January progress

January is not a good month for getting work done on the allotment. Snow and ice is often the problem, this month is has been rain and wind.  But there have been bright spells.  We've watched the weather forecasts to decide if it's been safe to go to the allotment for an hour or two.  We've managed that a few times this month and every little helps.

At the start of the month the job was to tidy up some of the rubbish still lying around on plot 8. This was mainly stuff cleared out of the old shed and wood from the demolishing of the shed. We spent a few fine days sorting through the rubbish, deciding what we wanted to keep (it might come in useful one day). We ended up with several bags of glass, plastic, metal and general rubbish which went to the local recycling centre. There is now a pile of wood waiting for the right day to have a bonfire and stacked up at the back of the shed out of the way is all the wood which we want to keep. There's always something to be made or repaired on an allotment so it's useful to have some decent pieces of wood.

We gained a few useful items as well as wood--lots of plant pots, a folding wooden garden chair, several sheets of membrane fabric, loads and loads of tubular poles and connectors which were probably once assembled as grow houses and staging. One day we will sort through them and see if we can make anything with them. It will be quite a puzzle I'm sure.

I started to clear the weeds from the new beds which had been dug over at the end of the summer. There's still lots of  weeding to be done but it's a start.

The next job was to top the raised beds on plot 10b with composted manure. This was a job we started in the autumn but stopped as Christmas took over. First job was the rhubarb bed then the blackcurrant and gooseberry bed. Finally the old roots bed which will have peas and beans in later this year. The raised beds on plot 10b now look very tidy.

The polytunnel was in need of some attention and I made a start on cleaning the inside with Algon.  I then  tackled the borders which are heavy clay soil.  I topped the beds with some manure and compost.

In the meantime Richard has made a start on building the path up to the polytunnel. This area has been causing some problems in wet weather because the soil is clay and becomes very wet and slippery. He's making some long steps up the slight slope. So far he has made a wooden frame (using our supply of spare wood of course) and is now filling in with hardcore before the final gravel topping.

 

As we come to the end of the month, the weather is not just rainy but extremely cold too. I'm glad we made the most of the fine days to get those jobs done.

Woodland den

On the day of the teachers' strike this week we were looking after our two grandchildren.  When I suggested going to the allotment I got the usual response--"oh yes!" from our grandson who loves going and "oh nooo" from our granddaughter who doesn't.  At my next suggestion, to make a woodland den at  the top of the allotment, all eyes lit up--yes this was much more interesting.

At the top end of plot8 is a slope with a big sycamore tree and some bushes, an elder and a holly.  It's not possible to use the space for growing vegetables or fruit.  The grandchildren always enjoy playing up there, it's a good place to hide and run around, but there are lots of weeds and rubbish- nettles, brambles, glass and plastic.  It wasn't a very safe area for children.  So I've had a plan in mind to make it into a safe area where the children could play and have their own space.

Armed with strong gloves, rubbish bags and secateurs, the children and I set to work clearing the area and cutting back branches.  My 9 year old granddaughter normally has no interest in the allotment, preferring to stay at home and read a book.  So it was good to see her full of enthusiasm for the project and to have her say that it was the best day she had ever spent on the allotment.  I had to admit that I was quite enjoying myself too. 

We managed to clear the nettles, cut back the brambles, trim the holly and clear up most of the rubbish. Under my granddaughter's supervision I cut back overhanging branches to her height and made an archway of branches at the entrance to the woodland, a soft curtain of leaves in the middle to provide a hiding place and a pathway all the way through. As we worked away we thought about what we could do to make the woodland area into a good den.

We got rained off later and after adjourning to the shed for our lunch we went home to make plans.  I got them to think about what they would like to have in their woodland den.

So we now have a list of ideas:

• Make seats out of some of the bricks and planks of wood lying around on the allotment
• Bird feeders in the trees
• Make a bug house
• Make a shelf to put interesting nature finds/treasures
• Make things like mobiles or sculptures out of twigs, stones, pebbles, leaves etc
• Have a rope ladder so they can climb the big tree (Hmm, well maybe granddad can fix something up)
• Have a camouflage awning (this could cost money)
• Make a hideout from long branches like a teepee (we could collect branches from the woods across the lane)

I have to say that I'm quite excited about this project myself, but I'm wondering if adults might not be allowed in there once it's finished. I'll keep you up to date with our progress.

