Saturday rush-job

It was a bit of a rush job on Saturday @ the allotment. Half ten til one, so no digging for me. However, I did do lots of weeding and watering, as well as getting on with more sowing.

This time it was some mangetout, 3 sets of 3 seeds next to a bamboo tripod. I covered the seeds with plastic bottle sections to protect the shoots from birds and to focus my watering. 

I also planted some sugar snaps next to the pea trellis. I made a second trellis frame and sowed the sugar snaps. I thought some cornflowers scattered amongst them would look nice, so they went in too.

This is how that bed now looks. Sugar snaps & cornflowers under the two polytunnels on the left, the mangetout tripod in the centre with protective plastic bottles and the far right, 2 polytunnels of peas.

I also planted out some sunflowers into pots as I am worried about the direct-sown sunflowers still not making an appearence. Perhaps I planted them too early? It has been cold overnight. Well, I can but wait and see what happens. If they're all a no-show I'll simply try some more seed. The sunflower plant pots went into my mini-greenhouse with the rest of the potted seeds. The yellow scallop squash has started to show, and some courgettes. Hopefully everything will germinate soon.

I planted two hollyhock plants last time I was at the allotment but I don't think I mentioned it. They're at the 'shed end' next to the globe artichoke there. There is a white one and a scarlet red one. Looking forward to seeing them. They're such magnificent flowers. That's them, next to 'Bob' my plastic pigeon :)

My spring flowers are also coming on well. New to flower are these narcissi...

...and some tulips in red. There are white ones to follow.

There will be irises and ranunculus to follow. The big bushy plant to the far left of the photo is 'Black Stockings', which I put in last year after loving it at Hidcote Gardens. The smaller green plant is a Lady's Mantle (love the fan-type leaves!) and in the plant pot is the mint.

Bad news on the tomato front on my balcony... I did something really dumb and I fed them with too strong a mix, I think. They're looking very sad and I am not sure if they will recover. Damn. Human error!

Digging, raking, building, weeding, sowing

As I understand it, it was the first day of Spring this weekend. Lucky for me then as Sunday was the first day of me sowing some seeds at the allotment :)

First things first though...

During the week, my friend Nick has been busy sorting out some palettes, breaking them up and lining the beds. He'd actually only meant to be coming with me in my car to pick them up after work on Tuesday. However, I got a message before I got home he'd already taken 4 palettes to my allotment - avoiding race traffic (Gold Cup week). Fair dos, thanks Nick. :) The next day I was due to go out with some friends to the cinema, as I usually do on Wednesdays. Nick sent me a message to say he knew I was busy but was off to the allotment to break up the 4 palettes and line the beds! Well, he did that too. Very kind of him. Thank you so much, Nick! :D When I arrived on Sunday, this is how the 1st of the new beds looked...

Very nice! Having a bit o' wood around the beds makes them much more smart. This should mean I won't have to keep edging them every now and then.

I also bought a new rake and put it to good use, thwacking the spade-dug soil and raking through the lumps to finish the 2 beds Nick and I sorted out last weekend. The soil is in really good condition so it was relatively easy (and theraputic!).

I also fashioned a seedling area using a big pane of glass and the props left over from the broken palettes. This still needs some work. You can see the row of compost bins we sorted last time, with the newly raked bed in front of one. The bed to its left is my spring flowers/garlic/onion bed. There is a bit of wood ready to line this one next.

Next I tackled the little bed in front of the shed. This has some lovely Pulmonarias in it which were in full flower when I took the lottie over last April. They look full of buds....

There is just one crocus left in flower there now. But what a stunner!

Next I constructed a support for my peas. I think I'll plant either side of this little trellis with the same variety, then do the same sort of thing with the different types I've got. It might be a teeny bit too short but I can wind the peas around the frame. I've not planted any yet.

Then I built some supports for my sunflowers. I'd planned to grow them next to the shed, and I have planted some 'Black Magic' in there, but I didn't want to block out too much light from the window, so I popped them in the next bed over. I'm hoping the bamboo will be enough support. If not, I can tie them onto the post.

I put a few 'Black Magic' in here and some of the mixed ones.

