NoForkandGood

Male Logic....

2006-07-07T19:14:00.000+01:00

Right. Pic above is of ornamental cat (yes MJB, its not real ;) ) placed thus in a logical attempt to keep f'ing birds away from brassica's. If I were a bird, I would steer well clear of it and go and attack something near a hanging pie base or cd suspended from a piece of string. But nooo, the birds up our plot must obviously subscribe to "Which Bird Deterrent" magazine as one of the eyes has been pecked out and if that wasn't enough, just to rub it in, there are two big pieces of bird shit running down its back. Still, atleast while they've attacked and defacted the porcelain cat (and made me look a bit of a tit) they've left the brassica alone. So, here's to male logic working! (in a fashion) :)

Toms

2006-07-07T19:04:00.000+01:00

Pic taken about 2 weeks after planting into the ground. They're massive now! But I will have to purchase a larger camera in order to photograph them ;)

Erm, can't think of a title.

2006-07-07T18:58:00.000+01:00

From the front on the right; Beans (thats you can't see as they never grew, hehe) parsnips (which taste very bloody lovely. I ate the ones that I thinned out. Naturally I took them home and cooked them first ) lettuce, carrots, then spring onions and red spring onions, to the right of them are the onions and shallots (nice!), then ya got the rhubarb (yuck!) and an apple tree and behind that (which I forgot to take a pic of ) is more spring onions, spring cabbage, beetroot and garlic. And the shed ;)

Brassica

2006-07-07T18:55:00.000+01:00

From the front; Spring Cabbage, Lettuce and Sprouts chilling at the back. Of course, this pic and that of the spuds below are a few weeks old. I just haven't had a good opportunity to update lately. Spuds taste great, as do the shallots and onions. The baby carrots I had the other night were amazing, juicy and sexy. Makes all that digging, laying of paths and cutting wood worth it!

Spuds anyone? We sure to have a few left over :D

2006-07-07T18:53:00.000+01:00

Hehe.

2006-05-01T19:53:00.000+01:00

>:D

Grow my beauties, grow!

2006-04-27T20:35:00.000+01:00

This is the water feature/spawn of frog haven. I took the spawn and the water from our communal pond. There are many little nooks and crannies around the back for creatures to hide and as I plant around the outside, I'll add some rocks etc, so it should be a nice little area for wildlife.
And it cost bugger all! :) 50 or so spawn are doing well on a staple diet of pork sausage.

Blimey

2006-04-19T11:39:00.000+01:00

Isn't it amazing (and a little scary) what neighbouring plotholders keep in their sheds? Next time you're down your plot, you'll be staring and wondering now :D

Water Collection

2006-04-16T15:04:00.000+01:00

Have also finished the main water collection area. The shed roof is twice the size of its floor, and with the lean-to at the side, it collects a good load of rain. The blue butt is full, so going to build a large area for it to spill over in to out of timber and line it will several layers of plastic sheeting. You can never have enough water!

Seed Bed

2006-04-16T15:01:00.000+01:00

Finished the seed bed at the top of plot, complete with coldframe cover, hinged too :) This will be a great spot to start alot of veg and herbs off over the next few weeks while there's still a threat of frost.

Foot Scraper

2006-04-16T14:59:00.000+01:00

This little beast has really come in handy whilst we've been laying the paths across the plot. All it is is an old spade head that I've smacked into the ground with my lump hammer. Great for getting that 12 inches of mud off your boot!

Greenhouse Update

2006-04-16T14:56:00.000+01:00

Well, thats the frame finished. Still need: a window each side, a vent in the roof with temp controlled arm, some slabs down the centre, a door on runners and, oh yes, some perspex sheets.

But alas its Bank Holiday Sunday and every bloody where is closed.

The greenhouse is still underway.

2006-04-11T20:16:00.000+01:00

Getting there. Taking longer to treat the bugger than build the bugger, hehe.

The greenhouse is underway.

