The potato hawk

In our fight against vermin we have enlisted the help of the potato hawk. Hanging from the bean poles he (we call him Bob in tribute to Bob Flowerdew) seems to be keeping vermin away, especially the pigeons.

As the Walrus said

The time has come... to clear out the jar cupboard. In anticipation of a bumper crop this year, no jar goes in the bin or the recycling. There was a landslide in the cupboard so I think a contingency plan needs to be put in place.




Talking of contingency planning, as I have run out of toilet rolls (the tubes inside them that is) having used the last of them to sow the runner bean seeds, I have had to resort to corporate theft in the form plastic drinks cups. Only partly theft really as they are all used and rather than going in the bin or recyling by HSBC to make pencils, they are being recycled by me. These will be used to bring on the leeks ready for planting out in June.

Ready to open to the great British public

We feel that we now have the plots at a standard that we are able to accept guests. Rebecca is looking for a new job and I think she would be excellent as gate keeper to the allotment. Matt has given his seal of approval so we are now officially open to visitors. Visits are by appointment only.

Jim and Pat's wedding day

I didn't think anything was more important than gardening, but today, seeing my brother's proud face as he stood at the alter waiting for his new bride made me realise that maybe there was.

The end of the tax year

At the end of another tax year what should you do. Plant Stuttgarter Giants of course.

An exceptionally large onion - at least that is what it said on the packet. Ready to harvest July/August. It only took 10 minutes to plant the little darlings but nearly an hour to make them each their own little greenhouse. Protection from the cold, the birds and the r**s. (We dont mention them by name but we do lose quite a lot of sleep worrying about them).

The Allotment DVD

A present to ourselves arrived in the post yesterday so a chance to see what is going on in Bristol. You can order your own copy at www.allotment.info and believe me it is a worthwhile and enjoyable five hours of watching.

The 2012 Olympics could come to Basingstoke

Taking the idea from Gordon's bean frame, and having finished all the digging (yippee) we started joining canes in preparation for the runner beans. In the meantime it could be very useful for practicing the polevault, or even a new sport of triple pole vault by the time we have finished.

What's in a name

After our euphoria of the clocks changing so that we got an extra hour in the evening, we quickly realised that we had to get up at what had been 4am so by 7 o.clock were ready for bed. We did get a couple of evenings digging though and tonight it is all done. After a refreshing cup of tea we did a tour of the site and bumped into Gordon. After shaking hands and nodding politely, we admired his bean poles which are constructed to make two passageways between three rows of beans and discovered that it was constructed by Gerry who moved away but has now moved back and Gordon took over his plot. Well, would you believe it, we actually know Gerry, but we know him as No 13. We have spent many hours scavaging with him and listening to his words of wisdom. We then bumped into Doug, who greeted us with 'is it Nick or Dick' after putting him straight he gave us some tips on manure and growing melons.

Never a dull moment on the allotment.

Mothering Saturday

I have a theory that Mothering Sunday moves forward a day per generation i.e. Mothering Sunday is for your mother so when you become a mother it becomes Saturday so, if there is a Great Great Grandmother in the family you could find yourself celebrating Mothering Thursday.

The reason for my rantings is that last weekend was the event itself, and the postman brought me a wonderful homemade card which made me feel guilty for my bad thoughts about the rabbits and then later in the day the start of the tropical fruit garden in the form of a Kiwi and a Fig - it truely was a lovely Mothering Saturday.

One thing I had not alticipated with the allotment is that when you have a greenhouse you have to go and water even when it is raining. This meant that we found outselves standing in the rain chatting to our neighbour. We call him Frank (not sure what anybody else calls him, but then we did call Ted Len for a long time before somebody put us right). Anyway, he told us that he is thinking of giving up half his plot as it has become too much (it is a jungle so we thought he had given up years ago). At this our ears pricked up at the thought of an annex. The chance to have more fruit growing space was sooooo exciting that we are going to apply to take over and No 53 will become the orchard, so watch this space.

