tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58391732009-02-24T01:39:25.718ZAllotment gardeningA day-to-day guide to creating an allotment garden from a starting point of absolutely no knowledge and no experience.Patnoreply@blogger.comBlogger191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1109541452632525322005-02-24T21:50:00.000Z2005-02-27T21:57:32.633ZOvernight it has snowed in New Malden - quite heavily in fact. I wonder how the crops are coping but I don't get the chance to check them out. I am in the middle of chopping down a tree in my back garden - and pruning another one. It has left me with a lot of branches to chop into firewood which means I haven't got much time to spare. I do keep checking to see if the skip that was promised for Patnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1108328544358686862005-02-11T20:49:00.000Z2005-02-13T21:02:24.360ZI have some jobs to finish off before a brief half-term break in Paris. I finish digging the last bed and then lay down two barrow-loads of manure over the top of it. I'm planning to put some of the potatoes in here. Because I have recklessly been throwing the top layer of soil into the two neighbouring overgrown plots, it looks like there's been a war going on round this part of the plot. My Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107880804865704132005-02-08T16:27:00.000Z2005-02-08T16:40:04.866ZI am determined to finish clearing the last overgrown bed today. I still have a heavy cold which makes the job that little bit more difficult. The plot directly behind mine is empty and overgrown and because this last bed borders it,I have been a bit naughty. I have been digging up the top layer of soil - usually a big sod of grass - and then throwing it over the fence into the neighbouring plot.Patnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107796327247651472005-02-07T17:09:00.000Z2005-02-07T17:12:07.246ZI use a spare 40 minute-spell to tidy up the strawberry plants a bit. I cut off all the dead leaves and pull up any bits of grass growing between the plants. I really will have to buy a good hoe to help me stay on top of the weeds this season. I then spend the rest of my time chasing after a cat which is possibly one that has been missing in the area for a while. It doesn't let me get close but IPatnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107714544470500962005-02-06T18:26:00.000Z2005-02-07T08:56:53.890ZMy hunt for egg boxes is successful - a local corner shop gives me two big trays, although the man behind the counter looks suspicious when I tell him they are for my potatoes. There is just about enough space for my maincrop. The earlies go shoulder-to-shoulder in a couple of seed trays. I stand them on the end of a z-bed in the spare room and then turn the radiator off so they stay cool. I'll Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107713899390514462005-02-05T18:07:00.000Z2005-02-07T08:59:01.906ZWe go to Wisley where they are holding a Vegetable Question Time with a panel of experts. Among the panel is a bloke who is an expert on seed potatoes and I intend to ask two questions: Why were my King Edwards so small this year? Was it because I didn't water them enough. If so can they recommend a better variety of maincrop to grow this year. My other question is about whether recently divided Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107549914542316152005-02-01T20:26:00.000Z2005-02-04T21:18:00.823ZI set off to finish manuring the two beds but some bad news about a work colleague means I come home shortly after starting.
I manage to sneak down later on for half-an-hour. It is enough time to finish putting manure down on the second of the two empty beds. Three well-filled wheelbarrows are enough to complete the job. This is where I'm planning to put the potatoes this year so the manure is Patnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107551140289785802005-01-31T20:45:00.000Z2005-02-04T21:05:40.290ZI take my youngest son down to the plot this morning and discover that a huge pile of manure has been delivered since the last time I came down. It is just what I have been waiting for as I have two beds of bare earth which is not a good thing. Together we wheel two loads over to the plot which covers half of one of the beds.
I then check on my stolen rhubarb which is coming along nicely. Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107813390286595742005-01-21T21:52:00.000Z2005-02-07T21:56:30.286ZAnother quick dash down to the plot to check on progress shows all going well. It's still too cold for weeds to begin getting a grip and the beans and onions have stood up well to recent cold snaps. The rhubarb is thriving under the makeshift-forcer. All in all, everything is looking OK.Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107812274585819302005-01-17T21:29:00.000Z2005-02-07T21:37:54.586ZA day off work gives me the chance to run down and look at how things are doing. The broad beans continue to look good, growing strongly. The stolen rhubarb is settling in nicely too. I go back over to the plot I nicked them from and all looks innocent enough. I covered my tracks well. There are three old metal buckets there that the previous holder used for forcing rhubarb. One of them is just Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1107813096494433962005-01-15T21:38:00.000Z2005-02-07T21:51:36.493ZMy wife sends me a message at work to tell me the seeds have arrived. When I get home I look at the packaging and am frightened by how soon most of them say they can be planted in pots or in the ground. Things are going to start moving very quickly, very soon.Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1105307042254067682005-01-09T21:41:00.000Z2005-01-09T21:44:02.253ZMy wife and I sit down and choose the crops we want to grow this season. Having said we would keep it simple, we actually go for a much wider variety of seeds - spinach, leek, brussel sprouts and drying beans to name but a few. I spend about £18 on the Organic Gardening Catalogue and begin to draw up plans for the coming months. I nip down to check that nobody has destroyed my plot in return for Patnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1105306800508081152005-01-07T21:10:00.000Z2005-01-09T21:40:00.506ZI haven't been down to the plot for a while but with both children back at school and playgroup respectively, I get the chance to go down for a couple of hours. The plot is looking good, even if I do say so myself - the broad beans in particular seem to be growing well.
