Shed takes off in the wind

Following a week of high winds the shed has decided that it wants to take off

Not happy but thankfully the shed may be stable enough to just make right. Will find out saturday!

back garden tidy up

Having spent so much time on the allotment i realised i had loads of plants waiting to be planted in the back garden so spent 6 hours out in the garden digging out weeds (filled my green wheelie bin) and a black sack of rubish.

Planted 22 plants including the apple we bought at ken muir as it fruits quite late were going to save ourselves the trip to the allotment and plant 2 of the apples at home. So the 'pixie' will be joining it in the garden.

I still have so much to do in both the garden and the allotment and i am looking at the temp outside 7 degrees and wondering if i had best run out with the flease now?

.... having opened the door to some trick or treaters and realised how cold and windy it is i think i might wait another night and pop out tomorrow when i can see what i am doing !

Visit to Ken Muir Apple Tasting Day

Hubbie and I, went down to Ken Muirs saturday for there apple weekend and wow. I have never tasted so many yummy apples.

Came home with 'Kidd's Orange Red' Apple and the Asian Pear 'Shinseiki' which are both on M26 rootstock.

We also wanted 'Bardsey' & 'Pixie' but neither were in stock so we consolde outselves with a boysenberry :-)

I entered a draw when i was there and guess what i won 2nd prize and got sent £30 in vouchers so my order for the other 2 apples is going in the post tomorrow :-)

I Got my shed for £25, its on paving slabs in a dry cement mix ( as were not allowed permenant structures ). Shed is not watertight and needs to be finished before the weather turns to nasty. The waterbut at front and one around the back need to be connected and the buts lifted.

Update from saturday 14th October

Still clearing the plot and filling raised beds having not managed to do as much as i wanted this year.

Only had 6 beds of spuds out of the plot, some courgette and onions, cabbage and sprouts are still in.

The weeds have started to grow on top of the weed memebrane which makes them easy to pull off but as you can see they have taken over the whole bottom of my plot.

The bed at the front is or will by my asparagus bed :-)

Seed and Plant shopping list

Here are the plants and seeds that i need to buy


Apple
Beans - Cannellino
Blackberry
BlueBerry
Boysenberry
Brussels Early Half High
Camomile Lawn
Carrots - Flakkee
Corn - Minipop
Cranberry
Currant (Red, White and Black)
French Bean - Blue Lake
Garlic
Gooseberry
Kale - Dwarf Green
Kohl Rabi - Blusta
Lobelia
LoganBerry
Luffa
Nasi Pear
Pak Choi - Dwarf
Parsnip - Avon Resister
Pea - Celerbration
Peanut Somala
Radish
Rasperry
Silverskin Onions
Soral
Swede
Sweet Pea
Turnip - Purple Top
Wok Bock

current seed list

Here are all the seeds i have in stock :-)

Beetroot - Perfect 3
Carrot - Amsterdam Forcing
Carrot - Fly Away
Carrot - Nantes Frubund
Leeks - Autumn Giant
Leeks - Musselburgh
Leeks - Toledo
Onion - Ailsa Craig
Onion - Red Florence
Onion - Senshyu Yellow
Onion - Senshyu Yellow
Onion - Senshyu Yellow
Onion - Utah Jumbo
Parsnip - White Gem
Radish - CherryBelle
Radish - Scalet Globe 2006
Shallot - Prisma F1 Hybrid
Spring Onion - White Lisbon
Spring Onion - White Lisbon
Swede - Ruby
Turnip - Purple Top
Feijoa - Sellowiana
Melon - galia
Rhubarb - Victoria
Tomato - Muchamiel ( lots of honey )
Tomato - Rio Grande
Tomato - roma
Tomato - super marmande
Tomato - Tres Contos ( 3 songs )
Tomato Margicbe
WaterMelon - Moon and Stars
Cape Gooseberry
Tomatoes - various
Tomato - gardeners delight
Strawberry Alpine
Asparagus - Mary Washington
Brussel Sprouts - Bedford
Cabbage - Minicole F1
Cabbage - Red Drumhead
Cabbage - Savoy
Cabbage - Savoy best of all
Cabbage - savoy omskirk
Cabbage April Spring
Celery - Brydon's Prize Red
Chard - Charlotte
Courgette - Jemmer F1
Kale - Dwarf Green Curled
Pak Choi - White Stem
Spinach - Perpetual
Purple sprounting broccoli
Anise Hyssop
Basil - Sweet Green
Basil Lime
Borage
Claytonia - Miners Lettuce
Comfrey Seeds ( Symphytum Officinale)
Coriander
Dill
Lavender
Lettuce - little gem
Lettuce - Valdor
Lettuce - Winter Density
Marjoram
Mizuna - Oriental Vegetable
Parsley - Big Mountain
Parsley - Darki
Parsley - Plain Leaved
Peppermint
Rocket - Cultivated
Rocket - Salad
Rocket - Salad Leaf
Rocket - Skyrocket
Rosemary
Sage - Broad Leawool
Thyme
Lettuce - Ultimate Mixed
Chicory
Adonis - Aestivalsi
Agastache - Anista
Albiza - Julibrissin
Alyssum - Sweet White
Antirrhinum - Black Prince
Antirrhinum -Frosted Flames
Astrantia - Ruby Cloud
Calendula - Orange King
CandyTuft
Carnation - Triumph Mixed
Centaurea
Chamomile Lawn
Coleus - Rainbow Choice Mixed
Columbine Aquilegia
Dahlia - Figaro Mixed
Delphinium
Evening Primrose
Godetia - Dwarf Mixed Seeds
Helichrysum - Tall Large Flowered Mixed
Hollyhock - Chater's Mix
Hollyhock - Double Apricot
Hosta - Sun & Subtance
Larkspur - Stock
Larkspur - The Seven Dwarfs
Laurentia - Pink Stars
Love Lies Bleeding
Lychnid - Dusky Salmon
Marigold - Boy o Boy
Marigold - Naughty Marietta
Nasturtium - Dwarf Single Mixed
Nasturtium - Jewel Mix
Nemesia
Nicotiana
Papaver - Rhoeas Picotee Mixed
Poppies - Mums Big Pink
Poppies - Wee Reddy Pink
Poppies - Welsh Surprise
Silene - Mexicana hot Stuff
Sunflower - Giant Yellow
Sunflower - Pastiche
Swan River Daisy
Sweet William - Bright Eyes
Sweet William - Purfume Mix
Viola - Miniola Ice Blue Heart
Wallflower - my fair lady
Lobelia Cascade mix
Lobelia Blue Splash
Morning Glory Heavenly blue
Chilli - Jalapeno
Chilli - Cayenne
Chilli - Purple Tiger
Chilli - Rocoto Orange
Chilli - Scotch Bonnet Yellow
Chilli - Tabasco
Chilli - Tenpin
Chilli - Thai Bangkok Upright
Pepper - Gypsy F1
Sweet Pepper - Banana
Sweet Pepper - Californian Wonder
Berlotti Beans
Dwarf French Bean - Sprite
Mangetout - suger pod
Pea - Little Marvel
Runner Bean - Enorma
Runner Bean - Wisey Magic
Franchi Zucchetta Friliana
Courgette
Franchi Zucchetta - Tromba d' albenga
Pumpkin - Atlantic Giant
Pumpkin - Early Autumn

