July allotment recap (2/2)

Sunday afternoon saw us return bravely to 24a even though there were more thundery showers foretold by the weatherman. I will admit that I guffawed at the thought as the skies looked beautifully blue with white fluffy clouds and it was warm enough to be working only in a t-shirt. I was soon to be humbled, but in the intervening hours we managed to get some good progress made.

Upon arrival I took a photo of the climbing rose - still in full bloom and with more flower buds coming! To think I have tried to get rid of this plant twice, well again, I sit here red faced. Shame on me.

I took a moment to take in the joy of our apples, the first photos are from the Saturday - It was hard to witness the bird beak damage to some of the best ones that had happened just a day.  I love birds and am happy that the insects were enjoying them (this wasp was drinking away all afternoon) but their mine damn it!

Andrew made the first of the new paths. Here is the evolution of it in photo form..

The planks we edged our beds with 9 yrs ago are rotting and so this summer is all about refurbishment and a little less about the growing. We also decided to make the paths extend right the way round the beds inside of just down the 3 sides. It will be a lot easier to weed and tend and harvest now. Yay.

gosh you can really see how the weather changed over this period - thunder just after I took last photo..

There comes a time when you just have to reprimand yourself for growing things you don't actually want or use!

The red gooseberries that I fought gooseberry saw fly larvae for, got scraped and jabbed all over my arms for, fought the birds for the the few berries we got (still in a bag in the fridge as we aren't fussed on them) are going. I have one cut down to the ground and other still to do, then Andrew will lift the root balls out.

They also really hindered the tending to and harvesting of blueberries, of which I seem to have missed the boat on again. Damn birds just find a way into the cage every time! Next year it will be different.

Taken from Andrew's Instagram (there's a cool filter on it)

There have been some delicious dinners from the produce we have been getting though and I can't complain. Andrew does this lovely side of crushed potatoes with scallions finely chopped, some mushed up garlic and butter all mixed up = yummy :)

And I shall once again, as with every year, remind you that ROASTED beetroot is the way to go - it's so incredible. If you only grow yours to pickle them....shame on you! x

Hugs, have a great weekend
Carrie  x

(pt3) Three Day Weekend - Thanks St. Patrick :)

And so we come to the last day of the long weekend - the big day itself -

 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I started the day off as the ultimate Northern Irish domestic goddess and baked fresh fruit soda farls for myself and my lovely hubby. I had never done it before (I know, shame on me) but I felt I really ought to something vaguely traditional. Nana used to make these and plain ones and wheaten bread etc just automatically; in fact it was hard for her to put anything into ounces for anyone, she did it all by eye :) So I took her 'recipe', plus a couple off the Internet and melded them together to make my own. I'll share it with you tomorrow xx

P.S. Unlike most St Patrick's day food stuffs you find on the net - this isn't green, it hasn't any booze in it and is actually pretty yummy.

Then with full bellies and joy in our hearts we ventured forth, plotwise, not wanting to waste any of this precious bank holiday. We we sure there would be people there today and naturally you never get as much done with all the chat, but, lo and behold, only 2 people at the far side of the field and only a few in the other fields altogether :(

St. Patrick's is the traditional day to plant your potatoes here, so.... Andrew did it the lazy way this year and good on him too, none of this double digging lark etc. Ridges and furrows are the way to go, quick as you can say 'spud' and they are planted.
We have 3 types, left to right ~
* Saxon
* Kestrel
* Pentland Javelin

This is when it really starts to feel like a new year at the plot, this is when we genuinely get excited :) Talk turns to painting the shed again and doing runs to the dump, we get giddy about crop rotations and where our permanent new plants will go. Daydream about that first ice lolly and picnics in the blazing sun...This year we have no ready access to water! Only that which falls on the roof of the community centre (between 4 fields!) and what we can get in our own water butts - I can foresee trouble ahead, but we try not to talk about that.

