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

To err is to garden

Hello *shy wave* it's been a while and I feel very much out of practice. I haven't been a good allotmenteer this year at all, in fact I have been shameful to be honest and Andrew has done pretty much everything. I have shown you all my work but looking back it was pretty pathetic and as I watch Monty talk away about a new year to come, I have a new resolve - I will work harder. There I promise it, more than just said it, I wrote it down and published it for all the world to hold me to!

*****

We went to the lottie on Monday and picked some delicious crops as shown below...
Turnips, Mooli, Beetroot

But the big thing about 24a wasn't the usual great root veg (we are lucky or is it luck when Andrew works so very hard on improving the soil and I weed until I can't bare it anymore?) that we harvested and those which are still in the ground, just look at all these parsnips and leeks....yummy; no the big thing was the fruit tree arch.

There is still an arch but no trees, not a one. It was a mistake, a learning experience, it didn't work, okay! The pears didn't fruit, the apples had terrible scab and the plums were mutants. Basically the trees were too close together and there were beds right beside them too where those roots had been running to to try and find nourishment that wasn't there.

Sad yes but I choose to see it as a new start and new ideas are constantly bubbling away in Andrew's head. I have heard lots about step over fruit trees for example....I do hope you will hang around and share the adventure with us.

I shall return, I have 2 book reviews to talk about and of course I will tickle plans and drawings out of Andrew to share with you. As for now, beer is calling and my sewing awaits as we sit in front of the tv resting before a return to work on the lottie tomorrow. Wish me luck friends, the weeds, dear help us all, the weeds.....

Namaste

A good boast at 24a; weeds out - plants in

Okay, okay, I was a bit ranty in the last post, sorry. Sometimes I think you just need to get some issues off your chest and I feel much better and much more positive now, so thank you for indulging me.

I am going to be much more cheerful this time as I have happy photos and good raves about 24a (don't talk to me about 14b, that is being tackled tomorrow!) After a bad start to the year things really do seem to have caught up and the plot is filling up rather nicely thank you :) I'll start off with the fruit arch (cause I am super duper proud of it) at the bottom of the plot. Oh my lordy! the trees are doing so well this year, I think they have finally established and we have apples, pears and for the very first time, plums all set and growing!!! I hope we actually get some of each, it's been an impatient wait so far. The arch is now covered and if we ever get a really sunny day ever again, this is where you'll find me, in the shade - pale and interesting is the look I'm going for (I simply do not tan!)

And up beside the fruit arch is the Summer Raspberry patch - oh my, they are so heavy with fruit, though not one is ripe yet... I'm tapping my toe waiting.. however they are incrediblly healthy and a metre away there are new plants growing in the main path which I had to rip out - they're like a weeds those plants! They and the Blueberries growing behind them are going to have to be made bird proof - I am not sharing them this year again, in fact I blasted well didn't get 1 blueberry the past 2 years, grrrr.

The Cherry tree  ('Stella') has loads of fruit this year too. It did last year though to be fair and then it all got a bit too warm one day and they all fell off, to say I was disappointed is an understatement, I remember just standing there staring at the ground with my heart in my throat (honestly, it's daft but I was tearing up). I am trying not to get too excited but it's really hard - for goodness sake I have a Cherry Blossom Tattoo, my photography bussiness is called Cherry Blossom Tattoo - I bloomin' love all things Cherry! (apart from Cherry Coke but that's just because I hate Coke)...

The Garlic!!! Happy??? Heck yeah! This time last year it was looking good but there was rust, this time, no rust!! They just keep getting better and better - 'Gault's Wight' I call them, but then I am a total geek :p (This photo is almost a month old now - they look so fabulous now, I can't believe I forgot to take a pic!)

We (and by that I mean Andrew) had a terrible time trying to get Sweetcorn to germinate this year but in the end we have enough and have planted them out 2 sister style ~ Sweetcorn and Squash (under plastic bottle cloches) together as is our way :) Fingers crossed, I do adore corn on the cob. There is going to be a huge squash bed over in 14b as usual but I'll talk about that some other time.

Spuds are still doing great - we had to keep the fleece at hand though but this weather is so messed up but if the earlies I dug up last weekend are anything to go by, we should have a great crop (I'm pretty sure they're 'Sharp's Express' here). We also have second earlies in too ('Estima') - looking healthy.

