April already, and we've been busy!

Welcome back to our Allotment Retreat blog, where despite the lack of any physical activity on the plot, we are pleased to let you know that our seed raising exploits are in full swing! The conservatory is starting to resemble a nursery, with every available flat surface now being given up for seed germination. It's all very exciting, we are growing some old favourites as well as a few first time attempts - as always injecting some new challenges as we go along. The list so far is as follows :

• Tomato's: Napoli Plum, Cherokee Purple, & Yellow Pear
• Summer Squash: Crookneck, Delicata, & Burgess Buttercup
• Marrow: Table Dainty
• Sweetcorn: Ruby Queen & F1 Earlygold
• Sweet Banana Pepper

Seeds already germinated from sowing last week:

• Sweetcorn Swift Early - 7 plants
• Courgette All Green Bush - 10 plants
• Courgette Yellow Zuchinni - 2 plants
• Sprouts Red Delicious - 15 plants
• Tomato Garden Pearl - 20 plants (for baskets & containers)

We've also made the first investment of the season in some general purpose compost. I don't like spending too much (must take after my father) and this is the best deal I have found so far: 4 x 70Litre bags for £12.00, from Asda! We'll no doubt be buying more as the season progresses, and If i find a better deal - I will let you know.
Thats about it for now, but we'll keep you posted on germination rates etc. We cant wait to get back to the plot. So much to do, so little time!

Take care all and enjoy your gardening. Pop back soon for more updates.




TTFN

Slow, but steady progress!

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, where finally we bring some news from the plot! (Albeit old news as due to my recent illness I've not lifted a spade now for a good couple of weeks).
Our first view today is of our new potato bed, which is slowly but surely being dug ready for next springs planting's. The bed was home this year to our climbing beans, and is now almost completely dug over. Progress has been slow as it had only been shallow dug for the beans. There's also a multitude of stones and weeds to remove as we go. We are digging down now to a minimum of 1 spit (a spade's depth) and opening up the final layer before replacing the turned and weeded earth. This, together with a generous top dressing of our plot made compost (more of that later) , should be sufficient growth depth for the 6 rows of spuds that are planned. The beds that were home to the spuds last year are now earmarked for different crops, as we try and form a mini plot rotation. We won't be bothering with a 4 year rotation as the space and layout would make this difficult, but we may get a 3 year plan underway! The soil itself is now looking good, and the nitrogen rich roots from the climbing beans have been left to rot down where they grew, thus enriching the soil further over the winter. We don't plan to manure the ground this year, rather wait until next autumn. This will let the spuds do the work of breaking up the soil further over the course of next year.

If you look closely at the picture above, you will notice that there is a large mound the length of one side of the bed. This is the result of emptying our compost bin (pictured left), so that we can once again fill it up! The content was mostly topsoil turves that we had cleared away - approx 4" deep - so that we could get a head start last year with planting up our new plot. This autumn / winter's compost will be more "green" material, including weeds and veg leaves, and will probably be topped up with more turves from Plot 87 as we start to clear that. We must have composted and made a good half ton of topsoil, and this will be spread around the plot as we go, helping us to create the good tilth that is required for new plantings. Unfortunately, there's still another compost bin adjacent to this one that needs emptying, but good too in the fact that we haven't got to fork out (no pun intended) for more topsoil. This to me is the heart of having an allotment. I often gasp at fellow plotholders stories and tales of how much they have spent "buying in" topsoil to get to the same stage. How easily some people waste money eh?
Finally, a view to remind us (as if a reminder were needed!) of the hard work that still awaits on our new plot. There's been no progress on our winter project - the greenhouse - but by siting the structure where it is now, we have discovered an otherwise hidden and well established Asparagus bed - aren't we lucky! This will supplement our efforts at home, and hopefully yield a decent crop next April.
There's a lot of work still to do, but we think we are starting to gain the upper hand. As Percy Thrower used to say, " a little work done often is the key", and that is what we are doing. Hopefully you'll stick with us as our 2nd year of allotmenteering draws near, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.

Take care all; wherever in the world you are, and enjoy your gardens.

TTFN

Crikey - Where has the time gone ?

