Happy Monthiversary, Plot 16!!

Yes, it’s been a whole four weeks since I took on P16! And what a four weeks it has been. Non-stop, frankly. I will be up there again tomorrow and I was there yesterday and today. This weekend Momma P and I have;

·       Planted an apple tree

·       Made a fence thing with shelf frame, canes & mesh

·       Planted raspberries to grow up it

·       Planted tagetes (French marigolds) in a very feng shui manner

·       Planted bulbs around the apple tree

·       Planted bulbs down the side of the plot behind the polytunnel

·       Made an L-shape bed at the other end of the compost bin

·       Filled it with herbs, strawberries, raspberries to climb up the compost bin, a sea holly, daffs & crocus bulbs, and then topped it off with gravel

·       Scattered some flower seed around and about

·       Made another bed double height, just need to fill it up now

 

Tomorrow I will be planting more bulbs out of the pots, sowing some veg and salad seed, and taking the cabbage cage apart in preparation to rebuild it smaller.

I have decided I want another fruit tree but not sure what I want. There is already plum, apple, and almond, and Momma has a kiwi. I was thinking maybe a pear? I am not a jammer so I don’t want jam fruit.

Today I saw magpie, crow, pigeon, gull, robin, chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, long tailed tit, and lots of big fat bumblebutts. I heard the woodpecker. I have seen photo evidence of our newest resident on the plot – a fecking PHEASANT of all things!! In Fairfax!!! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. Colour me smacked in the gob.

Next weekend I have to actually pay for the plot, and pay off the tab that I’ve been running up in the allotment shop. No more allotment spending for me this month! In fact, after the huge food shop I did on Friday, probably no spending at all for the rest of the month..........

Made by one half of the famous duo Bodgit n Scarper.

Count the cable ties! Closest answer gets a jelly snake.

Apple twig in flaaars. Chic.

Farewell, Plot 31.

In memoriam 2009 – 2021. Or in compostiam, whichever.

I have been an allotmenteer since August 2009. At one point in time I briefly had two allotments. I also helped Momma Pat start her new allotment, and now I have a new one myself. So in 11.5yrs, I have sort of tended four plots on the same site, which isn’t bad going. Let's also not forget the three I run for work, too. 

I am not sad to see the back of P31 to be honest. Last year when we moved to Halesowen I was contemplating moving to a whole new site but then the world went to shit so I stayed where I was. It is further to go to get there and takes a bit more forward planning, but I am glad I kept my plot.

So now I am on P16, on the top road, nearly opposite Momma Pat.

In three weeks we have done LOADS. Absolutely bloomin’ LOADS.

Today Momma P and I have:

·       Painted the compost bins

·       Started the heap (with a manky sacrificial banana)

·       Planted bulbs & quince bushes along the one side and the back of the compost

·       Planted lemon balm by the three front legs of the compost bins

·       Arranged, staked, tilled, lined (with card) and filled four raised beds

·       Covered three with timber to stop the fox digging out all the dirt

·       Planted garlic in one so all the garlic is now planted

·       Stuck some red dogwood cuttings in the woodlandy bit behind the bamboo in the hope that they will take root

·       Put the bird feeder back up and topped up the feeders

I am back to full time hours now, but next weekend I plan to:

·       Start sowing salad seeds in one of the new beds

·       Sow parsnip and carrots in the deep double layer bed

·       Maybe plant an apple tree as I get paid on Friday so I can nip to B&Q in the morn

·       Maybe also maybe accidently purchase some mix n match herbs (I think they’re 4 for £11)

·       Second coat of paint on the compost bins

·       If Momma P can get fruit bushes from the poundland, I may well just plant them too

·       Plant more bulbs along the boundary edge of the plot. I’ve got loads to go in and I don’t really want them in the veg beds, and it’ll look nicer to mark the edge of the plot rather than using green twine that you can’t see until you trip over it

·       Plan where I am going to put the brassicas

·       Take apart the big brassica frame so I can rebuild it smaller. 6ft x 6ft is far too big.

