Monday 25 June 2007

Rain stops play


A frustrating week was followed by a frustrating weekend - both caused by the terrible weather. As far as progress goes, there is very little to report. I did get to the plot early in the week, and dug another bed over. I found that I had inadvertently strimmed a few potato plants that were hiding amongst the weeds, so I dug these up and am proud to announce that I have eaten the first harvest from the plot! It's not quite the same as eating something I planted myself, but I have that to look forward to. The spuds were a bit on the small side, but better to have dug them up now as im sure they would have rotted without a plant above them to continue their growth.
I decided to cover the beds over while im still working on them, and until I decide what going to go in them. Here you can see the first bed covered over. I knew I would find a use for the remnants of the old shed!


Next is a picture showing the second bed, and after that a picture showing the spud plants. I weeded carefully around the spuds, and will start to mound up soil around the plants. I have seen this being done on other plots, so am assuming its the done thing! They dont really fit in with my grand design, but I will leave them where they are rather than digging them up. The grand design can wait im sure...







Finally, here is a snap of the first produce from the plot to be eaten by me! They tasted great, so i take my hat off to the previous plot holder for his fine choice of variety. I dont have a clue what they were, other than tasty!
Well that's it from me for the time being. I will update again when theres something to show you. Heres hoping the rain doesnt last too long...

Tuesday 19 June 2007

Best laid plans and all that....

As I looked out of the window of the office at about 4:30 this afternoon, my mind was racing with ideas as to how I might spend my evening at the allotment. The sun was shining in all its glory, and my pleasant lunchtime stroll around the lake with my friend Jason was fresh in my mind. I was keen to get up there this evening. I took a well earned break from it last night and instead produced the literary masterpieces shown below this post!! Its strange writing a blog. I really enjoy typing whatever crap comes into my head, but at the end of the day, (as my newly downloaded counter is showing) no bugger ever reads this anyway! I guess its more like a diary in that respect - very useful for capturing thoughts and feelings and recording events, but unlikely to be good reading fodder for the masses.

So back to the allotment. As mentioned I was keen to get up there today. I had made wooden pegs, bought string, and even taken delivery of a recent ebay win - 100m of weed suppressing fabric. The plan was to dig a few beds over roughly and then cover them with the weed membrane until I was ready to give them a more thorough going over. As the title of todays post suggests, the best laid plans do tend to go to waste. As I packed the required items into the boot of my car, the weather went from bright sunshine to raging thunderstorm in a matter of seconds. I ran into my garage and watched as the rain lashed down. Finally by about 7pm the rain stopped, and the sun came back out. I made my way to the plot - determined to do at least something.

As you can see from the pic below, I only got round to digging one bed, and before I knew it, it was 9pm.

The plan is to dig 12 of these beds, and then in pairs I will have the makings of a 6 year rotation. I should point out that this is the current plan - who knows how it will change over the coming weeks!
When I have a bit more time I will let you know what I plan to put into the 6 beds each year, and do my best to explain the rotation system I have in mind. It's all info I have taken from books and the internet, so hopefully its a sound plan.
I will sign off now for the night, and give time for my aches and pains to arrive in full force in the morning!

Monday 18 June 2007

The shed is no more

Following a very successful Saturday with the strimmer, I spent Sunday clearing up what was left of a shed, and putting all the 'junk' in a neat pile at the far end of the plot. There are a few bits and bobs that I may well use again.

The shed that I was clearing was more like an air raid shelter than a shed! The guy who had the plot before me left all his allotment things to his friends on neighbouring plots in his will. Everything had gone apart from three walls of this building. I soon realised why...

The 'shed' was made of a wooden stud wall, which was insulated with carpet, and then covered on the outside with sheets of metal. Having finally freed one section from the rest, I had to drag it to the other end of the plot. I made a nice neat pile of all the various materials I found, and will take a photo next time im up there.

The shed was kept in place by being riveted to yet more sheets of metal that were buried into the ground as foundations. The six inches or so that were above ground were like the top of the iceberg. It took me about 3 hours to dig them all up! I think that may explain the pain in my back. Ah well, what doesnt kill me will make me stronger. Eventually.

