New Allotment

[Sheneval]

Hazel,

It was a little cloudy this morning but warm, and it actually rained for about 1 minute about 1300 but the sun has been shining non stop and very hot since about 1330 till now. The Brummie lass loved the lager - I will buy another case but think she might well be buying one of her own judging from the joyful expression on her face as she sat back and enjoyed the experience Her husband had a John Smiths which is my favourite beer and I shared a Lager with my friend Jim whilst we chatted and put the world to rights

Had I known her taste for Tennant's Lager I would have put in a couple of extra cans.

[Sheneval]

Beautiful afternoon at the allotment today - covered kid's area with membrane and topped up with woodchip - will need another couple of barrow loads to finish.

Spent a pleasant hour throwing horseshoes and had a beer with the two newbies and Jim

Filled the water tank which had run empty and had a go at the site strimmer - a bit strange at first but self replacing reel makes it a pleasure to use when a bit gets cut off - will have another go tomorrow at an overgrown area at the rear of the site.

[Sheneval]

Another lovely day at the allotment today - had a barbecue from 1300-1500.

Thereafter used the generator to fill the site water tank, then tried my best to empty it again by filling my own and my daughter's water butts and spending nearly 2 hours, (filling and emptying watering cans), watering everything in both plots, plus the kid's plot.

I lost count of the number of trips I made back and forth buy must have walked quite a few miles in the process

[Hazel at the Hill]

Another lovely day at the allotment today - had a barbecue from 1300-1500.

Just to let you know that with that incentive, I could quite fancy a move up north!

Just out of interest, what's your woodchip source?

I did the watering thing today at the Hill too, and in the courtyard garden at home the trays of beans have FINALLY decided that they'd like to do their thing. I foresee planting out in my near future...

[Sheneval]

Hazel,

I am sure we could find a nice plot for you - with your attitude and sense of fun you would fit in very nicely up here and of course we already have a Brummie lass and her Wolverhampton husband here and I am sure they would confirm it is a wonderful place to live. She certainly enjoys our lager

The Local Council workmen cut back the trees surrounding the plot at the end of each year and also remove all the deadwood - they dumped two loads of woodchip just outside our gate last November when I got my plot - the first load was the best as it came from the hardwood trees whereas the load from the coniferous trees began to partially decompose very quicky but was ok to use when it had cooled down.

In addition, I have a contact at Troon Cemetery who acts as a Steward at the Railway club where as an ex Railwayman, I am a long time member and he delivered an additional load for our kid's area after I bought him a pint a couple of weeks ago - It was not quite enough so I'll nip into the cemetery on Sunday and help myself to a couple of large containers worth and use it to top up

I had another 3 hours watering everything that was not done yesterday, including potatoes and fruit bushes - if I don't get a good crop I may well indulge in a rant.

Nice to hear your stuff is progressing well - I am happy with my first real year's progress - broad beans are flowering like mad, cabbage looks good, overwintered onions are bulbing up - all in all I am optimistic

But best of all is beetroot I sowed not too long ago, a veg does not seem to do well here, is looking very good to my inexperienced eyes. see pic.

I picked up a raised bed at Homebase last night, normal price £39.99, I paid a tenner. I put it up last thing this evening - I think it was well worth a tenner but I wouldn't pay anything like the original price but I may borrow some of its clever construction ideas, particularly the cover attachment. see pic.

I am just about to go out in the garden and plant up some hanging baskets and flower tubs and put in some bedding plants - When I finish I will have a couple of beers - after all that lot I should sleep well tonight.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Yer - lager or not for your Brummie lass, but in order to entice this one over the border you'd have to promise Proper Beer. That Caledonian brewery stuff is ok, but what else have you to offer?

Nice buy from Homebase - as with all these things, you're paying for some other beggar to do something simple enough; but the reduced price justifies it in this case, I think.

[Sheneval]

Proper beer? hmm - what can I say - I drink that horrid English stuff John Smiths and when I go to the Norfolk Broads later next moth I will drink whatever ales are on offer at every pub along the way from Wroxham to Norwich and all the cut offs in between. It must be the longest or at least most diverse pub crawl in the UK

I am not an expert but you could have a look here

scotlandsrealaletrail.com -

I think I may be able to copy the support method for covering this raised bed by utilising a runner bean support and cane caps or a milk carton to cover all 4 - I'll need to think about it but I could bore holes in 2x2 supports for the wooden raised beds which would accommodate the canes, (or wire if I can get it), and use debris netting to provide the cover.

[veggiechicken]

I'm not sure what the cover supports are made from but how about water pipe crossing from corner to corner in an X?

[Sheneval]

VC - good thinking - thin water pipe would be ideal and would not need the central holding point although I suppose it could just as easily go from side to side. - 15ml water pipe could quite easily fit into holes bored in the wooden supports and micro bore would be even better or I suppose the pipe could even be screwed on to the boards or even be inserted into the ground - I'm sure I've seen that before

Lots to think about

[Sheneval]

Had a couple of hours at the allotment this afternoon along with daughter and 3 grandsons after having spent the morning planting out some gladioli in the garden assisted by no.3 gson and watching no.1 potting on some broccoli he had sown a few weeks ago.

Planted out 10 gladioli at the allotment whilst no.3 sprayed my back with his new toy spraygun - daughter put in a few runner beans and no.1 gson put in some carrots in his new raised bed - weeded round my daughter's plot with no.1 gson who climbed into the 2 large cloches and raised havoc with some rogue potato shoots

Returned for 10 minutes earlier this evening to close up the cloches which I had left open from earlier visit.

Watered garden with hose - bath beckons followed by bed

[Sheneval]

2 hours at the allotment this afternoon carrying out weeding of plot 18A including brassica bed - opened cloche covers plot 11A and will return tonight to close them.

[Sheneval]

Another 3 hours at the allotment today - planted some kale in both plots, also some more gladioli in daughter's plot - noticed a rabbit had been chomping away at one of these planted previously - why it had only eaten the 3 stems on one of them and not touched the rest difficult to comprehend but..............

Did some more weeding - never ending. Chatted to my new neighbour on the next plot - I have known his (house), neighbours for many years. They are close friends of my brother who worked with the husband for a number of years. Gave him some kale plants to put in the bed he had just dug over. He is even more of a newbie than I am as his past gardening has been confined to cutting the grass.

[Sheneval]

Rabbits have eaten some more gladioli and some of the kale - however justice may have been served as one got caught in netting in next door neighbour's plot.

[Sheneval]

Watering and weeding yesterday plus edged daughter's plot, followed by more weeding today - overwintered onion bed is looking good - need to get some woodchip for daughter's plot.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Sounds like you are making good progress this year, Shen - but where are the piccies?? (I don't mean pics of caught bunny wabbits, obvs. )

We had a talk from one of the Old Boys a few weeks ago on growing chrysanthemum - I know you have gladioli (favoured by the bunnies), but wondered if you had chrysanths on your/daughters plot at all?

My 'other half' allotment neighbour grows a burnt orange colour crystanth every year which are beautiful.

In the last week or so, it's all gone mad at the Hill - I have a theory that although daytime temps have been okey dokey for maybe the last 6 weeks, it's the night time temps which are now consistently about 10 degrees or more which has made the difference.