Allotment Week - Under lockdown - Day 1 - Shed load of stuff to do

I booked some time off work back in December. I set it for the first three weeks of April (ok, last couple of days of March as well) as I thought that the weather would be sufficiently decent for me to spend a good while down the plot. Little did I know that we would be facing an apocalypse in the form of a deadly plague. I am one of the severely vulnerable people. I have asthma, and last year I spent a long time in hospital with a lung infection and pneumonia. So if I contract this virus then I would be in big trouble.

Fortunately the lockdown allows people to exercise, so I choose to use that exercise down the plot. After all, it's not like there are many of us that go down there at once. As one of my work colleagues said of the allotment "that's about as unsociable as you can get". That's not true as we are a pretty sociable bunch, but we can certainly honour the social separation recommended.

The day started pretty sunny. But by the time I got down the plot the clouds and wind had started to gather. But since we cleaned out the greenhouse it's nice and warm in there, so I made a spot of lunch.

Kettle on for coffee and a spot of pasta in the pot.

Meanwhile outside I did the old tissue paper trick on a tin of tuna in oil in the Ghillie Kettle. I put it in the kettle because of the wind. Having it just open wouldn't have worked.

Once I warmed up with lunch, I then had a look around the plot to see what needed doing. The first thing that jumped out at me was the good old shed. I didn't manage to get round to painting it last year (for obvious reasons) so it's looking a little tired and worn. The last time I painted it was two years ago.

So I dug out the old pot of wood paint to give it a touch up.

Afterwards I gave the seeds in the greenhouse a good watering. The Turnips, and Pak Choi have already begun to sprout.

And then went wading into the deep end (which was now dry) but had a large number of dock plants in it. So I dug down into the soft soil to try and dig them out. As you probably know, dock have a very long tap root so I had to dig pretty deep to get the damn things out. Once those things were removed, I contemplated digging over the bed, but thought better of it and headed home. After all, tomorrow is another day.

Cleaning and seeds

What a difference a week makes. So last week was nice and sunny. But then suddenly the temperature changed and took a downward spiral. This does not bode well for the seeds that I sowed last week. So, I was a little surprised this weekend that there was actually some sprouting action going on.

The Pak Choi seems to be off to a start. Also the spuds are starting to sprout a little.

No change from any of the other seed trays. Perhaps when the weather gets a little warmer.

So in the meantime, it's time to do a bit more spring cleaning. We've already done the greenhouses, so now it's shed time. It's quite a mess in there. (And this photo was taken after we already started.)

After a few mins we emptied everything out and could sweep out a years worth of detritus.

And then put it back in, in a little more orderly fashion.

At least now we can get in there to the very back of the shed.

So, we have beds prepped, greenhouses and shed cleaned, seeds planted. Now we just need to wait for the weather to warm up a bit. Can we have a bit of last year brought forward to this one please? Just a smidge.

Allotment Week: The hottest day in April since 1949

Whew, what a scorcher.

Well I guessed it was going to be hot because I keep an eye on Weather Underground. A useful little website where you can even setup alerts for potential frost warnings. No need for those today, as apparently it's the hottest April day since 1949.

Just as well I pushed The Wife out of bed at 7am so we could get down to the plot before the big heat hit. First on the cards was the third and final trough.Then, as I turned round from making that, I saw the sorry state of the shed.

One quick coat of Ronseal later and it looks so much better.

I guess the grape vine won't notice any difference. It hasn't started shooting yet, which is no surprise. It always takes an age to get started. Mind you, last year it had already started budding by the 16th April. I guess the late winter has set everything back about 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, by the time noon rolled around, we were definitely wilting under the heat, and thought it best to head for cover.

Today was Shed Day 2 (too)

My plot neighbour has had a very trying time over the past few months due to ill health. Fortunately she is now recovering, but she has a shed which has seen better days... especially the roof.

So we decided to do something about it. This morning, with the help of another neighbour, we attacked said roof and replaced the rotten OSB roof with some nice new stuff courtesy of B&Q. We had to do some additional internal structure support just to make sure everything held together. But hopefully the shed will keep going for a few more years. It'll certainly keeps the contents a lot dryer.

Today was Shed Day

It's been threatening for a while. But the mess that was the insides of my shed looms to large in the eyes of She Who Must Be Obeyed. So it's time for a clearout.

If you recall a few weeks back, the shed looked like this.

Well the first thing I did was throw everything out... literally.

Secondly, I have a load of wall brackets to hang tools from. But first I cut some old estate agents sign posts down to length and mounted those to the walls.

Finally, after a sweep out, the remaining rubbish and tools can be hung and positioned properly.

At least now we're not tripping over tools on the floor trying to get to stuff at the back on the shelves.

Breezy days

It's been a blustery day down the plot. Overcast, but fortunately the rain held off.

So now I have the second greenhouse up, I really ought to consider getting some sort of shelving in there. Fortunately I have some nice long wooden pallets which might do the job. Unfortunately though, they happen to be too long. So after sawing off the two ends a bit they now do fit.

But the bad news is that it's too wide for the smaller greenhouse. Guess I need to get sawing off the end of those slats. Still not sure whether I should raise them any higher. My thinking is that having one side lower means I could have some tall growing plants, such as Tomatoes, placed there. I guess I'll keep the shelves low for this first year and see how it goes. But I definitely need to trim down the width otherwise there will be no way to actually get into the greenhouse in the first place.

Although thinking about it, I might be able to cheat somewhat by simply cutting down the middle of the pallet. That way I could offset the slats and nail them across. The shelves would be narrower thereby solving the width problems, but would be more structurally sound. What do you think?

So whilst I was mucking about with shelves and building a new raised bed frame, the wife was busy planting more seeds in the original greenhouse.

But last weeks plants are off to a great start. Our courgettes are already sprouting up and trying to take over the world again.

So things are starting to move along on the plot. Hopefully as it gets lighter in the evenings, I will be able to pop down after work for a bit to get more jobs done. So roll on summer time because that shed of mine is a bit full and needs a damn good sorting out.

Roof on

Been a busy old day down the plot today. First things first though... coffee.

Whilst I spent an hour up a ladder replacing the roof on the shed, (If you remember, the roofing felt got ripped off by the storm), the Wife started clearing out the rubbish in the greenhouse and giving it a damn good clean out.

She seemed happy doing that, so I went off the build a new Strawberry bed for all those strawberries that have been over wintering in the greenhouse.

Don't worry, the foxes have moved out. Just as well, because there has been a delivery of manure. Something of a rarity on our side. The West Side usually gets the big deliveries, but we managed to get a decent pile this week. So tomorrow, I'll be digging the mound over and adding a liberal amount of manure ready for turning it into a courgette mound again. Also at the far back of the plot, I'll be piling up more manure for our German Pumpkins.

Elsewhere on the plot things are a little more alive. The Kale is still rather pigeon'ified, but that doesn't stop other creatures moving in. And they're a darn site more welcome.

So now the greenhouse is nice and clean. The Strawberries are moved back inside. There is still a slight chance of frost, but it's not that I'm concerned about. I need to dig out the old compost bin properly to put the compost into the new bed. That (and the afore mentioned manure) is tomorrows job.

But it does look a lot cleaner in there. Maybe it's because I re-planted the blueberries into bigger pots so they are now outside. Gotta make a net cover for them otherwise those damn pigeons will have 'em.

Somebody else's rubbish is my treasure

The weather reports said that today would be nice and dry. So I thought I could get a whole load of stuff done down the plot. Word to the wise. Do not trust the weather reports.

One thing I noticed the moment I drove in. That big pile of wood chip from last week... gone. And yes it was a big pile, but there is none left now. Nor is there any manure left.

