Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => The Basics => Topic started by: Moggle on October 24, 2004, 23:45:55
-
Well I went and saw a plot today and could have spent hours just looking at other people's veg.
The plot I was hoping for, that is all covered in black plastic, had just gone earlier today. However there is another plot half covered in plastic, and half very overgrown and that is the one I will take on.
Soil seems ok, a little clay-ey to my untrained eye, but then it had been peeing it down here all yesterday. I have almost the furthest plot from the gate, and you can't drive down there in the winter cause it gets boggy. On a bit of a slope, but then I spose that will help with drainage. Soil level is a bit low on the plot, but I hope to get some organic matter in there to raise it.
Mr M is determined not to do any digging, so I will be doing it all myself. But he has agreed to make me a compost bin and raspberry supports. Had the offer to rotovate from the site secretary, but there is couch grass everywhere, so I think this will be a bad idea, and I will try hand digging. On the plus side, Father-in-law works for a stateley home, where they have great piles of leaf mould that he thinks he can get me for FREE :o. Manure too, but because of the access probs, I think that would be problematic at this time of year.
Mother-in-law is loaning me some tools until I can get myself sorted out with some second hand ones from the tip shop.
No sheds allowed, so have to sort out some kind of lock box. Stupid me talked to the secretary so much, forgot to ask one of the main questions - water access. Didn't see any waterbutts there so I think there must be ok access. All this for only £9 a year, not due until Spring ;D
I am a happy girl :D
-
Really pleased for you Moggle. Your patience has paid off and look at all the experience and knowledge you have gained meantime. Don't give up on the balcony tho - still keep flowers there and it's great for herb pots and bringing seedlings on - better than the window sill anyway.
-
Congratulations Moggle that's great news. Let us know your progress on the big dig ;)
Plottie :)
-
Excellent news Moggle, I take it you were cramped for space? well now you can be like Julie Andrews and dance around that plot sowing seeds from your basket ;D
Well done ;)
-
Congrats. ;D
In reading back issues, came across couch grass - think pigs like it - so borrow a pig from somewhere!
-
Brilliant news, Moggle.
Here's wishing you loads of fun with the weeding, digging and weather. I'm very envious of your supply of leaf mould!
Bet you can't wait!
-
Great news Moggle, it will be nice to hear all your updates as i've got my plot 6 weeks ago and the same prob as you, 2nd to last plot, no sheds no compost heaps,no water and loads of weeds.
PS any spare leaf or compost send it my way ha!ha! i think we've had to much rain now.
keep going & head up
windy
-
well done :)
Digging it will be hard work but worth it :) I am almost finished my mine .I had same advice but My plot was full of weeds as well .
Mags
-
Thanks all, if the weather holds out this saturday, I will start digging then. Just hunting around now for cheap wellies, and got to get myself some decent gardening gloves.
Mitzzy, you dug your plot all by yourself too didn't you?
Windygale, we can certainly keep comparing notes. I'm lucky, I saw compost heaps when I was there, and like I said, no water butts, so I'm pretty sure there must be running water. Well there's a site loo, so there must be some kind of running water.
Roy cramped for space doesn't even begin to describe it. No garden at home - 2nd floor flat. Some nice sheltered balconies, which I will continue to grow toms on, but got the gardening bug so bad this year, I can't wait to get growing in some proper soil.
Wicker, you are right, the balcony will probably be full of flowers again - and Toms, it is so nice and sheltered. I plan on getting one of those mini-greenhouses for seeds and seedlings, save me filling up the spare room like I did last year.
-
Hi Moggle, went on my site yesterday (26/10)from 9.30 to 1.00 dug and dug and gave myself a bad back, 2/3 of the ground turned now(would of been nice to place compost in when digging)loads of weeds (4 wheelbarrow loads) have to use loads of mulch from home instead, still trying to have a couple of big compost bins onsite, plenty of small plastic bins, hopefully next year,
Water comes from a site holder next door x10sites a lot of water in summertime.
No loo (lot of crossed legs)
Good afternoon went collecting bags of fallen leaves, filled one of my home compost bins so in two year i'll have nice and crumbly mulch
hope you have fun,
catch you later
windy
-
i have had a friend do a couple of hours work on it but I have dug up most of it ,I have about 1/4 left to dig .
It 's kept me fit :)
Have not been this week due to being whezzey . Got a bit of a cold so I hope to get back to it once my asthma settles back down :)
I reckon with a push i could dig the rest in a week ( i do an hour at a time ) saves your back and Hands .
still got my manure to spread over it , lots of work but really enjoying it :)
mags
-
Well I spent my first couple of hours at the plot today digging, measuring and mostly being overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done.
I can happily say that the plot is 9m x 17m, which means i can now go mad making scale drawings of my proposed bed system and planting scheme.
It was quite wet, and when I said 'a little clayey' in my first post, I was wrong. It is a LOT clayey, so I will be begging my father-in-law to find out about that leafmould. I definitely need some kind of organic matter in there. It was so wet that the soil stuck to my fork in big clumps.
I think I will stick with my plan to get some hungarian grazing rye on the first bed ASAP, which will have potatoes on it hopefully from Feb if I can get my hands on some fleece. Could someone tell me if the rye would grow enough in this time to do much?
Only dug a couple of square metres. I can see already mitzzy why you say it keeps you fit, I am so tired and I hardly did anything.
If it is dry this week, I might try to get a few hours off one afternoon and dig a bit more.
Spotted a potential supply of free pallets, hurrah instant compost bin. Need to check with site secretary if they belong to someone, or are up for grabs :D
-
Congrats and good luck with your new plot Moggle. It will be great and I think it is a good time to get one. You will have all winter to plan and design it and make a start on those horrible weeds, particularly the awful couch grass. Pallets are a godsend for allotmenteers and we became addicted to collecting them from skips when we first got our plot. Have walkways made with pallets, but bark chippings make good paths too, and four compost sections done with them now. Look forward to hearing how you progress. ;D busy_lizzie
-
Hi Moggle
Reading through the site trying to find help/answers/magic to cope the digging of a very wet clay soil over grown with weeds plot.
I have had a stab this morning but the rain Friday and Saturday has left the ground saturated. I am trying find ideas to help and will happily share them with you if you want to e mail me with your e mail address.
Good luck
Fids
-
Rye seems to grow whenever temperatures are above freezing, Moggle. Even if you don't see much top growth the roots will be helping to condition the soil as the roots penetrate the soil. If by some chance you can't get on your plot as early (unimproved clay is not conducive to early cultivation) as you hope then it will only keep growing and continue improving the soil.
-
Buzzie lizzie... Colllecting pallets! passing skips with some in and slamming on the brakes ;D
Did you actually manage to get them apart without them breaking to bits :o
I have 16 I got for compo on 2 plots but cannot seem to "dismantle" without ending up with kindling :-[
Andy & Becky
-
Hi Moggle,nice to hear your tackling your plot, have you considered putting a slopping roof on your compost bins to enable you to collect rain water
keep up the good work
windy
-
Congrats Moggle! No stopping you now huh. Slow and steady wins the race (says the worlds most impatient woman ever!) Lucky you being able to lay your hands on so much black gold. You really need to get some pics posted now please. ;D
-
Thanks John for that. I still feel quite dumb about the clay soil and green manure, so I am going to post a whole seperate thread about it to see if I can get my head around it.
I got down there again yesterday while it was still dry, and discovered that there is some kind of strange drainage to the plot. one third of the bottom part where I am working, is very wet and muddy, a few bits are moist and ok, but then the other half is dry and baked, and very difficult to dig. I still managed to dig about 1m/4ft wide for the width of the plot (30ft/9m) in 2 hours, which for a wimp like me i thought was very good. Had 'moral support' from Mr M, who mostly sat and chatted to me the whole time and helped edge the beds a little, I found it easier to work with someone to chat to. :)
EJ I took before photos, and I intend to take some flexi time off work and get down there one afternoon after work. Once I feel like I've made some real progress I will post some photos. I am so lucky to have so much help from my in-laws.
Windy, there are troughs of water on site (although a bit of a walk) so at this stage I think I will be okay for water but thanks for the thought.
