Pallet Garden Bench Finished

Tah dah!

 Despite all of my whining this week, my bench was pretty easy to make in the end. I can't say it would have been so great if I hadn't have had a great big fence to cut up and use as the back, but with all the timber left on my plot, you can't deny me a bit of luck.

So, I had two long pallets, and I cut each one in 'half' lengthways (I cut past the blocks in the half way point meaning one was longer than the other), piling the two wider halves on top of one another. I used bits of the other two halves to make the base and spare slats to fill in the gaps.

I took the piece of fencing and had to cut a fair amount off the sides as it was *much* wider than the base. I removed the bottom slat, and then, after staring at it for some time, removed another slat. I cut a few inches off the legs so it would sink comfortably to the base of the slats. I then nailed on some batons behind where the legs should fit, to help them stay at the right angle.

I had to think of how I would fix them all the pieces of the base together. If I were making something more serious than a bench to sit and drink my thermos of  tea on my plot, I would take apart each pallet, and drill through to the next one, securing them properly, but frankly, who has got time for that? So, I used wood glue (gorilla glue! Works!) which I left overnight. I was advised to simply 'clamp' for 20-30 mins, but I didn't have a clamp and will probably never be that organised, so I just piled on what I had directly to hand to weigh it down and kept my fingers crossed, and then drilled the pallets at an angle with long, thick screws when I came back the next day. It was difficult. But I think for outside jobs, having two approaches is right.

Then I had to nail in slats for all the gaps on the seat. Very frustrating that gaps in a pallet should be different thickness. Sanded them all down. Slotted in the back.

I then got a very stylish tester to come and see whether it was comfortable. Luckily, got full approval.

Garden Pallet Bench Almost Done; Seedling Improvement.

Well, its not 'Yes We Can!' shouted out of a megaphone but I no longer feel like 'I can't, I can't,' sobbed into a tissue. The garden bench out of pallets and a bit of fence is actually coming along all right, although it's a bit of a botch job honestly. I can't work out how I'm supposed to completely fix the back into its angled position, well, without some highly complicated woodwork and carpentry to do it (I am reluctant). It slots in pretty well, and I think its probably going to be ok. I'll find out soon enough, anyway. So, I need to fix slats into the gaps of the slats. (The gaps are not the same width apart all the way along. On a pallet! What?) and when I've done that I need to wash it down and sand it and I'll have a bench. I would have done all of this today had the rain not been so bloody wet. I'm happy to do a lot in the bad weather, but I can't feel any urgency for jobs like that, so best to get in with indoor jobs on days like today.
The seedlings are doing a lot better sense they've gone into the incubator again. Still no news on the runner beans, or lavender but I'm starting to see secondary leaves on almost everything now. After reading an article in a magazine today, I think I'm going to put some runner beans out as plants and some as seeds. Not only will it not matter if I don't have all the seedlings up, but I can use it as succession sowing and try and stretch out the season a bit.

Lavender Plug Plants

 Also, I decided to buy some Lavender plug plants, simply because, well to be honest, I really want some lavender on my plot. At £9 for 10 plug plants, it feels like a real extravagance, especially compared to the price of seeds, but these seeds don't seem to be working out very well for me, and I think I need to get them established in the summertime. Anyway, I was pretty delighted when they arrived in the post. All I need to do now is build some planters for them. Plenty of wood left for that.

So I'm fairly certain its going to rain this weekend, naturally, but until the seedlings grow on a bit, there is not a great deal I can do at the plot apart from the bench. I also need to move my compost bins which is going to be so, so awful I've been blocking it out. In one bin, (the naughty bin) I have a load of perennial weeds that don't seem to have broken down at all, and is very heavy and scratchy and full of slugs and ants, (and appears to be sprouting bindweed, which I'm ignoring) and in the other (the good bin) is loads of imperfectly rotted household waste. It smells. I hope there aren't any rats living in it. But the bins have to be moved sometime because they are messing with the flow of the plot and are going to inhibit me from utilising perfectly good space or beds and access in the end. Time to suck it up. Figuratively.

Seedlings: ICU

I wonder if the title of this post shouldn't be: Maybe I just can't do this.

Since the spring slug massacre of the mini-g, my early optimism on seedlings has dissolved. I lost the majority of my tomato seedlings that night, and despite planting more, of several varieties, nothing has germinated yet. Since the first sowing seemed to spring out of the soil almost like magic, I have become worried at the lack of movement. It's disappointing, because honestly, if I had to choose only one vegetable (alright, fruit) to eat for the rest of my life, I'd choose tomatoes without any hesitation. They're one of the biggest reasons I applied for a plot actually, because our yard is either full shade or partial shade and no tomatoes are going to grow there. But it's not just the tomatoes that are worrying me.  All the most recent seedlings seem to be in stasis. Celeriac, terrible; runner beans, nothing. Comfrey. 1/8. Repotting some of them has helped a bit, but I'm leery of repotting seedlings for a second time that haven't developed their true leaves or seem to have outgrown the pot. Anyway, I've moved the worst cases back into the incubator in my bedroom until it warms up a bit. And I try not to look at them too much in case my meddling and worrying is giving them performance anxiety.
Also, making my bench and all the sawing and breaking up pallets is tiring me out. Heavy, boring work. To be honest, I'm tempted to sneak down to the plot and have an outlawed bonfire (I won't, I'm too much of a square,) just so I can see the back of the wood and not feel responsible for it, much less feel like I should do constructive projects with it. I know this is just tiredness talking - but it feels so hard. Lugging huge pallets about and great sections of fence is a tough job for one person (me). I was resisting it, but I think it might be time to ask for help. I have a couple of male friends who have offered, a couple of times, to help. I just don't want to be 'rescued'. Maybe a good night's sleep and a successful day tomorrow on the plot will help. Or drive me to arson. Only time will tell.

Woodwork. (There was hail! I mean, hail!)

I feel lucky that the weather gave me a good excuse to come home today.  I had two hours(!) sleep last night and spent a solid hour on the plot first thing sawing up a couple of big pallets (why is there no standard size? It would make all of those 'build a swishy storage couch from a pallet and a bit of blu-tack' you-tubes a lot easier to understand if I wasn't stood there, head cocked to one side, wondering how to apply this to that.) Anyway, I think I have a plan for some seating that I have not learnt from some dude in a baseball cap on the internet. I'm just waiting for a crowbar, and to do more sawing, and then some hammering and gluing and then some sanding.  Could totally have it done by June, I reckon. The mix of wooden type things on the plot has proved to be a blessing rather than a curse in this case I think, because fingers crossed, that fence I was whining about in the pile of pallets could save me a lot of work in making the backrest. Proof will be in the pudding.
I also worked out that I don't have enough timber to build a shed. I am relieved, actually, since I was working out the cost of what I don't have - chipboard sheet for the floor, 2x4's to build a frame, concrete blocks or shed base, corrugated plastic for roof? All the screws, brackets.. a door, the cost of getting it all there - I think I'd be saving money from the most basic shed you could buy from, say, B&Q. But. A load of work to save money for what is essentially a discretionary project. Then, putting it together, sawing, measuring. No, it's better that this decision has been made for me. So, just a bay for my recycling bins and then some planters with the remaining timber and I will have got rid of a lot of it. I also am going to repurpose the ugly blue plastic bin, if I can, by turning it into a couple of big flowerpots. If only it weren't quite so blue. I might spray it, to look like one of those terracotta pots. Which means, if I have judged my skillset correctly, it will probably look like a streaky orange plastic bin. Its an allotment though, not Kew. Maybe I should leave it blue, ugly but perfectly functional.
Still got one large lidless, plastic composter to think of a solution for. The dalek type. Won't fit in a car. Maybe think of containers to attatch to the outsides for vertical planting? Hm. This is turning into stream of consciousness writing now. Time for a nap.
 