Plot Plan

The plan i have been building my plot to, the structure at the bottom (top of the image) is a fruit cage which i am hoping to make from scafolding poles and the dots you can see between the raised beds are tyres that are sitting between wooden posts which should allow me to train grape vines down providing wind protection and some shade. The plot is on a downwards slant on the top of a hill.

Raised beds nearly finished, its been a slog but with the help of a good friend and my husband i have been able to get the majority of the raised beds in as of beginning of June and i have started to fill them and get them planted with winter crops.

Fruit Cage and Planters

Below is list of plants and shrubs I am looking to put in the fruit cage at the bottom of the plot...

Strawberrys - Cambridge Favouriate
Feijoa - Sellowiana (NZ Guava ideal for wine making) - just outside the fruit cage as a wind break hedging.
Blueberry - Herbert
Blueberry - Bluecrop
Gooseberry - Pax
Gooseberry - Invicta
Redcurrant - Rovada
Cranbery - McFarlin
Black Grape - Gagarin Blue - (for wine making) Planted at the top of the plot
White Grape - Madeleine Angevine -(for wine making) Planted at the top of the plot
Blackcurrent - Ben Connan
Boysenberry - Thornless (for wine making)
BlackBerry - Silvan
Apple - Stepover - Bramley Seedline - Planted at the side of the plot
Apple - Stepover - Falstaff - Planted at the side of the plot
Asian Pear - Shinseiki - Planted in a pot in the fruit cage
Raspberries -
1 Early Summer such as malling Jewel
1 - Late summer such as Tulameen
1 - Autumn Such as Allgold
1 - General such as Joan J

Welcome to my Allotment Blog

I hope you enjoy blog about my allotment.

Situated on the edge if 1.44 hectares my plot is 100ft by 38ft (approx) and is heavy clay.

Year One ( 2005 ) :- All excited i rotivated and made beds with carpet tiles between the beds. And planted lots and lots of spuds ( most of the plot ) unfortunatly most died due to scab, wire worm or blight.

Year Two ( 2006) :- A little dispondant having gone back to the site and found it covered in 3ft high weeds; have cleared it. Rented a rotivator ( a much more powerful one from travis perkins that moves itself ) and am going to cover the whole plot with weed mebrane. Bought from ebay for £30 and £35 for 2 rolls of membrane 1.5m by 100m which is plenty to cover the plot. Weighed down with compost we given.

Plan is then to cut the membrane for raised beds in this shape >--< which will allow me to flold the membrane back to be pinned back into place and stop the weed come up inder the raised beds.

The plot is split into 1/4, 2/4 and 1/4 with one of the 1/4 being asigned to house my fruit cage which i plan to build some 4 x 4 posts approx 8 ft long and once the posts are in the ground that approx 6ft is sticking out which will allow me to pop some thin board to hold the 4x4 posts into roughly a box shape so that i can add guttering to allow rain water collection.

The other 1/4 area at the top of the allotment will house the shed, compost bins, small patio seating area and there is a mock gate leading onto the main site which is made of grapes.