Plot plan 24a

Patience is a virtue that has just about been completely depleted in this house. We're getting ants-y; even Maggie can't stand still and she attacked the rug this morning in a cry for help. It's the weather see, it's just not cooperating and we can't get to the Lottie or get planting seeds yet when it's so damp, cold, windy and frosty/snowy.

There is of course the fact that I am sleeping all night and practically all day these days. I have utter exhaustion and finding out it's March already was a shock. I reckon I have slept the equivalent of a month this year already. It's not good but I see the Dr in a couple of days again - fingers crossed for help and answers.

So what can one do when one is so very impatiently waiting for the bloody weather to get it's act together? One plans, schemes and makes colourful drawings of what is going to happen once someone changes the sky and injects me with dangerously nuclear grade caffeine.

I desire to be a tornado of productivity.

Okay, so this isn't the best plan I have ever drawn but under the circumstances of super sleepiness and thus worse double vision than usual, I'm rather pleased it makes sense at all. Naturally it is very much subject to change ;)

Much love

Carrie

the 14b Plan :)

The wait is over! I can feel the tension, the excitement bursting forth as, yes, the plan for 14b has been drawn up and you dear reader are about to see it in all its colourful glory!

Ta dah!

Of course the blasted weather here in Northern Ireland is keeping us out of action and we are a pair of annoyed and frustrated allotmenteers. Luckily we haven't turned to the demon drink but darn it its miserable and so cold a wee dram would be divine.

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However, movement has happened in the form of shopping for plants:
1 We have just gotten better quality (but equally cheap) Sharp's Express seed potatoes.

2 We bought and planted two of the three main fruit trees for the awesome sounding edible forest garden; a Conference pear and a Regina cherry. I am holding out for a Damson as the third, fingers crossed

3 New green gooseberry bushes and redcurrants are looking lovely and healthy there just outside on the patio for now
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Andrew was brave\foolish? enough to make a visit to the plots on Sunday. He got those two trees in to ground he had prepared the weekend before last, but apart from that all he could do was mulch, cover beds and come home almost completely frozen.

As for me personally, well I'm still very poorly after my breakdown but I a stubborn girl and will keep fighting (even if that means, paradoxically, forcing myself to do nothing). At least, and in a way thank goodness, the weather is bad as I couldn't go to the Lottie anyway! Instead I am reading a lot, watching movies and listening to Maggie snore.

Until next time my lovelies
Hugs
Carrie

Saturday - An OK day

Wow, I really didn't think I would get to write a title like that for a heck of a while. However today was indeed, OK :) The depression did not win and the anxiety was under control - maybe it was even BETTER than OK...

** To begin with we slept in late, oh I love my sleep ;) Then we had breakfast, made coffee and started our hour of birdwatching for the RSPB Birdwatch Weekend. This year we really did have a good time which sounds so geeky but I swear it was glorious so see the crazy amount of feathered friends that come to feed in our garden. We had seeds, peanuts and fat balls and all stations were busy.

** After that we visited Ballylagan organic farm, farm shop and tea room that (to our surprise) is just up behind Carrickfergus; embarrassingly it's been open since 1999 but we only heard about it earlier this week. Yep, it was the ever knowledgeable Mamma G that pointed us in the right direction. It's fabulous and for purely academic reasons we had to have cake and coffee = thumbs up.

** Then the best bit - we went to the Lottie. It was my first time there this year to actually work and not just to glance round it and go home. I had my lucky favourite socks on, many layers and my farmers' hat (or flat cap, that I bought in the farmers' shop). For only being there an hour, when the sun went down, we managed surprisingly a lot, well I did, Andrew did a lot of chatting to a friend ;) In his defence though he is the head gardener and has been there a few times already this year.

** His other, earlier visits have seen the apples cut back and training started, the autumn raspberries cut down and the whole back of 24a mulched. 14b also has lots of new Blackthorn hedglings planted and a windbreaker all a long the left side. It's becoming annoying to my brain that that plot is spilt in a different way than our other one.

First before and after photo of the year :)

** I focused on the flower bed and got it almost completely weeded and removed a plant of two that weren't happy. More to do tomorrow. In the plans for this season (our 8th year!) is for me to have 2 long thinner cut flower beds and I'm going to learn more about their care and maintenance :) The new plans will soon be drawn out to share with you, you know I love a good plan.

Home to a steaming bowl of tomato and chilli soup, a shower and a wee whisky..
hugs,
Carrie
xx

Plot 14b - the Plan

What you've all been waiting for!

This first plan is of 14b as it was only a matter of weeks ago; a mess, a plot of shame, that plot which we shall not speak off. I could barely make myself take a photo of it and generally just pretended it was nothing to do with me.

