Laying the foundations..

...or the slabs in our case!

Seeing as we are now back online, I am going to be writing several blog updates over the next week or so, focussing upon a different aspect of the allotment each time. After today's post there will be 4 more catch-up posts; veg beds, soft fruit area, navigation and sustainability.
We've had the allotment since the end of February, so almost 2 whole months now. Having the smallest garden in the world at home, and having to use Amy's Dad's house to home our beehive and chickens, we do not have a play area for ourselves. Seeing as we are two young adults, you might think the idea of a play area is quite odd, but what I really mean is somewhere where we can both sit out in the summer, drink chilled ginger beer and pick fresh produce from all around us and maybe accompany all of that with the odd barbeque here and there.

Being the main grower of the two of us, I really want to get Amy more engaged with things happening on the allotment, and to date I have to admit she has exceeded all expectations so far. When we got the plot the first thing she mentioned was a paved area to sit, and being the loveliest partner in the whole world (sickly I know!), I set out straight away to make her area, and I showcased the beginning of this side project in this post here.

If you forgot what it looked like, here it is..

Apart from substantial weed growth all around and the abysmal weather, a lot has changed since this picture. Those rotten bamboo canes in the old blue waterbutt have been thrown out, that rusty old metal bin has been moved to the 'wild area' and of course that particular greenhouse in the picture was stolen! The Rhubarb crowns have burst in to life at the edge of the second raised bed, and the whole 'freshly dug' bed in front of the paved area is now full of establishing onions, shallots and garlic. A third mini raised bed has taken up residence on the left hand side of the bed and is now full of plastic bottles we have grown...

...I meant lettuces......

We currently have little gem and lollo rosso in the raised beds but there are iceberg and more lollo rosso seedlings just emerging elsewhere. The other raised beds are full of....

....and other emerging seedlings including beetroot, swiss chard, perpetual spinach and a hell of a lot more raddish!

We had a taste of the very first raddish the other day. Amy always thought I didn't like raddish and that is because out of principle I refuse to eat shop bought raddish. You can not compare the taste of the shop bought stuff to the home grown crops which are so quick and easy to go. They indeed were delicious and most were perfectly formed!

Following on from the theft of the greenhouse, my grandparent's actually bought me 2 more for Easter which was very kind of them. These have been bolted to the shed and cemented to the ground and are therefore unmoveable, they have also been marked with our names and plot number! In a way the burgular did us a favour, because if we didn't have 2 greenhouses now I don't know what we would be doing! The two are rammed to the brim and we have so many seedlings that constantly need potting upwards and onwards. Here is a sneak peak....

We actually have about 30 courgette plants, it's a good job they are one of our favourite vegetables and we have a whole bed dedicated to them! Bring on the glut!

So anyway, in case you were actually wondering here is Amy's area/the potting area/the shed today..

Not bad hey with table and chairs too, we even have a parasol in the shed, but I think that is a bit optimistic in this drizzle!

I also spoke of the 'wild area' and this is something that happened by accident. We inherited an established rosemary bush and we planted a few rhubarb crowns nearby. This patch has burst in to life but was missing something. So the old rusty metal bin is now in the bed and the plan is to have a clematis grow around it in the summer, but then use it for holding bags of leaf mould in the winter. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but we shall see! Here it is...

I'm hoping all of the contrasting colours and leafy growth will look great in early summer.

Well that concludes today's mini tour and update. Check back over the next couple of days for a re-cap of the vegetable beds and soft fruit area!

Thanks for reading. It's now my turn to catch up on your blog too!

Martin