The main job I want to crack on with is bagging up the various piles of weeds that I have amassed during my days of clearingPatnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1105308362882143202005-01-03T22:00:00.000Z2005-01-09T22:06:02.883ZI make a short trip down to the plot to see how things are going. It always amazes me how the broad beans seem to put on a growth spurt even in the coldest of weathers. I dig up some parsnips for tea before heding for home. I'll leave the real work for another day.Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1105307555197344412004-12-29T21:48:00.000Z2005-01-09T21:55:08.180ZThere have been a couple of cold nights recently with the temperature dropping to freezing. I didn't put any fleece over any of my crops - principally because I haven't got any fleece to put over them. I am eager to see how my over-wintering crops have held up - I haven't seen them for a few days now. To my surprise they are all doing very well - the broad beans in particular are beginning to Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1105307284200536142004-12-25T21:45:00.000Z2005-01-09T21:48:04.200ZI spend Christmas in mid-Wales with the in-laws and it snows. But even at this distance I am reminded of the allotment as we all tuck into some of my home-grown parsnips with our Christmas dinner. And they taste bloody good I can tell you.Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1103835401243630772004-12-23T20:54:00.000Z2004-12-23T20:56:41.243ZAs a final pre-Christmas treat, I take the whole family down to the allotment for a look around. Well actually the real reason we go down is to dig up some parsnips for the Christmas dinner. We get some real beauties. Cath hasn't seen the plot for a while and is impressed with how things have come along. I am as well - although I can't wait to press on with things in the new year.Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1103638839518624172004-12-21T14:12:00.000Z2004-12-23T20:54:10.883ZMy wife takes the children to see a pantomime in Epsom, leaving me free for a couple of hours to carry on with digging over and weeding the few remaining beds. It's another cold day so I pull on a woolly hat, my gardening gloves and crack on with digging. There are lots of brambles in this bed and they seem to be a lot easier to pull up in this weather. I am still not removing the roots but I digPatnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1103639684923627302004-12-20T14:22:00.000Z2004-12-21T14:34:44.923ZI manage to wangle my way out of Christmas shopping and, as a result, get to go down to the plot to carry on with the digging. I notice that, despite the recent cold snap, the onions and broad beans seem to be making good progress.
I crack on with the digging and after an hour-or-so, finish the bed where there was previously a large pile of upturned grass sods. It gives me a good sense of Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1103640879060131772004-12-19T14:51:00.000Z2004-12-21T14:54:39.060ZI need to get some parsnips for tonight's dinner so I make a quick dash down to the plot before it gets too dark. I sneakily do a bit of digging on the beds at the back - if I can put in a couple of hours, I would be able to finish them I'm sure.Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1103836016617810622004-12-16T21:00:00.000Z2004-12-23T21:06:56.616ZAlthough I have a few days off work this week, just like this time last year, my children both come down with a a bit of a winter virus. It means I have to spend most of these days sitting at home with them watching CBeebies. Today is the one day that I do get the chance to nip down to the plot to do an hour's digging. However, wouldn't you know it, it starts to rain almost as soon as I get therePatnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1102191369750316552004-12-04T19:52:00.000Z2004-12-04T20:28:32.873ZI haven't had the chance to get down to the allotment for a few days now so am anxious to see how things are growing and to get on with some more clearing. I have bought some new gardening gloves as I lost my old pair - these are a bit like washing-up gloves with an elasticated wrist. I take my youngest son Nathan down with me and the first thing we have to do is go and check out the scarecrow Patnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1101816766356095772004-11-29T13:02:00.000Z2004-11-30T12:12:46.356ZA dry day off gives me the chance to dash down for another hour at the end of the day with my youngest son to try and carry on with some digging. I dig up some of the weeds, stinging nettles and thistles in the bed where the onions were last year. There are a lot of brambles in this bed and I haven't brought my secateurs. As I cannot get down to the roots, I will have to come back and cut them Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1101827873267241522004-11-25T14:27:00.000Z2004-12-04T20:29:03.950ZI persuade my dad to come down and help me to continue clearing the last two badly overgrown bits of the plot. I turn my attention to clearing the bed where the onions used to be. It is now a mass of thistles, brambles, stinging nettles and chickweed. It is quite hard going as round the edges there are lots of brambles that seem to go very deep. Dad turns his attention to turning over the bed Patnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5839173.post-1100988065230928672004-11-19T20:03:00.000Z2004-12-04T20:21:41.456ZAmazingly it is another dry day today and I have a day off so I manage to put in a couple of hours at the plot. I continue digging the bed where the pile of sods used to be but I also put a bit of effort into finishing the old lettuce bed and trimming some of the strawberries on the last row that I haven't touched yet. The good news is that my onions are looking really good and the green manure Patnoreply@blogger.com0