Utter Allotment Shame

A summery day, we had 1 ~ hoorah! The 12th of July was a stunner and Andrew, Maggie and I took ourselves off up the coastline of Co.Antrim. I may be biased but that is one of the best drives in the world and it's right here on our doorstep. It's perfect, just stopping at little beaches along the way and letting Maggie run whilst we chased her and also looked for cool beachy treasures.

The fair I was at last weekend was brilliant, there were lovely and friendly stall holders, it was really well organised and then loads of lovely people came and they had their shopping heads on :) It was a real buzz.

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The rest of our time off was spent in the back garden or just loafing around. We did want to go to the allotment a lot but well, it's such an unholy mess that we simply couldn't face it. The Council isn't keeping the paths clear and the grass and weeds are knee height, a significant number of plot holders haven't bothered their asses over the past year and those disastrous messes are full to the brim with more flowering grass, weeds and diseases. I am furious, so angry at the lack of any care and the complete unenforcement of the rules ~ the council is failing us and ought to be kicking these people out! For goodness sake, we have a 2 year waiting list with people desperate to try growing their own.


pretty, yes, but this is suppose to be cultivated and growing lovely food!! (The plot next door)

So it's now been a whole week since I was anywhere near my plots. My hay fever has been very severe this year and with the afore mentioned mess of the plots in general I have been so bad I couldn't breathe last Friday night and ended up retching so much, gasping for air, that I threw up twice on the footpath. It was truly very frightening and reminded me of those asthma attacks when I was little; I thought I was going to die. I didn't die :)
I was put on different meds though and they nearly killed me again! I had to come off them after 3 days; 3 days which are lost to me, I either slept or was dizzy and very confused, those were my options :) But hey - I ditched them and I'm still here fighting away with a runny nose and itchy eyes. Thank goodness we live by the sea - last night's visit to the beach was a joy!

Andrew has been and collected the last of our broad beans :( It was fabulous while it lasted. We have kept some, blanched and frozen - a nice treat for those winter months. I don't know if it was just us but we had to skin our beans this year as they were quite tough otherwise. Must be something to do with the weather... He also brought home a load of spuds - boy those plants are doing us proud, it just never seems to end.

I shall be going to the plot tonight; fingers crossed I survive. We know (Andrew has seen) that the raspberries and currant bushes and gooseberries have been going mad with production so we need to fight off the birds and actually get some this year! As I write this I am just thinking I have most likely jinxed us simply by saying that out loud. Tut tut, I ought to know better.

I leave you with a photo of our raspberry+ harvest from 2 years ago - an image that sold well at the fair :) Oh I get so proud when people ohh and ahhh over photos of our produce :)

Hugs. I'll be back on form soon!

Just like a fairytale (or something)

I went to the lottie on Tuesday on my own as well! Leaving the house with Maggie I was up there by 5 or a quarter too and got to work (with thanks to Elbow on my MP3 Player) in the sun. Andrew arrived at 5.30ish and had the biggest ever smile on his face - not sure if I have ever seen him quite so happy, hahaha.

We had a picnic and a dander around the plots together, praising this and despairing at that (so many abandoned plots!). Then it was back to work. We weeded like there was no tomorrow and Andrew managed to stake the Broad Beans and prepare the broccoli bed.

Me and Maggie chilling after our picnic

We came home at 7pm and the sun was still shining. But since then I have been asleep - seriously. I went to bed on Tuesday night and woke up for Breakfast, in the knowledge that it was Wednesday and therefore my Support Worker was due - but she was ill and couldn't make it. I sat down on the sofa, a little deflated, got a little chilly and wrapped up in my blankie. I woke up at 4.30pm hahaha and even napped after dinner. Wednesday done. Ummm I seem to have lost a day :)

This morning it was the postman that made me get up (at 11am!!!) and now I am sitting here typing and half asleep. So I guess Monday and Tuesday, though big leaps forward for me have somewhat taken it out of me too. I need a wee nap....

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Oooops - 5.15pm now... *blush* but I couldn't help it!!


Rhubarb!!!

all harvested now

I have to update you on what we're eating lots of ~
Purple Sprouting Broccoli ~ eating and freezing,
Garlic ~ stored from last year, it just never ends!
Rhubarb ~ eating it in compote form and giving loads away

Oh but the amount of blossom on every single fruit bush and tree, the spuds growing so fast and all the seeds that are germinating! It craziness, the whole place it turning wonderful shades of chartreuse, lime, dark green, yellow-green, pale green, blue-green, dead grass yellow (yes!!) and white and ooohhhhhh, it's fab! Too fab in fact - I'm going to have to show you photos over two days. Tomorrow will be cute baby plants - today? how the lottie is colouring up :D

plum blossom

Cherry blossom



my huge Echinacea coming through - bees love this

so many new raspberry canes

anyone want these - I hate them

my Primula survived it's move :)

An onslaught of photos from A24a :)

 Here she is, our first born A24a, in all her current ummm, glory?What a crappy grey day, week, month it has been eh? The ground is sodden -

It's not necessarily cold but that horrible dampness is in the air that just gets into your bones and sort of makes your nose run and make you feel like you need to pee lots. Sorry to be crude but it's true :)

So everything is budding that should be, the Blueberries, Raspberries, Redcurrants, Cherries, Apples, Pears, Plums etc - but I shan't bore you with photos of endless buds, hahaha. I'm not that evil! Imagine a fruit tree budding and you get the idea. Though that doesn't mean that we are merely taking this for granted, oh no! - each bud had been oohhhh-ed and ahhhhh-ed over and genuine excitement is hard to hide.

But here is a little collage of some of the more interesting things that are going on.... forgive the lighting it was harsh and white.... 

So down the left hand side we have:

 A beautiful lettuce still hanging on, what a gorgeous colour it is!!

Bolting Kale

And Garlic - you need to click on the photo to get the full glory :)

In the middle here is:

A newly cultivated bed all ready to go - yipppee

My favourite Dogwood cut back and ready for a new year

And on the right we have:

Rhubarb being forced - it's so acidy yellow inside and then there is some poking out the side too - this plant just wants to grow and grow and that is okay with me :) I can't wait for my 1st Rhubarb and cream (I hate custard) of the year

And lastly our Purple Sprouting Broccoli is showing signs of survival after the pigeon attack - hoorah.

And this is the view from the other side and I think it looks pretty darn good! Especially when you consider the state of the plot I am standing on to take this photo - it's just all dead like this; sure I'd like to see it full to the brim with lovely budding plants and a shed and beds etc but at the moment, to be honest, I am kind of enjoying that fact that it is making our plot look so good - hahahahaha. I'm not really that evil - you would feel the same, I just tell the truth ;)

More tomorrow - the other plot :) HUGS  xxx

We have an Orchard!

On the BBC news on Friday I found out that The National Trust declares an orchard to consist of 5 trees, even if they're in pots on a patio! Now Andrew did tell me this before the piece was presented but I thought he was being fanciful ~ we have 8 fruit trees on our Lottie but I wouldn't have thought to call it an Orchard. But there you go. Here's the link.

Never mind all the lovely heritage Apple trees planted up by the car park, if you count all the fruit trees on our Eden Allotment Gardens I'd say we're definitely doing our bit to help all those insects (of course the yummy apples, plums and pears etc are an added bonus)!

By the time you read this I'll be in Rome, yes Rome! Can't believe it, lucky girl, eh?

Just leave you with a photo of our Orchard Arch, hehe.

Good news all round

Yesterday I cut the grass in our back garden. This sounds boring but wait....I have an irrational fear of being outside at the best of times; I even feel uncomfortable in my own garden as it's over looked by, god, I don't want to think how many houses. I always feel I am being watched and judged - therefore laughed at. But....yesterday I went out there and I struggled and cursed at the stupid lawnmower because I could barely get it to the right height. And I cut my grass and trimmed the edging. Yes, me, all by myself. There were neighbours out there too, laughing and shouting (and cursing!) but I stood my ground - Hoorah for me!! It's starting to look better out there, it's been neglected for some time (the Lottie Rules our hearts!!)

I'm not one for lists but I also noted down what was doing good (i.e germinating) in the little greenhouse on the patio. It goes as follows:

Veggies ~

Kale
Leeks (2 types)

Brussel Sprouts

Broccoli

Pak Choi

Perpetual Spinach

Flowers~

Marigolds

Echinaceas

Canlendula

Yellow Poppies

Inside, on the many window sills we have :

Veggies/herbs ~

Rocket

Squash

Flowers ~

Dahlias

I'm still very impatiently waiting for other things to come through - grow you buggers!

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Then after a delightful salad, Andrew and I quickly visited the Lottie. Only to be met by the glorious Cold frame!!! And teeny tiny, Carrot and Turnip seedlings in the sun tunnels. The 1st lot of Broad Beans are flowering! All the fruit bushes are filling out nicely and the Raspberries are sending out shoots, the Apples and Pears are budding and the Plums look like they are thinking about it! Good visit!!!

Couple all that with a nice chat to Ivan, waves and smiles from others, who we haven't seen in ages and a dander through Field C, which is going extremely well and has some great innovative minds and good soil prep already; and we were pretty happy. Eden Lottie Folk are the best. Oh, and we posted our renewal form and cheque for another wonderful year of Allotmenteering!!

Which reminds me of this photo Andrew took of me during the week - yippee!!!

Happy Weekend!!!

For Bangchik - Broad Bean flowers x

Mishap, Massacre and Mulching

We only got to spend a little time at the Lottie this past weekend, the weather for one and the desperate state of our own back garden, just looking at us everyday - something had to done before the whole area committed suicide!

Walking down to the plot I slipped and badly twisted my back on the terrible excuse we have for a path. It's just compacted clay with a delightful squishy top layer which somewhat resembles an ice rink in one part and a bog of eternal stench in others. Anyway I pulled a muscle or 5 and was in agony - the left side of my back was swollen and hard for 2 days :( Poor me. I ended up sitting in the shed while Andrew did a little tiny bit of work - then the pain was too much and I was homeward bound into the loving arms of my dear friend - Ibuprofen.

The massacre came in the form of all the hedges and some trees having been brutally cut back. It's terrible looking and right at the start of bird nesting season - we have loads of little birds around the plots. It goes against the whole ethos of the Allotments and the idea of permaculture and encouraging wildlife. It also means the whole of the place is a wind tunnel again! Well, sore back and shock don't mix well. My Ecotherapy for that week was not going well at all.

So, sitting in the shed (fortunately out of the rain - always look on the bright side!) I took random photos and sat bored whilst Andrew mulched all the fruit bushes and trees with Farm Yard Manure (ummmm....wafts of such a lovely smell - could the day get any better?). I was given Andrew's special 'Garden Journal' to write in (a true honour) which passed the time a bit quicker. Then, morally defeated - we went home.

Check out Maggie's pumpkin badge - 'You grow 'em & i'll eat 'em - GrowVeg.Info We all have them and Andrew and I have keyrings too, so cute.

A visit to the Lottie (sort of)..

Well, we all know what the weather was like this past weekend; one word ~ Burr!!! On top of that, I was feeling particularly dispirited and needed to just go away from Carrick for the day.

I didn't even want to go down to my Lottie because the paths were so soggy and I've slipped on the them countless times (my anxiety levels were already through the roof that day); it just makes me miserable. Also, I knew nothing would have done that well through the bitterly cold week (and Lord help me if I saw my Broad Bean babies dead or something). All round it was just safer to stay in the car. Sometimes the best Ecotherapy is staying away and just thinking happy thoughts of Spring and sunshine.

So, this is as far as (Maggie and) I got to my Lottie.

Andrew had bought bare-root fruit trees during the week at Lidl, for £6 each and he wanted to put them down in the shed there (and have a nosey). I think it was 2 Plums and 2 Pears we got, but I couldn't tell what type to save my life and I forgot to take photos. As I said, I've been down in the dumps. I will however talk to the hubby tonight and then I can tell you all about the fruit arch master plan another day.

Okay, so this picture makes it look nice ~ believe me it wasn't. (By the way I got a path-issue update from the Council today - I've been making a nuisance of myself via e-mail)

Did however see some newbies at the site and the car park was quite full, so it's nice to know there were some crazy Allotment obsessed friends down there, keeping the side up. I am not a creepy stalker, by the way, taking pictures through the windows of my car looks dodgy, I know.

A Story about the Benefits and the Heartache of Potash

I simply know that Potash is great for you Strawberry plants (fruit bearing plants in general) and it is highly recommended that we get out there and give them a good feed of the stuff. I learnt that off the gardening calendar in the kitchen. However, I have since looked at Andi Clevely's book 'The Allotment Book ' (good title: concise) and a RHS 'Essential Gardening Techniques' book to find out why.

The Science is simple my friends ~ Potash (K2O) contains Potassium which boosts nitrogen making the plant stronger, hardier and more resistant to disease. It also helps make the yield greater and the plant doesn't get yellowing of the leaves. Okay, it's probably more difficult than that but I like to know the basics and then let Andrew (who reads all the books there are) tell when and where to put it out. For instance we were meant to put some in with the broad beans I planted out on Sunday, but forgot and it would have all just blown away anyway. (But, I hear me cry, broad beans aren't fruit, they're veg! See not so easy.)

Ah, the joy of Potash this year was that we made a large bag of our own. Down in Fermanagh we had the loveliest wood burning stove and used it everyday (Andrew is a bit of a pyromaniac - it's under control though, don't fear), saving up the ash to take home for our Lottie. Here is were the heartache of this story comes in. Yesterday, in his haste to facilitate a lift for some colleagues over to a meeting in the Titanic Quarter, he threw out said bag of glorious Potash. It's gone, for good, in the bin of all places ~ what good will it do there?? The Lottie is miles away from that blasted bin in Belfast. I was tempted to make him go back and get it but it'll be gone now, forever out of reach; our special bag of holiday fire ash.

Yes, anyway, Potash; organic (sometimes very easy to get hold off!) and what some of your plants are crying out for.

The End.