Progress on Plot 8

Our days down at the allotment  at the moment are divided between digging and clearing up plot8 and doing ‘proper’ allotment gardening on plot 10b.  I love working on our new plot 8 and am longing to get it reasonably straight and looking good, but there is still lots of sowing and planting and weeding to be done on plot 10b.

On plot8 we have recently cleared out the ramshackle sheds and pulled one of them down, what a mess of stuff there was in those sheds. Bags of glass, plastic, metal and general rubbish  were taken to the local recycling centre. We found quite a collection of metal tubing and connectors to make up mini greenhouses.  We have kept all these as they might be useful but they could be quite a puzzle to assemble.
We had a bonfire to burn all the rotten wood

One shed demolished and a bed dug over

Helen dug over one of the areas of ground whilst I weeded the temporary raised beds. Then we put some soil improver on the beds.  We thought we might grow some carrots and salad crops in one and peas and beans in the others.

At the front of the plot next to the gate were two big heaps which were originally compost bins, but they have had all sorts of stuff dumped on them. Richard and Helen started clearing these bins out over the bank holiday weekend.  There was a large amount of rubbish to remove first which resulted in another pile of stuff to take to the recycling centre. There seems to be no end to the rubbish we keep finding on this plot. However once the top of the bins were cleared of the rubbish, there appeared to be lots of good compost underneath.  Very useful! That will go on the newly dug over areas. Richard will probably build new compost bins in the same place when we have weeded the area.

 

clearing out the old compost bins

Although the plot is still very untidy, as areas are cleared of rubbish, we can see the paths which show the original layout of the plot. Helen and I are planning how we want our allotment to look and we now feel we are getting somewhere.

Next jobs are more rubbish clearing, more tidying and more digging.

Easter weekend at the allotment

rubbish on plot 8

We had some good weather over the Easter weekend, although it was cold and the mornings were frosty the sun shone most of the time. So we made the most of the fine weather, wrapped up warm and went to the allotment.

Our first jobs were on plot 10b, where the fruit bushes needed attention. We have gooseberries, blackcurrants, autumn raspberries and rhubarb. The gooseberries needed pruning and all the fruit needed some rotted manure spreading around them.  Helen did a good job of digging out the manure from the bottom of the bin.  I could only stand and watch as I still have limited movement in my wrist.

On Easter Monday we spent a full day on plot 8. It was a lovely day and there were plenty of people down there working on their plots and having bonfires. We got a fire going too because there was a lot of rubbish to be cleared. Every time I go to plot 8 I get quite despondent about the state of it. Everyone keeps reminding me about how bad plot 10b was when we took it on last June and how much progress we've made on there. I must remember that.  I think it's because I can't get stuck in to the work because of the injury to my wrist and it will take some time yet before it gets back to normal.

the fire

Helen started pulling up all the many layers of membrane, carpet and anything else which the previous tenants had used to make paths or suppress weeds. This revealed some decent looking areas of soil and some old flagged paths.  Richard carried on cutting back the conifer hedge which has been very neglected over the years and been allowed to grow too much, so cutting into the branches means it won't grow back, and it does look quite decimated.  It has given us more space along the side of the plot though, and this at the moment is going to be used to store stuff we need to keep.  Meanwhile I floated around doing what I was able to do, which was tidying up under the hedge and moving wood, pots and bricks (only one at a time unfortunately).

storage area under conifers

There are a few very flimsy raised beds on the plot which I weeded.  We will use these this year as overflow beds for any plants we don't have room for on plot 10b.  Next year I hope we will have something better in place.

The incinerator burned away as we chucked in all the conifer cuttings, old wood and dried plant material. We ended the day with a big pile of rubbish for taking to the tip and a feeling that we had made a little bit of progress.

Plot 8 a new allotment

 When my daughter got her allotment last year,  we agreed we would share the plot but I decided to still keep my name on the allotment waiting list. We worked hard last year getting her allotment in shape ready to grow food this year.  As we were planning what to grow in the different raised beds I did wonder if we had enough space, after all we are growing to feed two families.