Well the first thing I did was start setting out my spuds in the greenhouse. A few of them have got little shoots on them, but they need a little more warmth and more light to get going properly. Also put in a few more onions that were left over from the batch I put in last November.Yes, they'll be maturing later but that's no problem.

Time to cut back the buddleja. Its sort of taken over in it's spot between the water barrels. Even more so as it has fallen over and now falls onto next door's plot. So it needs a damn good cutting back.

Whilst I was then tidying up the plot and pulling out a few weeds I took a look at the Swiss Chard that had grown in the 1st bed for the last two years. Last year there were big stumps in there, and they sprouted into a fine crop of leaves again. I expected this year to be the same. But no. The stumps were almost hollow and fell over as I was weeding the bed.

It would seem that Swiss Chard is a biennial. If I'd have taken the time to read up on it, I would have known this. However it's not a problem.The seeds that it produced last year dropped all over the bed and there are lots of little plants now appearing. So more Chard this year. Woo hoo!

I still had some rubbish that I pulled out from clearing out the fox mound. So I took it round to the waste bin area of the site, and there I saw that somebody had thrown away an old cloche. The metal frame was not much use, but what caught my eye was the fact that the covering was a tough clear polycarbonate. That could certainly be put to use.

My shed has had damaged windows for a while. Yes, at the moment the roof needs doing, but those windows have been broken far longer. So a little measuring and cutting and there are now two new windows in place. Somebody else's waste becomes my new windows.

However no sooner had I finished that than it started getting really cold, and dark clouds loomed. A few spots of rain got me heading into the greenhouse. Just as well as no sooner had I got inside than it started throwing down hail.

I spent the next 5 minutes listening to it bouncing off the greenhouse roof before deciding that I shouldn't have trusted the weather reports and headed for home.

Roof off

I didn't get to the plot this weekend until late on Sunday, and even then it was just for a quick check-over.

However it seems that Storm Imogen which hit the UK last week has had a bit of an effect on the plot. I've been pretty lucky over the past few weeks that there has been no damage to the plot other than small things such as blowing over the compost "daleks" and occasionally putting in the already damaged window on the shed. But this time it has actually done some real damage. Nothing major but it's certainly something which should be looked at.

The roof of the shed has been taken off.

Fortunately only the roofing felt has been ripped off. When I built the shed, I only tacked it down around the edges, neglecting to put any of the tacks into the central part. So when the wind got underneath and loosened the edge tacks, it flipped the felt back and tore out the holding tacks. This left it flapping around and it tore all the way across.

Now the actual shed I got (from Tiger Sheds) has a slotted roof which is pretty secure so no water has got in. But the roof is more than a little damp so it might take a while to dry out... if I actually let it dry. I could simply tack a new piece of felt back on and let it go at that. It will dry out internally over time, and it'll probably survive. But to let it dry thoroughly is always better.

Bit of a moot point of course, as I won't be able to get it fixed until next weekend. So I hope it stays dry this week and for the next weekend.

Allotment Week Day 7: Shed and wrap up.

Today was supposed to be the building day for the rest of the beds. Just one problem. B&Q didn't have the right size of boards. They had 3m and 2.4m boards, but I was after the 1.8m boards. So as to not have a wasted trip I decided to get some wood preserve for the shed.

The shed was put up in my last Allotment Week back in 2013. And since then it's withstood the storms, clear outs, and slow stood in the sun and rain and got faded over time.

So it's time for a bit of a face lift.

Before...

After...

Much better looking I'm sure you'll agree.

Although I didn't managed to get a lot of what I wanted to do on the plot done. There has been enough changes that the plot is now looking slightly organised. Certainly a lot better than the ramshackle that it was.

However the beds are getting somewhat important as I really need to get the beans in. So I guess that will have to be done without fail next weekend.

Beware of the triffid

Every time I walk down the path at the allotment, the triffid reaches out and tries to grab me. It has already tangled up a lot of itself into an impenetrable thicket. Now it seems it wants to take over the rest of the plot.

