Lovely Afternoon

I got to the plot just before 2 yesterday and the first time I looked at my watch it was 4.30! I had a really enjoyable time, even though it was a busy one, I went from one job to another and enjoyed the time there. I have discovered that borrowing my husbands MP3 player makes my time at the plot more focused, I do enjoy the silence at times (well the road noise and on a school day the small children screaming and whistles blowing at the school nearby!) but at other times I need something to keep me going, especially when digging, and if I can have a sing along with a good tune whilst turning over this:



then all the better!

You can just about see, if you put your nose almost on the screen, the amount of roots in that bit of turned soil. I'm removing a bucketful of crap per 2 foot row I dig, it's very hard going, especially as the soil was so dry yesterday. I did manage to dig about 2 foot of the cabbage bed though so I'm on my way, although it's supposed to be finished today, started off the month so well with the digging plants and then it all went awry!

I did my shopping trip to B&Q, I really need to learn to think things through though, I bought 4 thingies to hold my canes in tee pees, they require 6 canes each, I also knew I needed about 7 canes for the pea netting... So, I'm sure you're all intelligent readers, why did I only buy 20 canes??? Good job I only intended to plant 2 tee pees now and the other 2 in a few weeks to extend the runner bean crop a bit 'eh? I will nip back and pick up some more canes soon, I'm using 6 foot canes as it would have been impossible to get them in the car and also I'm not hugely tall so erecting stuff with 8 foot canes would have been a nightmare on my own!

So I put up the 2 tee pees and the pea netting but ran out of time to plant anything there. I also carried a few watering cans of water up from the tap, earthed up the first bed of potatoes and hoed (and managed to hoe up a row of carrots by mistake, opps). Still got quite a few bits on my list to do, but I'm hoping that I can make it down to the plot again today as DH is still off work so he can watch crap tv while little 'un sleeps!

Here's a view of the cultivated side of the plot before I put up the tee pees and pea netting:



From the back to the front we have potatoes, more potatoes, courgettes, runner beans and peas, rhubarb with parsnip and leeks, the bed I've just started digging (for cabbage) and the front bed which will be for broccoli or cauliflower, can't remember!

Hope everyone got lots of work done in the nice weather!

10 out of 10 for planning, 2 out of 10 for execution!

Today was the first day I've managed to get down to the plot all week, the weather kept fooling me, looked like it was going to pour down and then cleared up as soon as the small boy was asleep.

So, shall we revisit the list and see if I've accomplished anything?

1. Plant up 2 tubs of lettuce in the back yard (red and green salad bowl lettuce).

Check!

2. Plant up 1 tub of spring onions in the back yard.

Nope, realised I am running short on containers and need to buy a trough to plant these in.

3. Buy canes for runner bean tee pees and pea net, small bottle of weedkiller for spraying close range on paths and more 4" pots for pumpkins.

Not bought canes yet, am making shopping list for shopping tomorrow, however I discovered I have enough empty margarine containers that I can use for the pumpkin.

4. Finish off bed and edge.

Finished the bed today, will edge next visit.

5. Start digging next bed.

I pulled up all the big weeds and raked over the first bit of the bed that I plan to dig, so preparation work has been done, digging will commence next trip.

6. Erect runner bean tee pees and plant 1st runner beans.

I've decided that I am going to makes 1 long bit of netting over canes instead of tee pees and separate pea netting, canes are on shopping list, netting I have.

7. Erect pea netting and plant first lot of peas.

See number 6.

8. Plant up cauliflower and broccoli.

Check!

9. Plant up pumpkins.

Saving this for a digging break next visit, I also need more compost.

10. Start taking pots for peppers to the plot (can only take 1 at a time when I have DS with me).

Have taken the 1 I can spare, more pots are on the shopping list.

11. Close range weedkilling on paths to see if I want to carry on with bark or have bare paths.

On the list! Still can't decide on more bark or just leaving the paths. However, the bark does look nicer and needs less maintenance, but it's expensive to cover the amount I need to cover... Am still pondering.

12. Read books and decide whether or not I need to earth up the potatoes yet and if so get on with it!

Still need to do the reading and the digging if necessary. The second lot of potatoes are up and doing really well now!

So, actually I didn't do as badly as I thought I had, 1 shopping trip, more digging and some potting up and I will have done everything. Not sure I'll get the bed done by the end of the month but at least I will be working on it.

