Allotment Blog

6 FEBRUARY

I found out today that the plots of our site are numbered after all - though I very much doubt that the plan (if there is one) bears much resemblance to the shape of the actual plots.  My plot is number 5.  I think it would be useful if there was a plan, maybe taken from an aerial photo, available for members to view.  I guess this would have to be kept in the communal shed so that everyone could have access. But it would be nice to know the names of the people working plots near me.  I understand that management of one of the plots next to mine has changed recently.  Craig (I think that's the name) has certainly made huge inroads to the brambles, weeds and other debris in that area.  I wonder if he realises that the huge plastic sheet is really still mine though? - I lent it to Len last autumn when he was struggling with acres of weeds on an area he didn't plan to use til the summer.  I will attempt to get it back, though I'm not holding out much hope as the unwritten Allotment Rules include the one about 'what you find on your plot when you get it, is yours'...

I recently acquired a gnome for my plot, or - depending on how deeply embarrassing it is to my lotty neighbours - for my shed.  Until a few years ago, I would have been slightly worried about anyone who even associates themselves with a gnome, but now I find I could always hope that the little fella might take control of the weeds a bit when I am not there, perhaps also chasing away the occasional pests he might find!  It's not that I am planning on acquiring (m)any more, but I understand that one of the local the pound shops has similar friends to mine.  My gnome came from a charity shop, new in his box.  The two ladies in the shop were of differing opinions: one seemed almost sad to see him go, while the other couldn't wait to get rid of him!  Suggested names on a postcard, please!

28 JANUARY 2012

I can't believe its been a month since I was last at the plot!  Nor indeed that yet another year has rushed by and I feel dazed to think of all the daily activity that has gone on since this time last year.  Its normal, of course, but still...

Today I was able to almost complete the stone path, there's just the little bit at the bottom end to do.  It was really wet there today following heavy rain showers yesterday so I was quite pleased to have run out of rocks from the barrow.  It'll need one last stab and then its over - apart from filling in any small gaps, regular close-range spraying to remove weed growth and possibly a light raking of gravel to help pack it down - this latter I haven't decided either way yet.

I also did several little jobs, all necessary but rather irritating in that they all add up to a lot of time taken at once:
- I set out two lots of potato tubers to chit in trays in the shed (Pentland Javelin and Swift);
- I took down the bean cane wigwams, not that the beans grew particularly well (though the nasturtiums did that I planted at the same time!);
- I cleared the frosted comfrey stems into the tumbling composter*;
- I left 2 garlic bulbs (Marco) in the shed ready for planting and took home one bulb so we can grow it at home, with the children;
- I left my new stove, kettle, a mug and most importantly some tea-bags in the shed ready for a colder day! 
- I tidied a couple of small areas of the plot, moving piles of soil very easily with a tool my grandfather used.  It looks like a triangular scaffold pole base on a broom handle, but whatever it really was to begin with, now it's probably one of the most useful tools in my shed!

Finally, I measured the inside of my shed ready for putting up a line of shelves.  Its an odd length to my mind, 239.5 cm, but so long as the shelves are cut to fit I don't think it matters much...

The chard is flourishing so well its a pity the family are getting fed up of it in their food.  Oh well, I will have to freeze some at home rather than letting it freeze on the plot.

It was really nice to see half a dozen or so people I don't see much at the site.  I arrived at the conclusion (very tongue-in-cheek) that most of the men go to the allotment to drink tea and stand about together watching other people working!

 [pictures to follow]

27 DECEMBER

I dashed to the plot for a couple of hours today.  I managed to get half the path between me and my neighbour laid with stones from up by Annette's plot at the top of the site.  It's quite therapeutic flinging rocks from a pile into a wheelbarrow (although it made such a racket I was sure someone would call the police on me!).  Then its merely a case of laying them in a cobbled effect down the path with larger rocks at tehe dges and trying to make the rest fit in - like some manic jigsaw with no picture to go by...

Then while I was turning the tumbling compost bin I listened to a dad teaching his son to ride his new bike out on the car park nearby and enjoyed the quiet after a lovely yet very busy Christmas!

