Bricks, bark and bloody brambles!

Welcome to the latest installment of our allotment update. It really is strange writing about things that I did at the end of March, but seeing as we were offline during that time, it's the best I can do I am affraid.

When we took over plot 114, the soft fruit area we had inherited really was the problem area. The raspberries had been completly untended and had spread across the whole area. The strawberry patch had ran amock too and I have disposed of no end of runners and plants. The whole area really put Amy off taking on this allotment but I managed to prod her in the direction of all of the positives and remind her that 'in the summer' it would all look fantastic. The patch was also covered in prickly brambles and blackberry bushes, and seeing as there is a bush behind our garden already, we know we have a good supply and therefore could eliminate them from the allotment completly.

I really can't believe this is what it used to look like, and for novice vegetable gardener Amy, I can see why she was slightly put off..

After completing Amy's paved area, I set about completing the fruit patch. In order to get Amy engaged I needed to make the place as nice as possible for her, and make a real effort to show that progress can be made on what was a barron wasteland.

It took hours, days, maybe just over a week to clear the endless amounts of nasty stuff. Not knowing whether the raspberries were a summer or autumn cropping variety. I took good advice from Monty Don and just simply removed any dead wood and lef the rest of the canes well alone, and just wait and see what happens this year.

It wasn't just what was on top of the soil it was what was underneath it aswell. You might remember we found tons of carpet under the vegetable area, and udner this there was bin bags, black plastic, rotted weed supressing membranes aswell as rotted tools and cigarette packets. What a concoction!

When I eventually got the patch looking like a patch of earth and not a wasteland. It was time to get planting. I said earlier that I binned a whole load of strawberry plants that were covering large proportions of the allotment and this might seem wasteful, but I wanted to start with new virus free stock in order to manage our fruit properly. We may as well start as we wish to go on..

So I ordered 30 plants from fothergills online, and we watered the strawberry bed right at the very end of the allotment very heavily before covering it with multi purpose compost and then a membrane to prevent weed growth. I then made a slit in the membrane for each plant and then added a top layer of bark which will keep the slugs off the strawberry fruit crop come early summer..

We had plenty of bark left so we made a bark path inbetween the raspeberry frames which makes access a lot better for us. I say two raspberry frames, but it is now actually just one raspberry frame and a frame for a grapevine too! To edge the path and strawberry bed we have just used bricks that we have found on our plot since taking it over, and it certainly looks very posh..

Here is the whole area..

We also have some fruit bushes too. There is one big blackcurrant bush, I've never grown blackcurrants before so that is quite exciting, the only problem being that big bud is present on the bush.

 Just a tip.. NEVER google 'big bud', you won't find anything to do with blackcurrant bushes at all.

Here's a picture of one of the diagnosed buds...

I've also added three gooseberry bushes opposite the blackcurrant bushes at the other end of the strawberry bed. They are young stock, so I'm not expecting much of a harvest this year.

All of the raspberry canes and established fruit bushes have been mulched with well rotted manure and it definately seems to have given them a boost.

I hope you like the area, the photos might not do it justice because of the rain. But we are definately the envy of the allotment site, there are already whispers from old hands about the allotment of the year destination, but I won't hold my breath! It definately looked superb in that scorching week in late July, I mean MARCH!

Come back soon for the next two installements which should be up by the end of the week!

I STILL can't believe it is May already!

Martin

Progress

I have spent every spare minute of every day at the allotment since last Tuesday when we took over our new allotment, Plot 114.

I have been going to university in the mornings and then getting home for a few hours of digging and on my days off on Wednesday and Friday I was there from the moment I woke up til it was time to go to bed.

We want everything ship shape and ready to start growing in the next couple of weeks.

The next picture shows you what we have done so far. We have dug out the first three beds on the left hand side which will be home this year to our courgettes, potatoes and beans. The courgette and potato beds have been covered with some old carpet and cardboard to surpress weed growth until we are ready to grow. We've also dug a trench in the bean bed for the runners and have put in a load of grass clippings and horse manure in the hope of getting a fantastic harvest.

We've also started the right hand side and cleared the area where the onion bed will be and the area we have designated for a table and charis for Amy to relax on. The seating area will also be great for my grandparents who love visiting the allotment my Grandad was up on the first day we got plot 114. He used to be the chairman of the allotment society in Derby and had 4 plots of his own and managed over 300 for the society. He is a true fountain of knowledge when it comes to allotment gardening.

