Ice Cold

No 'Focus on...' for the moment, maybe later, though I'm not making promises. I am feeling a bit better today but didn't sleep well and have chest pains - not so good. I need to rest today I think.

Anyway; exciting! I got to have a sneaky trip to the Lottie yesterday at lunch time. I don't know how much we're going to manage to get done this weekend down there, as my weather forecaster icon here says rain and much coldness are still to come. Eek! I wasn't built for this climate!!

So, it was nice to see the Lottie yesterday for that brief moment. She was looking good, apart from some sad looking Cabbages which obviously haven't enjoyed the recent weather and freezing cold nights. Do you blame them? But the most fun thing was seeing the water on the plot totally frozen solid. This is our bucket, that was sitting under the water butt ~ to catch any drips.



Maggie's drinking bowl had also completely frozen, into a block of ice.....


Then there were the much talked about paths. This actually looked pretty with all this swirling, frozen puddles and the ground was rock hard for a change. I suppose the weather can be both our friend and enemy at the same time!



I do have other bits and bobs I can tell you but I am aware of the weather and would like to be able to blog away next week too. So...big hugs and enjoy your weekend!

A Disclaimer

I have mentioned that Tesco is the 'evil shop' a few times on this blog. Whilst I stand for freedom of speech I do not stand for getting my butt sued, therefore I will say this only once....Tesco is NOT evil.

There, I hope that will suffice.

I shop there very regularly ~ everything from books and CDs, to knickers and food & (lots of) drink. However home grown, where you can, is best. That's all I'm saying.

Update on the Hellebores!

They are doing well ~ recovering from the ordeal that was being for sale in an evil Tesco shop* and reduced. Think what this has done to their self esteem!

Anyway, I'm getting them ALL for one of my flower beds at the Lottie - Hoorah.


(*to be confirmed)

Frosty lotties

I was so cold, as I've mentioned, hopefully these photos will give a better indication of that, oh, and the knowledge that was wearing 2 pairs of socks and still had cold feet!

So, some frosty photos.....





By the time the last one was taken the sun was going down, as you can tell from the red glow on Maggie's face. Even with her clothes on she needed that blanket wrapped round her. Poor thing.

Unfortunately there really wasn't much happening around the plots, we were there almost on our own and I suppose the sane people were all at home, warm cosy home, with tea and coffee and sofas...

However there was one other hardy fellow, whose name I totally forgot to ask (duh!) working away, very hard indeed - I suppose we all were that day; stand in the one spot too long and you'd freeze. He had worked miracles on these 2 areas, digging over the soil, tidying the edges and getting rid of plants that had given up the ghost.



So after our mammoth task, of Turf Stack Destroying was completed and we had had a done a little looking and weeding around, it was time to go. At home, Maggie's body warmed up just fine but her ears!.....they took a bit longer and needed some assistance......



By the way, I'm still not too good today again, but head up and fighting on.

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.

Bargains and Bins

We were in evil Tesco* last night for a few essentials (ha!, how I smirked at their sorry excuses for Parsnips) and Andrew spotted a bargain, he just could not pass up. Hellebores for 20p! There were 4 of them and we took the lot, even the tray they were sitting in. They're great wee plants, nothing wrong with them at all, just dying of thirst. I think that just because they say 'Christmas Rose' on them, they're being reduced along with all the other Christmas-y stuff. Well, Hoorah and Merry Chrimbo!

I think I've managed to secure at least a couple for my flower bed at the Lottie, fingers crossed.

Anyway, back to Saturday and the hard labour we put in. The turf stack - it's gone! It took a couple of hours to get it all dug up and riddled but the sore legs and back were definitely worth it. We seem to have so much more room now and plenty of beautiful free top soil on our beds.

The holy trinity of compost bins has been moved over and now the boundary between us and our neighbours (remember we only have a half plot) is very clearly defined the whole length of the Lottie. Hey, good fences make good neighbours and all that.

There are loads of lovely worms from under that stack so the compost will be a joy to their little hearts. Andrew lifted the bins over and took the opportunity to turn the contents over. Now we're going to have another little thin bed down there, I think we've decided to put summer fruiting raspberries in it - we'll make the best of it, for sure.

Apart from that we cleared the 1st bed on the left of its lettuces, baby carrots (which weren't coping with this weather at all and were extremely tiny) and scallions. Then filled it with lovely top soil. But I'll talk about harvest baskets tomorrow...

(*TBC)

World's heaviest spud?!

The BBC released this story on their website today. The script is entirely theirs, highlights are my own.....

'A farmer in southern Lebanon has dug up what might be the heaviest potato in the world.
"This giant weighs 11.3 kilos (24.9 pounds)," Khalil Semhat told the AFP news agency at his farm near Tyre, 85 kilometres (50 miles) south of Beirut.

"I've been working the land since I was a boy, and it's the first time I've seen anything like it."
Mr Semhat, 56, said he had to ask for help from a friend to get the huge vegetable out of the ground.

He insisted that he had used no fertilizer or other chemicals to produce it.