P31 has already been re-let, officially from April 1^st but the new tenants were on it today, digging it over. I hope they keep the pond.

Two beds of garlic, and the almond tree in the background

Sacrificial nana

A wee chaffinch!!!!

Solitary bee holes drilled into the wood of the compost bin. I did more at the other end, and I have also put up a bee house on one of the corners. The other bee houses will be going up on the side of the shed. When I get the shed.

I like this picture because you can see all the plots together! P16 is to the top left, you can just see my polytunnel through the trees. P4 is Mommas plot and it is directly in line with P31 - the arrow is pointing to her shed.

A Nice Relaxing Week (and a bit) Off Work. Sort Of. Maybe.

My idea of a good week off work is a week spent at the allotment, and that is just wot I have done. It was of course the week that David and I were supposed to be getting married and honeymooning, but that hasn’t happened due to *everything*, so we are rescheduled for later in the year.

Two weeks ago today I became the new tenant on a different plot, having decided to move from Plot 31 on the bottom road. I am now on Plot 16 on the top road, in theory less likely to flood, but closer to Momma and I don’t have to walk through slop on the roads to get to it. In theory.

In the last 11 days I have been to the plot for 10 of them. The amount of work that has been done in the past week is absolutely incredible – most of it by Momma P I think. This week we have:

·       David and I moved 25 super massive super heavy slabs from varying parts of S Birmingham because they were free and new ones would cost about £280

·       Momma P emptied my old shed and put everything in her polytunnel/on her plot

·       Water butts emptied and moved

·       Hired a man wot can to dig over my new plot and get rid of the tussocks etc

·       Taken down the polytunnel from P31 and carried it up as a whole frame to P16

·       Rebuilt and reinforced and braced the tunnel and used an excessive amount of staples to fix the cover to any available timber

·       David started making a slab base, decided it wasn't going to work, so we came up with four more options, and in the end he and Sam have made a raised solid timber deck, so it is well above the mud, but more importantly it is level, solid, secure, and my shed should last for a good decade or so

·       I have moved the 25 slabs into varying places on the allotment, some in the polytunnel, some to make a path at the side of the shed for waterbutts, some piled for now, and the rest as a path up the middle of the plot

·       Momma P has been rotavating a bit where I am placing the new beds. She has planted two beds with bulbs. I have planted the almond tree and maybe half of the garlic.

·       Momma P and I have shovelled, shifted, and bagged up half of the manure & compost, and moved it to P16 and heaped it.

·       Between us we have carried maybe 8 or 9 raised bed frames up from P31 to P16

·       Moved the solitary bee houses and bird feeders and put them back up on P16

·       Planted 3 quince bushes and placed the rest where I want them

·       Made very good use of Momma P’s car. Very good use

·       Moved about 10-11 barrow loads of bricks

·       Planted the hazel tree and some mixed whips in the plum tree dead hedge behind the bamboo

I’m sure there’s more but we have done A LOT this week. A lot a lot.

I have walked at least 3miles every day that I’ve been at the allotment – the most I’ve walked in a literal year. On one of the days I did about 6miles.

83,363 steps this week. I’ve walked about 29miles in total – most of them at the allotment, pushing a heavy wheelbarrow, or shifting huge slabs.

Anyhoo. I haven’t done much else this week. I made an orange sock and didn’t like it so I started making a stripy pair instead, which are a lot better.

I am utterly absolutely truly really totally shagged this week. Utterly knackered. But I am SO PROUD of the amount of work we’ve got done this past week, especially since last Friday when digger man came and dug over P16 for me.

I want to thank everyone who has helped – Momma P, David, Sam, Abby, and Louise. And 3 out of our 4 credit cards were also very useful.

The next stage is ordering a shed…………

Plot 16 when I took it on two weeks ago

Plot 16 now

Plot 31 two weeks ago

Plot 31 now

No idea how I got this...

What a week.

And these are the socks so far: