Plan b part 2

A green house. This year my seedlings got off to a really slow start so I have finally decided to buy a walk in greenhouse. This one is from Argos and at 32 pounds a real bargain I think!

 

I have added the tomatoe plants which are still only about 12cm tall and 3 chilli plants.

I plan to transfer the plants into a grow bag soon and take the rest on to the allotment  

I have also decided to create a woking list of jobs to do i.e. i keep adding jobs and whenever i go to the plot i choose 1 job from the list . Previously i have been planning to complete 3-4 tasks but that really is too much esp when i have the kids!! So these few changes will, fingers crossed, make the allotment a) eaiser to manage as less weeds and watering b)  Give me some return in terms of produce and  c) make the allotment less daunting   Well thats the plan anyways  

Scenes from my garden (aka concrete patch)

 

A  lavender plant from tesco for 50p 

 

Plan B

I have a plan 

A cunning plan
No just joking

Its  more of a back up plan

Raised beds

That's it - they are going to save the day

I hope

Fingers crossed
X

Omg

That's what I said when I saw the allotment today after 2 weeks.
even t couldn't believe what had happened to our plot 
everything has grown!
but
And its a big butt

The weeds have grown and that's about it :-(

So I stood and stared

I  mean I really just stood and stared for a long time trying to think about what on earth I can do with this plot that takes time and effort but so far has given me nothing in return.
Whilst these negative feelings were engulfing me, shouting out all the reasons why I should step away from the land, get back into the car and go home and try to forget this whole episode - I spotted a bee and another and another. I couched and saw  my over-grown salad leaves were providing nectar for the bees. Then I saw spiders and other insects.

At least my land is giving a tasty bite to the insects.

That's something - no?

So armed with my courgette plants given by DS (dearest sister) I got my fork and starting digging.
I am now going to become an obsessive mulcher - I have covered the area with woodchip - let's hope it works

Other areas of the plot - a manky looking pond, t's area and some other shots

OK
that's enough for now

A little timeout

There has been a lot going on here, namely dad in hospital and some major decluttering happening at home, so allotment has been a bit neglected :-(
also to tell you the truth feeling some what disheartened about the whole thing.  My seedings suck - the tomato plants are really small, aubergine seedlings looking half dead despite taking so long to germinate and my radishes and salad leaves get dug up by a rat?? Or some other lowly creature!
let's just say things are not looking good

I have pics of the disasters oh I forgot to mention my courgette plants all died as I put them out too early.
I will post pics when I get the Chance - I'm typing on my new tablet so punctuation is all over the place!

Until next time
Let's try and stay positive and send good energy to my plants
bye

Update

I was very fortunate to have a whole 4 hours down by the allotment ALONE...yes no kids. I do love taking them to the allotment and truth be told they are one of the major reasons why i chose to have an allotment in the first place - but and its a big BUT...they seriously limit the amount of time i can spend there. To be honest its really Z who does that as he constantly needs a spade or a fork or wants a drink etc etc. So 4 hours was great! My aim was simply two fold - spend half the time clearing, that is, picking up rubbish and the other half actually planting something in the soil. I contacted the council and they have said they will pick up the rubbish for me if its in one pile/location so this is what i have done so far... As is my usual style i have covered the area with sheeting until i am ready to start planting there... it might not look all that great BUT it really was a lot of work and i feel sooooo relieved that its been done. So next on to planting ! yey! POTATOES After watching Alys Folwer (whom i absolutely LOVE) i have totally changed my original plan of raised beds, neat rows etc. I'm going for a more 'organic' approach which to me means curvy lines, rough borders, companion planting, flowers in any gaps, reclaimed objects and so on. At home my seedling babes are doing ok. Courgettes are looking great and so are dahlias but aubergine are growing very slowly and my chillis are yet to be an entrance. fingers crossed X

How to make a water butt out of a wheelie bin

I love this video!

I need to get a power drill and a bin....

Shopping List

I think its about time I make a list of the things I need to buy to get this allotment lark moving 1) ermmm blank - my mind has gone blank!! hang on - wild flower seeds 2) String 3) nails 4) Obviously spade, fork etc etc 5) water butt (my friend said she has a large bin i can use - have to research if i can use that) 6) pallets (not buy but get free to make compost bin number 2) that's all i can think of for now. As a side note i am trying not to spend ANY money- i want to see how far i can go with making this into an expensive hobby (i spend money buying yarn!!) salam

OK so lets ignore those original pictures.....(ahem)

Well my excuse is that I have 2 young BOYS to look after hence......I got the wrong plot!! I have ended up taking pictures of someone else's plot (ermmm....remember i said 2 BOYS) and i felt like a real prat for doing that... Anyway, lets move on to the real plot number 40 shall we? here it is: drum roll please... That's me and my boys working the land... I have no tools of my own, i tried freecycle but no luck. I tried the local car boot, no luck so have ended up buying a hand trowel and hand fork. I bought good quality ones as this is what everyone in cyberspace recommends. I'm borrowing my mums tools till a) I find tools to buy at the car boot b) my DH notices my wishlist hung on kitchen wall and buys me wish number one (a spade!) I have been back to the allotment with borrowed tools and was advised to cover the plot to prevent weeds from re-surfacing. Luckily i already had this black plastic sheet on the allotment, which i straightened out and have covered the areas i have already worked on. And it hasnt all been about the allotment. At home I started the first batch of seeds. Last year I made newspaper pots, this year i just bought them for a pound from the pound shop. Something I remembered from last year was to cover the pots....i used carrier bags... They seem to be doing fine. I have planted: aubergine (first time). tomatoes, pepper (indian style very chilli), spring onions, Dahlias, spinach and courgette. Finally, I was back down the allotment today and have been trying to think about what I want to grow and where. I STILL havent cleared it up - now I'm thinking just started planting where the soil is ready...hmmm...anyway take a look: And just look at the rubbish!! Ok over and out...till next time

We have land!...well a rented plot

I am so excited! I have been waiting for an allotment for just under a year and about 2 weeks ago I received a letter saying - there is one plot for me! thats plot number 40 so you can see where the title of this blog comes from :-) I paid the rent and went down there today with my 2 LOs, T and Z. T was as excited as me as we opended the locked gates with our own key (we have tried to access the plot last week to take a look but the gates were locked and no one was there to open the door)... We looked around at other peoples plots, in the hope of finding ours. it wasnt that easy! I have taken pictures of what i am pretty sure is "our land" (feels great to say that. its right next to plot...you guessed it 39. That was clearly labelled but poor 40 had nothing. On my wishlist: need a cute sign for plot number 40. I have been on the net and reading books about how to keep an allotment. We are going to go there also as part of our homeschooling schedule... until next time, salam