Allotments 4 All

Was a busy but productive weekend and spring is well on it's way!

Saturday saw me at the plot for a couple of hours. Job one was fixing up two new water butts on the shed and lean too. That should hold about a further 400litres of water. I also had to make a top for an old water butt to meet health and safety regulations.





Next job was to thoroughly weed the onions and garlic beds and the last few leeks. The sets have been over wintered and have got away to a decent start this year so far. I will be giving them a top dressing of potash soon once I have had a bonfire.





I also slipped the peas in from their guttering, now under wire to keep the pigeons at bay!

Then it was grass cutting of the paths and edging the beds. The grass has finally got around to growing a little now after a slow start. The damp conditions should mean this will accelerate  over the next few weeks but I need the grass for the compost bins as they are lacking in  a bit of green material and they will come in handy to mulch the potatoes and runner beans.

Talking of spuds, the first earlies, (Mimi and Foremost), are just a few days away from breaking the surface of the soil.

The final big job for the day was erecting one of my walkin 6 by 4 plastic greenhouses. I have a couple of these and have decided to place on on my second plot this year. To facilitate watering in the summer I have installed a water butt inside and this will have a drip irrigation system attached to it to water the tomatoes, cucumber and aubergines that will be grown inside.



At the moment it is acting as home to a selection of stuff being hardened off and some early spuds in pots for a catch crop. The water butt inside will alo act to some degree as a heat sump.



Then all that remained for Saturday was to pick some salad leaves from a cold frame and head home for a barbeque that evening as it was such a glorious day.

Sunday started early with me on the plot for 7am. It was very dull and damp and as I parked the car the first spots of rain fell………………..

But I finished all this years digging and sowed a row of carrots, Early Nantes, and a row of parsnips, Tender and True. The root bed is all ready for the rest of the carrots and parsnips which will go in over the next month.



I also popped in the over spill sweet pea plants, I grow most of these at home for ease of cutting but had about 20 plants over, mainly Liz Taylor, Blue Velvet, Galaxy Mixed and Kings High Scent.

Before heading home for breakfast with the kids there was time to pick some rhubarb and flowers, Tulips and Anemone’s for the wife.





As the drizzle set in for most of the day I spent 30 mins or so in the greenhouse potting on dahlias, Echinacea and Delphiniums.

The before lunch out with the kids as oldest was in the St Georges Day Scout parade.

Evening was spent slumped in front of the tellie!

Busy but good fun and exercise!

Jerry

:D

A good story, well told  :D

Col

:o Wow, I take my hat off to you Jerry, not a weed in site and so neat and tidy, I feel so ashamed, a lovely plot well done. ;)

Everything looks great. You certainly made the most of the good weather at weekend (well at least Sat was brilliant.) Really enjoyed looking at your plot and all  the different pics. Many thanks for sharing
Lorna

I enjoyed reading that - thanks

mat

Nice water butt; mine needs sorting out as the foundations are collapsing again. This time its getting rebuilt on top of a concrete slab. Now the taps are on again it's an easy job. My alliums are all well mulched, which helps control the weeds, though I'm having some problems with a flush of goosegrass that comes straight up through it.

So sorted well done. Lovely to see it you can know reap the benefits of all the good work you have done.

i love your movable plastic greenhouse. where did you get that from? that is the sort of thing i could well deal with on my little plot as it can shift about with the rotation, no?

looks really good :)

what a lovely tidy plot. you look so well organised!! mines looking really bare but lots in the greenhouse waiting to go out soon. mind you bares better than the jungle i took on last year. lovey photos, thanks for sharing them. why did you haveto make a top for the old water butt?

Thanks all for the kind comments.....

Weedbusta

We have to cover our butts on site to prevent a claim if some one few into one and injured ourself. The site's insurance policy does not cover this so the individual tenants are liable. Therefore I have all mine covered now. Only sensible I guess.

Svea

I have a couple of the plastic greenhouses, the frames are about 5 years old but the covers only last 2 or 3 years. The covers I have now are better though as they are a sandwich of plastic and mesh for better strength. The frames originally came from Robert Dyas but I have seem them in places such as Sommerfield and Asda. I buy the replacement covers from Guardman.

I move them to a new spot each year so they are on fresh ground, very pleased with them.

Jerry

tell me more about them: how do you anchor them so they dont take off in the wind?
i will check out a couple of websites to see what i can find :)
thanks

They come supplies with guy ropes and tent pegs but these are not enough in an exposed position.

In addition I lay bricks around the edge, there is a flap of material that they sit on and act as weights. I also fill 4 pint plastic milk containers with water and hang these from the side supports for more weight.

Finally I use the guy ropes and attach to a solid point or tie around a paving slab or some other similar heavy object.

HTH

Jerry

i suppose hammering four 'pegs' deep into the ground (i am talking about sturdy stakes here, something like broom handles in thickness) around the corners would also help? i wouldnt be able to use the guy ropes for their intended purpose as plot is so small i couldnt have them streching diagonally here there and everywhere - i would constantly fall over them. hance my question. i saw some on ebay - havent yet found anything suitable on any other website - does £25 to £30 sound about right?

£25 sounds very good, that is what I pay for the replacement re-inforced covers when they rip/wear out.

Large stakes will help fix indeed, but I would also add some weight in the form of the water as well, this helps to hold the poles together as it is only push fit joints.

Jerry

Amazing, Jerry. Lives up to your reputation.

One quibble - no lid on the first butt?

Even that small hole will surely allow the algae to grow??

They've sent the wrong water butt pump twice now, so it's all by hand still.

Wyvale were doing them greenhouses for £30 reduced by £40 as we looked at them. Well done to you SandersJ  mine might look like that one day too (i wish)

Can't see any pictures Jerry  ???

Sorry folks, my pictures have disappeared for some reason that is a problem with my hosting service, they should be back soon I hope!

Tim, yes there is a bit of a hole in the lid but the water wont stay in there long enough to create a problem and I believe adding a drop or two of olive oil from time to time helps reduce problems, especially from mosquito larvae.

Jerry

Quote from: simon404 on April 25, 2006, 20:45:56
Can't see any pictures Jerry  ???

Simon, I have just added them to another site so you can see them....I hope!!!

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/sandersj89/Allotment%20April06/

Jerry

Thanks for the original post Jerry. Any chance it could go in the Wiki?