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Rainy Days…

1st June 2016 by CathB 1 Comment

The rural location of our plot
The rural location of our plot

It’s not a Monday but there is no excuse, I’m not allowing rainy days to get me down either.

I’m not sure what the rest of the country has been like, but for two days we’ve lived inside a great big grey cloud in Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire.  Occasionally the cloud has lifted and we’ve had heavy rain, but for the most part it’s been grey drizzle, the kind that makes your hair frizz and your shoes wet, without you even realising at the time.

Enough of flamin’ June.

Despite the bad weather, we headed over to the allotment this evening to measure up.

26 fence posts, 45 metres of wire netting, 90 metres of wire and 2 gates’ worth of measuring up.  That’s an awful lot of kit we need to get started – and that’s with one side fenced already!

I say we; the allotment is very much mine but I have solicited help for these early stages.  Practicality and brute strength are not my forte, but I know a man who can.. in fact, a man who takes great pleasure in turning his hand to practical problem solving.  I’m rather looking forward to us working together on creating something out of nothing, planning the space and giving it its own lease of life.

So tonight we measured up.  The site has now been staked out which will make it easier to fence, it’s next to the path and I do hope that we’re not too much of a nuisance to the other allotment holders as I can see that our plot has been used to access all the other plots as the path is so overgrown!  I will try to cut back some of the weeds with shears when we fence it.

 

Staking claim!
Fencing along the line of the white stakes, we will limit access for everyone else via the path. Without electric it’ll be tricky to cut it back, but I will attempt to cut back the undergrowth and give better access with shears.
Fencing along the line of the white stakes, we will limit access for everyone else via the path. Without electric it’ll be tricky to cut it back, but I will attempt to cut back the undergrowth and give better access with shears.
Our neighbouring side is fenced already
The rural location of our plot

 

Filed Under: My Allotment Tagged With: Allotment, getting started, planning

My very first allotment!

28th May 2016 by CathB

Allotment plot
My plot on the allotment – number 1! May 2016
Allotment plot
My plot on the allotment – number 1! May 2016

This is it… my very first allotment!

Paperwork and monies have been returned, so now I’m just waiting for the signed contract to come back so it’s completely official and we can start work!

I’m so excited by the thought of having space to grow vegetables for our family and enjoy more home-grown veg on our table. There’s something deeply satisfying about eating in-season fruit and veg that is full of flavour and has been grown entirely by hand.  Last year I grew so much (keep an eye on the gallery for some of my veg from last year!) and to have teenagers asking for more because it tasted so good …

No exaggeration but one daughter didn’t even eat tomatoes until I gave her the ones I’d grown.  Sweet, juicy and bursting with flavour, they were delicious.  Every day each of us would take a pot of them in to school or work to eat as snacks.

The plot is a full size, ten-rod plot, 250m2 which is just huge!   I honestly think it’s bigger than my garden at home.

It’s going to be hard work and a big journey ahead – as you can see from the pictures we are starting out from the very start!

I’m delighted to say that the plot has already been cut down and kept under control, which means our first jobs are killing off the weeds in an area and erecting fencing.

Next step is planning the plot!

 

Filed Under: My Allotment Tagged With: Allotment, garden, plot, vegetables

About me

CathB
CathB
I discovered the pleasure of playing with dirt, nurturing seedlings and growing vegetables just last year in 2015. I've always dabbled with growing courgettes, tomatoes and herbs in the garden but success has been variable.

2015 however was a successful year: I bought a greenhouse and committed to growing everything I could, much of it from seed: tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, squash, kale, cabbage, cauliflower, beans, peas, leeks, celeriac.

Then garlic, red onions, white onions, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, potatoes.

Most of it was a success too - and what I loved the best was bringing fresh produce in from the garden to the table. To have my family - and teenagers especially - engaging with their food has inspired me immensely.

So that's it; I'm hooked on vegetable growing.

My garden isn't big, last year I devoted just a couple of square metres to growing space, so when the opportunity has arisen to take on my very own allotment... well, I am so very excited!

Recent Posts

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  • Fencing the plot
  • Rainy Days…
  • Overgrown Beauty
  • My very first allotment!

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