Andy, there are piles of pallets on site that look like they have been there for ages, site secretary must have gotten hold of them from somewhere. He uses them to hold down plastic etc. He said I was welcome to them, so I will definitely be doing that. Don't think we will try to dismantle them, I want something fuss-free and basic at this stage, so will try to make compost bin with whole pallets. Don't know what I will do for a removable front, brain is still ticking over on this one.
Fids, what part of the country are you in? Forecast for me in Oxford is dry for most of the week, so perhaps just wait a few days to see if the soil drys out a bit and then have another go. Have you been using a spade or a fork. I found my plot almost impossible for me to dig with a spade, but apart from the really soggy bits, I have made progress with a fork. I will try to PM you to get the exchange of ideas going. If nothing else, at least know that you are not alone :-\ And don't certain veg like clay?
-
Yes, in my experience certain veg do like clay (or at least a heavy soil).
At the moment we have an allotment in Bucks, previously we had one in Leeds. Bucks one closely resembles a gravel pit (slight exaggeration, but you get the picture) Leeds on was very heavy soil with oozing, clagging clay one spit down. The difference is amazing - Leeds one was nightmare to dig, Bucks one is piece of cake. Leeds one grew anything and everything that we chucked in its direction with minimal intervention from us. Bucks one needs coaxing and persuading into growing anything.
In Leeds we were inundated with Peas and broccoli and all sorts of squashes in particular.
So good luck with the clay,
Sarah
-
Used some flexi time yesterday and went down to the lottie for more digging. I'm hoping to get a load done over the next few weeks before it gets really cold and frosty.
Got the rest of the first bed dug, which was a really satisfying feeling.
Finally got the photos I took off the camera last night, these are the 'before' photos, and I will try to take some more on the weekend of my progress.
This first one is the top of the plot, the overgrown bit. I've covered it in plastic for now, but the site secretary says he will burn it off for me.
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QAAjAwoTBGV6M9MKt66MDSef6ZuWxTweNvBNX17!XKWhV*CW5zNvP0GgixMVvH16sB1LdpstLy7RHguwjIQW88Nhykw8noumzowjAwBwfBg/Lottie1.jpg?dc=4675496043988210921)
This is the bottom half of the plot, where I have been digging - right across the middle of the photo towards the fence.
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QAA1AwsTPGV6M9MKt66MDa0GafG7tOgojgITliglyQvSGgC7O5OLbxqRzH7669Dm!sWYplyCE5KLGFiNqxFR5UsEilbgv!rKzow1AwBwiBg/Lottie2.jpg?dc=4675496044103543518)
This is the whole plot from the bottom corner. Mr M has already pulled those poles and wires down for me, and he will put up some newer raspberry supports.
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QAAjAwwTdGV6M9MKt66MDXE55ml7Kdh05JNA!AWqw6bHXq79odPoT8FfajfyJfCPG*91GOtWyrS1xvtx5dJhGDUqJ6sP8GEAzowjAwBwdxk/Lottie3.jpg?dc=4675496044319464250)
-
Moggle
I do not bother to split my pallets to make compost bins, I simply use them whole and make up three bins from 10 pallets. This makes 3 cubes side by side.
To hold them together I tie each corner at top and bottom with polypropylene rope. You end up with a very sturdy structure.
When it come time to empty the bins I just untie one of the pallets and remove so you have access to the compost. Very simple.
I have also lined some of my bins (I have 6 cubes now, 3 at the allotment and 3 at home) with plastic. This increases the heat a touch and stops weeds ingressing from outside the bin. I also cover the top of the compost with a piece of old carpet (not rubber backed). This helps the temperature as well.
I have split pallets in the past, and they are a useful source of cheap wood but there is a certain percentage of waste as boards will split. On the end of one of my bins I have built a very useful potting bench out of pallet wood. Great at the allotment when transplanting or working on something fiddly as you do not need to bend over all the time. The space under is also useful and sheltered for storage.
Jerry
-
photos-wow! looks like a challenge. well done for taking it on, and doing it bit by bit.
keep us updated!
