Wild flowers

Just back from the allotment. Latest progress is

Two wild flower beds dug and seeds planted

Third bed is now finished and covered. Will start on a fourth next week. I'm currently injured from a big cycle event so no training for me, on the plus side should mean i have more time down the allotment.

I think my cauliflower seedlings  have been eaten or i have pulled them up thinking they were weeds. Going forwards i will grow seedlings in pots then plant out. At least i'll know what they look like them.

Bit peeved at Norwich City council.  Took on my plot earlier this year with an annual rent of £37.50. I then got a rate increase to £42.50 for the next year. No worries about the small increase. However, also in the letter was a notification that rent was jumping up to £70 in 2013???? Although still not a lot for a year i thought the huge increase is a bit harsh.

Bonfires allowed o the plots from next week which is good as ive saved up quite a it of stuff to burn. Sould be good forma big clear out next week. Also need to get back down with the strimmer again to keep on top of some areas.

Thats all for now.

Happy gardening

Progress

Slow progress but progress nethertheless

From a 10 days ago

Managed to remove all god foresaken chicken wire now & strim the whole plot right down.

Unearthed a ready built raised bed so dug that over & covered it. Two beds done now 

Acquired a water butt, 6 x paving slabs, bag of bark chippings & some garden canes off freecycle today.

Tuesday

Popped down to weed & water the cauliflower bed. Snipped a few more brambles. Think i'm going to have a digging out brambles blitz.

Today

Managed to get some old carpet off freecycle today

Dug over the second bed again & weeded the cauliflower bed. Weeding isnt taking long now.

My net tunnels arrived. Got them off ebay, two for £25 including postage. Big enough to cover a 3m by 1.2m bed.

So covered the cauliflower bed today with net cloche.

Dug a third bed, clearing all the grass and crap. Will need to go over it again to remove more roots.

Split up loads of pallets so have enough wood to build a couple more beds. Left my saw at home so that put pain to building them today.

Covered all dug beds & more with the carpet.

Need to order some wild flower mixes now as i want to have lots of wild flowers down there. Hopefully plant the right ones to attract friendly bugs

Net cloche & bed number 3 started

Carpet down. Plot looks better than it did when i first go it

Happy Gardening


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First bed

Quite a transformation when i look at the first pics to the ones i took today.

Had a bit of a break from it as we have been on holiday & also to some Olympic events.

Sourced some more pallets off Freecycle & built a workbench. Used some of it to knock together the first raised bed as well.

Finished the first bed and planted some cauliflower seeds.

Should i cover the bed in net, polythene or fleece?

Marked out the next bed to start on. I also have a hug pallet for making another compost bin. Just two more chicken wire mesh beds to clear. I bloody hate chicken wire. There also appears to be a buried which i need to uncover.

Still loving it, be able to spend a bit more time down there from mid September once my last big even has finished. Half Ironman in Ely this weekend, National Triathlon relays in Nottingham the following weekend then a 4 day cycling challenge in September.

So, here are the latest pics

New bench & roof

First bed & Cauliflower planted

looks a lot less daunting now

Happy gardening



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Slow Progress

Progress is slow, hindered by the heat on my week off but still managed to get down most days till Friday. Weekend was spent down at Box Hill in Surrey for the Olympic road race.

Carried on clearing nettles,weeds & brambles, chicken wire buried everywhere which is a mare, only two more patches of that to clear now though.

Sourced an old bunk bed off freecycle & used the wood to repair the knackered shed roof. Got a roll of Homebase felt for £11 to finish the job.

First 3m x 1.2m bed is almost cleared & ready to have something planted. Any suggestions? Was thinking Cauliflower.

Started a compost heap off.

Went to a garden centre & got chatting to a guy in the yard, he let me take 6 pallets away. Not sure what to make with them yet, again, any suggestions other than compost bin?

Used some of the dug up chicken wire to fence off the whole of the front of the plot.

Loving it, although from years of working in an office my hands have gone a bit soft. Had to deal with some nice blisters.

Dig Dig Arleya

First raised bed nearly done

Bit busy with Ironman training and a holiday over the next couple of weeks s not sure how much more will get done.
Hopefully be able to get down for a few hours on Saturday.

Got some money for my birthday so going to treat myself to some new tools.

Happy Gardening

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Let the clearing commence

Phoned the Council on Monday to say i would like to accept the jungle plot. Contract & rules arrived on Thursday, I went in to the the council offices Friday lunchtime. Paid £7 for the remainder of the year & was given my key :-)

I then had to try schedule in my training activity, Arleyas activities & allotment time. Think i can do 3-4 hours a day at the weekend & maybe a couple of hours during the week. However, off work this week so going to try spend at least 3 hours a day down there during the week.

So, drove over to mums on Saturday and picked up the Strimmer. She kindly gave me a spade, fork, dutch hoe & a rake so thats saved me a few quid. Got back home at 3pm & went straight over to the plot with wife & daughter. Made good progress for day one i think

Went down again today & managed to do some more strimming. I also went round and chopped all the brambles so should be able to keep on top of them now.

Discovered a compost area so cleared that out & started making use of it. Arleya began digging the first plot. Hopefully get that done in time to get something we can sow in July.

Not looking as grim as it did yesterday although the effort it's take to dig a small patch, i think it's going to take a couple of years to get it how i want it.

I've drawn up a rough plan which i'll post later. It will basically bee raised beds running down the right hand side . Left side will have the poly tunnel, chicken coop & shed. We are also going to have a seating area as you walk in with wild flowers so we can sit & relax, have a picnic, admire our handy work.

Ordered a few books. I'm already halfway through John Harrisons 'The Essential Allotment Guide' I've also ordered a chicken keeping book & monthly vegetable guide.

That will do for this week. happy gardening


Andy




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Welcome to the Jungle

Hi

Welcome to the Baxters Allotment Journey Blog. I started blogging in October 2011 as a way of documenting my Fatman to Ironman journey & my quit smoking progress.

http://clearseaz-timetogetfit.blogspot.co.uk/

That's all going well & i manage to update it on a weekly basis. I would like to mirror that here. Even if nobody reads it, it will be a good reminder for myself & family. I'm still on the ironman journey by the way, but 2 stone lighter & a non smoker for over a year. I will incorporate plot digging into my training.

So, I am quite a novice to gardening. Done the planting flowers thing etc, tried to do veggies but have not had much success in the past. I also don't have much spare cash so this will need to be done on a bit of a budget. No time limit so the development of the plot will take as long as it takes.

Quite fancy having a plot with some veggies, fruit plants & some chickens. The plot I have been allocated after just over 2 years on the waiting list is 250 SQM & looks like a bloody Jungle.

250sqm of jungle

The plot stretches to the green shed in the centre

There is a shed but the roof has pretty much gone. I can probably repair that for now.

Short term plan of action.

Read up on gardening
Start to clear the jungle
Repair shed
Create compost area
Fence off the front of plot & attach a door with padlock

Well, that's it for now. Comments and advice from experienced gardeners will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks