Second Visit

So being that I was caught out by the weather last week I have decided to start going to the plot on a saturday afternoon once shopping and lunch were out of the way. This way if it is raining there is still the Sunday to fall back on. I am only going down once a week at the moment. I don’t feel the need to be there more than that.

I have still got a lot going on at home too so we were only at the plot for about an hour and a half. But in that time we had met one of the neighbours and dug over and de-weeded the rest of the first bed.

However I did forget to take a picture but this week I will take one before and then one after. I think next week I will cut the weeds down. This will at the very least make it look a bit nicer and slow the spread of seeds. Might manage to start the second bed too. I also need to put the borders for the first bed in properly as they are only place saving at the moment.

Anyway I had a little chat with the neighbour and he said that the plot have been in the state it is for a few years and we are the 5th or 6th tenants of the plot. The oak tree that is on the plot has been cut down several times but not dug out or even had a dose of stump killer. I was thinking of replacing the tree with a fruit tree. Not sure which one mind. Any ideas??

Still the next post will be more updates about the progress of the plot.

First True Visit

It has been just over 6 weeks since I picked up the allotment key and we finally managed to go down and start the de-weeding and digging over of the beds. I am now debating what seeds to plant when the first two beds are completely dug over (looking to sow in June) but I’m no closer to an answer than I was on Monday when we were at the plot.

The layout is also something that I am thinking about a lot. At current there are 4 large square beds (2 rows of 2) then a long rectangular bed behind them and the shed area at the back. The beds are too large not to walk on them when tending to future cropped. I like my original plan but not sure if that will entirely remedy this problem. I think there will still be parts of the beds that would have to be walked on to tend crops. So I think in the next couple of weeks I shall take a stroll round the site and see what other people have done. I might draw up some other ideas too.

Anyway both me and my partner started clearing weeds and she decided to start dealing with the brambles at the back of the plot as well. Progress isn’t great but there are a lot of weeds. When we go down Sunday I will take some pictures so you can see the extent of the problem.

Whilst we were taking care of the brambles we noticed that the shed is in need of some TLC. Ok a lot of TLC. But then so is the rest of the plot. The corrugated iron roof has at least one hole. The door it’s not where it should be. The inside needs clearing out and the shelves that are in there are most likely no good. And lastly the front needs rebuilding. Happily I have a fair bit of pallet wood so this won’t be a problem.

All in all my main plan for this year is just to clear all of the weeds, change the layout to something much more functional, plant some winter crops to aid in the weed control a little, repair the shed, deal with the brambles next to the shed, put in a compost bin, and maybe set up the fruit area. I might possibly had a poly tunnel as well, not sure yet though.

Oh I forgot to mention that there is an oak tree in the middle of the plot too. It may only be a small oak tree but it’s of no use to me. That will be dug up very soon.

So the next post will be more plot clearing and organising. I will also post some pictures too.

Finally Got The Key

Not much to say in this post really.
I went down the town hall and picked up mt allotment key this morning. So that means plot 94 is now officially mine.
I am hoping to get down there this weekend but as I’m dealing with the garden this week I’m not sure I will have chance. Although I will get some bits planted at home which should be ready for planting out in a couple of weeks. Hopefully this plan comes together reasonably well.

A Rough Plan

Ok so I have pondered for a few days on what I want the allotment to look like and how I want it to work. After dinner on Tuesday I decided to put my ideas on paper.

I know there are a few gaps and to be honest I think I will have missed the sowing window for about half of these but the title does say rough plan. Also this plan is subject to change. For instance I’m not 100% sure where the canes for the lemuges are and I don’t know what we might find when digging the plot over. So things could change.
Also I was surprised by the gaps that I still have. Couple this with the fact that most of what is on here won’t take up as much space as allocated, it really showed how productive I can make this plot.
However I know that this year the plot won’t be anywhere near as productive as it can be. So with all of this in mind I have a cunning plan.
What I will do when plot 94 is underway and I know where things have been and the final planting places of what I’m planting I will begin work on next year’s plan. This should make things a bit easier for me next year. I will also have a post on seeds that need to be down by when and when plants can be planted out and so on. Hopefully this will make things much easier and I can use my time and plot more efficiently.

A couple of pictures

So i finally remembered to get the two pictures that we took of the plot that we viewed on Sunday.

And here they are.

It starts at the back fence where the “building” is. Comes out to the red post. (so the water butt/composter isn’t mine). And down to the bottom of the photo.

Everything in this picture is part of the plot except the two big trees at the back.

So as you can see there is a fair amount of work that is required. But still hopefully done in time to get a few crops in.