I still can't see any carrots, parsnips or leeks coming through. Not sure what to do really... The carrots I will plant another few rows next visit and hope those come through, but I don't know how long to give the leeks and parsnips before hoeing them up and trying again.

The weeks are a real pain at the moment, they just keep coming no matter what I do, I hoe each time I'm there and the next visit there are more to contend with... It's only natural after how long the land has been unused but still irritating, although I've found I don't mind using the hoe which is good news!

Hopefully I will get down the plot twice more this long weekend, depending on the weather of course!

More Plodding

I only managed 2 trips to the plot this week, the first trip I got a bit of digging done, some hoeing, a bit of water carrying and some general pottering in before little boy decided it was time to go home.

Yesterday I went down on my own for about two and a half hours and dug more of the second of this month's beds (not sure how I'm going to finish this one and dig another one before the month ends but I will keep trying!) and while there was a rain shower I planted up 10 Spaghetti Squash and 10 Butternut Squash into 4 inch pots. I have no idea where I would plant 10 of each, I think I will probably have room for 5 of each plant in the beds I'm planning for them, but I just can't bear to throw away healthy plants, especially when I've grown them!

The broccoli I planted into the compartment trays is still alive so I will plant the other tray out as well and then do the cauliflower as well as that's a bit crowded. I have also planted 3 trays of purple sprouting broccoli (B&Q seeds) for planting out in June or July in one of the last beds. Also bought seeds for French Beans for another of the final beds, I have some Blue Lake Bush Bean seeds but wanted to try another variety as well.

So, plans for this week are as follows:

1. Plant up 2 tubs of lettuce in the back yard (red and green salad bowl lettuce).

2. Plant up 1 tub of spring onions in the back yard.

3. Buy canes for runner bean tee pees and pea net, small bottle of weedkiller for spraying close range on paths and more 4" pots for pumpkins.

4. Finish off bed and edge.

5. Start digging next bed.

6. Erect runner bean tee pees and plant 1st runner beans.

7. Erect pea netting and plant first lot of peas.

8. Plant up cauliflower and broccoli.

9. Plant up pumpkins.

10. Start taking pots for peppers to the plot (can only take 1 at a time when I have DS with me).

11. Close range weedkilling on paths to see if I want to carry on with bark or have bare paths.

12. Read books and decide whether or not I need to earth up the potatoes yet and if so get on with it!

I think that's probably enough to be getting on with for now, watch it pour with rain all week now! :o)

Courgettes Away!

I went down the plot yesterday morning, got there at 9.30 and was the first car in the car park, although there were a few people there who had arrived on cycle or foot so I wasn't actually the first (still felt good though)!

I finished off the bed I was working on, put in the edging and planted 2 rows of Leaf Beet Rhubarb Chard from Suttons and my courgette seeds which were Unwins Tristar (yellow, light green and dark green fruit) and Unwins Organic Black Beauty. I probably should have planted 2 beds of them, I have room for 10 plants in 1 bed (12 without the chard but I wanted to try it). I may try putting a couple of the thinned plants in the middle of the bed to see if that works and it's not too crowded. I'm realising that to grow all your own food you need a lot of room! I only planted 2 lots of onions which will last maybe 3 months, I could probably do with another bed of potatoes to last a whole year and a whole bed of most vegetables really, but I will stick in as much as I can as something is better than nothing!

I remembered to dig a hole and plant the Chamomile yesterday as well which is Suffolk Herbs Wild German Chamomile. I also finally figured out where the mint smell is coming from, obviously a previous owner planted some near the shed and it's now gone wild and is everywhere around there so when you walk in and out of the shed you get a lovely mint smell! I'd been trying to narrow it down to 1 plant and couldn't find it and that's why!

My ratty enemy seems to have not dug another hole, at least not out the top of the compost heap anyway, so I did a half hearted turning of the heap. To turn it properly I will need to stand in the container and I'm not quite brave enough for that yet, perhaps if there's no sign of rodents for a few weeks more I will get up the nerve! It's nice to see that it is rotting though, I was worried that I was just making a rather large rubbish heap!