So now I have the blank canvas I have been looking forward to. I have planned 6 beds that I will rotate each year, and still have a lot of space for more permanent fixtures such as a shed, compost area, fruit bushes, Asparagus bed etc. Im also tempted by artichokes, but cant recall ever having eaten one, so might have to wait and see for that.

Plan for this week is to start marking out and digging the beds, and to try and get hold of some wood to make a compost bin with. I have a grand design in my mind, but I might have to make do with what I can create from the wood I can get hold of. Ideally I would have something a little more permanent than 4 pallets tied together...

I ordered some green manure seeds today (phacelia), so will grow that in 2 of the beds this year, before starting for real on the 'master plan' next year.

One thing im not sure of is the potato plants I found while clearing. The plants are not at all bushy, and tend to be taking the form of a single stalk. As you may have guessed im a complete novice and im not sure if these are spuds I should be caring for, or ones left over from last years crop. I lifted a couple of plants and found very few spuds (too early?), and one spud that was completely filled with wood lice!

I will try and find out about the spuds and let you know what advice I get!

Heres a pic:

I showed those weeds a thing or two...




Armed with a strimmer (hired at moderate expense), a fourpack of chilled lager, and boundless enthusiasm, I managed to turn the jungle into a mere meadow! I allowed myself the whole weekend to do it but actually got it all done on Saturday. I now have the makings of a fine compost heap, and I can actually see earth in some places!

Above is a picture of the recently strimmed area - taken from a similar spot as the photo in the first post for comparison. Note the pile of cuttings on the near right, and next to it a pile of what can only be described as 'crap'. This pile is made up of 3 walls of a collapsed (demolished ?) shed, plus a load of other bits and bobs I found during the day. The blue water butt belongs to a neighbouring plot whose path im stood on to take the pic.

Quite a striking difference I'm sure you will agree. Certainly pleasing to see something actually happening with the plot.

I would certainly recommend the use of a strimmer to anyone who is taking on a plot with a bit of growth on it. Having said that, the day was not without its minor setbacks...

I arrived at the plot at about 10:30, which for me was a considerable feat. My Saturday mornings are usually spent studying the inside of my eyelids at great length, or nursing myself back to good health following a night at the pub. You see? My lifestyle is changing for the better already! It's going to be great when I can use the word 'wholesome' to describe my weekend to my work-mates on a Monday. So it's half ten, and I rock up to the plot (number 104 if you're interested), park the car and remove from it the mother of all strimmers. I'm used to the electric strimmers that people use in their gardens - the kind of thing you can hold with one hand and swing dangerously close to the plants in border you are edging. I used Dad's one many a time in the parents garden before I moved out, so when I was presented with a heavy petrol engined contraption - complete with face mask and harness - I was a little in awe.

Then it came to starting the thing. I looked the thing over - very few knobs and settings. Basically a choke, a trigger thing (with a setting called 'start'), and one of those pull string things to start it. I set the choke to open, the trigger to start, and pulled on the cord. No joy. I pulled again. Still no joy, but a bit of a promising sound this time. I pulled again, tried a different choke setting, pulled again, and again, and again... Yes you guessed it. I couldn't get the bugger to start. I tried for quite a long time. Rested. Tried from a different angle - pulled a muscle in my arm. Rested. Had a fag. Swore.

I must point out at this stage that in my excitement to get on with the clearing, I turned down an invitation to join my friends for a lovely full English breakfast at 'the Tenth Hole'. I say 'lovely' with some confidence, because the tearoom of our local pitch and put golf course have yet to provide anyone I know with a bad cooked breakfast. I did however invite my friends to check out the plot after they had finished.
When my friend Paul arrived with his girlfriend Sarah, I was subjected to a mild piss take from Paul for not having started yet, and was made aware by Sarah that I could in fact have joined them for breakfast. Needless to say I was well aware of this fact, but chose to respond with a chuckle rather than anything more heart-felt. The mild piss-take then turned into something else all together when Paul proceeded to start the strimmer with his first try. I was torn between anger and relief, but the relief won through in the end! After all, I could now crack on.

At this point my other would-be breakfast buddies Jon and Claire turn up. Cue Paul's 'funny' story about starting the strimmer first time, and of course the resulting hilarity. I figure the best defense is the ear muffs that came with the strimmer. With those on I only have to look at the smug amused faces, and can avoid hearing the words coming out of their mouths.

So im strimming. I have 4 people watching me, and im considerably less advanced through the job than I had anticipated. I think I had been strimming for about 3 minutes when it started to rain. 'Rain' is not really descriptive enough to be honest. It was one of those downpours that soaks you to the skin in a matter of seconds. I look to the sky and silently curse. The face shield I am wearing allows me to do this without drowning. The four onlookers scramble into Jon's nearby car as quickly as they are able to whilst laughing and pointing at me. I decided to grin and bear it. They left me to it, and luckily it was just a quick shower and was the only one all day.


They came, they mocked, they left. Nice.

So the rest of the day was spent strimming, with frequent stops to extend the length of the nylon cord after it had snapped off. The previous owner of the plot (God rest his soul) seemed to be particularly fond of banging metal stakes into the ground so that about 8 inches of them stuck out. Im sure they served some purpose, but to me they were just something to break the strimming wire on. I did this about 20 times during the day, and eventually mastered the art of threading out replacement cord. He also seemed a have a penchant for randomly placed holes. Very useful if you are trying to fall over or twist your ankle, but pretty annoying if not.

I also ran out of petrol. This is something I should have perhaps anticipated, but foolishly I didn't bring any for refuelling. I asked a guy in a nearby plot if he could keep an eye on the strimmer while I popped to the garage, and he very kindly gave me some petrol - complete with 2 stroke! Im very glad he did, because throughout the day I had to re-fuel 3 times.

I met a few people from neighbouring plots, and must say they are really nice people. I have been told a lot of new names - none of which I can remember - and was really happy that people took the time to stop and chat and introduce themselves.

I think it's going to be a good summer. I have a number of projects planned, and of course I will need to mark up some beds and get digging. More about that later though im sure.

I woke up on Sunday feeling as though I had been walked on by an elephant! I used muscles that I had forgotten existed. My arm still hurts when I do a 'starting a strimmer' motion with it, but im sure that'll go away. As I write this I also have a very achy lower back, but thats probably due to Sundays activities as much as Saturdays.

Here's a pic of the plot 'mid strim'...











Thursday 14 June 2007

A site to behold!















Well here it is! After a good 18 months on the waiting list I have finally secured my own slice of England. (ok so officially the Council own it, but lets not split hairs...)



The plot is located on a site called Milton Piece, which is near Southsea - on the South East coast of Portsmouth. A lovely location flanked by the sea, and a peacefully quiet oasis where I hope I can escape the city!

I had given up hope of getting one this year to be honest. My frequent calls to the council were met with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and the messages I got from them were equally varied. Depending on who I spoke to I went from 15th on the list one month, to 5th the next, and then back to 15th again! As a result the letter on the doorstep was a very pleasant surprise indeed. I dashed to the site on the Saturday that the letter arrived, and selected the plot I wanted from the available list. I was lucky to get my first choice.

So there you have it. I have an allotment. As you can see from the picture it has a lot of weeds to clear, and I am itching to get started. I have hired a strimmer for the weekend (which is tantamount to doing a raindance) and will endeavour to keep this blog updated every so often with tales of my progress.

Already I have so many questions! Not least, as my Mum always used to say "Will it be another five-minute wonder?" Im pretty sure she was referring to my attention span when given a new and expensive 'must have' toy, and not my sexual prowess, but who knows? Mum knows best as they say...

Im also keen to find out if the allotment will replace my unhealthy and somewhat geeky addiction to online gaming. Yes I must confess that for the past year or so I have been immersed in a thoroughly addictive 'MMO' game. At the risk of losing my audience at this early stage I will merely explain that MMOG stands for 'Massively Multiplayer Online Game'. Enough said on that? Yes, I think so too.

So bring on the back ache, and lets replace my pasty skin with the healthy bronzed skin of an 'outdoor type'. I know it will do me good, and if I can put the same level of commitment into the lottie as I did into the game, I should be ready to start with crop rotation and sowing and thinning and reaping by the time the next growing season starts.

I may even get something in the ground this year! Wouldn't that be nice?

So watch this space, and if you see me doing something badly wrong, please do let me know...