Hi from Sunderland

[Adster]

I've been lurking around for quite a while as I'm not a big talker but thought I'd finally say hi.

I started last year while sitting having a bbq and looking at a bare/weedy bit of the back garden and thinking I could grow something in there. I've no idea at all where the impulse came from but a few weeks later I had peas (most failed), carrots (great and huge!), onions (spot on), cauliflowers (mostly blown or caterpillar food) and cabbages (for those caterpillars that liked variety).

Still it was enough and this year I built 6 raised beds and went to town growing most things. Some went surprisingly well, like pots, sweetcorn, parsnips and beetroot. Others like carrots faired less well, I think I have them too cramped. All my brassicas are now skeletons, but I'm hopefully that I may still get something from some of them (I did get ONE cauliflower).

Hopefully next year I'll learn from this years mistakes and protect the brassicas a lot better.

I've now got my name down at a couple of allotment sites, but wish I'd done it when I first got the bug, rather than foolishly deciding to wait and make sure it wasn't going to be a fad first. From what I can gather I'd probably have one by now rather than being at the end of a long waiting list

[coomber]

Hello and welcome, good this veggy growing innit

[piskieinboots]

welcome

we have a goodly mix of Sunderland supporters and Newcastle supporters here - watch out for our lovely Sarzwix, she is a Sunderland lass proud and thorough, then there is me wot is married to a Sunderland boy - then we have our cracking Snadger wot is a Newkey boy

Dive in and get to know us all

[FionaH]

Oh and some of us hail from south of the watford gap Hi and welcome to the Vine. Horribly addictive this veg lark

[terrier]

Hi Adster, glad to hear you support wild life, although feeding caterpillars I think is going a bit too far

[Adster]

Thanks for the welcome

[nkp1962]

Hi Adster

Welcome to the vine - where abouts are you?

Regards

NKP

[Twinkle]

Hi Adster, and welcome
I used to work in Sunderland and am a passionate Sunderland AFC fan too...
Glad you got the growing bug - it's horribly addictive.... I went from a back garden to a 3 acre smallholding over a space of 8 years !!! Be warned !!!

[BrideXIII]

and some of us are so far south that the watford gap is frozen north to us, welcome to the madhouse, pull up a bag of compost and help yourself to homemade wine.

[Adster]

Hi Adster

Welcome to the vine - where abouts are you?

Regards

NKP

I'm in Seaburn and see you are in Whitburn, not far away at all

[nkp1962]

Which allotments do you have your name down for?

[Flummery]

Hello and welcome. I don't talk much either. Type a lot though!

[Adster]

Which allotments do you have your name down for?

Shields Road and Fulwell so far. I considered some of the Whitburn ones as they are just as close but they all seem pretty small and I wasn't sure what the rules were with Whitburn being South Tyneside.

[nkp1962]

Shields Road and Fulwell so far. I considered some of the Whitburn ones as they are just as close but they all seem pretty small and I wasn't sure what the rules were with Whitburn being South Tyneside.

Adster

Don't know about the rules for Whitburn, but I think they have long waiting lists.

Do you know what the waiting list is for Shields Road, as there looks to be a few 'unkempt' ones (to put it nicely!)

NKP

[Adster]

Adster

Don't know about the rules for Whitburn, but I think they have long waiting lists.

Do you know what the waiting list is for Shields Road, as there looks to be a few 'unkempt' ones (to put it nicely!)

NKP

When I finally got on the list in July there was about 25 people in front of me, and I was told there were new people joining it every week. To be honest it was rather annoying as I spent over a month visiting it 2-3 times a week just trying to catch the guy in charge of the waiting list! I still haven't met the "guy" at the fulwell allotments, I ended up leaving my name with his brother who promised to pass it on.

I've visited a few of the local allotment sites on my bike and you are right, shields road has more shabby allotments than any of the others, in contrast to the fulwell allotments where I've only seen ONE even vaguely shabby plot. The wheels turn very slowly at that site methinks

There was one on Shields Road that I was told I could have...if I was willing to pay for the 10-12 skips needed to clear it (the council wont). It has been used as a dumping ground for umpteen years and is 4ft higher than ground level across most of the plot. The work doesn't bother me, but I cant afford that many skips!