Mr Semhat said he hoped his potato will be recognised as the heaviest potato in the world. '

Show off......You know - childish as it may seem - I hope it tastes AWFUL!

Sunnybank and the cold

The 1st Saturday of a new month a very cold and frosty day - December, wick.

We decided to visit the Sunnybank Nursery on our way to the Lottie. We have many ideas my friends and wanted to check out what was about. I took some photos while Andrew dandered (he knew what we were looking for better than I did). It was kind of Christmas-tree-buying weekend, I'm allergic so we weren't tempted. The arguments that could be heard from families trying to pick the 'best one' were funny though.

On our way out we were stopped by one of the staff who had recognised Andrew and wanted to give a response to an e-mail he had recently written to them. How friendly are they???! It seems we'd be better off getting our asparagus mail order, especially with us wanting about 10 crowns, but they are trying to get in bare root, maiden fruit trees; we just need to wait a little longer until they get info back from their suppliers. It is lovely having a small, very local nursery right by the Allotments. Hoorah for Sunnybank.

When we got to the car park of the Lottie, it was wonderful to see a brand new shed, right up at that end of Field C. Check out the map - I think it was 22(b). And the little Apple trees that were planted by the Council (and volunteers) 2 weeks ago; they're old traditional varieties from Northern Ireland too. So that was a nice sight to welcome us. Though (here I go moaning again) the path did somewhat take the look off the place and Maggie had to be carried down, not that she minded I'm sure.

On our little plot we instantly got ourselves set up with the kettle on and a makeshift bean bag for Maggie to sit on. She got a chill last week from sitting on the ground - not this time! I got the bag of paper shreddings and her blanket and viola! a lovely lounging chair. She seemed to like it, though when I took this pic, she was a little unsure of her footing.

There was hardly a soul around, okay it was literally freezing but the sky was so blue and there is work to be done people.We heard later that day, that the first robbery had happened on the site. Very upsetting, especially when it seems the person was caught out and it was one of our own. I truly feel upset, this was so unexpected. I have hopes that our Committee will deal with this in a strict, no nonsense way - it cannot be tolerated.

Focus on...the Allotment

It's Friday which means a 'Focus on...', which usually involves a wee write up on one of our humble friut or vegetable varieties. Today however I am going to talk about something much more vital than mere food. I talking about good mental health.

I am not in the best of places at the moment (even though I have been going through a better week so far) as I have had to see both my Psychiatrist and my Social Worker in the one day. You would think this is a good thing and you would be right, up to a point. I am very lucky in that my mental health care team is made up of very nice individuals who do seem to genuinely want to help me.

The problems lie in -

1: Having to go over the same painful issues time and time again (with a cacophony of Psychiatric Senior House Officers who I generally only see once or twice each) and then it's a three month gap till it all happens again
and

2: Constantly being told that there isn't the funding or the resources available that they need to help me (e.g. NO Psychologists!!!!!)

Thus, I am left in limbo land, trying to sort my own head out- which is very ironic and not at all funny; my head and thoughts being the thing I need to work on but also the thing I would need to have a good grasp on in order to help myself work on them. A bloody vicious circle if ever there was one. Complicated further by the fact that I'm on medication at the same time!!

As my very own Social Worker said this afternoon, "the Mental Health Care in Northern Ireland is sh1te". Not very professional she professed but truth is all that matters between us.

This, my friends is why I am so passionate about my Allotments. Ecotherapy is something that has just landed on my lap, out of the blue - due to having a Husband who loves to grow stuff. I cannot emphases enough the benefits that growing fruit, veg, herbs, flowers (and even weeds, if they're pretty) can have on your health (or, let's face it- the health of someone that you love).

Today's Focus on - if you would like a food topic is.. Cake, Chocolate, Ice Cream, Wine, a Take Away - whatever makes you have a happier, relaxed Friday night and gets you ready for gardening tomorrow!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Allotment/Garden/Patio Containers/Window Boxes - grow, harvest, eat and enjoy!

Turf Stack Destroyer!

Ah, yes, the turf stack. This was formed way back in April when we were removing turfs in order to build our raised beds. They all went over into the corner and had black membrane put over them. Over time we used it as a bed/sofa, have had Pumpkins growing out of it and now it was time to get what good top soil there was out of it. We want the space to move the holy trinity of compost bins over there and get another bed in.

Let's just take a moment to look back at April while I'm on the subject........


How far we've come. (Okay, these are a little misleading - Andrew was there too, working very hard).

So anyway, I was starting to feel like I really wanted to go home on Saturday, remember I wasn't having a good day (depression wise) and I had just fallen, like the eejit I am! But Andrew suggested the turf stack, knowing how I have a lust for destruction, as much as one for growing etc. I got into that stack with the spade and started hacking away like a crazy murderer of soil! It felt GREAT!