I was at it again with the old de-shaming of 14b...I may be slightly obsessed by now. I got rid of that damned Carex ornamental grass which had produced over 35 good babies which also needed discarded (there were more than 35 but I gave up counting and just started to go feral and rip them up, kind of like an demented lottie ninja...) aaarrrghhhh

Oh and I found a rose bush :)

Andrew planted our brand new Blackthorn hedge-lings and more Raspberry canes (Glen Ample) where I had ripped out all the dead ones.

Suddenly the rain cam in and we had to rush around gathering everything up - where did that massive cloud come from?? I guess when you have your face in the soil you don't notice the sky as much. So there aren't any good leaving photos from this day :(

But I shall give you one more - Maggie's face when she sniffed my wee dram of whiskey at the end of the day, haha..

That was one brown post! More colour next time :)
Hugs and love

Working hard (November)

Thanks for your patience. I really appreciate the comments too, they really do add rays of hope and love to my life and give me a little more energy to fight - sort of like those video games where you get an extra life. I love you dear readers xx

These photos and developments are from a very cold and very very desolate day on the plots in November when EVERYONE else in the allotmenting world seemed to be more clever than us and had staid at home, warm and comfortable. Well, that was until we got started and then realised that no, we were the clever ones and we had the whole place to ourselves and the birds and if you work hard and steady you warm up soon enough and get stuff done :)

* So the top of 24a...and the tree fruit arch, humm, what's happened to the trees?! *

Yes the 6 trees at the arch (2 apples, 2 plums, 2 pears) all had to go; they were all sickly and the fruit wasn't ripening or even, in some cases looking at all normal. They were too crushed, there wasn't enough nutrients to go around and we were over ambitious and naive. But that is another true joy about gardening ~ you never, ever stop learning and the plot is a constantly changing, evolving place.

They weren't easy to get out. Andrew naturally did the hard bit whilst I removed all the wine bottles that had edged our lovely little shaded path through and under the arch. Goodness, there were two rubble sacks full of glass - I think it would be least embarrassing if we took them to the recycling place in smaller batches!!

Way back in July..

Anyway, I left Andrew to his work - digging out and then digging over single digging/bastard trenching and adding loads of goodness as he went, just like the last post. Goodbye path! Hello 2 very exciting new trees...

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I tackled this bed. It was a joy - loads for the compost and boy I love weeding. The soil was just perfect for getting those long tap roots from those blasted dandelions out ~ the whole thing in one go = *shudders of joy* Sadly, as with every single bed I didn't come across a single worm :( The New Zeland flatworm infestation we had a few years back has done terrible damage! Now I haven't seen one of those in a long time either which is great, but then, there isn't anything for them to eat...I am seriously considering a day were I guerrilla steal worms from roadside verges (hehehe). Don't worry I have a vis vest ;) ...

This is where I got to before home time; all those parsnips are huge and gorgeous looking - roll on Chrimbo dinner! The turnips were tossed on the compost as they were tiny and weren't going to grow anymore this year...the beetroots were lifted a few days later and pickled but shhh... Christmas pressies ahoy! Looks yum.

This is where Andrew got too before said hometime - see the way the whole field was becoming enveloped in a misty cloud? That cloud was cold and damp and rain was a-coming!

Oh but we went back since and there are more photos and stories to share - "hurrah!" I hear you exclaim. See you soon xxxx

Namaste

Thunder stops play

Last Sunday we were back in action, reasonably early (for us) at 11am. The weather was a lot different, there was cold air and then sunshine back and forth until later the heavens exploded and thunder rumbled, rain poured and I thought for a moment if our shed would work as an ark - boy, the rain was heavy! In the end running out to get tools and running to the car and back etc I was soaked through - that sort of soaked were you just start to walk at normal speed; you simply can't get any more saturated, lol.

My big project was to sort of the back of our shed and get things off to the dump. It was rather daunting to begin with but then I really got into it and loved it all. I love creating a clean and clear area out of a complete mess - it feels like I am clearing my messy mind at the same time - it's calming.