Oh god. What a mess.

I intended to clear up the plot a bit today, but I've understood now that its just too hard while I've got all this shit on it. It's as messy as I've ever been. I thought it was great when I first got it that I had inherited all this stuff, but now I'm not certain at all.  Unless I do something with this pile of wood, I must get rid of it. I must rationalize the collection of compost bins. It is a small plot so having all this stuff around makes me feel like someone on one of those hoarding programmes and I didn't even bring it along. Even the pile of pallets, from which I thought I could try and make a bench, appears to have two huge  sections of fencing in it. I mean, what? It turns out I can probably make a simple bench out of the pallets anyway, which will be something so I'm going to try and start on that tomorrow. The first step on climbing scrap wood mountain. The second step will be working out out if I have enough wood to make a small shed, which should use all of it up and if I can't, the third step is to use what I have to make a nice strong bay for my compost bins and get the rest off the plot to make firewood. As for the plastic bins, well... You tell me.

I'm thinking of getting my spuds in the ground soon too, after I saw one of the guys I talk to putting his in. I mean, I say talk to, normally I just nod and smile as one of two or three elderly West Indian men on my field give me unsolicited advice in a combination of English and patois. Today's advice session was basically a lecture on why desiree potatoes (his choice) are better than King Edwards (mine). I didn't understand everything he said, honestly, but his passion for the desiree potato has convinced me. I'm quite grateful to see these  men about , as someone who is on my plot of 99% of the time completely by alone, its nice to see friendly faces and, when I look at their obviously thriving plots, nice to know there are people about who know a bit about growing vegetables. So, desirees. It's too late for this year, but, yeah. Maybe. Anyway, I only have five seed potatoes, so it can't be too onerous a job, can it?
I can already see a difference from my potting on that I did last night, so some of my seedling must
have been very keen to get into new pots. Since the slug attack though, I've been really short of tomato seedlings, so I'm going to try again today. It'll be too late soon. Also, I need to plant more runner bean seeds. I only needed six, but didn't even get that many. I've got three viable seedlings, and nobody plants just three runner bean seedlings, do they, on those bamboo structures. Which reminds me...time to make a bamboo arch thing.
The fun never stops.

First Planting Out.

So I've got my covers on my plastic frames, and I've sown a row of spring onion seeds in one of the clay beds today, even though the lumps of clay I can't seem to break up smaller than the size of marbles make me wonder how they'll push out. I'll probably have to  plant my leeks out in the same little plot if they ever become viable, but I think they'll be big enough by then to cope with the lack of fine tilth. Let's hope.
I also planted out some spinach today. That is to say, I took the nipper down the plot for him to plant it out for me - this felt  a victory in itself. Little Grow is not keen on the outdoors, soil or fresh air. He wants to help, he tells me, he just doesn't appear to want to do any actual helping usually, or moving out from in front of his computer. But today he cheerfully consented to actually making holes in the soil with a dibber and planting and then firming around the ground beside it with bare hands.  I tried not be too obviously delighted with this, but I was delighted. I'm not going to mention it again to him until the bank holiday, but with weather on my side and a few more plants ready to go, he might begin to think the outside is a nice place to be. Our little concrete yard does not inspire much, even the tiny herb garden I've cultivated doesn't pull me out much, useful though it is as when I'm making dinner. We have the odd barbecue, but it is so concrete and shade bound that we can't do much. I've got to plant some dill seeds soon in the bed, and have a little weed around. Perhaps now a lot of the grunt work is done (mustn't forget to fix the broken raised bed) on the plot, I'll find it more interesting to be in the garden. Or maybe not.
I also had a mass potting on section at home. I noticed that many of my seedlings didn't seem to be getting much bigger, and in fact ones I put out most recently in the mini-g don't appeared to have grown at all. The new tomato seeds I put on the windowsill to replace the ones chomped by slugs haven't germinated at all, apparently. So I'm not sure what to do. The ones that did look like they were outgrowing their homes have gone on to new pots anyway, so maybe they'll have a little spurt. I find it all so confusing. I do not appear to have very green fingers, to say the least.
Anyway, tomorrow a tidy up on the plot and an investigation of the pallets that are piled up in the corner. I've been watching some you-tube vids on how to make furniture from waste pallets, and I have to do something with them, so I better look at what I've got. I don't understand many of these videos, I seem unable to connect what they describe to actual life and they seem to show the complex bits, like fixing the seat backs at an angle or where to cut on the actual pallet, by shooting it from the wrong way. Explain it to me like I'm stupid and I've never held a piece of wood before in my life. Then we'll be fine.

Sometimes it Snows in April

It isn't going to snow. I don't even think it's going to frost here in the mild, mild west but I am dragging my feet getting stuff out. I think I could put my courgette plants out and some spinach seedlings; my purple sprouting broccoli look like they could be ready. I've been hardening off. *taps fingers on edge of the armrest*.  I think I'll try a couple of things; most of the seedlings I have ready to go have back ups or succession seedlings, after all. What's the worst that could happen? My babies could dieeeeeeee, that's all.

Attractive Blue Frames, Motif of the Site

Not much time at the plot this morning as I was really exhausted after a fairly sleepless night. Got there late, did a bit of weeding and scattered round some slug pellets, planted some more sweet peas. I was sad to discover that my little green shoots were actually fairly unlikely to be entirely the careful and diligent planting of seeds in drills of my own hand, because I noticed the whole roots raised bed was covered by little seedlings, more than I ever trickled out of the seed packets. Then I realise they were more than likely to be the wildflower seeds having blown off the bed above, which I scattered them on without raking them in. Well, how delightful they seem to be thriving so well, I thought as I raked my hands through the soil, scuffing them up at their roots. A weed, after all, is just a plant growing where you would rather it did not. I could have waited, I suppose, and transplanted them when they were a bit stronger but I do not feel particularly obliged towards them. So, fuck em. More room for the things we can actually eat.
Anyway, I cut the plastic piping for my cloches (far easier than I thought, especially in comparison with all the grunt work I've done over the past few weeks) and I stuck them in the beds, to be covered tomorrow. I was fairly happy about that, until I broke off the end of the (fairly shoddily made) raised bed. I watched Gardener's World last night, and watched Monty Don knock together some fairly professional looking beds in about 5 minutes. Oh, for the manpower and resources of a gardening show, eh? Anyway, he made me feel like mine are going to last all of about three weeks... but as long as they last a growing season, I won't be heartbroken - theoretically I can just dismantle them and continue to have no-dig beds where they were. Please though, please wait until I've pulled up my parsnips and swedes.

Time to Move Things On

Well, progress has been inching along this week. I have been feeling the dark cloud of depression beginning its slow but sure descent over me for  the past few days, and  coupled with the short hiatus of  'I can't do anything else until I get my compost and plastic pipes', I have spent a fair few hours staring out of the window and not doing much else. So, even though I don't feel like it, much like walking the dog in the rain, it's time to button up and get on with it.
So I've spread almost 400 litres of compost about. The majority has gone on my no-dig beds to be forgotten about until October, although I need about another 250 litres to be honest to finish the last one (I say last one, that's not even true. I have at least three more beds planned, but they'll have to wait, until more money and more goodwill).You need a car, at the very least to move compost. Relations with Mr G are not so good that I can be bothered to ask, and even if my mum did take me, she's not well enough to help me get the stuff down to the plot. I've gone off the idea of buying in bulk for now - it may be getting the faff over in one go rather than death by a thousand cuts, but it does still seem like faff. At least the little by little method is controllable for the most part. I had a lovely friend offer to get me some cardboard so I can cover the compost before finally topping with that weed suppressant fabric and ignoring. Hurray.
A lot of my seedlings seem ready to go from their seed pots and beds, even though I am worried it is too cold. Before I do that, and probably wisely because it feels quite wintry out there, I need to build my cloches. My roots will need fleece still, but my brassicas and legumes will need netting. I will have to build a cage for my sweetcorn as well as my peas, I think, although I'm not sincerely confident that it will be enough to stop the badgers, which are apparently the true pests to sweetcorn on our site. Whenever I go down, there are obvious mammal footprints on my raised beds, which I fondly hope are badgers, because I really like them. Or at least I do until they eat my sweetcorn after which I might because one of the badgercidal maniacs that I hear about in the countryside (my mother-in-law for instance, is a proper farmers daughter and she has no empathy for the countryside pest. I am one of the city folk, so I hold my counsel, obviously, in her presence). Some of my seedlings seem a bit stunted though, so I'm going to have a mass potting on session tomorrow , see whether it helps.
So then, I will just need to give the plot a good tidy. The mess really depresses me, although I can't put my finger on why I find it so bad. It's not like I won't do things with all the planks, and butts and shit, and that I won't move the compost bins into a better position, but while there's so much to do I just can't. And in the meantime, it gets in my eyeline and makes me feel sad. Of all the things to get bothered about, eh?
Rest in peace, Prince.

Come and Melt the Buttons on me Flameproof Nightie

I miss Victoria Wood. You say, what already? but I've been thinking about her for months. I heard Maxine Peake talking about her Dinnerladies days a few weeks ago on the radio and I thought about Victoria Wood. I thought, 'I wonder what she's up to', like you might, I am presumptuous enough to say, about an old friend from whom you have long drifted apart. Well, now I know what she was up to. I liked Victoria Wood because she was funny, but also because she was kind, and because you could tell she loved women from the way she wrote for them. Stealth sisterhood, over tea and custard creams.
But life goes on.
I planted peas today, funny wrinkled little things. Funny how some things are obviously their finished product and some seeds seem entirely unidentifiable by sight. Peas are definitely peas. They reminded me of school dinner peas actually. Anyway, I planted them in one of the raised beds in which I  also plan to put some sweetcorn, or maybe some sweet peas or spinach. I am happy with this raised bed, especially in comparison with the rock hard soil. It is a much nicer thing, to stick your hand in the soil and feel it move around than struggle to shift heavy boulders of clay about. God knows how I am going to get my potatoes in that big lumpy bed. They say that potatoes loosen clay where they grow, but these are King Edwards, not superspuds. While on the plot I also lifted some more couchgrass, laid some paper and cardboard mulch, did a bit of weeding, a bit of tidying up. But it was a pretty lacklustre attempt. It was such a beautiful day, I spent much of the time sitting and drinking tea, with my radio four and my sunshine. That's alright.

And so, I have my seedlings indoors tonight after an attack by some slugs in my mini-g last night. It reminded me that I do not have any strategies when it comes to slugs, either at home or at the plot. I lost a courgette and some tomato seedlings. Interestingly, they decided not to eat the tomatoes I sowed from seeds free on the front cover of a mag, but the ones I picked, after reading about them, and paid for out of a seed catalogue. Were they tastier, I wonder? Anyway, I need to get salt and pellets for the mini-g or I won't sleep at night, thinking about the little slimy fuckers climbing up the plastic. 
Applications currently being considered for pet hedgehogs. No experience necessary.

Not Working From Home

Having bellyached fully yesterday about the state of my plot, I decided to give it a rest today. It's the first day that I haven't fancied going, but I don't know if that's allotment related or a life issue. Truthfully, I only want to lie on the sofa and eat carbs, so that is what I'm going to do about that; get pizza, drink beer and settle in with a film.

In good news, my mother was kind enough to take me up to shop of hell, B&Q, in order to get some cheap compost. I don't know if anyone sells compost as cheap as B&Q's own brand stuff, which may not be the best quality stuff on earth, but bulk is my priority for mulching no-dig beds. And, with the help of a charming young man who pointed out some damaged bags that he had had to mark down in price, we managed to get over 400 litres of compost for just over £18. There is the psychic pain of having to buy from a huge business with the staff relations, shop design and reputation for customer service of the devil is which is something I have chosen to swallow for the sake of bargain basement dirt, but beggars cannot be choosers. Happily their most local branch is so far away from me now, it's just not worth my while getting there until the next time I need quantity over quality and I can manage to close my ears to my conscience.
I did try texting the allotment advertising guy about prices, but he clearly doesn't need the business too much as he hasn't got back to me. Not that I need much as much now, but still. Now all I have to do is hunt out a load of cardboard boxes to get some more complaints about cluttering up the house 'with my allotment junk'.
Off to try and summon up the energy for potting on my parsnips and spinach. Maybe I'll have another cup of tea first.

Plate Bigger then Belly

I had a moment of despair at the plot today. Ridiculous really, because nothing has gone wrong. I just felt very lonely all of a sudden, trying to work out what to do about the bloody couch grass on a patch I'm working on, and the idea that I had about digging it over and burying it on itself, which isn't working. It isn't working because the clay is so compacted that to even get a third of  spade's depth down feels impossible. When I do manage to lift some out, I am rewarded by weedbound soil, thick ropes of bramble root criss-crossing underneath the surface. I hope it's bramble. It could be some sort of alien species. There's also some thick white roots that go on forever, but I am less worried about those, in comparison with the bramble, they're nothing.To compound matters, I had been looking at the bed where I'm going to put my potatoes, and it's gone back to being like the surface of the moon. Even hitting the boulders of clay with a lump hammer had no effect (I'm not suggesting that should be a remedy, I'm just saying).