In the foreground bed you can see the established rosemary bush which I have cleared of weeds and planted two rhubarb crowns on the other side too. Our allotment neighbour, John, gave us a Rhubarb crown as a moving in present which was very kind of him. John has been on the site for a very impressive 31 years and he is full of great advice. My Grandad and John got on very well comparing tips, advice and stories.

Another picture from the other end..



We have started clearing the soft fruit beds. Amongst Raspberries there are Blackberry and Gooseberry bushes and we also discovered a grape vine which is rather exciting. We need to get a frame ready to help support it's growth for the summer. John gave the vine to the last plot holder as their welcome present and it still remains. He says that almost everybody on the site has a grape vine from him and they produce the best British grapes he has ever come across, so fingers crossed.

If you are observant you might also notice that we have brought the mini greenhouse up to the plot from the house. In here we have some brussel sprouts, cauliflower, brocolli and cabbage in seed trays. We also have some lettuce underway ready for our salad raised beds.

Amy has suprisingly been pulling her weight too. She helped to dig one of the beds and she was also excited to sow the seeds. Amy was definately looking forward to sorting out the shed, and hey presto..

We managed to get the table from my grandparents as they conveniently bought a new one a few weeks ago. The table is covered in our potting essentials as well as our seed potatoes, garlic and onions which we will be planting in the next couple of weeks.

We've also been greeted by our little friends every time we have visited. I thought there was two of them but there definately seems to be three. Here is one of them watching over me as  I clear some weeds from the soft fruit beds..

We have done even more than I have outlined in today's post over the last two days, but I've only just got around to uploading this installment, so you'll have to wait to see the rest.

Thanks for reading. I'm just catching up on my blog list, so if I haven't commented on or visited your blog recently then I will be in the coming days.

Have a good day!

Martin

Our New Home - Plot 114

If you've been reading our blog over the last few days you will have joined us on the rollercoaster ride we've been on. We had an allotment. We had 2 allotments. Shall we have both. Let's just have one. Which one?

All of those questions and topics have been discussed in the previous blog posts, but today's blog is designed to give you an insight in to our new home.

Why did we choose Plot 114 over Plot 16?

It has the contradicting type of soil. (Retains moisture, but has good drainage) - We felt this was far better than the chalky/dusty soil on Plot 16. I took advice from my Grandad the allotment guru and he said he'd rather have 1 allotment like plot 114 than 10 of the plot 16 because you'll probably grow the same amount of produce with less work. Our winning soil was definately one of the winning factors.

Plot 16 had a massive apple tree as it's only feature. Plot 114 has a shed in mint condition. Inside this shed is tools a wheelbarrow and lots of other nifty neceseties like netting and poles. Outside this shed is a composter and 2 water butts. Where Plot 16 had apples, plot 114 has raspberries. 2 whole rows of the things.

Ok, Plot 16 was closer to the water supply. But Plot 114 isn't too far at all from the site water supply and is definately reachable by a hose. With the two water butts too we should be able to use some of our own water harvest if it ever does rain again this year.

The really cool thing about Plot 114 is I can even park my car right next  to my shed! At Plot 16 you have navigate down a narrow alley in between 2 houses to get there, no good for carrying heavy things. At Plot 114 I can park up and transfer heavy and odd shaped things with ease.

So thanks for reading, here are the photos!

Here is a view from our lovely shed! You can see that it needs a bit of work but it definately has a bit of potential. This place is covered in 'useful junk' such as stakes and small raised beds which would be ideal for sowing salad...

The allotment goes up pretty much all of the way to the shed in the background minus a few ft.

At the end of the allotment there are 2 rows of raspberries and blackberries followed by a strawberry bed. Here is a view from the alternative end...

You can see how the soft fruit area is a bit overgrown and is in desperate need of pruning. You can just about see my car poking out from behind the shed too. (Advice regards pruning and mulching raspberries would be greatly appreciated.)

Walking back down to the shed, we meet these two little fellows who were watching us the whole time...

The pair or Robins did give us a good source of entertainment for a while.

Reaching the shed, it's time for a peak at what is inside...

2 hoes, a spade, fork, 2 rakes and a few planks of wood are on the left hand side as soon as you walk through the door.


Well Plot 114 is certainly going to take some work, but we believe we've made the right choice.

We're now feeling a bit better and can't wait to share our adventures with you. From planting the onion sets in a couple of weeks to harvesting pumpkins in September.

Thanks for visiting us and reading our blog we really appreciate it!

Martin and Amy x