So here it is (shame all on show here)...

We came to the same point about our old broken bench; there was no way we could save it, the wood was rotten so much in a lot of areas (and secretly, now Andrew has his fancy saw, he wants to make a new one altogether!) So he went all caveman on it and smashed it to bits. Fun!

Is it just me or are the slugs bigger this year, goodness there were so many under the old timber we had laying at the side of the plot. But when I meet our frog again I thought to myself, no way am I getting rid of this, I shall merely stack it up neater - obviously it's a great habitat for wildlife.

The finished cleaned up area - that big white bag has our fire wood in it and I even managed to get the wee hand rotary mover over all the grass. What a great workout for my bingo wings :)

Andrew was dealing with the old broad bean patch, they were all ready to be lifted and the peas too behind them in this picture, growing up a little net support.  I do love my broad beans so it's great that Andrew had done a succession planting and we'll have a new batch soon :)

There is something so utterly satisfying about those broad bean roots and those little nodules shown below; Chemistry and Biology in action! These nodules actively improve the soil by depositing nitrogen into the ground which is a great plant food and benefits the next crop you plant in that space ~ hurrah! Plus the stems are great fodder for the compost bin = free natural fertiliser and soil conditioner, and you know I love freebies :)

going

root nodules

ha ah, gone! and a nice big harvest in the shopping bag

Then little rain showers started to happen. They weren't particularly long lasting but they were heavy and put a stop to works for a while. 

 We hung on but then the real thunderous downpours came. The shed became our place of sanctuary; the noise of that rain on the roof was deafening and Maggie just was not happy at getting wet at all, she clawed at my leg until I picked her up and then I took the keys and ran to the car with her tucked under my arm - lucky she's so wee :)

But from all that work and the harvests of the day before we were able to come home, cold and wet from the (what felt like buckets of rain thrown on us) lottie and have this stir fry rustled up in no time - bliss. Chard, carrots, dwarf beans, turnip, all only a maximum of 24hrs old :)

Joie de Vivre (part 1)

Let's just forget all the posts I was meant to write and wrote many times over in my head whilst I was ill there. I had another mental breakdown - so boring!

But dear friends this last weekend was a true celebration of life, nature and love. So I think we ought to just start from there, okay? Maybe one day soon I will do a big post of photos from all the harvests Andrew brought home but for now we are drifting back in our minds to Saturday *insert waving lines here*.......

The noise of the birds, the rustle of trees, still air, deep breathing and the rhythmic sound of Andrew's scythe. I stood for a moment in the brightness and warmth of the sunshine and the world seemed to disappear and there were only these moments and a feeling of contentment and love. In this place, in this peace, I found I was smiling, genuinely at ease - all was a dream. Having been so mentally ill it was as though Nature was holding me in her arms, cooling my burnt out soul and giving me a sense of purpose.

I took upon a task -' the corner of shame' was going to be tackled and I was the one to do it. I had energy I had foresight to see the finished results and the relief for both myself and Andrew; we both had been ignoring it :) Really, we had it ignored it to the point where things were missing in there, the climbing rose was dead and goodness knows the majority of it was rubbish *blush*

Andrew did great work on the paths which had started to become dangerously long and I had fallen more than once already (look at how it is just past our plot). The council is meant to keep these under control but they don't - I guess they haven't the time, resources or the interest. Pity as it takes up most of a good days work, particularly when it has to be done by hand...

I found Alan II - I was sure he was lost for good, in fact I secretly thought he had been killed and disposed off in my absence, hahaha. He raises once again as guardian of the plot :)

 But then, guess what?! A timely phone call came reminding us it was Rylee's 1st Birthday and there were cuddles to give and cake to eat :) How can you say no to that?? Though darn and blast it I forget my camera so I have had to steal this from Mamma G's Facebook page....though I had to add a birthday frame :)

After the party we went back to the plot and Mamma G and Anne followed behind but I think that is a good place to pause in this post...more soon from Super Saturday...

