Early May, 2013

Early May, 2013

(A retrospective)

Early May Bank Holiday. Sean is away at a Stag Do for Andrew <hic...>, & Jane has a plan for digging over in the allotment... again...

There was the possibility that our allotment neighbour, Gordon, might have rotivated the first, older side of  the allotment - but I was not prepared for the sight of ALL the plot being rotivated except for the corner with all the rubbish!!! Yeah for Gordon and his nephew!!!

Fantastic soil - all rotivated into lines... ready for planting!!!!

Even the newer, second side's been rotivated... right up to our neighbour's chicken coop! Just the end corner with the rubbish and pile of excavated bricks left to do in our own time!!

At the end of the first day... all measured out with sticks and string! Some of the other allotment people didn't seem to think all the measuring & pathways were really needed... but I'm new to this & don't think I could make such straight lines as them without the measuring!!!!  (And as we all know Jane has a thing about straight lines and measuring - it makes her happy to know things are straight and even - personally random and chaotic would suit me, but perhaps at least we'll know what goes where this way and this did look thought out and looked good!)

Jane's measuring... and a pot of strawberry plants ready to be put into the fruit patches once the weeds in the foreground are cleared.

Despite a fuzzy head the day after the Stag event, Sean was persuaded (yes, lets call it persuaded) that fresh air and some digging would be a good idea!... and again on the Bank Holiday Monday... sunshine and good conditions... and at the end of the weekend we'd planted up a combination of plug plants, bulbs and seeds....
At last... our allotment is starting to look more like all the others...

The allotment starting to look great at last.... not just an embarrassing overgrown pile of weeds... 

 Still loads to do... clearing.(weeding).. digging over.(weeding).. planting.(weeding).. weeding..(weeding). watering..(Weeding). etc.... But time to go home happy... or to the pub for a celebratory drink!! Yeay for pubs!

Sean and Jane's first allotment... 

2013: A New Year... April & a New Start!

2013: A New Year... April & a New Start!

We didn't get any photos of the allotment in the floods and the snow... but now the weather has started to improve... albeit it late for Spring... already April...

Looking from behind the fence... the bare twigs of the bushes... and less weeds on the original side...

If you look close nothing survived the winter or the hungry birds!

We're left with dead weeds, mainly... but some are showing signs of coming back to life... so time to start digging again...

14.04.13: At the end of the first weekend... we've been digging & digging... and the pile of rubbish bags for the Council to pick up is starting to grow... but we've got so much to do...

21.04.13: Still digging... the patches of dug-over earth are starting to grow & join up... but we're questioning whether we're ever going to be able to plant anything...

... but growing piles of rubbish prove we've done something!!

However, we've got allotment envy: this is the soil on our neighbour's plot - dug/ rotivated over, and already planted up with potatoes!

Back to our plot... the bushes are starting to sprout leaves... and May is on the horizon...

We're looking forward to the early May Bank Holiday... 3 days off work... the forecast of good weather(!!), and the very helpful Gordon has offered the use of his recently-mended rotivator... 

November, 2012

A Retrospective from 3rd November, 2012:

We'd mentioned the concrete plinth... turns out it was the base for a stable.

We forgot to take a photo of the concrete - but this is the hole where it had been.... removed rather heroically by Sean and Shaun... 

Sean : oh aye over a ton of concrete over 100 years old, solid, hard and very very heavy, ohh me back

Sean and Shaun take a break to consider removing other bits of wooden posts and concrete... contemplating the difference between the weedy 'new' side, and the more productive-looking dug-up side...

Ongoing work... as the Winter threatens to move in...

A Retrospective from 10th November, 2012:

Last jobs of the year:

Collecting leaves into our new chicken wire heap... ready to decompose over the Winter...

Burning the last of the weeds as the ground gets harder to dig... 

The grass and weeds actually look rather pretty as the Autumn sun sets and create long shadows.

There are plants growing, but doesn't look like we'll be having home-grown sprouts for Christmas dinner!!

Last photo of the year...

Doesn't look like much, but it was hard work even achieving this much, thanks to our neighbours for the kind offers of spare plants!