30 OCTOBER

Today I spent a very productive 90 minutes on the plot, undertaking some tasks which will hopefully improve both the shed both inside and outside.

I successfully managed to reclaim a shelf unit which had been adorning one of the old tumble-down sheds I had used previously.  It is very well built and did not suffer in any way from my wrenching it off the wall.  It transpires that it was only held on by four rusty nails so was actually far easier to remove than I had at first feared.  However the complete unit was slightly heavier than I had bargained for and so I will definitely need a hand to hang it on the wall of the shed.

I made a good start on painting the door end of the shed, completing the whole thing minus the door itself as I didn’t want it to stick if I painted the whole thing, locked up and went home for several weeks because a fortnightly visit seems to be all I am capable of at the moment!

Unfortunately my good works in planting and attempting to protect the purple-flowering broccoli plants has apparently been less than entirely successful.  There remain just one or two small stalks with leaves but I haven’t lost anything by trying.

On a more positive note however, my nasturtiums are still growing strongly and the huge chard plant looks rather impressive with its saffron-yellow stalks and ribs contrasting with darkest of dark green leaves.  The calendulas which went in far too late are still covered in flowers and buds and the dahlia Karma Bon Bini appears to have only just gone over, perhaps in the last day or so as its spent flower head remains untouched as yet by our wild late October weather.

Someone has kindly moved my trough to the path at the upper end of the plot, saving me a whole lot of bother in the process.  I was not looking forward to having to drag it round three sides of the plot to by the shed in readiness for the sowing and planting of spring veg and herbs.  At least it looks as if the netting tunnel will be available for covering the trough so perhaps the impending lack of PF broccoli is not all bad.

In the next few weeks (months?) I hope to cut back the comfrey to a stubby 6” or so and compost the stalks and leaves in the tumbling bin ready for next year.  (Or I could leave it to turn black and slimy in the winter frosts and so manure itself?)  I’d like to paint at least one coat on each side of the shed plus of course the door, and then give it all another coat or two.  But really I think I’ve got it sorted now – aim low and make the best you can of the situation that presents itself!

15 OCTOBER  

This afternoon I was able to make it to the plot for the first time in a couple of weeks. Last week I was feeling very poorly with a throat infection and this annoyed me, not least because the weather was so lovely and the allotment could be heard calling to me (or was that just the fever talking?!).

I managed to do almost everything I had hoped to, namely clearing the area where the broad beans had been, laying weed fabric and planting purple sprouting broccoli under a netting tunnel. This makes it sound so easy but in reality it took a little over an hour and a half. I am not at all convinced that we will avoid the advances of the dreaded cabbage fly but I have done my best and will of course be keeping an eye on proceedings.

Then I made a start on painting the shed. The colour is Wild Thyme, from the Cuprinol Heritage Shades range and as it looks great on the shed and border edges at home at least I had some idea of how it would look on the plot. It’s a sort of hazy greeny-grey, and ages nicely too. I managed to get the weather side of the shed done (with the window) and hope it dries properly so I can do another coat at a later date.

I've been very fortunate recently to acquire a nice big piece of kitchen worktop from friends who were clearing their garage prior to moving house. It fits perfectly across the recycled kitchen cabinets and leaves a space between for the kitchen stool so I can work inside without having to stand all the time. I suppose theoretically I should find some means of fixing the top and the cabinets together but for now it will do nicely.

My dahlia Karma Bon Bini that went in incredibly late this summer, has produced a flower at last!  It should have been on a plant up to 6 feet tall, but at just knee high is a huge flower in the most gorgeous yellow/orange with pink edges to the petals.  (And of course I failed to take a picture!)

3 OCTOBER

Today I popped into the allotments for just half an hour quite early on.  I snapped off the broad bean stems and pulled a few weeds from that area.  This will need doing more thoroughly very soon as I had spent some 2-3 hours over the weekend planning my plot for the year ahead. 

The basic plan will be a block of legumes and salads, a small block of brassicas, potatoes at the bottom corner with catchrops in between, then on the other side, a small area of winter garlic, some kohl rabi (a funny-looking veg I've always wanted to try), carrots in a raised box and a very small 'three sisters' arrangement  of sweetcorn, climbing beans and squashes.  I have no idea if any of it will actually work but as usual, I have high hopes!