-
Well done Moggle, I can see your not letting the grass grow under your feet. ;D
I am getting very frustrated with our council secretary I was promised a plot by the end of October and still heard nothing, even after leaving a couple messages on his answer machine. #*$#*# council. :o :'(
-
Hi moggle, this is my allotment before i started digging (http://pstr-d03.ygpweb.aol.com/data/005/0D/C2/48/9C/rja0yXKtwwvrpCBjMtvapLFnaS7UJtgj0060.jpg)and this is after(http://pstr-d02.ygpweb.aol.com/data4/002/7D/24/4A/BE/2nj+kNk8PGoTvK4ekUbiqRMEJ8KOGW-k0060.jpg) 2/3 done,hard work but enjoyable
later
windy
-
How did I miss this? It's great news Moggle. You're really expanding. This year one balcony, next year an allotment, the year after a small holding?!
-
Year 4, a whole farm? :D Aqui, a smallholding sounds fab ;D I'd love to make money by gardening, but somehow I don't think I'd like working outdoors in the winter.
I don't know how anyone has missed me going on and on about my plot :) It's all i can talk about. Fortunately I have quite a few gardening colleagues that don't get bored with me talking about it all the time. And of course all the great people here on A4A :D
Windy, it's inspiring to see your photos and see what can be done.
Roy, I was lucky I guess. There are at least 8 allotment sites within about a 10-15 minute drive from my flat. It's not fair to promise you a plot and then not follow through on that. Keep phoning that site secretary until you get an answer! I hope you get a plot soon. Mine was the last one on our site, so I am very grateful.
Jerry, thanks for the compost bin ideas. Had never thought of just tyeing them together. I spose you have to push it down in to the soil a bit until you get some compost in there.
The good news is that Mr M has become interested and is going to give me a hand with the digging on the weekend. I hope the weather stays nice. If I can get one bed dug in less than 6 hours, how quickly can the 2 of us whip that plot in to shape. Will try to get some photos this weekend, as it looks so much better than those photos already.
-
Hi Moggle, hope this weblink help you like it's helped me, http://www.crocus.co.uk/alanshowto/rottedorganicmatter/
you'll be able to click on the other topic link's and get other advice from Alan Titchmarch
later
windy
-
Spent another couple of hours at the plot on Saturday, Mr M made me a great compost bin from the pallets with zip-ties and some plastic twine. :D
We also dig another half 2/3 of a bed, and cleared away the wire and weeds and blackberries over the 3rd bed, ready for me to dig. I took some progress photos and I'll try to post them tonight.
-
Well done Moggle it is looking good! Just think of all those delicious home grown veg you will be enjoying next year! ;D You are working hard and it shows. ;D ;D
-
Okay, here are the update photos, same order as the before ones further back:
Top of the plot, doesn't black plastic make it look better?
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QQAdA2ETFXpQp1z9Py9VLtdEy5xoe8Jx1i3A1fvuaqLrOiaaPDba7PwMTYRM8fEY1ozHpLrjMwAF9FOEPH6Rn4UuOE!gBNUva25rPze2oig/2lottie1.jpg?dc=4675496872703805042)
The bottom of the plot, 1 and a half beds dug now :D
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QQAjA2ITTXpQp1z9Py9VLsjyLoGOEO4VQU2imsfhgQL2cZK9HvKrR7sVlwUbAWIsAJhmMrKq4Sk7Wc72gY1EwQDqWgg!0n5xPcC8RgMXPSM/2lottie2.jpg?dc=4675496872923755089)
The whole lot. I'm very pleased with the improvement
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QQAjA2MThXpQp1z9Py9VLl0QKaSBqd7jb28iIqtMLA0GiRe51DUrKUNBX4S278rg9pKnI5ZXLRXIAEOI48kta6Fpgu6YOh1LfIa7HX6Z5j0/2lottie3.jpg?dc=4675496873074306419)
And finally, the compost bin, pretty boring for most of you, but I've never had a compost bin before.
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0QQAdA2QTvXpQp1z9Py9VLsQDJ8XtTNL8RlBQLHco9nqC5qIuMU94nML7V22Rtc1BfUJ8UaO02XMzHvsybWr6VmWiOpVVbhMcoTzkjixOB!A/2lottie4.jpg?dc=4675496873282570973)
-
Geez Moggle, there's no stopping you now Girl, I don't think I will be able to work at that speed, if and when I get my lottie. Your enthusiasm has given me greater encouragement, well done. ;)
-
Hi Moggle,
Well done!! Those beds look like an ideal size and shape. This all looks really great. And your compost bin isn't boring at all - I wish mine was half as good as that. Hmmm - could be a job for OH at the weekend!