Welcome back once again to Reads Allotment Retreat. Has it really been that long since I last posted an update ? I guess it has ! Its been a busy month, and there's loads to update you all on:You probably remember that I planted out all my climbing beans / peas etc on the 30th April, trying to get an early crop! Sadly the attempt failed, due mostly to the battering winds that sweep across the site, which demolished the young seedlings. Not giving up at the first hurdle, i set about acquiring some sheets of plywood (from a skip!) which i then erected both sides of the cane rows, in an effort to limit the damage from the winds. Next , I planted the seeds straight into the ground and waited for the appearance of new seedlings. As this picture shows (taken 29/5/09) we have been somewhat successful. As always, getting to the plot to tend the young plants is always an issue, especially when trying to juggle shift work and family life, but at last we are making progress, and with a concerted effort am now finding more time to get to the plot. After all, with summer upon us, this is when we need to be there! Just this morning i got to the plot, spent ten minutes watering, and was away. A quick visit but none the less , worthwhile.
Making good use of every available spot of land, we have adapted the top of the compost bins, one of which is now home to our Squash plants. We've planted a few varieties, and as its our first attempt at growing them, would be happy if we got just one fruit for our efforts. Loads more would be good too, but like everything else, we'll have to wait and see! As usual, we've planted through holes in either black plastic sheeting or weed membrane fabric. This will help to warm the soil as well as prevent light from reaching the light hungry weeds.
A fair few of my regular readers have been asking how my spuds are getting on ? We planted our first earlies back on the 7th April, and our second earlies / maincrop went in about ten days later. The most common question was "do they grow through the holes ok ? " and the picture above shows that yes they do. Occasionally a side shoot veers off under the sheeting and has to be "Re - routed" but on the whole, they have been left to their own devices. In all, we planted approx 180 seeds, and about 160 of those are growing on strongly. I noted on my brief plot visit this morning, that both the first and second earlies are now starting to flower. A sure sign of good things to come. The other main question is "How long do they take to grow ? " . Well, how long's a piece of string ? ( Twice the distance from the middle to the end - ha ha ) . Growing time will always depend on a number of factors: Soil condition, watering, weeding, time in sun, etc etc. , so it's always hard to give an exact length of time. However, give or take a few days, the following acts as a rough guide to sowing / harvest :

• First Earlies - 70 - 80 days
• Second Earlies - 80 - 100 days
• Maincrop - 100 - 130 days.

I'll probably get lots of comments about this, but experience tells me that this is about the right time frame. Others will tell you to harvest at different times, i.e. when the flowers die off. Each to their own ? Simply the best way is to lift a plant gently and have a look!



We've successfully planted up a bed of leeks, as well as a single row of Parsnips, the latter of which should be lovely for Christmas dinner. We had hoped to get the raised beds in and constructed by now, but time and money has sped past us, and we are yet to get round to it. The Leeks will need earthing up later in the year, and we'll try to get the "construction" done at about the same time. Otherwise, we can just leave the bed to its own devices. Just the occasional weeding should suffice.
And finally ( for today anyway) here's a pic of our overwintered onions. A few of these have already graced the table at home, and there's plenty more where these came from !
Once again, I've run out of time, off now to make sandwiches and then to work.
I hope you've enjoyed this update, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon here at our allotment retreat.
Keep those comments and questions coming, and we'll get back to you soon.



Take care all, and enjoy your gardens.

