A Spring Weekend

It was a lovely weekend here and (for at least some of the time) I spent it down at the plot with the family.  Still mainly digging the plot over, cleared another bed this weekend and made another slightly larger. 

This week I plan to start some of my seeds off.  Will blog about that later hopefully

Muddy but happy

 Back at the allotment today for a bit more tidying and digging.  A lovely afternoon, cold and a bit breezy but bright sunshine so that was nice.  My 2 big boys enjoyed getting muddy - the grass down by the shed looks more like glastonbury at the moment!

Finished doing some digging around the Purple Sprouting Broccoli - waiting for it to sprout at the moment - hopefully it will as it looks good.  Also began to sort out the stawberries ready for a move to a new home.

All in all things are looking good at the moment - hoping for another good season.  Still eating the potato's and cabbages from last year (1 cabbage left) and hopefully tonight will sit down and plan what seeds etc we need. 

The start of a new year

It being Feb half-term, it has given me a little time to get a few things done at the Allotment ready for the 'new' planting year.   The whole family had a trip down today to do some tidying and some weeding / digging.  the beds are getting there now.  The bottom corner is like a rice paddy at the moment, but at least we have a shed we can shelter in. 

Have begun to plan for planting.  Need to sit down and go through all my seeds to see what I have and what we need to buy.  Have got potato's chitting - trying some new ones this year so that hopefully will be good.  I will also endeavour to keep this blog up to date - last year started of well but then faded a little around May time.  Must do better.

November Sunshine

Was a lovely day to be at the allotment today.  Went down for an hour or so with the boys and had a nice time.

Finished weeding the seed bed, and started digging another one over.  More to do but it was just nice to be down there after a couple of weeks of not making it.

The mild weather though does mean that my outside tomato plant is still producing a few tomato's, there are even some new flowers.  Although there are frosts forecast this week I think so that will probably kill it off.

Not much else really going on at the moment - as people know it's quite a quiet time.  Slowly getting the allotment sorted ready for next spring.  Looking forward to looking through seed catalogues soon!

Painting with the boys

Back down at the Allotment today to finish the shed off.  Took the boys and the father in-law as well. 

The boys enjoyed painting the shed green - will do another coat soon.  I put the window in (didn't smash it which I was impressed with) and also began sorting out the inside - hung the tools up etc.  Will need to buy a small gas stove to make some tea / coffee with and some shelving.

Also spent time sorting out the outside have flattened of the ground and need to buy some gravel and weed suppressor to finish it off.  Will look nice when it is done.  Will also get a few paving slabs to put on it for some pots etc.

So, that's prob it for half-term this year.  It has been a busy time at the allotment.  Have more to do so will hope for good weather at the weekends for the next few weeks.  Then it is seed buying and preparing for next years sowing.

Putting up the Shed

Today was the day I've been waiting for.  It was the day that I could finally get my birthday present up and (almost) being used. 

3 of us went down to the allotment to get the shed up - it was a 6x4 Shire shed.  Now I had hoped that it would go facing the allotment but unfortunately, the concrete base which was already down meant that it would have to be side on.  Which will be ok as I can put some water butts behind the shed and have an 'out of site' storage area to keep it looking tidy

The shed went up pretty easily really, after we had managed to get the hinges on the wrong way and had to take them off again!  Electric drills are great!  The shed itself was fine, although some of the wood needed a little sawing in order to fit it together properly.  The sides went up ok and fitted well and the roof was fine, although we added extra supports and screws to make sure that it all stayed together.  The two pics above showed where we got to by lunch time. 

 

 After lunch we put the felt on the roof, did all the finishing touches and made sure that it was all screwed into the wooden base.  When the power returns to my drill I will drill it into the concrete base.  The window pane still needs to be inserted and the shed needs some preserving paint to ensure that it survives.

All in all I am very happy with what it looks like.  There is more work to do around the shed - will want to get a lean-to / shelter on the front for a bit of shade and want to sort out the area next to the shed with some weed suppressing fabric, gravel and a few small paving slabs.  However, that is another day.  This evening I am going to bask in the success of the shed.  And look forward to using it and spending more time down at the allotment!  Bring on next year!

Wedding Anniversary Day

Well, my 7th wedding anniversary today which is good.  And I managed to spend a fair bit of it down at the allotment (after watching the rugby, going to church etc)

Had a good day digging today and tidying up again. Found more bindweed and picked another cabbage for this week.  And the pic opposite shows my last beetroot of the season - a fair size!  Think they may manage a fair bit of chutney.

Quite happy with how the allotment is looking at the moment - will get some pics this week.  So, half term begins with 2 days at the allotment.  Looking forward to the rest of the week now.