Now to the exciting part..... Andrew made a Riddle. We had been given an old fridge basket by Anne (my sister-in-law) and had some chicken wire in the shed. Tie up the two components together and what do you have - an eco-friendly soil sieve! Andrew was in charge of that creation and I dumped spade loads of soil into it. After a good riddle (shake those hips Andrew!) we had beautiful top soil in our wheelbarrow (including lots of worms) and little bits of clay left behind; these we 'dumped' in the hedgerow - it does no harm and will cover over with grass in no time. We worked at that for about 1 hour and made a bit of a dent but more importantly I was in a better mood.



Then came the glory of picking our own food. A lovely box (I forgot the usual basket) of 5 Lettuces, 8 Scallions, 9 baby Carrots and a Leek. Then home, as the sun was in fact setting by this time and it really was COLD. Maggie was even shivering in her little jumper and coat. But look what we went home to, (after Andrew made it) looks ridiculous - tasted great.

All of it grown on our very own plot A24a, though that was the last of the potatoes which is quite sad.

The Adventures of Carrie

So to more of Saturday.

I dandered off on my rounds of moseying around other peoples plots. Of course I took the camera and made my way over to Field B, as I missed it out last week. On the way I noticed this excellent little cabbage patch, James' flourishing green manure and Bobby's Adorable shed and water butts etc all painted and looking lovely.

Into Field B then and what should I see but Uncle Jim's Greenhouse, broken, dead, in a pile on the floor - R.I.P. The storms during the week had sent it on a holiday across the plots before ending its short life. I don't think it ever even got to grow anything within it. Sad.

Elsewhere, things were looking quite good (if you know where to look, that is). Donald/Douglas (only joking!) has an insect hotel (5* if you ask me) and I went over to take a picture. Very inspiring, I hope he gets the array of helpful friends he is accommodating for and that frog he wants so much. It's an adorable set up, don't you agree?

This is pretty much my favourite shed on the whole site. It belongs to Ricky and he built it himself. It reminds me of Little House on the Prairie or something and I love those over sized roof tiles. I think it may even have a little stove inside, going by the chimney. I just love it and its little picket fence panels.

Elsewhere there was evidence of fresh soil cultivation, plot tidy ups and last-of-the-season crops. Even the died back corn stalks looked pretty in the late afternoon light.

On the way back to our own Lottie I fell. Yes, me, who goes on and on about being safe and taking it slow on the mucky paths. I fell. Luckily, it was only one leg that went from under me but boy was it a shock and the cold wet mud was stinky and took ages to dry in the cold, damp day. Something in it smelt great to Maggie though, she ran over to me and couldn't stop sniffing my knee and even licked it!

Anyway, back at good old A24a (and after a coffee, de-caff) Andrew and I decided the time had come to tackle the old turf stack and to get our harvest in - but that's for tomorrow.....

Planting the Raspberries

First thing I did when we got to the lottie on Saturday was check my baby Broad Bean seedlings - oh, they look great - don't they look great! I think they look great.

Andrew and Maggie were a little less excited than myself - can't understand why. I think Maggie was just plain COLD and Andrew was busy doing 'manly' stuff: we had a leaky window seal - so he fixed it - just like that, fixed.





Then we got down to work - well, Andrew did, planting the Raspberry canes. I flitted about looking at stuff growing and taking the usual million photos of everything that doesn't move. As the Hubby prepared the ground etc., I was over the moon to see that, finally our Garlic had begun to sprout, it took a little bit of staring like a mad woman before I saw the glorious shoots through my cat barrier of bramble twigs, but when I saw them I let out a little yelp of joy. In amongst all this dying back and end-of-harvesting, it is great to see new life. Also, through the poly-tunnels I can see little baby carrots doing well, scallions doing brilliantly and in the other tunnel I harvested about 5 nice lettuces.

But back to Andrew and his 'Joan J' exploits. The ground here had been well prepared over the last month and Andrew only needed to dig out a nice big trench for the canes. The soil was lovely. He carefully pulled apart the roots of the 6 canes from each other and laid them down roughly where they were to be planted. Then a short 'looking' break. Happy with placement, they were planted, watered, the tops cut back and a lovely layer of mulch put over the top. Eh, viola, the permanent bed is shameful no longer! I have high expectations for these girls - I want fruit galore - my inner Domestic Goddess wishes to make her own jam (and therefore become a 'real' woman/allotmenteer). Fingers crossed everyone.


Also, don't forget, in time.....(open this pic up)

A special delivery

On Friday past (28th Nov) Andrew was home for lunch in between appointments. It was rather good timing as we got our long awaited for delivery of Raspberry canes from Dobies of Devon. Only the 2nd thing we have ordered off the Internet for our beloved lottie. I have the wonderful unfolding of the event captured for your viewing pleasure....

They are bloomin' great looking plants (variety 'Joan J' and are therefore Autumn fruiting) and tomorrow, when I talk about what work we did at the Lottie on Saturday, I can show you them in their new home as well. Raspberries (and blueberries and cherries) are my favourites, so I have high hopes for these 6 fellows : fruit, jam, cakes - yummy.

The bag they came in will also be recycled into our next potato crop bag ~ we just finished the last of our 'Maris Pipers' from August on Saturday, I'm quite sad about that.