My allotment story

About 18 months ago my daughter  and I were invited by the council to an open evening down at the allotments site to introduce us to an new initiative.  They had taken over a plot of land and built 24 large raised beds( pods). People on the allotments waiting list were to be offered one of these raised beds in an effort to reduce the waiting list. The idea being that a full allotment could be quite a challenge to many people and this would be like a starter plot to introduce people to vegetable growing.

As we were both way down the allotment waiting list we knew it could be years before we got a proper allotment. We both have vegetable growing areas in our own gardens but wanted more space. So we decided to take on a raised bed each, and we were allocated ones next to each other.

The raised beds are very well built and down each side of the plot are several compost areas, cold frames, and benches. Each pod measures approximately 7ft x 15ft and the area around them is gravelled.  We took over one of the compost bins even though we both have compost bins at home. But we have large gardens and save all our kitchen waste, so we often run out of compost space.  We find it more useful to use the cold frame for storage and keep spare tools, membrane, fleece, canes etc.there. All the initial growing of tender plants is done at home.

We  got stuck in, dug over and weeded our plots, then added compost to improve the soil.
We decided to share our efforts and so we divided up our 2 beds to create a 4 plot rotation. Last year we planted onions, shallots and  garlic, sowed leeks, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, peas, broad beans and french beans. We planted cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and tomatoes.

Onions, leeks, parsnips and carrots

The bed at the back with the tripod and netting frame is one of ours growing peas, beans and brassicas

As the year went on it became obvious that not all the pods had been taken and the weeds were gradually taking over these pods.  Some people who had started off  full of enthusiasm were finding it difficult to spare the time to tend their plot. If these people could not look after a raised bed, then how could they manage a full allotment, we wondered.

However we were managing fine with our 2 beds and felt we would really like more space. So I phoned the council and asked if we could take on another raised bed, one of the ones which had not been taken.  The council said yes and we were given one which  was in a good position at the bottom of the plot. 

We thought about what we would grow in it, thinking at first that we could use the 3 pods as a 3 crop rotation system. But I was also wanting to grow more fruit. At home in my garden I have a Bramley apple tree, raspberries and some strawberries in tubs.  So we decided to grow fruit. We bought, 2 blackcurrants, 2 gooseberries, 3 rhubarb and an autumn raspberry and  my daughter brought summer and autumn  raspberry cuttings from her garden. There will also still be space between the fruit to grow veg.

We enjoy our trips to the allotment. We don't always go every week as we both have gardens at home to look after and my daughter is busy with a job and her family.  But we have managed to keep on top of the work. Its very peaceful there and we occasionally see other pod owners, have a chat and compare notes. But even though there are 24 pods we only ever see about 1 or 2 other plot holders at a time down there. Occasionally one of the nearby allotment holders pops down to have a chat with us, so we are getting to know people. Sometimes we take a packed lunch and sit on one of the benches.

Now we are starting our 2nd year of growing and we are loving it. We've made mistakes, had some failures, but we've learned a lot.  I shall blog about our progress as the year goes on.

Feeling old

I've heard it said that you start to feel old when policemen look young.  Well policemen have looked young to me for many years now. Its the same with doctors, they're always so young. I used to work for the NHS as a ward clerk on an orthopaedic ward. It was when the junior doctors were younger than my own daughters that I started to feel really old.

I went to the optician today for my routine check up. My daughter came with me because when you are choosing new frames you have to take your specs off and then you can't see what you look like as you're trying frames on. So she was there to help me.

Having chosen the  (very expensive)  trendy frames (to help me look younger), we left the optician's and did some shopping.
Reflecting on my visit to the optician's I said,

"I 'm not sure  like having a young optician."

" What do you mean a young optician.?" she said "how old was she?"

"Well she was probably a bit younger than you,"  I replied. My daughter is 34 and a health care professional herself.

"Well how old do you expect an optician to be?" she asked.

"My opticians have always been about my age,"  I replied.

She then pointed out to me that any optician who was the same age as me would be retired by now just as I am.

 "Oh yes,"  I thought.

" I do hope you didn't ask her if she was old enough to be an optician? " she asked

Well, no I didn't, and she was a very pleasant and professional  young lady.

Starting again

Although many people think of January as the start of the new year, I think that gardeners would regard March as the start of their gardening year. Its the time of year when we give the garden a really good sort out. We get the flower borders cleared of winter debris, weed and mulch with compost or manure. We prune, divide our herbaceous perennials, redesign borders, do lots of planting.

In the vegetable garden we harvest the last of the winter veg, leeks, parsnips, sprouts, kale, cabbage. Then we dig, manure, feed and prepare for the new growing season. We start to sow seeds and plan ahead . Think about what to grow  this year, what went wrong last year and how can we improve on last year's growing.

We may have made mistakes last year, plants might not have done well. Perhaps the greenfly infested the roses, the caterpillars got the brassicas, the slugs ate the hostas.  Not to mention the carrot fly and tomato blight. New plants may not have survived. Sounds like a disaster.

A few weeks ago my husband, daughter and I went to our allotment and had a good clear up. We harvested the remaining parsnips and leeks.  Then we dug up  the brussels sprouts plants which had not done well at all and put those on the compost heap. We dug over the plot, manured, and put membrane down to help suppress any weeds and warm up the soil. My husband cleared out some really bad weeds which were growing through the fence and prepared a new composting area. We talked about this year's  veg growing, what we needed to do next, what mistakes we had made last year and how we could rectify those mistakes this year.  There was a great feeling of clearing away the rubbish of last year and starting afresh.

It that can be a bit like that in our everyday lives really. We often mess up, make mistakes in life. I suppose making New Year resolutions is about having a fresh start. More often than not, we can  usually wipe the slate clean, put our failures behind us and  start again, we can learn from our mistakes and try to do a better job next time round.

Sometimes good comes out of bad. The brussels sprouts which failed last year went on the compost heap so hopefully next year they will have rotted down and be turned into wonderful compost which can be put back into our plot.

Now I'm just going to get that allotment book off my bookshelf and look up how to grow sprouts......

Spring is here

According to my calendar Spring has started and my garden is telling me that too.  There have been signs of Spring for a few weeks now. The primroses have been flowering for some time, the tete a tete daffodils and crocuses are in bloom, there's a clump of cyclamen nestling cosily under the laburnum tree.   In the flower borders there are bright green shoots pushing their way through the soil, and the birds are singing their hearts out.

I love Spring. After the dark days of winter the garden comes alive with new growth, a promise of new life, more to come. I love the colours of Spring, the fresh green of young leaves, the bright yellow daffodils, the pale primroses, purple crocuses, blue muscari to name a few.

There are some spots in my garden that look their best in the Springtime, because shade from trees later in the year makes it difficult to grow much.

The woodland garden looks best in Spring before the tree gets into full leaf. At the moment there are daffodils and primroses. Later there will be aquilegia, hardy geraniums, dicentra and bluebells.

I like to have plants in containers too. They brighten up dull corners.

One of my potting benches. 

Its just an old table with an old shoe rack underneath to store pots.

I like to recycle if I can!

                            Crocuses nestling against the stones in the Spring garden.

Tete a tete daffodils in the Spring garden.

 I love the pink and blue of the Pulmonaria