The garlic I put in before Xmas is going great guns and now you can just about make out the onions breaking through the soil. Beyond them are the 3 tree onions.

 

This bit all looks very unimpressive, but most of the bulbs I planted here are starting to come through, with the tulips doing particularly well (to the left of the flowerpot).

The larger of the two new beds was also kindly wood-lined by Nick and I raked over 2/3rds of this before I got too tired to do it anymore. And LOOK...

The daffs are finally out :)

The goosberry is starting to show signs of Spring.

As is the blackcurrant.

The blueberry is in bud.

And so are the raspberries.

Unfortunately, this is how the 'road end' currently looks. Messy! Well, it actually isn't too bad. The beds either end were dug over last year so they just need some light work. However the section in the middle might need the attention of a certain someone and his trusty spade...! I am thinking of having two or three thinner beds here. Eventually I want all the beds wood-lined.

In contrast to the messy 'road end', the 'shed end' is really coming along. I am proud of how it is shaping up :)

Speaking of mess though, this is the sorry state of John's plot next door. This is where his 2 sheds were, the contents of which are still lying about. I wonder why he's given up...? See the hammer on the blue water butt in the front? That's Nick's. He left it. Doh!

When I was digging the little shed bed I spotted this pulmonaria that had sprung up seperately from the 2 main plants. I know my mum wanted one of these so I have potted it up for her garden. I shall try to keep it alive until Easter...!

Finally, here's a better look at the seed bed with its glass cover, and the sunflower stakes.

I hope you had a good weekend. We had loads of rain Saturday but Sunday was lovely :)

The shed of wonderment

As promised, here's a post about my shed. It is pretty special :) My friend Claire has decided it is very 'Joanne Harris'. It does look quite romantic in a very quirky way. I guess the unique decor also has a hint of the texas chainsaw massacre about it too! It was such a thrill to find out my allotment included a shed, and a good-sized one at that. What made me chuckle is that it has a proper front door, including a letterbox and porch!! I do need to get a number for it as although I have 2 plots, only one has a number. I wonder if I sent myself a postcard it would make it to the letterbox...?! The horseshoe on the door is a warming little touch of good luck. Hope it works for me.

The first day of 'owning' the allotment I didn't have the key to the shed so I had to admire it from the outside. What struck me most was the window. It is pretty big. Once it has been cleaned up I can admire my hard work from it. It's going to be useful too as I don't have a greenhouse. I should imagine the shed stays pretty warm as it has a clear-plastic corrugated roof which lets in lots of light. I'm sure it will function pretty well as a greenhouse substitute.

Having a shed has the added bonus of water collection via a gutter. There are 4 water butts next to the shed, all linked together so water flows to the next one as each fills up. The water in these has been standing for a long time though and I think they could benefit from a clean out, but they're useful to have. No tapped butts though, however it should be easy enough to fill the watering can.

Once I got the key for the shed from 'Betty' on day 2 it was a real moment of excitement. Who knew what mysteries and surprises awaited me as I turned the key for the first time. Yes, I really did take this before I went into the shed. I thought it would make for a good photo.

Once in, this is the sight I first saw. I was like a child on Christmas Day! ...is that a plastic pigeon?! - yep, it sure is. He's now called 'Bob'. There's a better photo of him to follow, along with the retro clock I am not going to reset. Allsorts of things had been left - tools, seeds, sacks, pots, propagators, markers, etc, even a shelf full of books!

I've made a list of the titles in the column on the right of the blog. Looking through them, they seem really useful so that'll be something for me to peruse when it is too dark to work on the allotment. Being such a novice I find a real comfort in books. Let's hope they are clear and simple. I like some of the titles such as "Vegetable Plotter", which sounds like some sort of sinister activity!

Allsorts of things have been left in the shed, of varying usefulness! Here are some of them...

plastic pots, markers and metal jugs

potato sacks, canes, a dusty director's chair and a pedal bin full of old seed packets! - i threw the bike pump out!!

'bob' the plastic pigeon and the retro stopped clock

looks like the past owners had the right idea with the wine glass! lovely slate markers too

a box of string sacks, the other containing lots of seeds - see list in the column to the right of the blog

Lots more shed-related photos to follow. Will post this now and post again about the shed later. Don't want to overdo it!