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!

Photos of the allotment, day1

every blog needs photos and now I have them. all 61 from day1 of being the offical owner! i picked the keys up for the shed from the previous tenants and they were really sorry to be handing them over, i think. every allotment has a story, eh. i met the previous owner's mum, 'betty', who had owned it before him and she was lovely. she wished me luck and i invited her to pop up whenever she felt like it to check how i was getting on :) i think she liked that.

so, here is my shed. have you ever seen such a quirky, fun shed? what a fab thing to inherit. it's crammed full of useful/not-so-useful things and i think it is quite charming. i think that great big window is such a bonus. it will be great to hide in here if the rain catches me out :) i am taking the horseshoe as a good omen for happy times ahead :)

i also have this little bench to sit on, take a break, contemplate life, sup wine/tea and admire my hard work. the allotment really is well stocked and i have inherited lots of fab goodies. look, i have 4 big butts! these fill with water from the shed roof so that should keep me going for a while :) i've been really lucky to get the allotment in the first place, but to get one which comes with lots of bits and pieces is a dream. i know most of the things won't be very expensive to buy but if you have 30 or so 'little bits and pieces' to buy it soon adds up. i also love the history of it too.

looking out over the allotment from the side of the shed - water butts, compost bins/heap and 2 old metal dustbins down here. you can see the little seat too

my allotment is already divided nicely into 3 areas. part 1 is near the shed...

this is furthest away from the access road and will be most likely where i spend most of my time. there are already crops growing away in this area, the 'shed end', such as asparagus (new discovery!), strawberries, onions and some sort of leafy thing! ha! such a novice!!

part 2 is full of soft fruits. 'betty' told me it was gooseberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants and that they had a fabulous crop from them last year. fingers crossed for a repeat!

i think i need to take out some of the dead bits and maybe prune a little but i shouldn't imagine i need to do that much in this area. it was nice to inherit something nicely established like this.

part 3 is the area nearest the access road. it has a few things in it at the moment but needs more work. there is a little area for me to park my car here so that is ideal for offloading/loading :)

the stuff in the front of the allotment was some sort of gourd-type squash and there are a lot of old ones left so i will try to gather some seeds and see how they go. you can see the full allotment in this photo now. the 'shed end' furthest from us, the soft fruit area, and the 'road end'!

...and just because i could park on my allotment, i did! (can you spot me!?)

so, that's the tour so far. later i'll post about the produce already growing away when i took ownership and the inside of the quirky shed :)

My first allotment

i have an allotment! my very first. i'm so excited! been waiting a year already and they said it would take 3 years for one to become available. 'ken' from the parish council called me yesterday and offered me a plot. went to look at it yesterday and it is perfect! imagine the best allotment ever. got it? well, i have that plot! hehehe! can't wait to be in my own bit of outdoors. one thing living in a flat i have really missed is having some outdoor space. a balcony just doesn't cut the mustard!

so much has been done already which is better than getting a daunting bit of soil. so, there is:

• shed with massive window to sup tea in, including shelving
• a rustic seat under a cute tree to drink wine from
• a pond
• globe artichokes already in
• lots of raspberry/currant canes already established
• a row of strawberries
• a row of onions or something(!)
• 3 big water butts
• a big compost heap
• not too many weeds/quite good soil to get going on
• a 'friend' already called john, who said hello and gave me a tour of the plot and CLEARLY has plot envy as he was going on that i should take it and it is the best plot on the allotment!!!

allotment party anyone? ;) hehe! :D

i chose the name "The Green Grower" as it works on a few levels - 'green' in the colour sense, 'green' in that i am totally new to all this and 'green' in that i'd ideally like to be as organic as possible. the 'grower' part is pretty obvious!

this blog will be a record of day1 to whenever! i am a total novice gardener. always loved gardens and the idea of gardening and having an allotment to grow my own produce has always been a dream. now i have one so you can see how i get on. i'll also use this blog as a useful history of when i have planted things, how things have fared etc. all tips/tricks/advice welcome so do feel free to comment. wish me luck!