-
Hi Moggle,well done, time well spent, 4' wide beds - good size to enable you to work from both side - can i suggest - try raising the edges and then over the years when you dig and turn your ground and fill each bed with compost, this will help with drainage and give the plants a better root run allowing them to grow a lot better (i'll have to do all this myself) .
I see you have a good strong wire fence around your area - should keep out rabbits etc - try to grow Sweetpeas/clematis/honeysuckle on it as they will help with pollination (bees ) Beans & Peas and somewere nice to sit.
Verygood useage of plastic to kill weeds and keep the soil moist.
Make up more compostbins - the more compost the better the crops.
Keep up the good work (makes me very envious)
if you have any spare time pop around and help me ha!ha!
later
windy
-
i'm very impressed, moggle!
how many bottles of radox has that taken!?
-
Moggle, that really is an achievement. Congratulations. You've put me to shame ;D
-
Wow Moggle, thanks for sharing, it looks great!! Such a sense of achievement isn't it! Compost looks fab, mine has a definate tilt on it at the moment and has been propped up with a big stick! Oh and this is about the only place you could post a picture of a compost bin on the WWW, and we enthuse! ;D DP
-
Moggle, that's wonderful progress. Thought you were really keen when you just had your balcony but this shows you're well up to the real thing!!
Now if only Roy could get his allotment .....
-
:'( :-* Megan ;D
-
Thanks all for your kind and encouraging words. I'm glad to know that people don't find my compost bin boring ;D
Roy, hope you get your lottie soon, do you only have one local site?
Kerry, it's taken suprisingly little radox :) I've done 4 sessions of around 2 - 2.5 hours and had a nice hot bath in the evening afterwards. Felt a bit sore after the first day, but must be getting the hang of it, as I've been fine other than that.
Wicker, it seemed like a natural progression from the balcony - as with all gardening spaces used by keen gardeners, it just got too small and limiting. I can't wait to have a whole bed full of potatoes ;D
Spent another couple of hours there yesterday afternoon, trying to make one patch of the first bed fine enough to plant some garlic in. Also dug a bit of the boggy bottom bed, and started off the 3rd bed. 3rd bed still has bits of grass and weeds growing on it, so seemed to be a lot more difficult to dig.
Site secretary has closed the access lane through the plots for the winter, due to it being boggy down there, so I now have to walk 200 yards or more with my tools etc :'( Getting leafmould on to the plot is looking like it's going to have to wait until spring :'( Or else it's going to be long trips with the wheelbarrow :(
-
great photos
you have been busy.
I went to do some of my allotment yesterday and found my spade & fork has been nicked :( Not a happy bunny ! :'(
I hope they break !!!! >:(
I have to go and get another set today so i have done very little this week .Been very whezzy :(
Moved my carpet on to next weedy patch . I plan to start digging in the manure i had delivered last month , i had wanted to clear out whole plot of weeds but I want to get at least 1 bed dug ready for early potaotes .
Mags
I ment to say great bin I was going to do same but gave up as I thought I'd nail it together ,going to get some rope and tie it together like sugested in earlier post :)
-
Oh dear Mitzzy, poor you re your spade and fork. My Homebase fork was only about £8 and is probably not that wonderful, but will do ok for now, without a big outlay of dosh. Bad karma will come back and get the theives >:(
No nails in my compost bin, cable ties all the way, and then one edge is tied with string so I can open the 'gate' and empty it. We got the cable ties for 99p or something from a market. I hope to add another bin on to the side once this one is full.
-
Well dome Moggle,
the bin's fine -mine are made of some old bits of stock-fencing & angleiron that were lying around on my plot. Your beds look nice and neat too -not like mine, I've just decided to edge them to tidy them up a bit.
Jeremy
-
I'm impressed Moggle, brings back memories of when I started, although yours looks much more professional. The clods of earth are a good size for winter to take its toll. As for the compost bin, you could live in it! I'm waiting for pallett delivery myself to make a new bin. If you can get any chichester grit to sprinkle over the clods then this will aid the breakdown proces (and prevent the clay molecules from sticking together again).
