Finally planting the potatoes

Okay friends, let's talk about the Easter week work we Gaults achieved at the allotments; if I don't get it documented I have a terrible fear I'll forget - I have been super forgetful the past few months, thank goodness for cameras and camera phones!

Remember I showed you the two spud varieties we had chitting beside one another? The ones on the right were hollow to the touch and had been in a too hot environment for too long; they were Sharp's Express. As Flighty rightly pointed out, we could have planted them and probably had a good crop, but as we were only planting two rows this year, Andrew wanted healthier looking specimens and thus we planted the Pentland Javelin lot instead.

So, first task on our Easter break was planting those spuds (a little later than we usually do due to the poor weather, but it won't make much difference to the end product). I stood by with  my camera and Andrew did the hard grafting :) Here he is preparing the soil...

* Using an adaza to make a nice deep V trench

* Flattening out the bottom with a spade 

* Adding a layer of good fertile wormy manure to the bottom

* Next the potatoes were placed about a foot apart (chitted eyes upwards) onto the yummy manure

* Lastly some organic blood, fish and bone was lightly scattered into what would be the back fill

And here are our spuds for the coming season. Two rows all planted and ridged up; looks a little like two burials but I promise no animals or indeed humans were buried in the making of this blog post! 

Plus here is a sweet little vignette of some other lovelies spotted on the plots that day. We cut the biggest of the Purple Sprouting Broccoli and ate it that night - gorgeous!!! Maggie was very vigilant in her supervision of our activities and these lovely blue anemones opened up in the sunshine.

Hugs and love - more soon

Plus a hearty thank you to those who commented on my last post xx

Carrie

March at the Plots

Saturday saw a great change in my allotment activity; instead of merely writing about it as it seems I have been doing for a while now, I went and worked.  Maggie supervised as usual, she's a slave driver though you wouldn't know it from her cuteness :) (She has had her hair cut since this photo!)

The plot (24a) didn't know what had hit it, I can tell you.

Whilst Andrew was working is redesign magic over in 14b I ripped, tugged and destroyed every blasted weed on the other plot.  It may not sound like much but in almost 2 hours the place was a spotless dream and my big pink trug was almost full (that's about a zillion weeds right there). I didn't even wear gloves, that's how hardcore it was!

Here are some sexy photos of our purple sprouting broccoli which seems really healthy this year :) Plus there are wonderful fat buds on our apple trees, blueberries and the garlic is well on it's way - happy times.

Pity the place was practically empty and still, STILL, the plots beside us are over grown wildernesses. (Though kindly a volunteer group strimmed them back). I could squeak with anger and occasionally do, at the thought of these people who just purchase a plot and do nothing with them. Gggrrr. There is a waiting list for genuine people who really want a plot!

Anyway, on Andrew's part he laid out then drew an amazing picture on top of a photo to illustrate the progress and planning for 14b. You can just tell he's a senior archaeologist and well trained in the art of capturing the scientific detail of places ;) 

OK so this may need a little interpretation, haha. The pink square denotes my 2 flower beds and the brown is the edible forest garden. All the yellow lines are box plants making up a four part parterre; the two on the left will be asparagus beds, then there's the rhubarb bed you can see and finally the back right bed is for squashes. Hurrah!! 

Now it's down to the planting of seeds...

Hugs and love
Carrie

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....

*************

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 :)

From the heart

I've been thinking about writing this post all day. And now I've got here and the words won't come. Oh I could talk a load of nonsense and spin a great yarn - I'm from Ireland for goodness sake. But I don't want to do that, I have to write from the heart, like I always do.

So what's the problem? Well, I've been excited about telling you all about last night because last night I felt good and I was at the allotment and that made me feel even better. So = what this blog is all about, right?! Yeah, but today is a different story, I thought I was doing okay, I'd only had one panic attack and it was 4pm but then as I was getting out of the shower and coming here to write to you, I took another one, to be honest I am in it right now.

I am scared, my nose is itchy with those tears that want to come, I am biting my lip, I can't breathe well, I daren't be seen by anyone as I am ashamed and I want to cry and scream but by god I will not let myself cause I am going to write my way out of this (with meds).

So let's get comfy, open that chest and remember that this is going to pass. How are you feeling right now? Okay I hope, breathing deeply........... I need a minute. Sorry, a flurry of activity from the builders packing up for the day, I couldn't bare the noise, last straw

Last night then and I am calmer now.

I picked an area, I got stuck in and I kept my head down. I worked hard, felt muscles working that had been on holiday for a while and got a cold bum; my jeans were low, the t-shirt riding up as I was working on my hunkers. Yes two boys were watching my bum in all it's glory - let's get the shame out there and disperse it. Here is my corner of the plot before and after ~

Yep, the hayfever season is certainly starting and though I haven't taken any tablets yet I really should have because I am sitting here sneezy and with little hives on my arm, and itchy face oh and that horrible itchy roof of the month thing too. Plus is it just me or have the slugs in your area being taken steroids or something - they're HUGE! Lucky I was in a good mood and just flung them as hard as I could over to the hedgerow, I can not bare to squish a slug.

 

My super duper tiny alpines are coming out look - wow what a scary giant man! :)

The air was lovely there last night, the plots got quieter once the kids (and their parents!) went home and I saw a lottie friend for the first time in ages - so it was all good. I didn't panic once even when 2 new people arrived and were talking to Andrew; even when Andrew dandered off to see someone's fruit cage (the talk of the field) and I was left alone. I was okay :) I even would go as far as to say, I was feeling GOOD :)

So many seedlings, blossoms, new growth and freshly weeded beds. The smell of water on the soil as new seeds were planted and hope was born  - best wishes little Parsnip seeds 'Gladiator', little Celeriac seeds 'Prague Giant' (again) and Purple Sprouting Broccoli (I hope we get to eat you next year, the few paltry pieces we shared this year after the pigeons did their work has made me want you even more!!!)

So over all, it's looking like a plot again, all those other 8 lavenders died that where in the bed-end planting pockets; it was the frost. The other plot is a little behind but by gum we'll get there! (I never actually say 'by gum' but I do write it, odd...)

Anyway that is enough for one or maybe even two days. I'm not going tonight, I've already decided I just can't afford to rock the boat. Last night and the big hugs and twirls and falling on the grass in Andrew's arms (because he was so proud of me), are moments I want to savour in my heart and I feel if I went tonight it wouldn't end so well. So yoga for me in the house - kicking Andrew out to plant more delicious food :)

And just to rub it in I have been having the breakfast of Champions the past 2 days ~ unsweetened Swiss Style Muesli with home made Rhubarb and Stem Ginger Compote!!!

Hugs + thanks for helping through the panic  xx

Crappy Flu stills lingers on but...

I haven't been to my lottie in ages. Well I nearly get there today, I was in the car park whilst Andy took down some new seedlings to the coldframes. I'm still too ill to be out and about and couldn't go down with him as it had just started raining and I was shivery as it was. I loved seeing Mary, Dougie and a friend have a typical break from work though - a cup of tea sitting out in the rain refusing to believe it was happening!

So all I have been seeing of the lottie is what is put on my plate at dinner time. I haven't even been in the kitchen to take photos of the things brought home and I've eaten everything before I think of photographing the cooked version- ooops!

But what has made its way home? Well :-
* 2 wonderful asparagus spears (now mine did go in a flash off my plate, no hope of a photo there, hahaha)
* 7 more thick stems of rhubarb (which Andrew stewed down with some sugar and a dash of water to made the most wonderful compote - I eat some every morning, it's so good)
* lots more leeks (I wonder if they'll ever run out?)
* Sorrel (from the verges but we have our own now, ready to plant out, in fact Andrew my well be doing that right now)
* Loads of salad leaves, in particualr my 2 favourites, red salad bowl and mizuna.
* Loads of PSB (forgive all those things I said about you in the past PSB, you are amazing and diffinately worth waiting for!!!)

I also saw that Bobby's memorial bench and apple tree have been put in place and look great, but I hadn't my camera so I'll get that the next time I am able to go down.

Hugs, off to try and sleep again x