Bloody couchgrass. Bloody crappy soil.

I am more interested in the concept of no-dig gardening than anything else, partially because of the quality of the soil, partially because lazy. I'd like to fill the plot with raised beds in an ideal world, but the cost of filling with soil/manure is out of my budget, but reading the no-dig technique, I'm still going to have to acquire a lot of organic matter. I know that I can do it a bed at a time, but even if I wanted enough to do one bed, I'd still need more than I could get in the boot of someone's car. I'm going to contact the bloke who advertises on the allotment gate and find out what his prices are, I think, and whether he'll get the stuff onto my plot, which is a big consideration. Lots of topsoil/manure people seem keen to underline that theirs is a kerbside service. No good for me.
Anyway, even if I have to do it inch by tiny inch, I will get there eventually - there isn't a deadline, after all. And I need to keep thinking about how much I have achieved. Three weeks ago, there was nothing at all on the site except for a lot of black plastic, some bags of soil and a lot of planks. There are still a lot of planks, true. But I do have beds now. And, if today's peek
 under the fleece means anything at all, I do apparently have something growing from seed in the roots bed. Which is something.
So I still haven't finished the bloody pea-cage. That's alright though. I can't have guilt about stuff I don't even need yet. The potatoes are in the kitchen waiting to be chitted, ready to go in the crappy clay. I have parsnips and more spinach to pot on, and my chillies are coming up. Good really. Good.

Working from home: Potting On, DIY

Not only did I really ache yesterday after the long stint at the plot on Saturday, but I've been having twinges of guilt with the amount of time I'm spending away from my kid on the weekends. I mean he could tear himself away from in front of his computer monitor and come and join me toiling in the fields for a bit. But he won't, and to insist he join me when he'd rather be elsewhere is not really conducive to the karma of my plot and, more importantly, not the sort of parenting I try to go in for. So we went for brunch, and then I hung around the house, miserably, feeling my aching muscles and groaning every time I got up from my seat like an old woman does. Very sexy. And then, between baking some cake (I am beginning to realise that cake is essential for having an allotment), and flopping out in front of the telly, I did some potting on and started to build a peacage.
I've decided to be a bit braver with potting on and go a bit earlier, relying on the 'big enough to handle' rule, rather than waiting for the seedling to develop its second set of leaves. Mainly because my seedlings were getting very leggy and floppy whilst I awaited this magic stage of development, but also because as soon asI have them potted on, I can more or less stick them out in the mini-g and forget about them for a bit. Checking for soil moisture, problems and awareness of what is going on is much easier when everything is together. Whether there will be problems related to my push out the door parenting technique, I don't know. That's the great thing; I don't know anything.
Cage building is also causing a few wrinkled foreheads. I'm using scrap wooden stakes for the frame, and while I think its long enough, its the size it is because of the length of the stakes, not my needs. But, it's only for a few pea seedlings. I'll be making net cloches for my brassicas, which I'm sure will result in more facepalm moments for me. Fun times ahead.
Today, hopefully, marking out beds with string and a spirit level, somehow breaking up the soil a bit more on my potato bed, finishing the weeding of my bean patch. Finish the peacage, dammit.

Getting Stuff Done

Today was a far better day than I was expecting from the beginning. The beginning was bad. I had a long list of stuff to do, as always, but things got off to a shit start after surfacing from a sad and broken sleep that had the neighbours waking me up at two am and shutting up finally, about four. Then, when I opened the curtains to see rain, I felt pissed off just because I was so keen to get going. Couple that with a broken fridge (again), off milk so no tea and no tea for the flask and I grumped off down to the plot cursing the rain, my broken sleep and my lack of caffeinations.

There are still weeds in this bed. We all know it.

And then I spent about two hours weeding. I am not really sure about weeding. I mean, I recognise that it must be done - but hand weeding, and especially my slowass hand weeding, seems like a particularly inefficient way to go about it. I have a hoe, but I don't know, I'm trying to get up the roots of the couchgrass and it doesn't seem like there's any other way to do that. The soil does not help - the mud seems to stick in heavy balls around the roots, and I suppose I could just hoof it all away, mud and all, but if I did that for every couch grass fragment, I'd be left with very little soil. I will be doing lots more digging over the next few weeks and I wonder, with the couch grass, whether it will be dealt with by a simple process of turning the earth over and burying the grass on its head? Hmm. I don't know. If I hadn't killed my azada, getting the grass up would have been much easier. But anyway, today's weeding was done on beds I had already cleared. That's the beauty of couch grass though; 'cleared' is not an entirely meaningful definition.

Potato bed. Not perfect but better.

I then dug over and covered the second bed at the top of the slope, which was easier than I imagined. I finished the chicken manure on that bit (oh sweet lord, is there a more heinous smell than chicken manure on an allotment?) and then, having received an alert that my maincrop spuds were on their way, thought I had better have another dig over the bed I'll be using for them. They soil is still very clay, but since I did the treatment on it last week, it didn't seem as sticky or heavy. I think it will need more work before I can cultivate it, but I'm quite excited, all the same.
I then uncovered a bit of my weed suppressant fabric at the other end,months and months earlier than I had planned because I thought it would be a perfect spot to try and grow on my runner beans. I had intended to cover this bed until next year, so I hadn't bothered to do anything. I learnt that, just covering a weedy area for a couple of weeks does not help. In fact, it makes things worse probably. So I'll never do that again.
I dragged some planks about for a bit in order to plan some more beds. Again, I don't expect to use these until next year, so I can go slowly in digging them up. I think I have room comfortably for five more beds, three larger ones in the main area, one at the back in the bit currently covered by planks, and one on a currently wildly grassy area. This lot, combined with the beds I have already  is as much as any small family could possibly need, frankly. I think there will also be room for some fruit canes and bushes, but probably only if I don't try and build a shed. I don't need a shed, I would just merely really like and prefer one. But I think I'd like soft fruit more. I've also identified a few areas in which I can grow aromatic herbs. God, this is going to be such hard work.

Horticultural fleece or weird shroud?

I also dug the courgette compost holes, covered my beetroot and carrot seeds better with the fleece (oh, making cloches soon - it just goes on),failed to make the pea teepee because the little disc I was gifted to help me do it is not with me (I don't think I need the disc, I could do it with pea sticks and string, but if someone is kind enough, etc). I cleaned up and pulled up a load of roots and did some fairly aimless digging. That's when it's time to come home. Digging and don't know why. There  must be something I've forgotten to do.
I think my alpine strawberries might be germinating, which is exciting (if maybe too late? Have to look into that), I have lots more parsnip seedlings today and one (count em!) celeriac seedling. I am happy. My roots situation is coming on. I just don't know where I'm going to end up putting the strawbs.
Next jobs on the horizon: Dig over spud bed again, add potato fertilizer (?) make  pea cage, plot new beds with string and pegs (use spirit level), make cloches, pot on new seedlings, take rubbish to skip, start digging new beds, buy more compost, dig and compost runner bean trenches, plant pea and sweet peas, make a runner bean cane thingy. Collapse?

