My progress!

[Mothy]

I posted on here some time ago regarding the rather large plot that I have taken over from my father-in-law. Poor chap has had a kidney transplant and has been quite poorly, the idea was to start the overgrown wilderness off so as to give him something to do during his recuperation.

Well at last I have made a start, aided by 2 very sturdy mates, and after much toil and several very large fires,we have at least cleared the area of all the dead vegetation, brambles (over head height) cleared a fallen tree and dug the root out. I have strimmed what was left over back to the ground with a borrowed petrol strimmer (decided I'm going to buy a 2nd hand one) and while working down there this morning I have been offered a very sturdy shed, free of charge, by a guy who lives up the lane. All in all I'm feeling quite pleased, all I've got to do is dig it over now. My intention is to split it up into beds and dig it gradually over the course of the next 12 months. It measures around 30' x 150' so is quite an undertaking for one guy, it's just the thought of all the possibilities of home grown veg that is keeping me going. If I ever figure out how to post piccies on here then I will post some up as I make progress. Just thought that I would let you all know what has been going on here!!

[Mothy]

[eileen]

Well done TimJ (and friends)!!  :D You've certainly been busy and I look forward to seeing your pics when you discover how to post them. Have you seen the computer/internet forum I'm sure there is something in there about how to submit photographs?
I hope your father-in-law is soon fit enough again to enjoy his allotment.  :)

Keep up the good work.

Eileen.

[Kerry]

i hope your father in law is recovering well.
well done for all your hard work! sounds like you still have plenty more to come, so keep us informed!
have you any plans yet as to what you want to grow next season?

[Mothy]

Thanks Eileen & Kerry, the Father-in -Law, God bless him, is doing OK now, but still nowhere near to where he should be. He's improving all the time though!!
Kerry, as far as planting goes, I will be putting in spuds, cabbage, carrots, broad, runner & french beans. Onions & leeks, would like to grow squash if possible (I see that other peeps on here have had some success). Beetroot are a must, and I've been ordered to grow some sprouts for next Crimbo dinner. Doesn't sound a lot, but if you had seen the state of the ground!!!!
I am sure I will asking for loads of help over the next few months, I am putting some feelers out for a few pallets to build a compost bin or two and the shed will be going up on Thursday. I will take the digital camera with me to post a piccy or two.

Cheers,
Tim

[ACE]

As father Christmas would say, Hoe, Hoe, Hoe, then Hoe, Hoe, Hoe, again. I should say good luck but it sounds as if you have already had it, getting a nice size plot like that.

[Andy H]

Good Luck! It will definately be worth it in the end, with all the resulting produce with a different taste to the shop stuff!
Big plot that! Hope you have piccies before you started.

[gavin]

Good on you, TimJ -  hope it all goes well!

All best - Gavin

[Mothy]

Well, after day 2 on the wilderness plot I have a couple of piccies to show anyone that is interested. Helped by my good friend Paul and his kids & dad (who lives up the lane and has just given me a shed!) we spent our second day strimming, uprooting and burning. I have to say that there is nothing quite like seeing and hearing a vicious bramble go up in smoke  :D. We have cleared loads of mess and rubbish and even had a go at clearing the plot next door which grows over into ours and Paul's dad's garden. All I have to do now is dig the lot, I think that I will just turn as much as I can over and let the winter weather do the rest. My Dad-in-law has been tasked with setting some Greyhound and Primo cabbage in his greenhouse so I must prepare a bed for transplanting those into in a few months time. I also believe that I can sow broad beans at the end of January (please tell me if i'm wrong)

The lottyday2 pic shows my mate in front of another fire on my plot now it's cleared of all vegetation. My shed has now been put up at the bottom end. Lottybefore shows next doors plot before we cleared it and the general state that ours was in.

If anyone is interested I will post more pics up once digging has commenced (too wet today  :'()

Happy New Year!!

[Mrs Ava]

Of course we wanna see more!  You are working so hard, and it shows.  As for the broadbeans, if you are planting seeds then I would wait until March before planting, my hardy ones went in during November.  Someone may well come and correct me and say plant away.  We haven't had a bonfire on our plot yet, mind you, I tend to be up there alone and would be terrified of setting fire to my shed!  :o

Keep those pics coming, but don't knacker yourself too much....or your mate come to that.  :D

[windygale]

Hi Timj,happy new year,hope your father-in-law gets well soon,keep up the good work but dont do to much at a time,here is a web site that you might like to look at for seeds http://www.dagenhamdirectory.co.uk/seeds.html
make a compost bin & keep up the piccs
catch you later
windy

[Palustris]

Well done Timj and helpers. A lot of hard work done there. You mention a strimmer, we used a strimmer a lot in the first place here to get the grass and weeds down to soil level, but since then we have found little use for it in the garden. Those areas which are 'grassed' (well mossed, clovered, daisied, docked and dandelioned) are kept so with the lawn mower. All we did was to set the mower at its highest cutting level and gradually lowered the setting.
As to seed sowing. We normally start off most of our seeds in either soil blocks or root trainers and plant out when the soil in the garden has warmed up. Despite all your best efforts there will be considerable amounts of root and seed left in your soil just waiting to regrow. It is easier to wait until that has happened and you have re-weeded before putting any seeds or seedlings out.
Digging and leaving the soil rough for Winter rain to break down is good. The hoeing afterwards will remove a lot more of the new weed growth.
As suggested don't do too much in one go. It is possible, we have gone from a similar looking patch to growing veg and fruit to keep us supplied for 9 months of the year. And a quite reasonable looking garden too.
Above all ENJOY it, don't let it become a chore.

[Mothy]

Thanks very much for the words of encouragement,

EJ I won't sow any Beans yet then, thanks for the advice. Our fire was miles away from anything to avoid any potential embarassment although it is easy to imagine that if the wind blew in the wrong direction?  :o

Windygale, thanks for the link I will have a browse later. I remember once that my dad-in-law came back from a trip to France laden with packets of cheap carrot seeds. The weight of seeds was around 5x what you get here for the same money and the carrots were the best crop he ever had. Where does everyone else buy seeds?

Palustris, I have taken note of what you say regarding the strimmer. I can well imagine that once you are on top of a plot there is little need for one. The plot next door is derelict though and I thought it might be a way of beating it back?

I guess that I won't be doing too much at once, I must get a bottle of Radox 'cos the aches are still coming out. If weather permits I will try to dig for 2 hours tomorrow, just to try and loosen up a little!!

[Kerry]

hi,
just to add my agreement about the beans: i tried sowing last season beginning of feb, but they took so long to come up that there was no difference between those plants and some i sowed a month later.
after march though, i sowed them successionally 2 weeks apart, and this did definately provide a staggered amount for picking.

seed suppliers? i use: kings, cheap and plentiful, also organic gardening catalogue, for variety (i'm a member of hdra so get 10% off) and mr fothergills, also cheap. all of them have good searchable websites.

keep us posted!

[chrispea]

Have you a Wilkinsons in your area there seed selection own brand is good and cheap. All the best in your efforts!!!

[Mothy]

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement, I spent a 2 hour stint digging today and managed to create 2 beds 4.5 feet x 15 feet in what used to be an old chicken run. The foundations are still there and act as a useful divider. The soil was suprisingly deep and soft, althought here were loads of tap roots and couch grass rhizomes etc to pull out. I know I didn't get all of it out so I guess it will re-shoot come spring!  >:(

I left an 18 inch path between the beds and will try to do 2 more tomorrow. Little and often will be the key. I also broke my spade so a trip to the local garden centre was required this afternoon.

Has anyone ever used chicken manure pellets on their vegetables? With what results I wonder?

Piccy of my efforts attached, boring I know, but at least it keeps me motivated!!

[Palustris]

Oh that takes me back  to me digging our veg beds, the house bricks!!!!!!. Save em they are useful if not crumbling for standing your shed on to keep it above soil level.

Dont get me started on chicken pellets.

[Moggle]

Well done TimJ, it is all looking good, and the hard work will pay off eventually :D

Keep up with the photos, we all love to see them, and it is inspiration to others who are just starting out.

[Mothy]

Lol Palustris, you must tell me about your experience with chicken pellets after a comment like that!

At the risk of being completely boring here is another piccy after my second digging stint. I won't get down the Lottie now until the weekend when I hope to have another couple of stints. In the foreground is a big pile of ashes from the fire which I intend to rake over the next patch of ground that I dig unless there is a reason why I shouldn't?

I'm starting to think that I might get about half of the plot dug before planting time and that I might cover the other half with black plastic until I can get on it later on in the year. I reckon I could get it all dug but there are other jobs I want to get done such as 2 compost bins and a water butt once I rig some guttering up to the shed. It won't collect much but as there is no other water down there it will be better than nothing.

[Kerry]

how can you be boring us?!
it's an inspiration, seeing those pictures. congratulations on all that well done work, have fun planning what to put in it and anticipate those harvests!

oh yes! i'm intrigued about the chicken pellets now, do tell.............