Last week however I got a letter from the allotment officer inviting the first seven people on the waiting list to view three  plots which were available. They would be allocated in waiting list order if there was any interest. Two of the plots were quite big and overgrown, the third was next door but two from my daughter's plot and just big enough to give us the extra space we needed.  Although it did need a lot of work doing, we felt it was a project we would like to take on.

I put my request in for plot 8 and a few days later I was delighted to hear that I had got it! My own allotment!  Once we had got the key we went to have a proper look at it, as we had only been able to look through the fence before.  The plot has a problem with drainage, there is water running down from the top and out the gate, so the first job will be to sort that out. My husband has already made a start digging out a drain. Halfway down the plot next to the fence is a small pond. We were told that it has frogs and frogspawn which should please the grandchildren and we will be pleased if the frogs eat the slugs.

There are two very rickety sheds which will have to come down. Inside the sheds we found tools and all sorts of other useful stuff as well as loads of rubbish.

There are a few small raised beds, which need weeding and topping up with manure or compost, then we might be able to grow something there this year. Eventually I think I will get rid of them, dig the whole plot over and build some better beds.

There's a lot of rubbish lying around which needs clearing up and taking to the tip. The place is littered with old plant pots, weeds and brambles. The whole plot seems to be covered in sheets of membrane or carpet, so it's impossible yet to see what sort of soil is there. Perhaps it's hiding something bad or was an attempt to soak up all the water.

We are going to continue to share our allotments and produce. There is still work to be done on plot 10b, Helen's plot,  and I would like to get the important jobs finished this year, before we start to concentrate on sorting out plot 8.

Looks like we've got another busy year ahead of us!

Spring clean at the allotment

Now my plaster is off I can start to exercise my wrist. I have been told to start using it, but it is still painful and sometimes just won't move. But I have been longing to get out in the garden. When the sun shines it's difficult to stay indoors and sometimes I want to do more than go out for a walk.

This week we have had some lovely weather, it was half term and my daughter Helen was off work to look after the children, so we decided to spend some time at the allotment. It's still early for planting or sowing seed here in east Lancashire, so we decided to do some tidying up on the plot.

There was plenty of rubbish still to clear from when we had first taken on the plot last June. We filled bags of glass, wood, plastic, metal and rubble. My husband loaded the car up and took the rubbish to the tip. Next job was the storage shed which gets very dirty and untidy.  It needed a spring clean, we made a start but there's still much to be done there. This is my husband's shed  where he stores his tools  and other stuff, he's very untidy. The potting shed  is mine and Helen's area and is always fairly clean and tidy, no one is allowed to mess it up!

Another job was to fill up the bed alongside the front fence with compost. Here we will plant the blackcurrant and gooseberry bushes which are at the moment in a temporary bed.  Meanwhile my husband was sorting out rubble which is to form the base of the paths between the raised beds.

As we worked the grandchildren  played on the plot and along the lane. They got very muddy but really enjoyed themselves. I couldn't do very much with a poorly hand so I just supervised and provided drinks and biscuits. It was good to be out there in the sun making a start for the new growing year even if it was just cleaning up.

Taking down the shed

For the last 10 weeks since we took on our new allotment this massive metal clad shed has dominated the site.  Our plans were to demolish it and put raised beds in its place.The demolition started last week.

We had to empty it first of the stuff which the previous tenant had left in. And there was quite an assortment of stuff, some of it was useful, like rolls of polythene sheeting (I'm thinking of how many cloches we can make), bags of nails, plant pots, tools, buckets (always useful around an allotment).  Of the less useful stuff there was an old aquarium, a hamster cage, a pair of stirrups and a bridle and  lots more.  A few trips to the local recycling centre were needed.

So for the last two weeks bit by bit, section by section my husband has been taking the shed down. As he worked at this he was able to see how much of the shed he would be able to recycle around the plot. The metal panels can be used to clad the fences to keep out weeds from neighbouring plots.What we have left, well there is a waiting list of neighbouring allotmenteers who want to take it off our hands.  The wood from the floor will be used to make raised beds. Some of the wooden framework is going to be made into a polytunnel/greenhouse. The many bricks underneath the floor supporting the shed will be used around the plot.

Finally the shed was no more.  We are now left with the plot looking like a scrapyard/building site and an amazing amount of work still to do. But we are encouraged by our allotment neighbours who keep telling us how well we are doing, it helps to keep us going.