What no Fruit ?

[Aeeeek]

mmmm good idea might clear half then plastic half, OH now feels bad and has roped his biking mates in to help out..we'll see...

As soon as I have returned a signed copy of tenancy agreement I can start work should be before Xmas break...and no rent to pay til March!! bargain (allows me to hire a petrol strimmer!!)

crab apple wine sounds interesting too

[Aeeeek]

[wardy]

Tip? yeh. Take your time  :)

[Derekthefox]

That is more mandatory I would of thought Wardy ...  ;D

Derekthefox :D

[daveandtara]

i must say Aeeeeek, it appears the possibility of alcohol may have been  the deciding factor in saving the crab apple tree!

great, you'll fit right in  ;D

welcome, and as for the clearing, try little and often. maybe plant some garlic to encourage you? chat on here often for moral support and get loads of seed catalogues to plan (and daydream) about next years harvest  ;D

certainly worked for me.

Tara xx

[wardy]

Agree about the seed catalogues.  I always take mine to bed with a glass of something or other  :) 

[Aeeeek]

to be honest one of the main reasons for wanting to grow fruit was for the sideline of 'interesting' wines ..no that I'm an alkie ( honest!!)

OH is very impressed with the allotment as I spend all free time planning it, reading about it or on it ( and it's not even anywhere near cleared yet!!) which means I no longer nag him about all the time he spends reading, talking, doing mountain biking ...... ::)

have had the paperwork thru' so is now officially mine. ;D

just need to decide whether to go for raised beds or not..maybe I need to go down again in a while to have another look, the hoovering, washing, housework can wait ( along with Xmas shopping!...aaagh how many days left??)

[wardy]

The plot will evolve over time so don't big in too big a hurry.  You could have some beds raised, some not, some edged, some not  :) 

[Derekthefox]

to be honest one of the main reasons for wanting to grow fruit was for the sideline of 'interesting' wines ..

I think you are going to be very popular on this forum Aeeeek .....

Are you already acquainted with the Drinks Board ... ?

For your interest, I am currently brewing

Rhubarb - almost a staple now, certainly easy drinking - too easy actually !
Pumpkin - an experiment due to a surfeit of pumpkins
Carrot - again a bumper crop of carrots!
Parsnip - made with moscovado sugar, this is hopefully very exciting !!!

Nothing else until after Christmas, I have no more room.

Derekthefox :D

[daveandtara]

we've made three raised beds to start, i'm making a coldframe.
we plan to grow strawberries and peppers along the top of our fencing.
some little mountains of horse pooh for squashes, a small pond for toads to manage the slug population and a compost bin.
that's it for our first year, everything else can just get bunged in where it fits and where the thistles are thinnest.
i figure by 2007 i'll know what i'm doing and can make any big decisions then  :-\

[Aeeeek]

 :o Wow DerekThe Fox, am v. impressed have sampled Rhubarb in the past but none of the others...am going to start visiting the Drinks Board regularly me thinks!!
Cheers!!

DaveandTara..sooo lucky having a pond, these are 'strictly forbidden' on our site , so am going to create a hedgehog haven in my 'freestyle' area ( the scrappy bit at the end that I don't think i'll conquer for a while)

Are you making your raised beds out of pallets?..I have gained some from work but haven't got to the construction bit yet......

[daveandtara]

ponds are banned here too! i just hid it with plants. it's only 2 1/2 feet wide!
i figure that if the ccouncil ever do a site visit they'll have to evict all the overgrown plots, tidy the ever increasing pile of flytippings and fix the loo.

they won't be round for a while. ::)

we made fences from pallets and also compost bins but invested in timber for beds. 3ftx6ft came to £13;50 each (inc nails)
Tara xxx

[Delilah]

Rhubarb wine is compulsory ;D

[undercarriage plan]

Ooooo yes....