Proof of Life & a Couple of Days Off the Plot.

You know that thing where the weather forecast is bad news and then you plan a load of inside chores and you look out the window and it's a perfectly bright and lovely afternoon but you can't go out? Well, that. And then a day in Bath with my mother and sister. I've missed my allotment, but a couple of days off now when there isn't too much going on is probably a blessing in disguise. I'm going back tomorrow, come rain or shine; where I will prepare a bed for courgettes (dig football-sized holes, fill with compost, water in), mark out some beds with planks, weed, make a frame for my fleece, attempt to prepare a couple of trenches for runner beans, make a pea teepee.
At home, things are generally going well with the seedlings. It is busy - seedlings get repotted, new pots sun themselves on my bedroom window for a day or so, get put into the mini greenhouse, go out for a few hours every day and then go back into the greenhouse. They're mostly looking fairly well; the marigolds still look a bit peaky but they don't look dead ...yet. Still nothing on the chilli, celeriac or strawberry front but tonight I noticed a tiny green shoot in the parsnips. So there is hope.

Aubergine and Tomato 'Curry'

Aubergine and tomato curry

I suppose that this is only a curry in the loosest sense of the word, in that what is providing the aromatic (rather than the heat) is the curry leaf, which adds a warm curry tone to this dish, and does not hit you over the head with it's flavour. The advantage to this is twofold - you don't have to worry about the time it takes to cook out the spices in the dish, meaning that if you plan ahead, you can cook it in ten minutes, and it goes with a lot of stuff: Add a bit of cumin spice and finish by chopping through some fresh mint at the end for a slightly middle eastern flavour or do away with the curry leaves and coriander all together, add basil and it's fine to go as a side dish for lots of dishes. It is also delicious cold, so, good for lunchboxes too. The only downside is fresh curry leaves. easy for me living near an Indian supermarket. Not so convenient for you if you don't. You can buy them in bigger supermarkets, fresh and frozen online, or dried in many more places. I tend to buy a bunch and stick them in the freezer, which seems alright - they seem to hold onto their flavour and texture quite well. I did think about trying to grow a curry leaf plant but I guess there's a reason you don't get a lot of curry leaf in this country. It's a tropical plant, a special snowflake. About as far from 'stick it in a sheltered spot and let it do it's thing' as sticking a Bollywood superstar in your allotment and asking it to be happy rolling in the mud. Worth a try maybe with a greenhouse, but not for me.
Unless it is the height of summer, you want canned tomatoes for this dish. If you want to use fresh, get 450-500g, and peel and chop
before adding to the dish.

3 medium or two large aubergine
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
oil (use spray oil if you want)
10-15 fresh curry leaves, left whole
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1-3 green chilles, fnely chopped and deseeded (as hot as you like, one is enough for me)
1 tsp salt
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped

So, up to about a day before you want to cook the dish, preheat the oven to gas 8/240c and prick your aubergines all over with a sharp knife before putting in the hot oven and cooking for 60-80 mins, depending on the size, turning every 15 minutes. You will probably be able to work out when they're done as they will be soft and deflated. Set aside, and when either cool enough to handle, or just before cooking if you have made them in advance, chop roughly.
Heat your oil in the pan, add the curry leaves and then the chopped garlic. Soften this over a medium heat before adding your tomatoes, and cook these down for two to three minutes. Add the aubergine, chilles and salt, cover and cook for five or so minutes until cooked through. Stir through coriander and serve.

First Seeds in the Ground

An unseasonably warm morning on the plot today, which I took as a good omen for getting my first seeds in the root veg bed. As ever unsure and pessimistic about my chances of success I planted out three varieties of beetroot (intending to take some as babies, and to leave some to grow into bigger bulbs after thinning out) and some chantenay carrots. Since my parsnips have done nothing indoors, I've ordered a pack to direct sow and then all I'll need is celeriac for that bed. I'll repeat in a month then, in order to extend my eating season. My bloody horticultural fleece has disappeared though, so I'll have to get another to protect against temperature weirdness and carrot-fly.
In other news, I broke up the bed on the top of the slope in order to cover and leave until the autumn - broke my inherited azada hacking furiously at a bramble root. Never garden in anger, is the lesson there I think. I moved the planks to the back of the plot, which doesn't look any tidier at all, but it has helped me to look at what I've really got in terms of space for beds and what the layout should be. I guess I'm going to mark out the beds with planks so I can start to break up the ground. Not looking forward to that at all, but hopefully it will make my life a lot easier in October.
I potted on some more seedlings today - this time tomatoes, tomatilloes, spinach and the purple sprouting broccoli. They seem still alive, which is something. My sweetcorn seedlings seem to be ready to move on too, growing at an alarming rate in the propagator. As yet though, still seen nothing from celeriac, parsnips, alpine strawberries (well, I didn't think I would) or chillies. This is not serious yet - I planted the parsnips and celeriacs less than two weeks ago. I think it's only the speed in which everything else has come up which made me think you didn't have to take it too seriously when the packet said 14-21 days, so I'll try and be patient for a little while longer. Courgette and marigolds have been moved to the mini greenhouse in order to begin hardening off, but the marigolds bless them, do not appear to be very happy. Could be worse.

Bogtrotting Allotments

Well, today's work on the uncultivated areas of the plot ranged on a continuum of 'wow, this ground is quite soft,' across 'gosh this is boggy, hope I don't slip,' all the way along to 'what the fuck is this swampy mess?!' Mulching the paths is not a high priority exactly, but I suppose it will need to be done sometime; it's pretty stressful to keep wondering if this is the day that I fall over and break my leg, dragging myself up the hill on my forearms to get help.
The sun was out, though and that means work as I'm fast running out of time. I dug over a whole section for weeds that I'm not planning to cultivate this growing year, and I scattered with cornflower and wild meadowflower mix seeds to attract bees and butterflies. I finished filling the beds, and I started to build a paved area for seating to keep my bum out of the swamps for tea breaks. When I get five minutes to look up, I'll try and build a proper seat for the allotment out of the pallets I've got. I've got to do something with them after all. The same goes for the planks; I'm sort of tempted to try and build a shed type affair with them - I could make a roof out of corrugated plastic - but it's so down the list of my priorities I've got to try and forget about it for now, much as I'd love somewhere for a quick snooze when there's a sudden downpour.
So moving the empty soil bags away to the side revealed a square of black plastic, with, I imagine a dug out bed underneath. Having a ton of soil and planks atop it though, has left it feeling like concrete, so I'm not banking on using it this year -I'll just have to do what I can to break up and soften the soil and return to digging in October. I think now I'm starting to clear the plot I can see potential for a large bedded area - but that will mean digging . I will uncover it and see though, you never know! The rest of my jobs this week then are, repotting more seedlings (better do that first thing - I'm always too tired after the allotment); breaking up soil on the top of the slope before covering with organic matter and mulching until October, planting my carrot and beetroot seeds, hopefully tomorrow; moving the spare planks to the top of the plot, getting rid of the bags, somehow(!); getting a slug death chamber (large jar). Busy, busy. Of course, as soon as I've done these, plenty more to follow. Just hope I don't drown in sinking mud in the meantime.