Over the next few months I will need to complete the shed arrangements: paint it, fix guttering and a waterbutt of some sort, construct shelving and hopefully locate a worksurface for the cabinets inside.
I have some purple-sprouting brocolli plants, kindly donated by my father-in-law, which will need to be planted out soon and protected adequately against pests of all kinds.  I will plant out my garlic so it can begin to establish roots before the winter cold arrives.
I will need to prepare the ground for planting in the springtime, and also of course complete the stone (cobbled) path between my plot and my neighbour's.

I noted today that my neighbour has laid bark chippings on his paths and I wish him luck with this (although in past years I have discovered to my chagrin that even the heaviest types tend to get washed away during winter rain - and this can get expensive, year on year).

23 SEPTEMBER

This morning I spent a very productive couple of hours or so at the plot.  I sowed Autumn green manure in diagonal lines where the two rows of potatoes were, angled down the slope away from the path so that hopefully when the foliage comes up any rainwater will be directed along the rows rather than having to make its way through them.  This is a mistake I made a few years ago and not one I am planning on ever repeating as I ended up with a paddy-field at the top end of my plot!

I also dug over the old onion beds, removing a few bulbs I had missed before and a huge armful of weeds, mostly dandelions and some creeping buttercup.  There were also a number of tree seedlings which seem to be an annual problem (and not one I am likely to overcome unless all the trees surrounding my plot are severely cut back or removed any time soon).  Then I sowed long lines down the plot, again of Autumn green manure.

I have had to do a small amount of tidying beside my plot in the wooded area as well.  This was not on the plan for today but someone had dumped a huge load of blackcurrant branches on the edge of my plot and had I left them there I would expect to receive a letter from the Committee about it!  So I removed them and laid them as a makeshift path through the brambles towards the side boundary of the site.  I know in theory this would make it easier for anyone to access my plot from outside but first they would have to traverse the quagmire in the ditch!  I had hoped that later (in the winter) I might be able to make inroads to the meadow/wooded area beside my plot again, so perhaps after all it has been a useful exercise.

16 SEPTEMBER

Whilst not exactly 'plot news', I have at last managed to get to the shop and buy a vat of paint!  It's the same colour as the shed and border edges at home, for convenience as much as anything, although I'm sure my shed will look lovely in the Wild Thyme Heritage colour.  Whenever I get to it, that is!

 14 SEPTEMBER

Typically, I was unable to get over to the plot for the rest of August - we went on holiday to Cornwall, then on our return - can you believe it? it rained!

So, eventually, I made it back to the plot for a little over an hour during the morning.  I pulled all my onions - small they may be but they went in very late (and were the freebies left over at the hardware shop).  I'll pickle them later on in the autumn. 

I also unearthed two of my varieties of potatoes.  Charlotte did very well, again considering how late they went in and the weather we've had over the summer months.  Rocket however was a very poor show - barely more than the number of tubers I planted a few months ago - and evidence of slug attacks and wireworm everywhere in the soil.  These have all come home to be dried and sorted.  I left Vivaldi until another day.  I'm not expecting great things as they were almost dumped in aheap with a bag of compost on top.  But we shall see...

I picked the last of the broad beans, a handful at most.  I will probably dry these for sowing next year as by now they will be very hard to digest and probably not that tasty!

5 AUGUST

Today I spent a lovely peaceful morning on the plot.  I was able to complete some jobs that've been on the list for a while - including tidying the grass edges with the help of Mike and his petrol strimmer - so he did in about 5 minutes what would've taken me a couple of hours to do with the hand shears. I picked a carrier-bag full of broad beans which will need picking over and freezing later.

I earthed up my potatoes and wrapped comfrey leaves and stalks around them.  This will provide additional nutrients to the plants as it breaks down into the soil over the next week or so.

I also earthed up my onions into mini ridges having quickly (selectively) weeded the patch yet again and hoed between the lines to break up the soil.  This seems to work especially well on my plot with its heavy clay soil, keeping the roots moist so they dry out less quickly and continue to swell as I would like them to.