I'm talking about the grape vine. This year it seems to have a mind of it's own. It also has lots (and I do mean lots) of little grape bunches forming. But it seems to spend a lot of its time growing out tendrils leaf shoots rather than putting its energy into those grapes.

The shed is slowly getting subsumed by it. Is there actually a shed in there?

Definitely time for a hair cut.

New Faces

A lovely sunny day. Just right for working down the allotment?

Did I say working? I mean squelching. There is still a flood. The greenhouse is still awash.

But that doesn't mean to say there aren't things to be done. The weed proof membrane that covered the courgette mound has blown loose and needs tidying away. It will get used later in the year, but for now it has a new home stuffed under the shed. The shed also needs a spot of care. The winds have blown the window in again.

Again it is fixed by the simple expedient of shoving something up against it from the inside. It is still too cold for proper sealant to work properly so temporary fixes will have to do for the time being. On another note, the shed has taken on a definite lean. The sodden ground has meant that the supports are sinking down a little on one side. This is no great problem, just makes it look a little odd. But by being up on stilts the shed is nice and dry... unlike some of the other sheds around the site.

But today's big news is the influx of new faces. We have 11 plots to allocate to new people today so we have to show them their swamp.... err. I mean plot.

(Ignore the reprobate looking at the camera. He's one of our helpers.)

I took two of the new recruits to have a look at their new spots. One of which was the plot next to Pauline's that she was so concerned about. I also spoke with a few other new residents taking on their plots for the first time. I'm also pleased that some of them actually read this blog! So to you new people I say welcome. Don't be put off by the bad weather and the state of things. Take you time to plan out what you are going to on your plots and where you want things to go. Look carefully at the sun and where any trees will cast shadows and figure out accordingly what grows well.

There are numerous resources around the web for advice on what you want to grow. They're all at the end of a google search. And failing that, there are numerous other plot holders who will all quite happily talk up a storm to anybody who will listen.

So welcome to you new people. I hope to see you down the allotments. Ever thought about doing your own blog?

The Plot's Flooded

Yesterday we had a spot of rain. OK, I lie, we had a major storm. Loads of rain, wind and all sorts of unhealthy stuff going on. So today I thought I'd go take a look to see if everything survived. Last time this sort of thing happened, one of the windows in the shed blew in. Well guess what... one of the windows of the shed blew in. Not the one supported by the rake. It was the other one. So now I have the spade and fork doing double duty as window supports as well. Guess one of my jobs for the new year is to get those windows sorted.

But that wasn't the major shock. No, the biggest shock is the fact that the plot is under water. Anything from about an inch to three or four. The greenhouse is blocked off (and only wearing trainers it's a bit hard to get to) and the rest of the plot looks like high tide.

And people wonder why I built my shed on stilts.

Shelves for the Shed

I don't have to go back to work until the 6th. So I have plenty of time to turf out the 16 years of accumulated "stuff" from the house. The 2nd bedroom (we call the "Otaku Room" is my office and storage room. But it's kind of turned into the throw-it-all-in-and-slam-the-door-before-it-falls-out room. So it definitely needs a clean out. Yet there are somethings which really should be re-purposed for another life.

I have a set of metal shelves which have been with me for the better part of 25 years and are still in almost new condition. But they're not suited to the house. So where else could they live? Simple enough. In the shed. Mind you, the shed also needs a bit of a clean out.

There is stuff in the shed left over from when I built the greenhouse back in the "spring". I had intended to keep the paper and cardboard for using as fire starters for the rocket stove for cooking. But I never got round to building that. Nor do I think I will ever build it. So it all has to go.

I will however keep the cable ties that were used to keep the glass together as they are useful for tying up the grape vine and apple tree. They can stay on the floor as they don't fold, stack or stay put in a small container. But at least it's a little cleaner in there now.

But I'm still using the rake to hold my window in place.