TTFN

Spud bed preperations ongoing! 18.12.08

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, our guide to starting an allotment from scratch. "Tempus Fugit" as Grandad Read used to say, and it certainly seems to be flying right now! There's only about twelve weeks to go until I'll be thinking of planting out the newly chitted seed potato's ! And before I can do that, I need to prepare the ground for planting. With that in mind, I have started to dig 1 of 2 trenches, that will be the home for my spuds. Each row is approx 15m long x 1m wide, Sufficient space i hope for 4 rows of spuds. That's quite a few more than I've ever planted before, and I'm really excited by the prospect. To prepare the ground, I am digging about a spits depth, and simply turning the soil over to allow the elements of the British winter to do their best. I'm hoping for a few more heavy frosts to help break the soil down. My fellow allotment holders ( new and experienced ) are insanely jealous of the condition of the soil on my plot, as they continue their preperations on heavy, waterlogged clay ! Then in the early spring, I hope to be able to lightly fork over the soil, and rake level ready for planting. When it comes to the actual planting, I will be using my trusty method of planting through holes in either black plastic or weed control membrane. This negates the need to "earth up", as the black fabric / plastic stops the light from getting to the developing tubers and turning them green / un-useable. See HERE for more details!
The digging has not all been plain sailing in the spud trench. Progress today with the spade was severely limited; indeed, almost stopped when I reached these 3 specimens of concrete blocks. They were about 8" below the surface, and ran straight across the trench. I tried to dig the first out with my spade (RIP) which snapped at the first attempt. Thanks then to Don for lending me an improvised breaker bar. It took about half an hour to dig all 3 out, sadly that time would probably have been enough to finish digging the first bed. Never mind there's always next week ! A great method for working off any overindulgence from the christmas fayre - a spot of light digging!At least now I have somewhere to sit and a place to rest my sarnies ! All's well...
Following the recent spate of vandalism on the site; not withstanding the amazing disappearance and return of my compost bin, I went to the plot today armed with a paint tip marker pen.
These are a great way of marking your gear, and as soon as I had finished labelling my bin and water butt, there was a steady stream of people waiting to borrow the pen to mark their own stuff, tools etc.
It's a shame that people only think of ID'ing their stuff after it has been nicked.
Hindsight's a wonderful thing!



Casting my eyes back over the plot ( all 10 rods of it & the bit on the end) , I'm amazed; and at the same time tremendously happy,with what I have achieved in 4 months. There's still a hell of a lot to do in the next 4 months If I'm going to get the plot anywhere near ready for planting, but I keep to the old adage that doing a little on a regular basis is the best way forward.
It does seem a shame that when I took on the plot, there were plenty of others taking on new plots too. I've not seen some of those people since August, and the lack of activity on the plots is sadly quite evident. Let's hope they return in numbers in the new year.

Thats about it for now, I look forward to welcoming you all back soon.

Take care all,

TTFN.

Weather halts digging! 07.12.08

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat - our new venture into growing our own on a larger scale.
How quickly the weather changes! All plans for today's foray with the fork and spade are now postponed until tomorrow. This is due to the fact that the ground temperature today of 1Deg C means its too cold and hard to dig. For your interest, I always use the Met Office forecast, as I find it is the most accurate. Of course, feel free to use whichever you want, but note that the Met Office forecasts are rarely wrong.
Despite this weekend's curtailed plans, I have made a couple of visits to the lottie this week:

On Monday this week, i managed to re secure my compost bin into place on the plot. I drove a few stakes into the ground, then screwed from inside the bin into the posts, which I'm hoping will now secure the bin in place should the "wind" decide that it wants to take it away again.
Furthermore, I have started to pile up a good layer of stones around the base, which will hopefully assist in keeping it in one place ! I am recovering so many stones from the prepared beds that i'm now thinking of using them to form the paths between the beds - it's got to be cheaper than anything else i could use! It'll take a while, but then, I'm not going anywhere!

On Tuesday there was a welcome first time visitor to the plot - Hi Mum !
Crikey, it was well cold, but with plenty of coats, we managed to keep the cold out! We didn't stop too long - just a fleeting glimpse for mum to see what we are doing. Reassuring then to see the compost bin still firmly rooted to the spot, as well as the brassica's showing good growth, and the over wintering onion sets starting to show through the surface. There's plenty of people who will happily "tell" you how to plant your onion sets, but I always put mine in a little deeper than most others - about 2" deep. This is a great way to stop the birds pecking them out. By the time the new growth is showing, the sets have already sent down their roots to hold them securely in the ground. Still get good crops !