I banged in 2 stakes (each 1.8m / 6' long) between the end of the comfrey and the rhubarb box, tying string between them.  Eventually these will form some supporting structure for the courgettes (if they ever grow properly), and the dahlias which I plan to plant out in this space, sometime.  I have 3 dahlias at home in pots - 2 Karma Bon Bini, with cactus type flowers in yellow with pink edges and 1 New Baby, an orange pom-pom type.  I intended to plant these out some months ago but have never managed it - til hopefully this evening.  I expect there will be a liberal scattering of blue pellets and then we'll see how they fare.  I've always done okay with dahlias in pots at home but have never tried them on the plot even though this year my plot neighbour has inspired me somewhat with his magnificent display.  I can always hope...

LATER THAT DAY...
I went back in the evening as planned and planted out two of the three dahlias and a few English Marigolds around them. It was nice to chat to some people I hardly ever see there even though they have plots nearby.

JULY

In July I've spent random half hours on the plot, mostly hand-weeding.  Fortunately as garden chores go, I like weeding.  There's a definite sense of satisfaction when you've cleared such opportunistic plants from the veg patch and it's all very neat and tidy again!  

During this time I was also able to find a little space near the edge of the plot beside the huge clump of comfrey for two small courgette plants on a ridge with a small channel around it to help retain moisture.  It looked great to me until someone asked who or what was buried there (and sadly yes, I have to agree, it does look a bit like a pet grave).

27 JUNE

This evening I spent a couple of hours at the plot, doing general tidying and bit more planting/sowing.  I began by hand-weeding the onion bed.  I had to leave some weeds behind such as dandelions and oxalis as removing these would have disturbed the onion roots too much and could prevent proper growth.

With some regrets I scattered a very few slug pellets round the runner beans as they had been somewhat shredded by snails and the tiny white slugs that seem to come out only when I'm not looking!!  I always make sure to only use non-metaldehyde pellets based on feramol and they usually work enough as a deterrent for the plants to grow big enough to fend for themselves.

I turned the compost in my tumbling bin and added some comfrey stalks and leaves as this is really helping turn odds and ends of semi-hardwood and annual weeds into lovely rich compost. The snails seem to love it too and I'd be interested if anyone has any thoughts as to why this might be?

I decided there is just about enough space beside my on-plot path between the rhubarb and the broad beans/potatoes to squeeze in a couple of short rows of salad-type stuff.  So I moved the carpet, dug over and raked to a tilth - this will never be 'a fine tilth' with my soil - and made two shallow drills parallel to the carpet strip path. I watered the drill and then sowed a mixture of radish and rocket before gently raking back and firming with the back of the rake.  Finally, I marked the rows with a couple of canes and labelled them at both ends.  I love radish and rocket in equal measures, they'll never be tall enough to get in the way of the route to the beans and potatoes and it's a great use of such a small space.

I remembered that I'd left 6 Vivaldi potato tubers in the shed last time, and planted them in a heap of earth/mushroom compost at the bottom of the plot by the comfrey.  This is a good way to grow in a very small space: you simulate the same conditions as growing in a pot or bag by digging down a bit and then pile compost on top to cover the foliage as it grows.

I picked blackcurrants from the bush by the side of my plot and despite having accidentally ignored it for almost 12 months it managed to give me a nice take-away tub of fruits which have gone straight in the freezer following a quick top-and-tail.

I collected a packetful of chives seeds from my herb box.  I love chives; they are so versatile in all types of dishes and they grow so easily it's a shame to waste them.  I’ll sow some into a well-drained compost mix in small pots on the weekend ready for planting out later (NB herbs are always really good sellers at summer fairs etc).

Finally I took a few minutes to visit my neighbour's chickens who are always so pleased to see me (even though I don't come bearing gifts) and admire his borage which is simply sensational at the moment!

4 JUNE

This evening I took advantage of the fact that the baby had gone to bed early-ish and the rest of the family was occupied with Junior Scrabble - harder than it at first appears! - and toddled off to the plot.  I had neglected it for almost a month but even so, nothing was as bad as I had feared.  There were a few weeds, some more pernicious than others (dandelions and RBWH mostly along with a few resilient clumps of creeping buttercups but thankfully no more new docklets).  