I also made a small start on the next bed which is runner beans and peas. I have decided to plant as I go with this bed, so when I get to the halfway point I will be wrestling with canes to put together some teepees for my beans! I think I can get 4 teepees in there so I will plant up 2 of them right away and the other 2 at the start of next month. Same with the peas, I will assemble the netting but only plant half of it right away. I seem to have found my digging stride and a method that works for me. I dig across the bed widthways in 4 to 5 forkfuls and then get down on my knees and pull out the roots and sift the soil before digging the next row, emptying the bucket and starting to root about in the ground again. It's moving much faster and seems to be working much better than digging 1 bit and then kneeling over and over again and is much easier on the back. The courgette bed has very few weeds coming up in it whereas the previous beds dug by the old method are rife with weeds. Anything to make it quicker, easier and more effective!

When this bed is done I will have a run of 5 beds in a row and the plot will start to look a lot better to me I think. I'm excited that by the end of next month half of the plot will be done and I will hopefully have made a start on the other side!

Plans for this week are more digging (surprise surprise!) and planting the broccoli into bigger trays and the squash and pumpkin into individual small pots which I will go and buy after payday along with a few more bags of bark.

The weather was lovely all weekend but today we have rain which we actually could use as the beds are very very dry (at least on the top, they're still moist when you dig down which is good news). My back needs a break anyway so I will be looking at Wednesday for my first trip down to the plot this week.

lol, have been trying to figure out why the spell checker doesn't like the word 'courgette' and has no repalcements for it, but of course they're called zucchini in America and Blogger is a US system!

Uninvited Guest

I have something living in my compost heap that digs holes bigger than a mouse would need. This is worrying, and also very scary, I have no idea how I will get up the nerve to try and make it move out, I have visions of a rat throwing itself at my face trying to defend it's new home with plentiful vegan leftovers to eat, plus coffee grounds to make it strung out and caffeine hyperactive... My composting book says that I need to turn the heap and wet it, this should hopefully make said rat think it's not such a nice neighbourhood, and I know that this is what I need to do, I need to turn the heap anyway, but the fact that there could be a rat in there, and perhaps rat babies, or several rats, scares the bejeezus out of me. I must get it sorted though before they start having loud parties and bringing down the tone in the neighbourhood and the neigbours start talking, I don't want to be the one bringing the vermin in... I will try and get up the nerve by the weekend when I can go on my own and I won't scare the little boy by screaming at anything that moves and leaping away from the heap over and over until the job is done... Ick.

I discovered on Sunday that going to plot each and every moment that I can is actually not such a good idea. When I got there Sunday I hadn't been for a few days and I managed to get a ton of digging done as I wasn't worn out from previous days digging. I have decided that my aim will be 3 times a week, perhaps 4 if the weather is great and things are cropping. I have managed in 2 trips to almost finish the chard 1 and courgette bed, the seeds are in my bag ready to go down, and the bed will be finished on my next visit. Then it's onto runner beans and peas, followed by cabbages 1 at the end of the month.

Things are doing well in the shed. I have all my pepper varieties up, both types of squash and my pumpkins. I am thinking of moving the broccoli into bigger trays so that it can stay growing indoors later, the bed for it isn't due to be dug until next month so there's nowhere for it to go! Same with the squash, I am going to go and buy some small pots and grow it on for as long as I can in the shed to give me time to dig a space for it!

I planted another 2 rows of carrots yesterday, although I can't see any carrots coming up yet from the previous 4 rows which is a bit worrying. I planted a row of Chantenay Red Cored from Morrisons and a row of Autumn King 2 by Mr Fothergill. I have room next to that for another 2 rows and I'm thinking I will stick a few more rows in here and there whenever I have a little bit of space, you can't have enough carrots in this house, we seem to go through them at a rate of knots!

I need to dig a small patch and throw in my chamomile seeds, keep forgetting to do that. I intend to just keep trimming it and drying it for herbal teas. I also had a look at the list of herbs I made that I wanted to grow and it appears that I'm still a couple short, I need Chives and Marjoram, so I will have a look about for some and get it in pots. The herbs from Jane Lane are doing really well, I used the Thyme last night and it was lovely! I've lost 1 Roma tomato plant, so I will move 1 from a pot into the grobag to fill the space. I've also definitely lost 1 of the aubergine plants (the other 2 are growing slowly) so I can use that empty space for a pepper plant or 2 when they're ready.