2006-04-06T19:22:00.000+01:00

After alot of thought, design, cups of tea, beer, wine and a little more thought, and perhaps a small bit of measuring, the two ends of my greenhouse are built and treated.

I have been accused of making a "swing" and becoming an Apache Indian since I have bungie tied them together like that in order to treat them. Hehe.

Me.

2006-04-05T07:23:00.000+01:00

Deleted old "me" post accidently whilst updating. This pic is really only here for hosting and to do with a thread on http://www.allotments-uk.com

Spuds

2006-03-31T08:59:00.000+01:00

This is just a pic of one early and one maincrop spud, each after 2 weeks out to chit.

Exciting eh :D

Productive weekend.

2006-03-21T08:10:00.000Z

Well, with the weather on my side, I've finished the footings for the greenhouse (bit of a bugger to do as the plot slopes a fair bit) and I've used what slabs I had left to finish the area around the herb bed. The bed isn't raised as I ran out of bricks (doh! Oh well, they were free) so I simply built a slightly raised wooden frame around it for asthetic beauty.

Week 6. Finally starting the greenhouse

2006-03-20T11:04:00.000Z

This is where the I'm going to build the greenhouse. A raised bed between the greenhouse and the shed might be an idea to. This bit and the bit infront (left of pic) are the only areas I haven't done much to yet. Going to get stuck right in !

The "tool" shed

2006-03-17T20:08:00.000Z

This shed I built from scratch last week using half a frame from an old shed from another client and bits of timber/pallet I had lying about. The floor is made of 2 heavy duty pallets bolted together and there's so much space inside I'm thinking of buying myself a long scarf and calling myself the Doctor.
It cost nothing apart from £5 for a bit of roof felt and some screws, giving us 2 decent sheds for bugger all, with a profit of £10, to be spent on Gin. Nice!

The "drinking" shed

2006-03-17T20:04:00.000Z

This shed was given to me by a client (I say given, they paid me £30 to dismantle it and get rid of it)
I've had to totally replace one side, the floor and the roof, and the lean-to on the side was an extra addition for storage space up the top end of the plot. Total spent: £15.00

Week 5.

2006-03-17T20:00:00.000Z

Blimey, well, done all the paths now (thank God), dug over all the growing areas (apart from one) and built second shed. Hopefully, by the end of this month, I'll have built the greenhouse, trellised off the top area of plot and made a water feature (as well as planted the odd thing)

Week 4.

2006-02-28T19:03:00.000Z

My Father with a spade in his hand. A rare camera moment.
He put it down again shortly after this photo was taken.
Almost completed the central path all the way down. Ran out of slabs so using wood chippings (free and easier,but need regular topping up)
Need to make a home for the oh-so-useful furnace and then seriously need to start turning the soil over and let the frost help us out a bit.
Thats February gone now. Really looking forward to the clocks going forward!

Week 3.

2006-02-27T21:19:00.000Z

Acquired some more crap err I mean useful items. Paths either side done now. I suppose we should get some paths going across and down the plot now, then perhaps do a bit of digging.

Week 2.

2006-02-27T21:12:00.000Z

Previous chap moved his old shed and greenhouse. Built our shed and made a start on the paving infront of it. Finished path on left side, almost completed path on right side.

Week 1.

2006-02-27T19:47:00.000Z

This view taken from near the bottom of plot, looking up.

We built a 3 tier compost enclosure in the centre. Notice the 4ft drop to the left. The paths that are presently there are terrible after it rains. I've slipped down that drop several times now and ended up in Duncans (next door)compost heap. I feel the need, the need for woodchippings!

It begins early February 2006........

2006-02-22T16:30:00.001Z

Hi there.

What follows (even though these blog sites show the newest post first so in effect run backwards) is a week by week update of creating our allotment from something that has had little care or attention for a number of years to a bountiful paradise brimming with vegetation, herbs and a splattering of fruit.

Well, thats the plan. Time will tell.....