On the home front, we recently cleared out the side passageway of the house. This area has a Plexiglas roof, which means the area is like an unheated greenhouse. I cant afford a greenhouse for the foreseeable future, so this will do me for now. I managed to acquire some kitchen base and wall units from work / friends, which now act as my staging.
As you can see here, the space is already being put to good use! I have started my Japanese onion sets (v. Senshyu) in 3" pots - about 50 of them, and they are all shooting well. I read this in one of my many reference books as a way of getting a head start. When the roots are protruding from the pots, I can transfer them to their growing position on the lottie, provided of course that the ground is workable enough. If you add this lot to the 50 or so Radar sets I've planted already, we have the makings (hopefully) of a good harvest. I'm also going to be growing some from seed (v. Bedfordshire Champion) and will hope to avoid a glut in supply. I've also planted a dozen or so Garlic bulbs (v. Fokyhama) from my store that i grew last year. I have not been able to yet buy a fresh supply as everywhere is selling out fast. Will have to keep looking.

Finally in the "Greenhouse", I have a couple of 4" pots with some Rosemary cuttings. Not sure how they will do - I'm not usually very good at propagating from cuttings. I took the cuttings as the new growth, cut horizontally below leaf bud then dipped in Rooting Powder, before placing 4 to each pot. On one pot, i snipped out the growth on the tip, but did not do this on the second pot. We'll have to wait and see how we get on ! If all 8 survive, I plan to plant these on the plot as a fragrant hedge - an idea stolen from a recent visit to the local farm shop!

That's about it for this week. I hope you have enjoyed this update, and I look forward to welcoming you back to Reads Allotment Retreat.

TTFN.

I've got another compost bin ! 30.11.08

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat.

Just a quick update to let you know I have now got a compost bin. Whilst at the plot today, I met Paul who identified one for me! Next job will be to stake it down more securely, as well as paint my name & plot details all over it, should it go missing again !

Will bring you more news in the week.

TTFN.

Missing ! Where's my compost bin ? 24.11.08

Nipped up to the plot today, as i was planning to top up my compost bin with some household scraps.
Imagine my surprise to find the bin is no longer there. First thought was that it had blown away in the wind, but on further investigation i found that the tent pegs I'd used to secure it in place ( against the wind! ) had also "blown" away.
Shall have to mention this to the powers that be. The trouble is that all bins in use on the site are more or less the same, and as mine is not marked ( my mistake ) I will be hard pushed to track it down.
Oh well, i threw the kitchen scraps into the open bin, and was on my way.

It's a hard lesson, and I'm £10 worse off.

See you all soon,

TTFN.

A Key Day ! 27.08.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat, our blog guide to Growing Your Own Veg in Raised Beds. Regular readers will know we have just taken on an allotment. Thursday 27th August was our first day on the site, and after collecting the keys to the facilities, we made a start. The first job of the day was to rake away the grass which had been strimmed down to ground level for us. Sammie did a good job of this. This was followed by marking out the plot with pegs and string, working to a plan we had drawn up previously. We sited a compost bin and a water butt in the middle of the plot. We are lucky enough to be able to access mains water for most of the year, so Sammie filled the water butt up - several trips to the tap with a watering can! Eventually, i will rig up a hose connection to make this job much easier. The grass cutting's filled the compost bin, to which we added generous handfuls of cardboard / paper, and plenty of water to get it going. Worms from the garden compost bins were also added, as well as some worms dug up on site. This plot is 5 Rods / 151sq yards - whichever way you look at it !
The first hole to be dug was a 2" deep circle to house the base of the compost bin. This was done because the site is very open, and i envisaged the bin flying around in the wind!
The next job on the list was to start digging. This site was previously cultivated, but that was probably about 40 years ish ago, so now its very hard and compacted. However, once you get through the top 4" it's actually not that bad. I managed to dig the first bed, turning the soil over down to a depth of about 12", plenty of worms present which is a good sign. There's also a lot of stones, some quite large which will be taken out over the next few months as the ground is re dug and weeded. We are planning on 10 Rectangular beds, each about 7' x 4', cut into and dug out of the ground. This will allow for access paths between each bed, and also mean that we can reach all the beds without standing on them, which would otherwise damage the soil structure. Is it just me, or are allotment holders quite frugal ? Many of the neighbouring plot holders were only too eager to tell me where to get the latest bargains locally! I have just bought 5 x 75 Litre bags of GP compost for £10! - now that's a bargain !

The Sheppey Horticultural Society are having their Annual Flower & Vegetable Show this weekend, and although i will be working nights on the same days, i will hopefully get time to pop in and say hello.

Join me again soon for more updates from Reads Allotment Retreat.

TTFN