I started off by hoeing over my onion bed and enjoying the stillness of a early summer evening.  I did not however, enjoy the attentions of the midges!!  As usual, my onions seem to be growing over at an angle.  I have never figured out exactly why this is although I suspect it has to do with the overhanging shade cast by the trees surrounding.  No matter, my onions may not be that big but always make up for it in a powerful punch of pure flavour!!

I moved on up the plot and planted two very short rows of potatoes: Charlotte and Rocket.  Charlotte is traditionally a salad potato but has potential for so much more than that.  I love them roasted with a sprinkling of chives, a good twist of lemon and a nice twist of freshly-ground black pepper for a zip that you wouldn't usually associate with a 'salad' potato.  Rocket is a standard first-early variety, good for boiling or mashing and not much else.  And yet it always tastes so much better from the plot or garden than it ever would from a plastic bag from the supermarket.  

As usual when I plant my spuds, I dug a shallow trench about 6" deep, lined it with comfrey stalks and leaves, placed the tubers evenly spaced along and backfilled before writing a label and sticking it in at the start of the row.  I always lay a line of more comfrey on top.  This does two things: 1) it reminds me that I have used the space already - I can never see the label when I'm looking for it; 2) as the comfrey in the trench and on the surface breaks down it feeds the plants.  I left a good 18" between the rows as I will 'earth up' from this area as the plants grow.

Beside these two rows I had previously planted broad beans and today I added 3 summer savory plants from the garden centre.  On many occasions I have tried, completely unsuccessfully, to get seeds of this wonderful herb which is said to deter blackfly from broad beans in particular.  I don't know about that, but it does taste wonderful scattered over your gently blanched, freshly picked young beans. Its flavour is somewhere between thyme and mint though as a description this doesn't do it justice.  Culpepper and others have written enthusiastically about its medicinal and culinary properties.  It's also apparently very good on bee and wasp stings.

I planted 2 Rainbow Chard plants (Bright Lights) in the Limnanthes douglasii by the rhubarb bed.  I should have had 3, but swapped one for a self-blanching celery from a fellow plot-holder which I also planted in this area.  I have found that planting with (ground cover) plants like the poached-egg plant seems to protect new small seedlings from the attentions of wildlife on the plot - and I get a lot of them visiting from the surrounding woods!! 

Moving back down the plot I very roughly dug over the area immediately below the onion bed.  This had quite a lot of coarse grass coming in from the 'moat' (drainage) area and also one or two creeping buttercups spread from the path area beside the plot. I removed the roots as I saw them and covered with black sacks, weighed down with rocks.  I hope this will eventually kill off the foliage and make removal of these weeds easier in the autumn-winter when I come to dig over the plot again ready for next season.  I can always hope...

Finally, as the light was beginning to fade, I moved the water-trough over yet again towards my neighbour's plot and erected 2 x 6 bamboo-cane wigwams before planting a total of 12 runner bean plants (Scarlet Emperor) with a clump of climbing/trailing nasturtiums in the centre of each.                                                                     

5 MAY

The new shed is… shed-tastic!  I have only locked my keys inside once so far (yesterday evening - oops), and I have recently acquired some old kitchen cabinets which will hopefully make me be a little bit tidier than otherwise – hopefully enabling everything to have a place it belongs rather than just throwing in it the door…

I planted some onion sets shortly after the shed arrived.  They are coming along nicely although I’ve realised since that my digging over was great but my weed/root-removing wasn’t so good!  So, there’s one or two dandelions popping up amongst the neat rows. C’est la vie.

Yesterday evening, I planted out 18 broad bean plants in 3 rows, together with pea sticks supports - rustic but effective!  I had to buy the plants instead of sowing them myself but I can’t go without my broad beans.  It’s like suggesting that Brits can’t have barbecues in the summer, whatever weather that season brings…

My DH was quite impressed (on bringing over the spare padlock keys). He says it looks like the plot is finally getting there [where?].

