Gave up my 3 plots ...... now got ....

[Snoop Puss]

Good to see you, MB.

Sounds like an excellent find, that garden centre. Is it an independent or one of a chain? If one of a chain, other people might be interested in the name in case they have one local to them.

What potato varieties did you choose?

[Bren In Pots]

MB isn’t it good to be able to pick your own, rather than s bag that you can’t see the contents.

[nick the grief]

Well I'm with you MB. Just got back from my old plot having poped down to take the padlock off, clear the last few bits ( turned into a car load) and met the new land agent for the estate and said "Hello, goodbye" and tomorrow I make a start on laying out the new 1/2 plot and then the planting will begin.

3 lots of potatoes chitting
Broad Beans sown
Spring planting onions nestled in there little trays
as are the Hative di Niort shallots.
and looking forward to it.

[Muddy_Boots]

Another update on that garden centre, its an independent so I'm sorry but unless you are around the Leicester area it will be a journey.

The potato varieties I finally decided to go with are: Pink Fir Apple (my favourite salad potato), Sagitta a 2nd early (heavy cropper used in most chip shops), Valor a white main crop, Manitou a main crop red (this beats Desiree for firmness of flesh).

Then went back to get summer onion sets (winter onions are growing happily slowly in my back garden plot), you fill the pots provided to the top and level and the price is marked on the pot they just bag them and charge you. Finally took Shallots (Golden Gourmet) £2.75, Brown Onion (Stuttgarter Giant) £2.60 and Red Onion (Red Baron) £2.60 and then weighed them when I got back and the shallots and onions are less than half the price D T Browns charge for the weight you get.

Everything is now trayed up in the unheated back bedroom in the light and the spuds are just starting to get a real good load of chits forming, the onions and shallots are not showing much life yet but I'm not in a rush for them to wake up, got to get my other planned plot ready to accept some of these and other crops I will be growing that take up alot of room (its a big blank plot that I can put my own stamp on 5 mins walk from my house).

[Stan79]

It all sounds very productive. I grow in the garden too. There are allotments literally at the end of my road but i just know i wouldn't get up there as much as i should so decided on the garden option!

[mothhawk]

Another update on that garden centre, its an independent so I'm sorry but unless you are around the Leicester area it will be a journey.

I'm a Chisit, muddyboots, where abouts is the GC?

[Muddy_Boots]

I'm a Chisit, muddyboots, where abouts is the GC?

Ok the garden centre is called Brooklea Nurseries which also has the Daisy's Tearoom inside it and the tearoom prices and service are 2nd to none imo. Website is https://www.brookleanursery and the address is Loughborough Road, Rothley, Leics which is the old A6. The new A6 dual carriageway has the Dobbies Garden Centre further up on the opposite side but whilst bigger the prices are more expensive and the seed potatoes are in in the netting bags so there is no PYO like in Brooklea.

Look on Google maps or any other online map for it as its marked and its easy to find for sat nav put in LE7 7NL.

[mothhawk]

Thanks, MB. I'll try it out a bit later in the month

[Muddy_Boots]

Right I'm posting my new growing area I have access to which needs making secure before I can make a start clearing the land as someone has breached the wire fence, the double metal gate has been secured with a padlock and chain. Soon as the fence is secure I can look at doing some grass strimming, cutting down bushes to ground level, spray herbicide on about half the area which after 2-3 weeks will not be a danger to any planting I will be doing as its broken down in the soil to something harmless.

Soon as the grass dies and it will be exposed soil then my big rotavator will be used after using a spade to break the soil surface up so it can do its work. Its a blank canvas so I've got no restrictions what and where stuff is being planted but priority is getting the spuds in first. Here is the pictures:

[Snoop Puss]

That's a huge area, MB. How many spuds are you planting this year?

[Muddy_Boots]

That's a huge area, MB. How many spuds are you planting this year?

Well its not just going to be spuds but I'm planning for quite a few and different varieties if the weather will stop friggin raining else the herbicide won't have a chance to do its magic. I'm obviously not going to be trying to do the whole lot this year unless you want to come to my funeral 'cos that will finish me off no matter how fit I think I am lol.

I'm planning to put things like Courgettes, Squashes, Marrows and Pumpkins and Butternut Squash as well on the plot as they are good ground cover and will help to stop any pesky weeds trying to establish themselves on the newly exposed soil. Then anything else that I will be able to plant like I was thinking maybe stuff like runner beans and I have a plan to make a debris netting enclosed tunnel for Brassicas out of cut down scaffolding poles and the blue water pipes (I have the free supply of these items).

Final ultimate plan will be to use the area to: (in order of preference)

1. Feed myself and family
2. Feed my friends and neighbours
3. Feed the community especially those in need (through local charities and food banks)

I'll try to document the progress of this project with pictures a plenty (I know how you lot like pictures), I've even found an old IBC water tank in there that is still ok and useable with the water tap still on it.

[Snoop Puss]

Brilliant.

I reckon you'll be able to feed everyone you mention. I thought it looked large enough for a market garden!

Good luck with the project. Should be very rewarding.

[Muddy_Boots]

Update, just been to check in-between the showers and there is a humungous big black round plastic water type of container as well that's on its side that farmers use. I would say it will probably hold a few hundred gallons of water, slight problem is about 6 small holes in the bottom and a small hole where the drainage hole is on the side near the bottom where what looks like a tap was fitted at some point but there are NO tears. It looks fixable so that will be a mini project later to get that useable and started to be filled.

The plot is very private, faces north to south but has a slight slope which is to the east so its east facing and overlooking ....... nothing but fields so its in an ideal spot.

[Snoop Puss]

That's a very useful water supply for the dry months of the year. Do you know how the farmer filled it? We have a rainwater storage tank (12,000 litres) but that is filled from rainwater on the roof. I can't envisage how the farmer would have filled the container you describe if it is just in a field? Is there a borehole nearby that he would have pumped up from or perhaps a seasonal spring? Fingers crossed...

[Muddy_Boots]

At a guess I think the farmer would of filled it up using rain water, what you can't see in the photos are the remains of 6 small buildings that had a tin roof and were used to house pigs so I've been told although they are not small in height I'm 6ft and can stand up with no problem. Some of the corrugated tin roof is lying in the compound around about, was probably blown off as some point in a storm I will be looking for the rest it must be there somewhere, I've found a load of black plastic guttering so that was prob how he filled it from the roof runoff. I've used Google Earth Pro to go back in time and seen when it was in use and the buildings definitely had tin corrugated roofs on them.

I'm wondering what other gems I'm going to find while exploring the rest of the compound, after I've secured the fencing. I'm just waiting for a long break in the rain/hail showers so I can do it and not get soaked. I've also found a water supply from the mains that has been shut off as the copper pipe is broken that's coming from the blue plastic mains pipe so another job is to fix that AND find the stop cock to turn it back on when done, I have an idea where it could be it's just a case of finding it.