This was how it was laid out but you know, you just know it never looked as neat and tidy as this. The cut flowers are just diagonally across from 24a, I guess we're looking at the plot from a different direction than usual here but this is the way Andrew roughly sketched it.

Well, let the World rejoice as Andrew has well and truly kicked bum and gone mental at clearing and digging and making this place somewhere super productive, low maintenance and quite frankly, awesome. He has removed so many ill performing plants, plants we never even harvested fruit from and finally uncovered the carpeted area, which looks in good shape, the weeds were merely sitting on top of it.

Yes dear friends we are going to try the old asparagus again, enough time has now passed for us to grieve the first bed we had that New Zealand flatworm destroyed. This new patch has mainly been our squash bed for the past few years and the soil is delightful. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

One thing you will notice about this plot of pure awesome is that we don't have to worry about rotation of crops and many things will just be living where they are planted. The cut flower bed for instance has some stunning roses and poppies in it, the blackberry has long been producing well in this position and the sloe berry hedge is quite new (start of this year?) but has settled in well and thriving.

The asparagus bed is dug, manured and ready to go.... The gooseberry bed gone and the carpet lifted. Also note the minty green mesh fence running the length of the left hand side - good fences make good neighbours eh?

This blog post has been brought to you by a slight headache and very sleepy eyes - without coffee all is darkness and chaos. I'm off for a coffee now and some chocolate (naughty). Then I shall come back and write about the heroic work we did on 24a at the weekend...

Love and hugs to you all
Carrie

The Joys of A24a

Hey there lovely people and welcome to the weekend! I hope you get at least one good wee segment of time to yourself to enjoy your lottie or garden in the next days. May the weather be just tip top!

I told you I was last at my own plot on the 1st June, eeek!, that's only one weekend missed and it feels like forever. I shall definately be at beautiful 24a tomorrow, I'll be easy to spot - just look out for the girl who seems to be dying from the sheer force of nature herself....blasted hayfever!!!! I've been on the medication a month now and doing fine but during this week, something crazy has happened and I often wish I simply didn't have a nose of the a roof of the mouth - arrrghh. She* does is you know, even though I love her, she attacks my face every year to some degree. (*nature)

Anywho, time for a photo update on 24a, I wonder how much it's changed already!?

The four main beds and so much green goodness....

But even better than a few photos I have something special for you all today. Yes, let me revel in the drum roll that is going on in my head right now (can you hear it??) I bring to you a HAND DRAWN PLAN!! (And the crowd goes wild!!!)

pretty awesome plan of the plot June 2014

I hope it's self explanatory; the the brown is bark mulch and then around the shed there are cement paving slabs and pink gravel. OK, it's not as good as when Andrew draws a plan and it's all to scale and perfect but mine is colourful and gives you the same idea :) Feel free to ask questions or complain about my handwriting being hard to read.

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I drew the plan last night and finished it this morning whilst Miss Maggie was with the Vet. Maggie remains 'the wonder dog' but she has been finding it impossible to use her right back leg, it has wasted away and after treatment for arthritis wasn't helping she needed more tests. Turns out she has nerve damage (it may even been in her spine), she isn't paralysed in that leg but she doesn't feel it much apart from some discomfort :( We also discovered she has liver damage. 

As seen on Instagram this afternoon

At least she didn't have to go through with an x-ray as she is a little old for all that and has a heart murmur - the sedation could have been dangerous. So we are much happier to now know what is going on and I have pain medication for her if she has a bad day.

Well must go, my nose needs blowed, again...

Love 

Carrie

Leeks, Parsnips and The Corner of Shame

We tried 2 varieties of Leek this year again ~ our usual trustworthy 'Musselburgh' and the promisingly named Lyon 2 'Prizetaker'. Well 'Musselburgh' has yet again been fabulous and we have been eating away at them with joy. However, boo and hiss to the 'Prizetaker' as they are all straggly and in flower for goodness sake. Very disappointing.

Though please do note, in this photo is my beautiful Red Chard shining away happily in the background and the lavender down there is doing good too; so over all, I am content. :)

We had utterly fantabulous Parsnips on the Christmas dinner table yet again this year. Oh how I love my Hubby's cooking - his honey glazed lottie grown and just freshly dug Parsnips. Yummmmm. I don't remember such a mixture of sizes before but that doesn't put me off and I have gobbled them up like the proverbial Turkey.