16 APRIL

The New Shed has arrived!!  I am ridiculously pleased and during the course of the day received several visitors from across the site, all of whom came to look at the new construction and agree that £xxx including delivery and installation has been "very very good value".  The New Shed is tongue-and-groove shiplap and stands with the door on the left-hand end, one window in the side facing the plot and now has inside most of my tools etc from the old dilapidated shelter.  Oh, and it sports two very shiny padlocks!  

At last - the long-awaited Shed-building Slideshow - enjoy!!

9 APRIL

  I spent the afternoon sorting out all my flower and vegetable seeds.  I threw away rather a lot including some (though not many) impulse purchases, and several that were free on the covers of magazines. 

  In some cases, I had no idea of their ages or ‘sow-by’ dates.  Others I decided I would never manage to grow beyond the seedling stage due to constraints of space and adverse wildlife – especially molluscs marauding by night!

  All in all I am pleased with my efforts and will try to be more restrained (and possibly more organised) in future… having said this, like all gardeners I tend to suffer from short-term memory loss and therefore am annually seduced by promises of a perfect plot, immediately forgetting past failures and presuming that everything will be precisely as it says in the catalogue…

7 APRIL

I took the opportunity to sow some seeds while there is little else to do.  I will have to buy quite a lot of my usual allotment plants for the several reasons stated in previous posts. But I am making some progress on sorting out my seed collection so there should be a few extras available fairly soon, even if they will be considerably smaller than my bought-in plants!  I found a use for the old fish tank which has been occupying the windowsill in the study ever since we got rid of the tropical fish and got hamsters instead - a propagator, of sorts.  It's probably only slightly better than fleece draped across seed trays in the sun in that position, but anyway it is now the home of some 20 orange calendula seeds in Jiffy7's, hopefully germinating away...  they were an attractive feature of my plot last year and if there are any spare I'll plant them in the garden at home instead.

4 APRIL

The New Shed is almost here! - I paid for it today.  It'll be an 8'x6' Bewdley Apex made by Malvern Buildings (though considerably less expensive that those in the link).   And it'll be arriving on the 16th April.  So this gives us two more weeks to get some plants ready and sow some more seeds, which I have been holding off doing until I had somewhere to put them on the plot.

31 MARCH

This week, we managed to complete the shed base, laying and spreading stones.  It took far more than either of us had imagined - 20 sacks in all - but at least now it is done.  The GC say they deliver on Tuesdays so I guess it could be up and useable as early as next week or the one after!  So we are about ready for Shed Delivery & Installation - Part 3.

 [I realise this is possibly the most boring picture ever posted on the internet!}

25 MARCH

As promised, a picture of the shed base so far.

As you see, the shed will be set back from the plot, with a backdrop of the woods between the college behind and the allotment site.
We hope that by placing it on a timber-framed bed of chippings there will be sufficient weight to stop it shifting in adverse weather conditions (e.g. continuous heavy rain) and free-draining enough to allow the water to soak away and not leave it sitting in a puddle! 

There will be some space surrounding the building to allow for access to all parts for staining the wood, additional fittings and repairs as necessary, and to use the tumbling composter seen in the lower right of the picture.  I also hope to set up a water-gathering system - for which read "gutters, downpipes and 2 water containers, maybe one water-butt and one dipping tank" - as the water pressure from the tap in the centre of the site is almost non-existent by the time it reaches my plot.

22 MARCH

The New Shed Part 2 a

My DH took the whole day off work and came to allotment as planned.  He did later admit that it took more (effort, time etc) than either of us had thought it might, but eventually we got the frame built, the area levelled (mostly), and the weed membrane held down with rocks.

It only took us a few minutes to screw together the frame - predrilled 10' and 8' lengths of tanilised timber - using ultra-long coach bolts, and the rest of the time available to dig out copious amounts of bramble roots and assorted tree saplings, chopping at the roots and stumps of several crack willow trees with a small axe and then evening out the lumps and bumps with a rake. Then it took only a few minutes to lay and cut the weed membrane and weigh it down with spare rocks.
 