Seedling Drama

It was much too wet to work at the allotment today; beautiful and green in the spring rain, yes, but with puddles of water standing on top of my horrid soil, a swamplike feel to the couchgrass and rain leaking into every seam of my raincoat, I couldn't hang about. I guess that I've been lucky with the weather so far - I've been able to be productive most days, even in light rain, so I guess I was due some enforced leave.
Not that I am short of jobs to do - my courgette seedlings were bumping at the top of the propagator and had become floppy, my marigold seedlings were looking sadder and bendier every day. My tomatoes and spinach (I've got so many tomato seedlings, they're like a forest. A success rate unbeaten so far. Sorry I only wanted two full sized plants of that variety) are nearly ready to go. I haven't dealt with it because... gardening is hard? 

I just find the idea of potting on a bit scary. I am a virgin potting-onner. This feeling was hardly assuaged when I tried to put the seedlings in their new homes and they just flopped all over the place. I did everything my research told me. I dug deep holes in damp but not wet pots; I picked up the plants by the leaves, I, well, you know. It's not supposed to be rocket science is it? I think I may have just left it a little too late. Time will surely tell.

The other problem is on the second batch of seedlings, some of which are beginning to peek up from the soil, is that they had a slight mishap in my son's room and I think some of the seeds must have been disturbed or upset. Worse, is that the little stickers I used to identify the seedlings just came away. It's not the end of the world, I suppose, but I might be in for some surprises if I misidentify the sweetcorn for the peppers. This lot haven't been so quick in coming up. I used a different compost this time. And they are different seeds, after all. It's all so mysterious to me. Anyway, I also planted some savoy cabbage and some leek seeds, some lavender seeds and a couple of extras of seeds that haven't appeared yet or done as well as I hoped, like chillies and celeriac. 
Anxious.

Raised by Hand

I'm going to resist the temptation to go over my various aches and pains again. They are obvious by now, aren't they? I will say though, this morning I did not think I was going to get to the allotment because my arms and hands hurt so much when I built my mini greenhouse first thing (Yes, I finally built it; I changed my strategy from 'build it when you get home' to 'build it when you get up'). 

I don't want to do any more drilling for a while.

After lunch, though, I knew I had to go and get on with it - I needed to cover my clay beds with the manure/claybreaker/compost cure and I didn't want to wait any longer - I'm supposed to leave it for  a month after all- and I was also keen to finish the raised beds. Maybe keen isn't the right word. It was with an air of pained inevitability that I contemplated the situation. Well, I did the beds and the compost. The compost/manure, didn't go that far and I think I probly have to get about triple the amount (about 300l in total) to cover the beds the way I have seen suggested on the internet. Heavy clay soil is pretty expensive to break down, eh? Also, I've burnt through all the free soil in the big sacks that came with the plot, so everything I decide to grow now is going to have to be costed on a price per sq meter of growing medium. How depressing.

But, if the clay beds can be made to co-operate, I do have eight beds now, and an additional 2 under cover with potential for digging over. That's enough, even if they're not very big. When I write it down like that, I feel like I've achieved a lot in a very short time. 

I need to start planting soon. I have root veg seeds that can be sowed now, with fleece or whatever, and seedlings that are in real need of being potted on. I'm not going to allow a trip to the plot tomorrow, so at least there is stuff that I can do at home. Time for a hot bath and a vat of wine.

Fail Forwards, Keep Failing. Raised Beds 6&7 (I think)

I haven't failed t all really, in fact, I got quite a lot done today. But as the day went on, and I got more physically tired, I made a few mistakes and a day that should have ended well, just made me want to go home and sob in the bath. I am so tired, and so sore.
So today, I finished digging over two clay soil beds (that's a huge achievement, I think) before scattering with that claybreaker stuff. The topmost bed on the slope was so bound with bramble roots,  as well as concrete hard soil, that I had to keep my secateurs handy, as I couldn't lift out the roots with a fork, rather having to loosen them after cutting through. Again, I couldn't break the heavy clay sods of muck up either. I was hoping to put the compost and the manure over them today too but the compost hadn't arrived and I wanted to put both on in layers, rather than just the manure because I thought it would just dry out. I don't, in hindsight, think it matters very much. I drilled the supports for my two terraced heavy clay beds. I also prepared two raised beds up to screwing together stage, and even started to put half of one together, but it didn't go too well... not only did the screws stop sinking into the wood (no, I don't know either - the planks for these are very thick so I used bigger screws. Maybe I didn't drill a wide enough hole to start with). Then unthinking, I grabbed the end of one screw that the drill had failed to sink, without remembering that it would be burning hot. And so I burnt my thumb and forefinger. It still hurts (insert crying emoji here).

View of the offending beds.

At this point, my day was sort of over. I did my daily ritual of trying to have a quick tidy up, peering into the compost bins and pulling up a few fresh brambles etc, but five hours is enough. The worst thing, though, apart from having to carry the drillbox (a cordless drill and a spare battery, so heavy) home after all that digging and building, was walking to the allotment gate, which is at the top of a fairly steep gradient, to find the lock which sticks sometimes, wouldn't unlock at all. I fiddled with it for a few minutes with my burnt digits and then, back down, and then up an even steeper, even longer hill to the next gate along. The lock was fine there. Obviously.
And now, having sat down for a bit, my tired muscles have locked up and I can barely move. For this reason, I have not put the mini greenhouse up.I better had, before the courgette seedlings start banging their heads against the propagator ceiling. But not tonight - I'm going to have a break from growing enthusiasm for the night. It's the safest thing.

Stoppit and Tidyup the Allotment.

I had all of my excuses lined up today for not going to the plot. All good, all valid. I'm suffering through a cycle of insomnia at the moment, and I've been awake since 2.30am after three hours sleep. I've also got an upset tummy; the weather has turned and it was almost wintry today as I walked the dog, and finally, I knew I was facing a dig through my delightful heavy clay soil on the plot. Easiest to stay on the sofa with a cup of tea and The Good Wife.
But, anyway, I wanted to prep the clay beds for this clay breaker, manure and compost combination that I've decided on to make the soil tolerable for growing in, I thought if I could just dig the new ones over, and make a start on the last terrace, I could just go in tomorrow and put the stuff on. So I did go. All of ten minutes of digging went by though, before I realised that you don't dig on an upset tummy really, and I had to run down to the loo at double speed. I know, that's more than you wanted to know. Sorry.