Just had a look at my master plan (moved the squash and pumpkin beds to the front when they're ready to be dug as they will need water and it's silly to carry it further than I need to) and have decided that I will plant Sprouting Broccoli and French Beans in June. Anything else I can plant that time of year besides lettuce? I prefer to grow lettuce in the yard as I can water it each day, at the plot there are more things to eat it and less chance of it getting watered at all considering that my plot is 3rd back from the tap and I can't afford a hose that long! I could also have a bed in July for something (the last bed, yippeee!) but my list for July is all harvesting except for the sprouting broccoli and french beans and I don't think I'll need more than 1 bed of each of those! Maybe I could put some fruit in that final bed? Suggestions appreciated!

So, I feel a bit better about my progress and am relieved that I can actually dig the beds to schedule, I just need to make sure I don't wear myself out, which is what I was doing, and then I can make good progress each visit instead of feeling like I'm getting nowhere. I looked into the rotovator and we just can't afford the rental fees for one so it looks like the trusty old fork will just have to keep working, it's earnt it's purchase price several times over considering I bought it in the sale for £4.99!

Whose Idea Was This Anyway?

I admit I am quickly loosing my will to live when it comes to digging. The weeds seem to be getting worse rather than easier to deal with (you think after the practice I'd be getting faster but I seem to be slower...) and seeing the weeds on the other side of the plot growing more and more each time I visit but not having time to do anything about them is starting to depress me majorly... Add to that the fact that my son seems to have decided that yelling rather than sleeping is the order of the day while we're at the plot and you have a very frustrated person who dug about 1 and a half foot of a four foot wide bed today during the hour that she was allowed to spend there before the yelling had to be stopped (he's fast asleep now in his bed, I'm considering taking the travel cot to the plot and sticking it in the shed!). Plus the fact that I'm doing this all totally on my own, I think it's too much work for 1 person with all these time restraints to handle.

I am almost totally convinced that I will be trying to rent a rotovator soon. I figure that it will be easier to rake and pull out roots than to have to turn all the soil as well, and even though the roots of he weeds will be shredded the bits that I have basically double dug sprout new weeds within 2 days of me finishing so what difference is it really going to make besides improving my state of mind a bit?

I am also thinking that as I only intend to work this plot 2 years tops (when we intend to leave the area and hopefully get a garden so I don't have to drive to my veg) I am wondering why I am working so hard at getting it absolutely perfect. I figure that as long as I have the weeds somewhat under control (ie I can see what's veg and what's not and the weeds aren't strangling the plants) that I would much rather be hoeing than digging any day of the week. Plus I will be able to plant more than I have in my plan which will mean that we get more veg out of the plot as well, which would be a bonus.

So, does anyone know of a national company that rents these things cheaply and how long do I need to rent one for and how hard will it be? I will be asking around at the plot to see if anyone knows anywhere too, I'm sure I saw one in the store so I'm hoping that there will be an offer of free usage!

Here are some long awaited (not!) photos of the plot.

First the inside of my shed where you can see sort of the seed trays, I now have 3 spaghetti squash up and doing well (another need for the rotovator, things are growing much faster than anticipated and I can't dig fast enough to have beds to plant them in ready when they will be needed). On the floor under the straw is the grobag with the aubergines in it, some ugly horrible slimy thing ate one of the plants thus the straw, I'm hoping it will recover. The hanging basket thingy has my basil in it. What you can't see is that to the left is a high workbench (I pot under my chin!) and a small old bedside drawer cabinet with my hand tools in it.



This is a general overview of the plot from the currently un-dug side. The un-dug side will be a mirror image of the dug side when it's done, same number of paths and beds etc.



Another long view of the plot, you can sort of see how things will hopefully shape up by the beds and paths that are already there



This is the back bed which has potatoes coming up in it at one end, carrots in the middle (just starting to poke through) between the brick markers and my onions in the camera end. The bed to the left is the bed I just finished off the other day which now has potatoes in it as well.



This is the bed I'm working on at the moment (minus the foot and a half I dug today) looking towards the rhubarb bed. Between the two is another bed waiting to be dug.



and this is the same thing but from the other direction.



I guess what I'm feeling now is that I just want to be growing things. I do understand that the digging is important and necessary etc etc etc, but as I said I'm feeling that this is a lot of effort for something that isn't long term, if this were my own garden I'd be out there sieving the soil and digging deeper to get the roots out fully, but as it's not and it's cost me money I want to get the most out of it as soon as I can and I think it will be far more enjoyable to be growing plants rather than always coming home looking like I've been rolling in the soil, I'm sure the other plot holders wonder what I've been doing to get that dirty!