Autmn Clear Up - part 2

Oh for shame, it has taken a whole week for me to get myself in gear and show you the further fabulous adventures of the clear up, for shame indeed. Without further time wasting, here is the broccoli and kale bed makeover.

Main things - Broccoli gone, weeds gone :) Kale delicious!

This was the pea bed and some random cheeky poppies too ;) I may have had something to do with that *whistles calmly to deflect attention*. All cleared now (big good strong poles and netting saved) and looking good. Plus the mint has been planted in the huge barrel we found a few years ago washed up on the beach - grow until your heart is content Mint plant of mine :)

Really would like to point out that the mess behind the now ex-pea bed is the other part to plot 14. We have 14b, that jungle behind the wind break is 14a *rolls eyes*....

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Have you pruned back your Summer Raspberries??? It's time my friends.

Cut out all those canes that had the fruit on them just leaving a few inches above ground level. Then secure those new canes that have grown this year, that rubbery twisting wire would be good but honestly we have never had any problems with good old string.

We do have a sneaky way of tying it though....

twist the string a couple of time in between the wire and the cane - it acts as a cushion so the cane isn't rubbing against the wire in the blowy winds of Winter. No need to thank me - just sharing the knowledge ;p

 

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Finally a teaser for what is to come......

Maggie is trying to give a hint here, by placing herself exactly on this spot and letting me take her photo, she hates her photo being taken, so you know she feels strongly about this.

does that bed not look a little big to you? Seems Andrew may not know when to stop!

 Hugs, have a fab weekend xxx

 

The prodigal daughter returns

I made my return to the Allotment yesterday, the famous phrase of 'be the change you wish to see in the world' on my mind and the beautiful music of Elbow in my ears. I was calm, I was ready, I was back; Carrie was back.

The paths had been cut, what a blessing, as I was able to walk to my plot without fear of falling or worse - falling onto something I couldn't see in the long grass. Andrew was with me, it being lunch time and I was so glad as the panic did set in but with him there I was okay. It calmed down quickly enough and soon I was alone. Alone for 2 hrs! It flew by.

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The shame now lays entirely in our hands - the paths cut, it is easier to see just how the weeds have taken hold of our plots. Oh how I needed to get stuck in :) I would be there today too but for the rain and that thunder earlier and plus, I'm excited and want to write this down before I lose that sense of achievement.

I did a lot more work than I have photos for but this gives a general idea. No weed was left unpoked and prodded and I even broke a tang off the hand fork in one attempt - I got the blighter in the end! I've heard Baking Soda is a good anti-weed defence so I'm going throw a load of that around the patio bit and see if it works (I'll let you know). Goodness knows I don't use the stuff in the kitchen; I never bake unless it's Christmas *blush* and even then.....

So I did some beds too and under the bench but these photos are from when Andrew joined me after dinner - we are a power house team! Maggie naturally oversaw the works and later ended up right up close to the fire - see she wasn't working hard enough, I was warm alright!

This was a mess, more than you can see but what a sense of achievement and the red/blackness - that's weed suppressing membrane and some old carpet. The 'after' photo is shaky and dark but I was shaky, you'll see why in a moment and it was dark :)

Then I had the privilege of digging up the very last of the early spuds. It was going really well right up to the very last potato which exploded in my hand - boke! It was runny, like a fresh egg and smelt so disgusting that Maggie tried to get away from the area but her lead stopped her and I tried not to throw up everywhere (we had company at that point see). I did naturally take a photo of it - had to share the complete horror :)

It was dark when we left - Andrew had been working over on 14b (that is a scary weed infested place I am just too delicate to tackle at present) and also cut the grass with our crappy little push mower (blisters on his hands poor thing).

I'm tentative when I say this.....I'm looking forward to going back. Plus I have so much more to share with you about harvests and lots more photos :) Yep, I'm back :) woooo hoooooo!!!!!

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!