Almost there

We are on the home stretch as far as preparation of the ground. The brassica patch (first inside the fence) is fully dug. The long bed below the greenhouse is ready for sowing, potato bed is nicely warming under its plastic and only the bean bed (below the brassica's) to go. Unfortunately this is the worst. We also had a bonfire on the comfrey bed (nearest to you outside the fence) and found loads of bulbs growing through, this is now cleared and if we can manage to dig out the comfrey, it will be for wild flowers and sunflowers. The fruit bed is getting full as Ted gave us a load of raspberry's that he was thinning; all Autumn fruiting, 6 yellow and 8 red planted. We also 'found' 3 more rhubarb crowns which makes 6 in total. There is just enough space in the middle for the three bushes that are going to be transplanted from home. Must get a move on with building the fruit cage before the birds start stripping the buds.

In the greenhouse we have 20 lettuce plants (a gift from Ted) and seeds sown - broad beans, 'Red Baron' onions, sweet peas, sunflowers, celeriac and garlic. 9 shallots have been planted in the ground and two garlic outside under tango bottles. Bit worried that it is too hot in the greenhouse and the seeds will dry out too quickly so may need a couple of mid-week visits. It really feels as though spring is on its way but not too late for severe frosts so constant vigilence required.

Big news from the kitchen windowsill

I don't know if you remember me telling you about the free propogators from Virgin Trains but in just a week they have proved their worth. Lettuce sprouting already. Soon to be transplanted into an old washing up bowl for growing on in the greenhouse. First pullings should be in April so get ready.

A big thank you to all our sponsors

We have at last had a chance to clear out the shed at home by making good use of some of the toilet rolls and all of the plastic bottles.

The toilet rolls are sitting in their own pretty pink cat litter tray on the staging in the greenhouse. Nothing in them at present, but the soil is warming ready for broad bean seeds to be planted next weekend. As the rolls are bio-degradable they will be planted out as well in April.

The plastic bottles are serving a similar purpose. They are warming the soil ready for onion sets and shallotts. They serve a dual purpose; acting as mini cloches and also as bird deterrants. The birds see the top of the bulbs (or piglets as we like to call them) and pull them out. Once the onions are established the bottles will be used as waterers for the tomatoes.

Nothing wasted here, but many more needed so keep on saving.

View from the top

It really is starting to look lived in now. The compost bin and greenhouse are finished, the fruit garden is all settled, the potatoe bed is covered with plastic warming for planting in April. The long bed is marked and fully dug so only the large bed at the top to be done.

We were offered our evening meal today when Ted (the foreman) appeared with two rabbits that he was holding by their ears (humanely trapped of course). I politely declined telling him that I prefer them not looking so cute and with a Tesco label on them. As an alternative he gave us six enormous leeks.

Met our neighbour, Frank. He could talk the hind legs off a rabbit so between the two of them plus our fencing, we should have reduced the risk considerably.

It really is free

One real bonus at Churchill Way allotments is an unlimited supply of wood chippings which are perfect for making a base for the greenhouse area and a path to the compost bin. One disadvantage is that it doesn't fly, so approximately 20 wheelbarrows later we are nearly there with building a soft base to the greenhouse.

And before you ask, it is free and the reason why we were digging in the dark and in the rain is simply that we are insane and obsessed!

Can you see what it is yet

It is green and shaped like a house so it can only possibly be a greenhouse. This is the second attempt as assembly as the first attempt resulted in a lot of pieces that really did not belong together. Amazing how much easier it was with the instructions.

The compost bin has landed

After its journey all the way from Selsey, the compost bin has been assembled and has its first bit of 'brown' material - a teabag. It may also prove to be useful if we decide to have a late night gardening, as it would be quite cosy and plenty of room for two.

Next stop Milan

On the catwalk today we have Katy modelling the latest allotment wear accessorised with that all essential wheelbarrow!

Recycling at its best

If you travel First Class with Virgin Trains as part of the service you receive either breakfast or lunch served to your seat except weekends when you can go to the buffet and collect free drinks and a 'snack-box'. After a lovely lunch on Friday, I was disappointed by the news that I was not going to get the same service today, but it wasn’t until I had walked through 4 carriages and back, that I realised that they hadn't said that every 'snack-box' comes with a free mini propagator in the form of the packaging! They are such lovely people and were most obliging when I went back and asked for 2 more.

p.s. It was a Pendolino train. Take the tour to find out more.