Introducing.......Plot 51b

As promised a couple of weeks ago, an update on where I am with the 'new' half plot. You can see what it looked like when TK and me took it on a couple of years ago here. I guess I really started working on it last summer. I had previously tackled an area at the top end of the plot with the vague notion of having a polytunnel. One of the storms put paid to that notion when I saw another one on the site flattened for the second time....our allotment site is on the edge of town with farmland bordering on two sides so it's very open and the wind really races through when it blows!

As the plot was in quite a poor state, the worst weed to deal with has been couch grass and really the best way of dealing with this is to literally remove every root; and when every spadeful you dig up is just a mass of couch grass root system, you know it's going to take a while to make sense of a plot. Before long though I'd dug one bed which equated to about a quarter of the plot. I decided this would be a bed for currant bushes as I loved a blackcurrant cordial I'd made from the berries from my father's garden.

Blackcurrant bed

One bush was inherited on the plot but needed relocating for a second time; this time I made sure I cleared the rootball completely, When we had moved it the first time, in our innocence we just dug it up and replanted it with the result that the poor bush was being smothered by grasses.

A purchase of a proper bush, Ben Nevis, from the now defunct Edible Garden Show, a bargain buy of another variety called Ben Ojebyn and cuttings which had rooted filled the bed nicely. I just need to create some kind of fruit cage to protect them now!

Next job was to try and limit the out of control raspberries to one section, so I've made a bed in the middle of the plot so that I can contain them more. There does seem to be a rogue plant in the bed which I think is a thornless blackberry. It has flower buds forming for the first time this year so hopefully we'll know more soon!

The raspberry bed with the possible thornless blackberry in the foreground

There will be a flower bed but this area is pretty much overgrown still. I did cover it with cardboard to keep the weeds down, but many of them have grown through it as it breaks down.....

At the top of the plot is the lovely shed we inherited from another plotholder. The area next to it is where a couple of fruit trees will go together with the thornless blackberry. The plan is to train it as a cordon along wires between two fence posts. I'm in the process of creating this area at the moment. I'm also planning on erecting that short length of chestnut paling between two of the posts to act as a wind break of sorts. One of the fruit trees is a small pear tree called Little Sweetie from Blackmoor Nursery. It won't ever get bigger than 5ft odd and as it blossoms so much earlier, I figured the more protection I can give it on our open site the better. The other fruit tree is a Victoria Plum, also from Blackmoor. Thank you Santa!

So still very much a work in progress (aren't all allotments?!) but it's starting to take shape.

Plot 51b - April 2017

Slow Progress

So its been more than a month since I posted. Its been a really busy month with work both the editing and my fabric business so progress on the plot has been a little slow. Before that, believe it or not, it was just too hot for digging; we had temperatures around 30 degrees for several weeks!

I need to take my camera or TK's iPod down to the plot with me to take some photos as my iPhone thinks I don't have any room on it to take photos.

 

So what's been happening this last month?

 

The potatoes are well and truly established. I'm hoping the first earlies will be ready at the beginning of September, although a couple of plants might be ready already.

The first sowing of beetroot and carrots have been thinned and are doing well. Although the second sowing of carrots hasn't germinated much for some reason.

The runner beans have reached the top of the wigwam and the first beans are already 3 or 4 inches long.

We acquired some Swiss chard from a neighbouring plot owner which is just starting to settle in.

 

But the big news was the raspberries. We picked over 6lbs in the end despite the canes needing thinning out and generally needing taking care of. We made some jam with them.

 

Today I finally reached the other side at the bottom of the plot! It feels like I have been digging that section for ages. It was a bit demoralising to come back from a few days away to find it looking quite green again the other day, but a bit of hoeing has sorted that out!

We are now going to make the bottom of the plot a perennial bed. It already has the rhubarb. We will move the two currant bushes down there and I thought we would also put some asparagus in . Rather excitingly, we think we have a small asparagus plant growing in the raspberries!

 

So next post will be a picture post showing our progress, hopefully.

 

The first month

So just over a month has passed since we took over our plot. Seems longer!

 

The early potatoes have had their second earthing up. Think they should be ok now as they are already growing through the pile quite a bit.

We have also earthed up the main crop potatoes in the last week.

 

 

We've cleared another stretch across the width of the plot the other side of the raspberries.

We collected some wood to make a cage/protection around the strawberries but so far we have been picking them just before the are fully ripe and eaten by the birds, so we haven't needed to build anything.

 

 

We planted a small row of carrots and beetroot here a couple of days ago. They were both varieties that could be sown in June so we'll see how they go.

 

On the other side of the strawberries we have put a wigwam together and planted the runner beans that we started off in pots at home.

 

 

The middle of the plot is REALLY overgrown but rather than continuing to work our way down the plot we have decided to start clearing at the bottom end of the plot. We figured that's where the potatoes will have to go next year as the previous plotowners had planted some where we have planted our beans, so we might as well get ahead of ourselves, kind of!

 

We have been quite lucky so far to be able to harvest a few things; the rhubarb, some potatoes and now strawberries. The next thing will be the raspberries which are summer fruiting...........and there are a lot of them!! Not quite sure what to do with them at the moment as neither of us like raspberries!

 

Bees!

Just a little short post, almost a Wordless Wednesday............except its Tuesday...........and it has a few words in it.

I love being on the allotment, digging away, sometimes on my hands and knees. It's so peaceful

Just me...........and the bees in the raspberry bushes

And here is Mr Bee

First Sign of Life!

It was  so exciting when we went over to the plot yesterday afternoon! The first signs of growth!

 

Yep, several of the Duke of York first earlies were breaking through the surface. We weren't expecting to see anything for another week seeing as we only planted them a week ago.

Time to start earthing up!

 

We have nearly cleared the area around the strawberry bed now.

 

 

Just need to remove some of the raspberries nearby and then we will try and board the strawberries in and protect them as best we can. They are already fruiting.

We've put up some notices in case anyone wants any of our surplus raspberry canes but not had any takers yet.

 

TK's friend came and helped us yesterday too so I gave them the job of doing some digging, which left me with not a lot I could do. I set them to work on some old earthed up areas as the soil was quite loose there...............and this is what they dug up!

 

 

 Not sure if any of them are any good, but we'll give them a try.

 

Can't believe how lucky we have been so far!

 

Area 51 - aka The Jungle

So this is it - our new allotment. As with all allotments that have fallen into disuse, it is slightly overgrown.

 

Ok it's quite a bit overgrown.

 

The photo shows the full length of the plot. It goes back as far as a small blue water butt and that unstable looking metal frame.

 

There are some possible good bits though........

Like these fruit canes and currant bush

 

 

Shame we don't like raspberries.......

 

Plus there is some established rhubarb

 

 

Hmmmm.........

 

And some onions

 

 

But mostly it is like this

 

 

So its going to take a bit of work even before we can plant anything. The allotment association will treat and rotavate it before we officially make a start next week which will help.

 

So this blog will be a record of our progress.

 

Wish us luck.........I think we are going to need it!