Planting...

Even thought the weather has been rather poor this week the plot has progressed, my dad has started building me two more raised beds and a new delivery of bark chipping arrived on site so I continued making pathways between the beds. No idea who keeps dropping the chippings off to the site but i'm very gratefull as it's saving me a fortune... If only someone would drop a skip of for a few days LOL, at least I could then get the rubbish pile cleared.

Today I built a couple more bean arches and started planting some of the Runner bean plants that my mum got me in to the finished middle bed, will plant the rest on the other side of the arches once I have finished filling the beds... also moved my Morello Cherry Tree from home and planted it in between to the two new raised beds. Dad popped over for a while in between jobs and arrived with some fruit bushes for the plot, which was a nice suprise as I didn't know he was coming over. After spending a while helping me sift soil for one of the raised beds dad headed of to a job and after watering in the newly planted runner beans I decided to call it a day.

Update...

Appologies for not posting an update for a while... this was mainly due to the fact that I have been spending most of my time down on the plot filling in the second raised bed and not really had a lot to report.

Purchased a couple of rose arches to train the runner beans up and have placed these over the path way that runs between two beds as I can then also plant other things in the beds and utilise space.

I have also netted the Strawberry plants today as something seems to have been walking on the bed and moving the bark chips around, the netting should protect the fruit as it ripens and stop it being eaten by wild birds etc...

Above you can see a picture of the newly repaired road that leads down the to the allotment double gates... before being repaired it had some huge holes that would fill with water when it rained and was very uneven to drive down. The Church have funded the repairs as it is a private road and everyone that uses it has been asked to contribute £10 towards the repair costs which I believe are around £1000.00

Also above is a picture of the rest of plot 31 (Numbered 31B) which is apparently let to someone but as you can see is very overgrown with Couch grass etc... Since taking on my plot I have never met or seen anyone working plot 31b and I have now drafted a letter to send to CIP expressing my interest in taking it on if the current occupier doesn't make any signs of cultivation in the near future.

BBC News - Allotments

When it comes to allotments, the plot is thickening.

Once a haven for retired granddads to potter in their sheds and grow a few spuds, they've become a must have accessory for the middle classes.
Modern trends for greener living and healthy eating mean a movement that was designed to help the families of the labouring poor is now more likely to support the families of urban professionals.

Click on the link below to see the full article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/7391868.stm

Strawberry Plants

I was away over the weekend, so popped to the allotment this morning to check on the Strawberry plants... all seem to be doing ok so far. Not going to get any time to spend down the plot today or tommorrow due to shifts this week but hopefully should get the second bed finished on Wednesday which is my next full day off.

12-05-2008

Time for an update...

First raised bed is now finished and has been planted with 32 Strawberry Plants, little late getting them in so we may not get a huge strawberry yield this year but next year once they are established we should do well. My brother came over on Friday afternoon to give me a hand digging out the next bed, this ones now almost finished and just needs weed suppressant laying and in-filling with topsoil and well rotted manure.

(Forgot the camera, so will get some pictures of the Strawberry bed shortly)

Most of the plants that will be going down to the plot have been started off at home in the garden, so they will be ready to plant out asap...

Decided to have another go at growing our own Tomato's and started with 6 small plug plants, these are now thriving and growing really well since being repotted and caned... Spent 1/2 hour pinching out the tomato plants this moring which makes the plant's channel their energy into producing fruit rather than foliage.

Freecycle

Came across a local freecycle group recently on the web... great way to give & receive unwanted items locally for free. Managed to pick up a few bits for the plot this week including 30 large paving slabs and a brand new compost bin!

http://www.freecycle.org/

Compost Awareness Week

May 4th - 10th is Compost Awareness Week. You can download Enjoy "a newsletter full of hints and tips to keep you composting". You can buy composting accessories and even search for Composting Events in your area.

Composting is Nature's way of recycling and helps to reduce the amount of waste we put out for the bin men. By composting kitchen and garden waste you can easily improve the quality of your soil and be well on your way to a more beautiful garden.

Beds...

Due the weather last week I haven't been able to do much on the plot, apart from tidy up the rubbish pile and move it further down the plot so it's out the way... (Until we manage to get a skip on site)

One thing we did manage to get started on was building the raised beds!

Today the weather had greatly imroved on last week so I spent most of the day digging out one of the newly finished beds, laying weed suppressant and sieving soil.

Rubbish/Carpet Pile