The story of our allotment

We haven’t done much on the allotment recently. However we have collected a greenhouse from Mum, the frame is at the allotment waiting for us to sort out the ground, we even brought the concrete blocks to put it on. The glass is at home to wash first and we do need to replace a couple of the roof panels as they broke either before removal or while being removed.

We have also received most of the fruit bushes so went down and planted the currents but the ground and indeed weather was rather wet so we just heeled in the raspberries and are hoping for some better weather later in the week then Sarah ad I will try and finish it off. well she will do the digging and I will supply moral support as I’m not able to do physical stuff at the moment, at least not digging type stuff.

The onions have come up well which is nice to see something growing.

The plot is quite wet but it has been raining a lot. It had the advantage we were able to assess which bits are holding the water too much, there is clay underneath and in some areas the ground is definetly not letting the water soak in where as other areas are much better, being on a slope we may put in a ditch or two to control any water running down the plot but mostly it looks like it’s more compacted ground that is likely to be a problem.

Esther

Just to note we have ordered three current bushes, one of each colour, a Jostaberry (something between a blackcurrant and a Gooseberry apparently), a yellow Gooseberry, some raspberry canes (three different types for a range of fruiting times) and two types of rhubarb. I am also ordering a couple of apple trees and possibly a crab-apple this week.

Friday - Tom, Sarah and I went down the allotment. Tom left after putting in the rest of the fence posts because he had to go to work, he had so little time because we had spent the rest of the morning buying said posts plus a bit of food and so forth. Isn’t it amazing how fast shopping can eat up time? After he left we did some more digging and then sat and soaked up the sun. It was strange to consider we might get sunburnt in November but very pleasant indeed.

Today (Sunday) Tom, Small one and I went back. Tom finished off the fence so it runs the whole distance between us and the remaining plot on our triangle between the two roads/paths. We haven’t finished the two ends partly because we are waiting on the hedging turning up to go along the road edge and don’t see any point putting anything up that might need moving to put the hedging in.

Tom also added some more planks to the compost bin which we have moved into place against the new fence. It was promptly used as a castle as small one wanted to be rescued from the dragon in it !

Resting after defeating the dragon !

The picture at the start shows the bottom half of the plot with fence and the third bed which has been roughed out. I may use this one as a perminat type bed for things like herbs and flowers because it is between the planned shed and the compost area.

The second bed has been dug over and had 2 bags of bought in compost made from manure added but as yet has not had anything planted. Small seems to believe that is his bed even though we have said we will make him a smaller one and wanted me to plant something growing not seeds. I might see if i can get a few young plants of some form of winter greens for him as I want to encourage his involvement and this isn’t he best time of year to see things growing. That said the onions are sprouting. We put in two types Senshyu Yellow which weren’t showing on Friday but today some have sprouted and Electric, which are red, and they have sprouted a little quicker and are nearly all though. I weeded the grass and so forth that was starting to show in that bed now before it could get a hold.

We moved what compostable stuff we have accumulated so far into the compost bin which didn’t look much in there. We have started bring any kitchen waste down that doesn’t go to the worms instead of putting it in the green bin but I am seriously considering buying a bigger kitchen caddy as the one we have doesn’t last between visits to the allotment.

By this time small is getting tired though he perked up when other kids (and parent) turned up to get some wood chip from the pile in the carpark next to our plot. After helping to fill a wheelbarrow he went to their plot to play on the swing for a bit while we packed up which was really nice for him as he loves to play with other kids at the weekend.

Time is getting on and our plot looks a bit more like someone is on it. My camera is playing up a bit and has gone all fuzzy in the middle I hope it just needs a clean. The plot next to us has been plowed so you can see what is ours much better now. The plots slope quite a lot over the length though it is mild enough not to e a major problem. The bottom part has been dug more recently and several people have told us there is lots of garlic down there but we haven’t dug in the right place yet to see.

Small swings from hating the idea of being on the allotment to asking to go there. Last weekend we spent hours there and Tom started on making a compost bin from pallets while he played, this Sataday he got very upset when two girls he met didn’t want to play in his tent, the ladybird in the middle of the picture, but he was pretty tired from going to see my mum over the week as it was half-term. so we didn’t stay long but we did go shopping later for some bits to do things like a fence between us and the nextdoor plot.

Sunday we went to pumpkin day at Ryton and he asked to go to the allotment afterwards so we did and spent a couple for hours there. The weather had been damp earlier but mid afternoon as really nice though there were dramatic black clouds nearby, with the clocks having just changed judge the time was a bit hit and miss. Tom got a good chunk of the fence up, we need some more uprights before we can finish it but it should do the job. We may well back the new hedge with chicken wire too once the plants are in depending what they are like just to make it a bit more of a barrier while they establish.

The first pic is from the bottom of the plot with Tom putting up fence. The second is our first bed now netted to discourage wildlife from nibbling on the onions which are starting to sprout.

As well as the shed form Tom’s family Mum has a greenhouse which she will not be able to fit at the new place and her allotment is to open to have glasshouses so it’s up for grabs. I was worried it might be over the size we were allowed from my previous conversation but we have permission to put it up as we have two plots which between them is a good size and it isn’t huge. We need to sort out some time to go up and get that and various larger bits of furniture as mum is downsizing massively as she is retiring from a large vicarage to a more normal three bed house.

We are starting to get used to adding the allotment into our schedule though it is mostly weekends at the moment, we try to pop in Sataday mornings as that is when the shop is open and we can ask questions . The picture above is what the site currently looks like. Most plots have hedges which we do have done the long side but the tarmac in the foreground is a new road linking two carparking spaces which is part of the redesign of the traffic flow within the site. As a result our plot has no hedge next to that because till recently it was all one huge plot. Hopefully the hedging will turn up November sometime though of course it will take some time to grow. Our existing hedge needs clearing out of barded wire and in places could do with an extra plant of two to fill gaps which are just brambles now. I might look at what else would work rather than hawthorn just for variety but I’ll ask first if that is OK. Something like a wild rose or hazel might be nice.

Back to the plot not all the grass you can see is ours, 2/3s is the bottom left courner is a separate plot which we are resisting saying we will have as well as what we currently have is pretty big already, technically it’s two plots already. The brown and white shape in the middle is our first bed. We have one done and edged with boards though that is difficult to see from this distance. A second is dug over and a third half cleared of turf.

Small one and I have planned some Japanese onions in the finished bed so we have something in over winter.

I went to the AGM and the council have insisted on a few extra rules which includes all sheds etc have to be agreed by the committy first and are limited on size though I think we are still OK have had a chat about what we want to do. Tom’s parents and sister have offered to buy a shed.

We have decided to start a blog to log how we get on with our new allotment. The plot is at the London Road allotments which is actually off Humber Road in Coventry, UK.. There are historic reasons for the name I will go into later but you can find the allotment association website here This is a large allotment site and most of the plots are hedged off giving it a much more garden feel than the standard open field look many people are used to. There are also lots of trees and wildlife around the site and the other plot holders are very friendly and helpful.

Officially we have two plots because one large plot has been cut up partly to make a new road joining up two others which come down from the main road. I will see if I can sort a picture out later. We have 2/3 of a triangular piece of land, though as far as I know currently no has taken the last corner. We chose this plot out of those on offer because it is in the middle and right next to the new area being developed as a communal area and having a four year old it seemed a good idea to be near where others would congregate especally other children.

So far we have created one raised bed nearly dug over a second and started to remove the grass from a third. We are missing hedge along the new road but have been promised that when the hedging arrives later this year. Most of the rest of the plot is rough grass though the bottom has been more recently used as a bed and apparently has garlic in it. We plan to have the top of the site as the shed area and open grass to play and sit on with a couple of apple trees, then have some beds and the compost heap. We are going to dig part of the old bed at the bottom to allow us to put fruit bushes in as well.

We have some seeds for over wintering greens and we may put a few broad beans in as well, other than that we are concentrating on getting the trees and bushes in as they go in over winter when everything else is dormant.