Builder's Corner

So on return to the plot, I thought I had better have a bit of a clear up. In my anxiety riddled insomnia last night I became paranoid that I didn't have enough planks for my raised beds (I can confirm that this is not true by any means). I had also become aware that the planks were different lengths, which I think led to some of my problems with my first raised bed - if you erroneously assume all your planks are the same length, and you measure different sized half planks against that incorrect length, joy will not ensue in any way, shape or form - So I sorted the planks, tidied the black plastic crap and made a start on the new brambles this business has uncovered. All possible within the scope of feeling poorly, and for roughly two hours. I do feel better about the place for it, and it's going to make the process off assembling those beds, hopefully tomorrow, far more efficent. Please stay away rain, please.
Because I need to get a wriggle on. Out of all the varieties of seed I planted in seedbed one, only the parsnips and celeriac are yet to appear, and the courgette and marigolds look like they're trying to escape out of the propagator. I still haven't put the mini greenhouse up yet. But I must, by the next time I sit down and write this journal. I'm going to have to kick my own ass, otherwise. Who else will?

Digging and Weeding

I am a broken woman. No I'm not, obviously, but I can really feel the allotment in my muscles from what I did on the plot today. Lower back, obviously, glutes, wrists (for gods sake) and biceps. I should be looking like a toned honey by now at the rate I'm going. I do not, but I think that has much to do with the compensatory beer and carbs that I've been justifying to myself in return for all the hard work. Digging builds muscles, but that by itself won't burn off the extra calories I've been inhaling over the past week.

Dug over heavy clay soil

So I started on the fifth bed today, after realising this morning that I was growing far more plants than I was going to have room for. I think a five bed crop rotation system is the right thing, but then, of course, stuff like courgettes, spinach and herbs aren't accounted for. Instead of a raised bed, for speed, I thought I would go for two small terraced beds this time. I'm not sure, now I sit and think about it, that this was the best choice I could have made because the clay soil is like plasticine and is just sitting in huge clods where I've dug it up, and even though cutting it with the side of the spade has helped a little, there's no way that plants are going to thrive in that. I sought advice from google, as you do, for remedies for heavy clay soil,  and it seems like the best thing is soil improver made with gypsum which I can only find in huge bags (25kg) - transport is a big problem, as well as cost - or topping each bed with manure or compost to a depth of 6-8 inches (!?) before digging it in. So, I've bought a product called clay-breaker, which is  pretty costly, honestly, (but does appear to contain gypsum), and I also got some more compost. I had some chicken manure on the way anyway, so hopefully that combination will do the job. Apparently the clay breaker is supposed to go on in autumn, but will work this time of year. One can only hope. I know logically I should be patient and just work through the soil with compost and time, because that's much cheaper. But I actually would like to grow stuff on my allotment.

Back tomorrow for more digging (yay!), and some sawing for my next raised beds. I've still got a massive bag of soil left to fill them up with. Shovelling doesn't seem much easier than digging, at least to me, but at least they should be ready to use almost straight away. Also, now I know what I'm doing, they should take a lot less time to build, right? Right??

Seedbed Two

So, first sowing of the new set of seeds today. I think that I've sown all the varieties of seed that need to be germinated in a propagator now, as the rest are all direct sow. I expect to do at least one more sowing of most seeds though, in order to have a longer season. I've been buoyed by even more seedlings poking their little heads up this morning, with my first tomato, courgette, spinach and oregano seedlings showing. I'm going to have to think about potting on for some soon and getting my little greenhouse up. Very hard to believe how  oddly happy this is making me. Who knew?
Anyway on with the list:

Balanced precariously on a pile of lego boxes in son's room

Red Pear Tomato Mr Fothergills. Seedlings usually appear in 7-14 days. Transplant when 10-15cm tall. Vigorous, bushy plant. Plant out 45cm apart.

Sungold Tomato F1. Thompson and Morgan. Seedlings usually appear in 7-10 days. Transplant to 3inch pots when big enough to handle. plant in final situation when 20cm high, Plant out 45cm apart.

Suncherry Tomato F1. Thompson and Morgan.Seedlings usually appear in 7-10days. Transplant to 3inch pots when big enough to handle. plant in final situation when 20cm high, Plant out 45cm apart

Black Cherry Tomato Thompson and Morgan.Seedlings usually appear in 7-10days. Transplant to 3inch pots when big enough to handle. plant in final situation when 20cm high, Plant out 45cm apart

Padron Chilli (I love this chilli and it is *very hard* to find it in supermarkets in this country) Thompson and Morgan. Seedlings take up to 14 days to appear. Transplant seedlings to 3inch pots when big enough to handle.Gradually acclimatise before planting out in final situation in early June, 45cm apart

Poblana Ancho Chilli Thompson and Morgan. Seedlings usually appear in 7-14 days. Transplant to 3inch pots when big enough to handle. Acclimatise to outdoor conditions for a few days before planting out . Feed weekly with tomato fertilizer once first fruits have set.

Alpine Strawberries Suttons. These have gone in late, and they're on the brink of their use by date, so this, like the Marigolds is a bit of a chance effort. Germination 10-30 days. Transplant when big enough to handle into 2inch pots. Grow on, finally planting out 30cm apart each way. Water and feed regularly.

Sweetcorn Incredible F1. Mr Fothergills. Seedlings appear in 7-21 days. Gradually acclimatise before planting out. Plant in blocks, 40 cm each way.

Courgette Defender F1 Thompson and Morgan (Heavy yields! Virus Resistant!) My seccond variant of courgette. Seedlings usually appear in 7-10 days. Gradually acclimatise for 10-15 days before planting out 60cm apart.

God only knows where I'm going to end up putting this stuff.

Uncovering a bed. Running to keep up.

So I finished the first raised bed yesterday, I don't think I'm making them that way again. Turns out, freestyling is not a highly efficient means of carpentry. I ended up having to bodge the last couple of planks in simply because I was so sick of it and for that reason, it will need fixing, soon, but I had had enough. Now, it needs a bit more soil, but apart from that, I think it's ready for root veg. I'm going to try parsnips, celeriac, chantenay carrots and beetroot. This still means places need to be found for spuds, tomatoes, chillies, spinach, courgettes, brassicas, herbs and peas. I've got that little bed, which I think will take three of the tomatoes and some marigolds (should they grow).
So I went this morning with the intention of cutting out a pair of terraced beds on the terrible slope and moving some earth, but I got sidetracked by the horrible bit of ground that I'd had my fire on and was planning to use for my comfrey and a few wild flower seeds to add some colour to the plot. I was just going to see if I could tidy it up a bit, peel up the black plastic and planks that were covering up the ground and see how bad it was. Turns out, when I peeled the plastic back, it wasn't bad at all. Of course, the everpresent bramble and couch grass was still there, but before I knew it I'd cleared a bed. The tree stump in the middle is a bit irritating and an immovable rock on one side takes up a fair bit of space,  but otherwise, I feel optimistic. On one side I still am going for comfrey and flowers, but on the other, I think it will be fantastic for chillies and herbs.
In other news, the first shoots appeared in the propagator this morning. Three purple sprouting broccoli and two marigold. I was so excited, it could have been Christmas morning in the Growstuff household. I shrieked out to my son that some shoots had appeared, and he ran upstairs, having entirely misheard, and said, pointing at my black suede ankle boots, 'What, those shoes?'
Needless to say, he was not as excited as me. I just think there's something so amazing about growing from seeds. One night you are squinting at the soil, wondering if anything will ever appear, or whether you've got such little gardening ability that nothing will ever grow, and the next morning you look and little green shoots have poked through. I don't care if it means I need to get out more.