This overview photo of the 24a plot is to ease you into the mess that is to come *already I blush*....We are using Mamma G's leftover cut of carpet to try and kill off the grass. Most pleasingly, it is exactly the right width and I swear that grass is going bye bye. I bloody hate it, trying to cut it all with shears is a great tricep/bicep workout but I also end up with a blasted sore back and mouth full of bad words that I am afraid oft spill over. Give it time and the grass will die and we shall cover the whole lot in bark or some such thing. Plus the beds are going to made wider, oh yes, there are changes afoot on the plot - all I hope for the better :)

* The corner of shame

Yes this was once quite pretty, honestly. It was my little area for growing girly flowers and such but now that I have a gorgeous big flower bed on 14b I have decided it is no longer viable. In fact I have decided it is a damnable waste of space. My healthy red Dogwood is, well too healthy and has been trying to take over since it was planted. My ideas for weaving baskets has laughingly been, ummm, set to one side for the good of my sanity.

We have a round a zillion of those bronze grasses and more are self seeding all the time, most likely as I write this. The only things that need saved and loved and cared for are my most gorgeous Oriental Poppy and a Red Rose that are in there. This is one of the only spots on our plots that is prone to flooding and the rose was suffering anyway so it's best all round.

Look at the way Andrew is treating the area away - he never did help me to get it sorted to I think my wonderful idea of handing it over to him as a nursery/potting up area was his evil plan all long. Light bulb moment! I shall duly punch him, hold on.....a little domestic violence is surely acceptable in this case. *Only Joking* he is a way over there at the other end of the sofa and I am too tired to start a fight, it would only end in my demise - he knows my tickily spots!

So that is you basically up to date. We have daffs coming up everywhere - YAY! and Andrew has been shifting cow muck into our purpose built manure center and doing the essential pruning of all the Gooseberries and Blackberries etc.

I'm going back tomorrow :)

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars

....though not me.

Things have hit a new low, I'm in a bad way and at the moment I am laying here full of sleepy pills waiting for Andrew to get home and watch over me - the little voice in my head is telling me it's time to say 'goodbye cruel world!'. I may come across as glib but it isn't funny at all and is in fact very frightening.

I still haven't been to the lottie nor do I really give a damn, which when I see it written down like this is a wake up call in itself. I haven't even taken a photograph in almost 3 months. I'm just not right. Though it's not as if I get a hell of a lot of encouragement from my best pal Maggie - she doesn't do rain, hates, the cold and after 20 mins of lottie time without being tickled and fawned over she fakes shivers. Honestly - drama queen!

Oh I can talk the talk if that's what you want. I can tell you that the splendid Mamma G was here last night for dinner and we had a gorgeous meal - all non- lottie stuff though :( However she took one of our huge Jack O'lantern pumpkins home and we're getting pumpkin scones - never had those and I love a good scone, me.

I could tell you how at the market I was praising lotties and growing your own to everyone who looked at a print of mine that had something to do with our plots or produce (of which there are a good few) but it was all an act, frankly I sort of missed the fact that my voice wasn't gone anymore and I am all better from that flu.

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I moved  the majority of our gardening books into another more easily accessible bookcase on Friday. I love to see all those spines and think of all the wonderful words and pictures, the effort and love that went into producing each book. I adore the older ones with detailed line drawings and some advice that all gardeners would choke over now, just as much as I love the new books, bright with computer aided design and amazing photography. But I haven't picked up a single one; I feel somehow I don't want to be here next spring anyway.

Of course I will be here next Spring, unless I get run over by a bus, struck by lightening or spontaneously combust - I'm just so bloody stubborn I don't know if I could will myself to death at all!

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Andrew was at the lottie for a while yesterday and I had 3 hours on my own at the market, it was the first time I'd tried it alone and I coped :) He was really pleased to finally get the weather and some time to work on the Broad Bean bed; sowing some directly into the soil and others into modules. Maybe its that special joy of seeing seedlings poke their tiny vibrant green tips through the soil that I am in need of, a bit of hope.

Like this popular photo that makes some people cry

'Hope in his Hand' - taken at the allotment on the day of the first pea sowing last year.

I'll write again, Andrew has plans and you deserve another one of my (even though I say it myself) truly excellent plans of the plots detailing what needs to change.

Hugs xxx

A quick ode to Andy; whilst he's out

I still haven't got my 'u' back or my close bracket and zero button! It's all rather annoying to say the least but I go on trying to type quick before Andy gets back with a DVD and some wine...... I think it's time for a new laptop!