I thought this was interesting...on the left are leeks that were sown in March, on the right ones that were sown in April - can you see a difference?? If anything the newer ones are stronger and a richer, deeper green colour - just goes to show, you shouldn't worry about getting everything planted, nature will catch up, she has her own rules!

Well my lovelies apart from all that there are great hanging bunches of redcurrants on every plant, little healthy rows of turnips and parnsips and lovely looking lettuces and spring onions. Just don't mention carrots to us, it's a touchy subject......

I think I have waffled and boasted enough - I'm off for a nap :) xxxx

De-Shaming complete :)

Hello dear lovely reader :) Hope you are feeling fabulous and starting to notice the nights getting shorter - oh SPRING is on her way!!!

So this weekend I was at the lottie both Saturday and Sunday - I know - shock! I shouldn't have been there on the Sunday as I wasn't well enough but I pushed as I usually do and it present yours truly is just emerging from yet another quite bad nervous meltdown. I couldn't even talk these past days never mind type. Silly girl. I really can't seem to see the signs until it's too late.

Anyhow - Let me show off what we did on Saturday - I was feeling pretty good for a change :)

Andrew worked so hard on gossipping with a new member of the lottie, hahaha. But he did get a lot of work done too *blush* I'll have to get him to tell me again a little about his new friend, he sounded very nice but my brain is a mess and I can't remember much other than he cheerfully joined the search for my misplaced camera at the end of afternoon....I'll tell you that story in a while.

So here is the 'Corner of Shame' now - looking better I think you will agree. We now have the 2 cold frames over from 14b and have the area blocked off. We are going to use this area as a nursery and as the potting up area is just round the corner it all makes better sense of the space. I doubt it will stay carpeted, hahaha and no we aren't getting a couple of chairs and a coffee table! Once the grass underneath is dead we'll probably put down bark mulch or some such thing :)

I concentrated on de-weeding (yes it's a word!) the rest of the asparagus/strawberry bed and uncovered our path under the fruit arch. It's growing really well - I'll have to get Andrew to tie those branches in.

Then I tackled the 'coffin', haha, I still call it that, it looks like a coffin - sorry Andrew. Look Rhubarb :) I forgot to put that forcer on top after weeding the area but I'll do it next week. This whole area hadn't being looked at for a while - eek!

And so I took some before photos and went to take some after photos an hour later and NO camera!!! I searched on my own for half an hour, getting more and more frustrated and upset, then Andrew and his new friend helped for another half hour, no sign of it :( We were everywhere and looking through rubbish and on our hands and knees going through the long grass (the blasted camera was in a GREEN case *rolls eyes*). I was starting to get rather dark and Andrew's friend had to leave and I just felt so sad I started to cry (just a wee bit), Andrew gave me a big hug and said nice things. Thing is he was really hurting my boob hugging me......the camera was in my gillet, way up on top of my boob!!!! The pocket stretches all over inside, you could fit Maggie in there!

So I had been walking around with a rectangular right boob for an hour - it was really noticeable! What sweet gents they were - never once did they look at that area at me say 'is that not it in your top?' Unless Andrew's new friend thinks I have very odd boobs - hahahahaha.

Catching up with 24a :)

Okay, okay, so it's been a while since I did a full post on one of our half plots. I guess to be honest, it's been a while since we spent the day at the allotments as the back garden is just too exciting and all we need do at the allotments is keep on top of the grass and millions, zillions of weeds everywhere (a very thankless task, eh?)

So here we go, you ready?..... First off look at our garlic drying! Oh my lordy lord above, is that not a glorious sight to behold? They are firm and I know they're really tasty because we have been eating some 'in the green' until now. They were 'Solent Wight' but I guess by now with 3 years of careful selection of the best ones each season to replant, they are Gaults :) 'Gaults' Wight', hahaha. I remember hearing somewhere that after a while the garlic in your plot will adapt to the conditions of your soil and the climate etc and through natural selection (well gardener selection) the best ones go on to reproduce and effectively they are your own strain. Is that fabulous, or is that fabulous?! I love learning things like that. So 'Gaults' Wight' are now available for say... £1thousand per bulb ;p

Then beside the bench is the 'area of shame' which I am not showing you. It shall be dealt with in the Autumn but suffice to say it is embarrassing as the day is long. Let us move on.

Ah, the celeriac and the leeks - looking good if I may say so myself. Andrew was watering them with what I like to term 'stinky juice', which is our own organic fertiliser. Yep, this stuff totally burns the nostril hairs and makes one want to vomit but hey, the plants love it. All it is is nettles and man pee left in a big container to ferment and mature. If you try this at home comfry is also excellent, as is seaweed but be warned - it isn't called 'stinky juice' for nothing, get it on your clothes or skin and you will smell BAD for days.