Look forward to seeing more photos. Are you going to plant anything this side of Christmas? Maybe garlic, broad beans, shallots?
Jamie
-
Started to double dig today ,did an hour & a half then had to run off to pick up small child .
found more roots while digging ! but the bit I have done looks much better than the rest of plot .
New spade & fork in my front hall ,will have to nag at dh re my shed.
will not be back til Tuesday as I work at weekends and monday i met friends .
getting cold too :( gritted roads tonight )
Mags
-
OH built similar compost heap from pallets on Sunday. And the children really loved it - think they though it was a new sort of Wendy house (3 sided). So now I'm reluctant to use it for a heap - cos anything that keeps them occupied on the plot is a huge bonus!!
Sarah
-
Sarah, sounds like you just need to get your OH to make you a second compost bin :) Mine seems almost full already so I may have to be doing the same :)
Jamie, got some garlic in on the weekend finally, felt good to get something in the ground, but took a lot of chopping with the spade to get it fine enough. Would like to try shallots, but don't know if I can use just any, or if it has to be a specific sort. Not sure I can manage the broad beans, as the bed I want to put them in to isn't even dug yet :-\ The peas I got will overwinter too, but I will just have to wait till next year.
Glad your digging is going well Mitzzy, we've finally got the first 2 beds 100% done, but OH broke our chepo B&Q fork while tackling the dry third bed :'( I wonder if i can get my money back.
Next weekend will probably be the last weekend of digging before we start to organise ourselves for our month long holiday to Australia in December. I'll try to take some more photos before then.
-
You will be amazed how quickly the stuff in your compost heap sinks Moggle, and by the time you come home from Oz, there will be plenty of room to catch up with your digging! ;D
-
Hi Sarah,"helpfull hint" try to build three compostbins if you can and if i can say place a plastic slopping lid on top and guttering to allow you to collect rain water, by building three bins it will help with turning you compost
Hope this helps
windy
-
Next update!
Bought new fork yesterday with 10 year guarantee :D Have now almost done the third bed, which means that half the plot is clear.
I couldn't believe how much the frost and rain had broken down the soil already, you can see a little of it in the third photo, compared to the same one 2 weeks ago.
Dug in some leaves as we dug over the 3rd bed, and threw a few on the 1st bed as a bit of a mulch, will wait and see what that does.
Also got given bags and bags of leaves from work that the site manager had collected :) Some went in the soil as above, and 4 bags have been watered and left to rot down on their own.
Took more photos too:
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SACZAqcU0N2hYcwSv9oVoJc7j5syOV4hTyPoOVwIf5Ua1mXIhIH1I0svV8aj6cV0arukRK8J!CXEZeK2ZHWAKMfq94212y8*aFZNyiKC*DIzAAAAynIVAg/Allot%20top%203.JPG?dc=4675498446179999738)
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SADrApkUZNqhYcwSv9oVoAfnps5ezlvaMFlzqbueOBolNJYoCLtHoaf*t7*OlC*RkF!bkYMpTDk9ffdFVxlH6yMzebqSQ!qRSgT2Bw0sVtJoAAAAynJnAg/Allot%20bot%203.JPG?dc=4675498445943649278)
(http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SAAnA40Uj9ehYcwSv9oVoGpHBlUeRKUPYdU8phHzoO!LFy0HR0lsmAgg*w0BIbvaaccbZrlRG8kFIty0NNTsm4*o*WftOSrmG3T!BY3NfYhZAAAAynJ1Ag/Allot%20all%203.JPG?dc=4675498445551429683)
That will be it for this year I think, we leave on Dec 2 for Oz ;D
-
And you'll deserve your break, Moggle!! What energy - sometimes wonder if I ever had as much energy as you, EJ and some of the other young 'uns have - guess I must have had. Now everything is "paced" a bit more but still satisfying to see the results.
It will be like leaving a child at home when you go away - you'll fret and worry a bit that "she" is o.k. and no ahrm ahs befallen her!! ::) :-\
-
Actually Wicker, i think I'll enjoy the rest from battling with the clay soil, and start digging up my Mum's and my Granny's gardens instead. I'm already considering growing and giving all my family tomato plants for Christmas.
Several of my family are great gardeners, and I'm sure they are very pleased that I have become a gardener too :)
I will have to check on the lottie as soon as I get back though - jet lag or no jet lag ;D
-
Wow. You sure have been busy. Most impressive how much you've down. And you certainly deserve that rest down under! Have you got fitter and stronger?
The seeds arrived on Friday - thanks. But again I totally forgot to sort yours out. I didn't remember until I was going to bed last night. I will try tonight if I get a minute. Maybe if I... I've just written seeds on my hand, so as long as I don't wash it off, I might actually remember!
-
Hi Moggle, just seen your pics -you have been battling, it's looking better, keep up the good work as it will take some time to sort your soil out,(good luck) have you any idea's on how you will do this,as clay is a pain - REALLY WET in the winter and BONE DRY in the summer.
I have about 2hrs work left on my plot and then it's all dug over, i'll leave it over winter to kill the weeds (hopefully)then start sowing seed's around feb in my small greenhouse at home,not sure if there's anything i can grow now (have to look in my book's or look on gardening website's.
Have a good holiday, take some pic's to place on here and make us all jealous or if anyone in your group back's out i'll go HA!HA!HA! :) 8) ;D 8) :D 8)
Catch you later
Windy
-
Thanks everyone for your nice comments.
Aqui, I think I have got fitter, just a bit, shame I seem to have put on a few kilos at the same time though :( Must measure myself, perhaps it's muscle and that weighs more :P
Well done with your digging Windy, I plan to tackle my clay soil by digging in either some leafmould or some manure, and probably some sand as well, in the late winter or early spring. I will ask the site secretary to flamegun the top part as soon as he can, and dig that when I am able, with the aim of getting the lot dug by next May.
Wicker, you were right in the end, went down on Sunday to drop off a couple of bags of leaves, and felt very sad as I left and locked the gates, that I would not be back there for more than a month :-\
-
So pleased for you Moggle. After your balcony efforts we sit back to be amazed as you are let loose on the lottie!
Very best of luck and I hope you get huge enjoyment out of it.
All things come to those who wait and keep growing in the meantime!
-
G'Day Moggle,
My veggie patch is composed of good old Sydney clay. If you dig in some Gypsum (Calcium Sulphate) or Dolomite (Calcium/magnesium sulphate) the calcium replaces sodium in the clay and they break up easier. It's worth a go anyway! ;)
-
Sorry, it was late our time when I typed this - Dolomite is Calcium/Magnesium CARBONATE not sulphate - so this will raise the pH of your soil, no problem if it is acid, a problem if it already alkaline :P
-
Oh, Wombat, just don't say the sun was shining in your eyes and you had to sit in the shade to keep out of the heat while you were posting message!!! - Green smiley needed as envy rears its head here! ;)
-
Thanks for the tip Wombat, I will look in to it. I bet you can grow some lovely tomatoes etc in Sydney, with all that heat.
I am originally a Tasmanian, and we can be a bit limited in what grows here. I think the climate here is not that different from the south of the UK. They certainly grow some decent spuds in Tassie!
Starting to really miss my lottie while on holiday here in Tassie, but eating lots of lovely berries and other summer produce to console myself, and decide what I'm most looking forward to growing in the spring :)
-
Right, well I made my first visit to the lottie today for 2005 :)
We were keen, first ones down there, at around 9.45. Hurrah, my garlics are up I have something growing on my plot!! Other than weeds that is :-\ I couldn't believe it I had couch grass growing where we'd been rough digging the plot.
The dug over sections seem to have broken up nicely, now I just need to get the couch out. Spent 20 or so minutes grubbing around and getting as many rhiozomes from the top of the soil as I could in one section - I forsee many more hours spent doing that.
Made arrangements with the site secretary to have the grassy top section of the plot 'flamed' when there is a dry sunday, I hope that is soon, as it will make digging a whole lot easier.
I will be sowing my onion seeds soon, and will try planting my shallots soon too. Hurrah, spring is nearly here :D :D :D