New allotment

[Samurailord]

We'll get there my friend... Don't forget, mine is not a full size plot.

True - mine is 12m x 15m and can feel a bit daunting sometimes

I only work on the plot for a bit at a time. I'm not 100% healthy at the mo so when my body tells me to stop for the day then I do.

Me too, to a lesser extent. I have a twisted spine that will only allow so long for me to be stood up or moving stuff, then I have to sit and rest it for a while before starting up again

I am pleased that you are at a similar stage to me because I do think of how yours is going while I'm working on mine... It does spur me on to do a little more than I sometimes want to, just in case you get too far ahead of me

I also think of what you are getting on with while I am working on my plot - it is good to have a comparison with another new plot holder who is getting on with stuff. There are another two new plot holders on my allotment who got their plots at the same time as me, but they seem to be content to wait for next season to get the majority of the work started.

It's a shame that we live so far apart - it would be good to actually visit and see it in the flesh, so to speak.

Andy

[Feral007]

Well all those photos look like a lot of work to me! Well done. And I do love that compost heating unit you have there! One of our dogs eats so much there's little to compost!

[Cue the Toms]

Cheers,

Although it is quite late in the season for growing many things, my thinking is to get as much of the preparation work completed before the ground gets really wet! I would like to think that my plot will be fully dug and prepared in readiness for next spring. Then it will be just the standard week to week jobs that I have to keep up with, as well as making improvements and experimenting as I go.

I do travel in my job quite a bit Andy so if ever I'm around your area I'll try and contact you to drop by for a look.

Chris

[Samurailord]

Cheers,

I do travel in my job quite a bit Andy so if ever I'm around your area I'll try and contact you to drop by for a look.

That would be good if you could Chris. I'm sure that Alldigging and I would be pleased to show off our site and our individual plots to another Grape

I had a look on the map to see where you are as I will be heading south on holiday soon, but as I am going to North Devon you are a bit too far away for a detour

Andy

[Cue the Toms]

Days 9/10. Not full days due to work, but another milestone reached..

I collected my (new to me) shed yesterday which was a lot harder to dismantle than I expected and boy was the weather stifling. That took a good couple of hours between two of us. I just had time to drop it off at the plot before rushing off to work.

Today I had decided that because it would be impossible to put the shed together by myself, I would wait until Tuesday when a helping hand would be available. All I would do today was lay the floor in readiness.....

Mmm no, not me, not my style at all, I'm far too impatient! After I had laid the floor I thought, because one side of the shed will be going against the fence I could maybe just have a look to see how it would look once offered up. Then I thought well, lets just try another panel just for a look:


I took a look at the time and thought, blimey it's still quite early in the day before I have to go to work later on so lets just see how it goes, I can always go back and put the roof on tomorrow. Before I knew it this happened:


And, there it was, pretty much done, Just the roof to felt up and some shelving, a good clean up and hey presto, one good solid shed. This is my shed door and window views... The window view will improve as the tenant of all those weeds has had notice to quit. I considered taking it on but it's too early in my grow your own career to take on any more at the moment:




Cheers all
Chris

[DiggerJ]

Hey all, just got an allotment and cant believe it! thougt there was a hugh waiting list.
Now i wonder if there is anyone who could give me a clue about fruit and veg that is sensory. I want to plant for a friend of mine who has a blind child so we can get some touchy smelly stuff going on to help him

[rustylady]

Hi Digger, welcome to the Vine. Why not pop over to the "Introduce Yourself" section and say hello properly. Loads of touchy feely stuff about, do you want veg or flowers?

[Samurailord]

Hi Chris

Once again you have got a step in front of me

I am nowhere near ready for a shed yet as the area ear-marked for it is still very wet, but I have managed to get some plants into my second bed.

I have also started the drainage channel through the path that borders my plot that I hope will be the answer to the boggy conditions at the bottom of my plot - I dug down about 18 inches and it looks like the water is currently coming through at about 4 inches below the surface of the path.

I have left it to slowly fill up to give me an idea as to how deep I will need to get the channel as it crosses the orchard towards the ditch on the edge of the allotment - hopefully by tomorrow night I will have a good idea of how to proceed.

One good thing - my portable netting frame has been completed and looks to be doing a good job.



Andy

[Bigmallly]

Looking good Andy. A little tip for your cages, if it's not too late reduce the short lengths so the frames fit inside the beds as slugs & snails will find a way under it. Secondly see if you can get hold of a staple gun (trhink they are only a couple of quid but are a god send) & secure your netting all round the base.

[Samurailord]

if it's not too late reduce the short lengths so the frames fit inside the beds as slugs & snails will find a way under it.

Thanks for the advice BigM. The cages were intended to keep out butterflies and pigeons, I am using slug pellets (very effectively so far) to control our slimy enemies.

I am also planting right up to the egde of the beds so resting the cages on top of the frame seemed to be the best option.

Eventually there will be two frames per bed, butting up to each other which should seal off any gaps

Secondly see if you can get hold of a staple gun (trhink they are only a couple of quid but are a god send) & secure your netting all round the base.

I have a staple gun, just didn't have it with me when I was finishing the cage in a hurry.

I still need to trim off the excess netting and make a neater job of it.

My son Will is coming to the plot with me on Wednesday so I will take advantage of an extra pair of hands to get the job done properly.

Andy

[Bigmallly]

Point taken Andy but because you have made curved cages as opposed to right angled, the butterflies will still lay there eggs through the netting if you plant too close to the edge.

[Samurailord]

Point taken Andy but because you have made curved cages as opposed to right angled, the butterflies will still lay there eggs through the netting if you plant too close to the edge.

True.

If one or two do manage to lay, it won't be the end of the world as I will be able to deal with any caterpillars swiftly.

I don't believe that any netting can be 100% effective anyway.

Andy

[Feral007]

Hey all, just got an allotment and cant believe it! thougt there was a hugh waiting list.
Now i wonder if there is anyone who could give me a clue about fruit and veg that is sensory. I want to plant for a friend of mine who has a blind child so we can get some touchy smelly stuff going on to help him

Hi Digger, congratulations on the plot, and what a great idea for your friends child. I would recommend introducing yourself in the newbies section too.
And I would also say that herbs would probably be a very sensory thing for a blind child. The herbs are very different by smell. Also some things like curly parsley could be interesting to touch as well.

If you are sticking to edible thiings then that would be safe enough. But I would have a look on a site for poisonous plants, some might feel very interesting but not be safe for a child to touch since they often put their fingers in their mouths or rub their eyes. I'm sure I've heard of a special garden planted for sight impaired people but can't think where it is. I'll try to have a look around but someone on here will probably have the details of a few sites you could look at before I get this posted.

[Bigmallly]

I don't believe that any netting can be 100% effective anyway.
Andy

As you can see from my pic, my cages were made at right angles, the plants were 1' from the edge. Not a single catterpillar as no leaves touched the netting so it can be 100% efficient depending on how you make them.

[alldigging]

Hey all, just got an allotment and cant believe it! thougt there was a hugh waiting list.
Now i wonder if there is anyone who could give me a clue about fruit and veg that is sensory. I want to plant for a friend of mine who has a blind child so we can get some touchy smelly stuff going on to help him

Things like honesty are great once they go papery - they're completely different to anything else you'll find.
I liked putting my fingers in snapdragons and foxgloves when I was a kid -but you'd have to do bee checks first.
You could sow a few bits of bird seed for the grain plants - they're nice to touch too!