Raised bed nearly there.

I'm starting to realise some people cant't be trusted at all - from, a rolling of the eyes and a sigh to go along with the 'Yes, of course we have enough screws' as if to underline the stupidity of my asking, 'Will I need to buy screws?' Fairly sensible question if you ask me; We didn't have enough. Not by about half. And then, to add insult to injury 'Are you sure there's enough charge in this drill to make this bed?' He was sure. He was wrong about that. The thing is, he doesn't actually care about my raised beds or any other part of my plot, so it's easier to ridicule my questions than actually think about the answer. I don't want him to care - I just want him not to brush off my desire to have enough tools to get me through the project with his unnecessary scorn. Well, I'm not going to ask any more questions. Fucket.
But I'm nearly finished. I've done three sides of the bed, although each of those sides need more securing, and I've filled this this with the manure, the fertiliser and one of the bags of free soil.Took hours. Despite the weatherman swearing it would rain by noon, the rain never came.

The almost finished, almost free first raised bed. Swell of pride.

But I was exhausted by then anyway - no-one in their right mind should spend more than five hours on the plot building and shovelling. So I had a bit of a tidy and then looked for a place to dig my comfrey bed. Which I think is my next task. I found a patch near the front which didn't look promising for cultivation, tucked between the path and a tree stump. After digging out and adding fertiliser, I might try sowing outside directly whilst I wait for the seedlings to come and join them. interesting to find out what the difference is.
Otherwise, I don't really understand what is happening to me. I'm not complaining actually but I woke up early this morning, which is nothing new, and instead of being determined to grab a tea and get back to sleep as quickly as I could, it was more: How early is too early to go to the allotment today?
So, I found my flask and gave it a good scrub, I sorted through the little box of nails, allen keys and associated junk that we have (going to have to sort that out, what a mess) to find some screws, I made a to-do list for the plot today although I know I was kidding myself that I'd get it all done. I also decided to buy some brackets (more money!) for my next raised beds. This bed I'm currently has taken so long, partly because I have just been going about it so haphazardly. It's still going to take forever to saw through the flipping wood though, whatever else I do that won't change (insert sad face. Resist desire to buy one of these).

Out of my DIY comfort zone. Raised beds.

I've been making my first raised bed today. It's taken a very long time, because the planks are thin and narrow, so thin (and so many do I have) that I decided to nail two together in order to make a thicker, and theoretically sturdier, plank. I wish I had just gone out and bought used scaffolding boards in some respects (I couldn't, I know. You can't throw out that much free timber and buy more, especially when it's an allotment) because all the measuring, sawing, and then nailing together has taken an unreal amount of time. I wished a thousand times today that I had a power saw. Still, I'm about 90% of the way there in terms of cutting and sawing, and all I have to do is screw the bloody things together tomorrow. At least I have a drill.
I'm going to need to get down there and do it early, anyway. Its going to rain in the afternoon and I'm determined to get the manure (£££) and the rest of the soil and compost in there tomorrow so it can get on with being weathered in. I'm going to take 48 hours off when I've done then try and get on with the rest of the raised beds straight away (dependent on how I ache.) I'm determined to make these beds no longer than one plank by half a plank to cut down on the bloody DIY. (I've just checked out nail guns on amazon. They aren't cheap.) I wonder if it would be easier if I had a bigger hammer/better saw. It's all money though, right? And I can get it done; I've got plenty of time, if not very much physical strength or patience. All stuff to add to the wish list I suppose.

First Sowing of Seeds: seedbed one

So today, I had my first run at propagating some seeds. Exciting times. As ever, completely in the dark over the process, I just followed the instructions on the back of each pack and now I've got my fingers crossed as I wait to see what happens over the next few weeks. I've done eight of each, which could be complete overkill  or could be entirely necessary- I don't have the first idea yet. They aren't the only seeds I want to grow - I'm planting up some more varieties of tomato tomorrow  - but they are the ones that need to be seeded up this week and they are the ones that don't need a heated propagator or planting outside. Cue myself checking three times a day to try and spy any green shoots at all.


Broccoli - (sprouting) early purple. Mr Fothergill's
Seedlings appear in 14-21 days. Transplant Jul/Aug when 10cm tall. Harvest Feb-May

Celeriac - Monarch. Mr Fothergill's
Seedlings appear in 14-21 days. Plant out May-June. Harvest Aug-Dec
Liquid feed in summer. Roots can be stored for several months

Comfrey - Thomson & Morgan
Transplant outdoor when large enough to handle. Harvest through summer and autumn, cutting regularly.

Courgette - Romanesco. Mr Fothergill's (1 of 2 varieties. This apparently best for flavour)
Seedlings appear in 7-14 days. Harvest July-Oct. Keep harvesting.

Marigolds - Thompson and Morgan.
Totally ignoring planting instructions and taking a punt. Expect little success.

Oregano - Duchy Original Organics
Seedlings appear in 21 days. Transplant o'doors in small pots when risk of frost has passed. Harvest June onwards. Mulch in winter for protection from frost.

Parsnips - Suttons (EASY TO GROW)
After 5-6 weeks. sow out seedlings . Harvest from early summer.

Spinach. F1 Amazon. Suttons
Begin cutting 2-3 weeks after emergence for baby leaves. For mature plants sow in blocks of 9 x 9 inches. Harvest Apr-September

Tomatillos - James Wong (Suttons)
Pot on when they reach 2 inch high. Transfer to final growing positions May/June

Tomatoes - Principe Borghese. Mr Fothergill's
Seedlings appear in 7-14 days. Transplant to pots when 10-15cm high. Plant out when frosts are over.

March Review and April Plans

March.
Very little to review this month as I've had the allotment less than a week (!). Here it is anyway:

• cleared a small raised bed and was happy to find very good, loose soil underneath
• laid down some cardboard and weed suppressant fabric for a long bed to cultivate next spring
• uncovered raised bed area, was able to sketch out 5 beds and begin weeding perennials

Highlights included frogs, slow worms, bees and butterflies. Noting the soil underneath the black covers left by the previous tenant was as hard as rock was horrible. Every day I go to the plot, I realise more and more that I am really clueless. I quite like this.

April.

So much to do this month:

• propagate spring seeds. Will need to be done on a weekly basis for at least this month, maybe longer
• construct mini greenhouse in the garden for growing on vulnerable seedlings
• acquire manure and extra compost for beds
• build beds.
• dig up informal areas on the plot to plant out the comfrey and wild flower seeds
• reduce planks and soil bags on plot to minimal.