Late in the day I took advantage of the huge pile of stones someone else has dug out of their plot (thank you, Annette) and made a start of rebuilding the path between my plot and my neighbour's.  I have tried several materials including carpet (too slippery), plain mud (too weed-infested), and bark chippings (gets washed away when it rains in winter).  So the current plan is to lay bigger stones along the edges and smaller stones in the middle.  I suppose ideally it would become a cobbled-effect though I imagine it would be more ‘cobbled-together’ – however so long as it works and doesn’t wash away in the weather I hope it will be easier to manage, and define the line better than previous incarnations of the path!

I also made use of some of the spare lengths of wood lying about and constructed a handrail/fence alongside my comfrey.  I hope this will both support it as it grows and prevent it flopping all over tthe path (like it did last year).  I need to acquire some more string or wire to properly enclose it but at least this time I did it before it was needed, rather than as an afterthought!

The next Shed-related job (Part 2 b)  will be to acquire a vast quantity of chippings and move them over to the plot so the weed membrane is covered to a depth of at least 3".  There will be some subsidence as the air pockets we made today disappear as the ground settles again. Then at last, we should be able to get the New Shed delivered and installed.

9 MARCH 

Having managed to persuade my DH to help with clearing the ground for the new shed base, we've all been rather busy with 'normal family life' so not a lot has happened on the plot recently.  Hopefully we'll get some lengths of tanalised wood on the weekend so we can make a start sometime soon.  

We receievd an offer of a second 8'x6' shed for the plot this week from DH's colleague.  I'm trying to work out if there's space to put them next to each other - it would be a shame to have it thrown in a skip when we could enlarge the New Shed plans by having one for tools and one with more windows thus making it into a coldframe-greenhouse thing.  I just need a piece of string long enough to measure with.  I feel like Archimedes (“Give me a place to stand and a lever long enough and I will move the world") ...

22 FEBRUARY

The New Shed Part I b

Horror of horrors!!  I went to the GC and discovered they have sold my shed!!   Alas my hopes for a proper potting shed are lost...  

However I have agreed to take the 8'x6' apex off them for less than the other and (when they've gone after fitting it for me) I'll add a couple of extra windows myself...

20 FEBRUARY

The New Shed - Part I a

I started clearing the weeds off the area for the shed base.  It was not really tough going, just muddy underfoot and I kept discovering layers of lino, plastic bags, carpet and carpet underlay.  These I have set aside to be dumped in the skip when all is done!

A little later on, the rest of the tribe turned up and Dave offered to help with the foundations.  He says he'll take a day off work and do it then.  "It'll be just like the one at home, then". [Yes.  This is what I have been saying all along].

With slightly lifted spirits I left, intending to visit the GC early in the week to place a deposit and check the overall footprint plus the overhang for the windows.

16 FEBRUARY

The New Shed - Part I

Today I popped to the allotment for a little less than 45 minutes to make a start on clearing the ground where the new shed will go.

I’d already decided on its location: at the bottom edge of the plot, on a base of the pre-existing paving slabs and some limestone chips/rubble which I will need to lay (or maybe get someone else to do) once I’ve prepared the ground.  My research indicates this will be cheaper and possibly more easily draining than simply paving the whole area which would have to slope quite sharply towards the woods in order to run-off properly in winter, leaving my new shed not sitting in a great puddle!

The whole area will have to be around 10’ x 12’, allowing for access all around the shed for repainting/ repairs etc.  So I will really have my work cut out!  However, today’s efforts have been relatively easy and straightforward albeit rather muddy and I feel that I have properly achieved Part I of the plan - move all the stuff off the area to be prepared.

My next job will be to acquire a mattock* (to chop apart the many tree and bramble roots), and then get started on Part II – ground clearance. 

* Neath or Cardigan?  Decisions, decisions… Probably Neath… from the hardware shop at the bottom of my road.

5 NOVEMBER

Rachel agreed to provide a home for the Lon Mafon Allotment Society web-pages.  LMAS Members will need a password (available from Rachel) to gain access to the rest of their pages but at least LMAS has a home on the web again!   Also she has recently set-up a Facebook page for the Allotment Society.  It is very much in its infancy but as an experiment it is well worth the effort.

2008-2010 Allotment blog now moved to Archive