life! Petes T-Shirt was pale grey when we started (check out the colour of his sleeves v the colour of his back!) We were really glad that we decided to stay so long to get the fire finished because just as we got home there was a huge thunder storm.

In The Beginning

My family, thats me - Nicky, my husband Pete, our son Thomas, my mum Liz and my sister Jo, decided we would like to grow organic produce and put our names down on the waiting list for an allotment with Sheffield City Council. We had been on the waiting list for quite a few months and we found out yesterday that we had been offered a plot. We were eager to get started, so on Saturday afternoon we put on our old clothes and started clearing the weeds.

The plot had not been cultivated for quite a few years by the looks of it and was head high in nettles, brambles and thistles. My husband is a keen golfer and decided to practice his swing using a weedwacker/scythe. Mum and I raked away what he had cut down whilst Thomas used loppers to cut through the worst of the brambles.

After only a couple of hours work we had
managed to clear about half the area and decided that we would call it a day.