Andrew's coldframe~

Yes this is the masterpiece I have been teasing you about. It was made totally by my hubby's own fair hands [sorry, that should read, strong manly hands, hahah] in the back garden. The frame was from his old single bed which we turfted ot once we moved into this, his old bedroom. Then the rest he bought in a DIY store and the magic just happened off the top of his sweet ginger head. Genius [Phone just rang there; Andy mst know we're talking about him...]. Anywho, I think it is glorious and even more wonderful than his first cold frame which can just be seen here in the background of the photo....You're a little jealous, aren't you, just accept it.....

Andrew's favourite new toy~

This is something my science geek of a hubby has wanted for ages, a max/min outdoor thermometer. He is pointing excitely at the results of it's first afternoon hanging on the shed - hmmmm, wow! Yeah, wow. We got this on Suday at the brand new and super fab Sunnybank nursery. We had 2 trolleys when we came out of there but I'll tell you about that later on.

Andrew's plan~

Thought this was cute on the back of the shed door, his plan for the coming season, where things are to be planted and which beds have been fed. He likes plans, I think it's the archaeologist in him.

Andrew's new wall/ entrance way in 14b~

I love this, it's very cute and practial; stones we had lifted when preparing the beds are arranged about the side of the new path in a lovely curve. Also, he planted another Rhubarb plant we got on Sunday and tied in the blackberry securely. The path will eventually be bark mulched around there too but it's a big improvement already.

Lastly, Andrew's favorite thing ever~

Planting seeds and giving his plots a darn good looking at on a nice sunny day at his lotties with his girls!!!

xxxxxx

St Paddy Power ~ 3 (the closing chapter)

It's not only hard landscaping and soil prep going on at the Lottie. Oh, no. I planted 3 trays of lovely flower seeds. The first is definitely a favourite - the yellow California Poppy 'Golden Values'. So pretty and delicate, I want some for home too! Even better, they were free with a gardening magazine Andrew bought. My big red Oriental Poppies that we got earlier don't seem to be doing too good, only 1 is showing signs of life :( So the more yellow ones the better.

I also planted out Calendula 'Art Shades' (a lovely mix of slighlty muted yellows and oranges), a marigold- type plant. You know you can eat their petals; though I've grown them before. Their seeds are the strangest I think I've ever seen. I took a photo of them yesterday - they really look like fossils to me. I love them and have loads more for a continued supply of new plants throughout the summer.

Lastly, I planted my Marigolds - excellent friends in the constant battle of keeping nasty beasties away from my veggies and better than Nasturtiums in my opinion as they don't take over! The variety I chose was 'Naughty Marietta', a great name and they are the ones that have marron centres to the yellow flower. They, again were free, don't you love it!! Quite liked their seeds too, so , here's a photo of them.

Andrew did some direct sowings into the bed with the garlic already in it. Ummm, A3 on our plan. We had the 2 sun tunnels over that area of soil for a couple of weeks after giving it a good lot of prep. and it had dried out beautifully. After a quick riddle (check out our fridge basket & chiken wire recycling) it was perfect ground.

We now have hidden rows of Turnip 'Purple Top Milan', Onion (Scallions) 'White Lisbon', Carrots 'Early Nantes 5' and finally Beetroot 'Boltardy' (which will all be continuously re-sown crops). They're all things we grew last year and loved. I highly recommend each of them. In fact I demand you go out, buy a packet of 'Boltardy': grow, harvest, eat and enjoy!! ~with Brown Sauce, trust me :)

So St Paddy's Day was pretty darn good, no?

Updates on plot planning and speaking out for Ecotherapy

I have had the most terrible mental ill health day today. Only now at 3pm can I think straight enough to open up my trusty laptop and try to engage in the world around me.

I already feel the panic returning as I write; my stomach hurts and my throat feels very restricted, however I have 2 things I really want to tell you. So, I am going to get this blogette written if it's the last thing I do all day.

1 - Last night Andrew and I (me especially) had great fun drawing up our plot plan on GrowVeg. com. It looks so good and so real and I just love seeing the plot so full of life and produce (albeit in cyberspace!) I honestly would recommend it and was going to show you all my hard work but can't copy and paste it here (it's protected) and we haven't got a printer at the moment so not even a photo of a print out ~ Sorry. I would encourage you to try it for yourselves though.

2 - I received an e-mail from the Mind charity media department asking me to become a Media Volunteer. This would mean talking about my depression and anxiety disorders and what therapies have made an impact. For course that would have to involve a big shout out for ECOTHERAPY!!

It is very nerve-wrecking to think about someone, maybe ringing me for an interview (Magazines, Radio and even TV!) but I care so much about destroying the stigma attached to depression etc and I want everyone to not only relieve their mental ill health by Allotmenteering but to start working with the soil now and maybe reduce the likelihood of depression setting in.

Okay, I'm off to lie down again.....today just is not good. x

The Plan (as it stands at the start of Jan 09)

I'm no garden designer or graphic designer, so you'll have to make do with my very low tech scribbles on good old paper with a pencil. :)

Below left we have the bare bones of the plot lay out: the beds, permanent structures and permanent fruit bushes and trees. On the right I have annotated a bit, I hope it is legible...

For the sake of clarity we call the beds on the left hand side column A and the right column B. Then they are numbered across as rows, as we move away from the bench. The larger square bed at the back is the permanent bed; on the right of the path we have a row of Strawberries and them by the edge there is a row of Raspberries. To the left of the path there will be Asparagus (some day!!)

Okay, this is the closest overview pic I have, time wise, taken the weekend before the apple arch went in. But that doesn't really matter as that particular arch is going to be moved and a more substantial one put in its place.

Hopefully this plan will make more sense as I talk about what is happening where in the plot.

Baby Carrots, Manly Scallions and the Case of the Disappearing Beetroot

It's all about that process of planning for a new year (stops me going mad in the winter); picking seeds to order, looking into brand new areas of Allotmeentering (Apple/Pear/Plum Arches!) clearing out beds and the soil given a bit of tender, loving, care. We've been doing this slowly for the past few weeks, but Saturday saw us clearing out, pretty much, the last bed. We still have a few Parsnips in one, Leeks in another and Spinach in one.

The 3rd bed on the right contained some Cabbages, Beetroot (Holy Moly what did he do with them????), Baby Carrots and Scallions (which where under a poly tunnel) and Parsley.

Andrew cut out the Cabbages (4 or 5 of them) before I could get near the place with my camera and I am guessing he also did something with the Beetroot at this time too. He had me distracted, in the shed or something - what happened to the row of Beetroot??~ I fear it may be in the compost bin! But no, surely not!? Then where are they all????? There must be a perfectly good explanation, I'll find out when he gets home.


(open picture for notes)

And then we started to lift all the remaining Carrots (they weren't going to grow much more) and we were surprised that some actually looked good. They ended up in the Lottie Soup, which I still have to tell you about and I swear they were packed with Carroty yumminess; as if all the carrot flavour they would have had as big specimens was concentrated down into a tiny root.

The Scallions however were wonderfully tall and as good as any we've had from the Lottie. I highly recommend the mini Poly Tunnel (or they might be called Sun Tunnels officially, I can't remember) to any and every Allotmeenter out there. A good buy indeed.

The Parsley plants are still there, though I cut a big one (that had been under a large water bottle) right down and Boy was it good. Again it went in the soup but we also had some with a stir fry - fresh herbs are the way to go, if you can get them to grow in our climate (I'm still upset about my Basil and Coriander disasters!).

So another bed ready for thinking about. I think it will be all Root Vegetables next year, if my hold on the rotation scheme is right. It was a Brassica bed last year, with some Squashes but they didn't do very well. I'll have to draw out some better plans so I can explain things clearer, eh? And I will get that Lottie Soup written down....

The Produce and The Plan

Forgive me if this blogette comes across as very dry and boring ; I am feeling very ill but like having a routine to my day ~ so it's blogging time.

We had a lovely load of produce from the (becoming somewhat barren) Lottie this weekend past. On Saturday I lifted loads of Scallions and the biggest handful of Parsley.

However, on Sunday, late afternoon, Andrew went down again and came back with this!

So, for Sunday Dinner there was a lovely Risotto with our own Leek (I'm intolerant to Onions but can eat some Leek and Scallions) and a shop bought Butternut Squash. Damn the fact none of our own Squashes took this year! Monday night we had roast vegetables (our own Parsnips and Leek included) and lamb. Then we had our 1st Cabbage last night sliced up in a stir-fry, it was gorgeous. I really wasn't expecting to say that, but it was.

I have only just realised, looking at this photo that there is a bunch of Beet Spinach in this house. I forgot about that ~ things that go in the salad-crisper boxes in the fridge usually get completely overlooked by me. Terrible, I know.

Andrew wanted his gloves to feature in this picture, to remind us all how COLD is was. What a wonderful Hubby, going to the Lottie in the literally freezing dusk to gather food for us. Big kisses.

I thought this may be interesting to look at too. 'The Plan'. I'll talk more about it and our ideas for the coming months once we get it sorted in our own minds. But at least it gives you an idea of the room we have and what we did with the 8 main beds this year. There are also a lot of scribbles over the paths, these are plans for arches and a pergola - some day!

Now I'm off to have a soothing mug of De-caff coffee; my Depression is crippling me and it's so cold. Bah Humbug to winter...even though tomorrow's frosty photos are quite nice.