This is one of my favourite things to do - hunt for treasure. I was accepted at University to do Archaeology but unlike Andrew I just haven't the patience. This is as close as I am allowed to get to the noble work of digging stuff up. It is just like finding treasure though, isn't it? And of course, as with every year, it reminds me of that really joyous memory I have of my Papa and I doing this in his back garden - I was so young and mystified by the whole thing.

I won't show you are 'family' apple tree as pride comes before a fall and I am so proud of the tree this year! The blackcurrant plant on 24a finally gave up her goodies but we have seen so many blackcurrants that to force another bumper crop photo on you would be tantamount to torture. So on to the fruit arch; oh how it has grown, all those tiny saplings are now up to the very top of the arch and even crossing over. I could not be happier. Only a few fruit on each of the trees (2 pears, 2 plums and 2 apples) but the plants are doing good and that is great :)

Lastly, 2 more Autumn Raspberries - I hope I get them before Andrew again, hahaha. Or those pesky birds!

Writing this has cheered me up - I have had the worst couple of days, barely able to talk or think straight, so thanks for being there to talk to 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.

More weekend work!!

I'm seeing a new Dr today so I'll keep this short ~ I'm very anxious.

The weekend could really be summed up in 1 word for me - painting. Yes, I spent the vast majority of my Saturday and Sunday with a paint brush in my hand. The Shed and bench got a once over and the fruit arch got a good going at too (there were some places I couldn't reach, even with a ladder, so it still needs to be completed). I tell you, one does not real attractive covered in splodges of brown wood preserver - freckles, yes they are cute, but big blobs over your face and glasses, is not so high fashion.

Andrew on the over hand got to do nice stuff, like planting up our new bare root Climbing Rose 'Queen Elizabeth' (and cutting it right back too - supposedly it's the time and the right thing to do, to me it seems sad), 3 (hopefully) beautiful red 'Orientale' Poppies and 2 Echinaceas 'Magnus ' . All my favourites and all for in and around my flower beds by the shed.

I did get one Fab job though. Bill gave us 2 hilariously kitsch planters - a huge snail and a frog. I planted them up with some primroses we had left over at home and a lovely cyclamen. I think they are brilliant and anything that can make me laugh like they do is a god send.

Building the Fruit Arch

It feels wrong for me to be writing about this ~ the happiest moment in my hubby's life for some time. He has had an affair with the very idea of this arch for months and now it's done, I feel he should be telling you all about it. Suffice to say, he is VERY happy indeed. This however, is not the emotion felt as the venture began on Saturday......

About a foot and a half down into the Lottie's ground in Field A at least (I think it's the same all over) you hit a very solid stratum of large stones. We did know about this; we've been digging this ground for almost a year now, but we were not prepared to break thick posts while trying to drive them into the ground - silly really, we should have thought about it. Hence one split one and one with the bottom broken off it later Andrew was in a horrible mood and really not fun to be around. Here is a photo of him - I took it because I was so annoyed with him.

It came down to the incomparable wisdom of 'the wife' to sort this mess out. (When 'crazy' walks down the road towards you - cross the street!) Replacement posts, coffee and chocolate later, we were back at the plot refreshed. I kindly guided the hubby and calmed him into finding the carpenter within and thus magic started to happen. Those 2 posts replaced, dug into the ground good and steady. And love was once again, in the air.

*****

Oh, but the Sunday! well, Andrew just powered on (I'm so proud); got the 2 other posts into the ground and then they were tied together with planks and long screws, which I helped with - look, the bubble never lies!

This is the bit that really got me and surprised him as well, there obviously is an inner carpenter in him after all!!! He made 2 apex pieces and used lap joints on each to make the structure very sturdy and pretty. You do this by chiseling down half way into each plank and then fitting them into one another like a jigsaw puzzle. Genius. I'm not great at explaining but it'll be easy for you find a reference to it. Here is a lovely photo of Andrew's work, he did it right first time!!

The apex pieces rest on the cross beams and get screwed in too. Apart from that thin batons were added on the sides - like roof struts. And it was done! Andrew spent some time just looking at it, and can you blame him? Sorry there aren't any good photos of it I saved the battery for these last 2...

So here is an overview of the plot as it stands now. The added height makes it feel so much bigger.