First visit to the Plot

 I spent this afternoon down at the plot. I generally finish work at lunchtime on Fridays, and I can see that heading down to the allotment might well be my new way of starting the weekend. I spent a few hours down there, beginning the task of clearing it out, and Lucy joined me when she'd finished school and helped for a bit.

 

We weeded out half of the first raised bed. That doesn't feel very much given we have 8 of these to do (plus 3 small ones which make up the same area as a 9th) however, it feel like a good start for a couple of hours' work. I also spent some time taking down a load of bits and pieces left by the previous tenants.

 

I've got rid of all the canes and cans and poles in the above picture and removed loads of bits of actual rubbish - old plastic pots, plant labels and netting, so these beds are about ready for weeding too. Just removing the canes has made the plot feel much bigger.

This was my first look at the soil, and I think it looks pretty good - not too much clay (which you get a lot around here), and loads of worms, which feels like a good sign. Lucy also found a frog lurking in the patch she was clearing. The plot behind us has a pond, and she gently encouraged him in that direction.

I also had a pleasant surprise. Once I'd cleared the canes and netting from the beds further back, I spotted some familiar-looking leaves coming through, so I pulled it up and confirmed my suspicions - the previous owners of our plot have left a load of parsnips in the plot. I left the rest where they are as we won't use them if I take them home now, but I'll plan them into meals in the next week or so.

We Have an Allotment!

 Almost two years ago, we put our names onto the waiting list for an allotment plot. I didn't forget about this entirely, but as I know the waiting list is long, I didn't give it a lot of thought. So when I got a call last week saying we were now at the top of the list and could come and look at a plot, it came as a bit of a surprise.

We met the allotment officer at the Midwinter site today and chose a plot - there were several free and several people near the top so we were allowed to select in order. We chose Plot 132, which we liked because it wasn't overshadowed by a hedge like one of them, wasn't overlooked by houses like another and wasn't enormous like a final one we saw. 

What we've got is a nice patch which is divided into two halves. Each has three existing raised beds and a fourth patch which could be used s one. There's then an area at the "top" (furthest from the path) which is a bit of a dump on one side, and has some small mini raised beds on the other.

This is a view from the "bottom" corner - our plot runs up to that green fencing and greenhouse (which is sadly not ours). I don't think it's going to be a massive effort to clear those front beds so we can start planting them this spring. The area at the top is going to take a bit longer, so we'll do that over the summer once the front beds are planted up. My initial thoughts are that we could use this area for raspberries or gooseberries and the front beds for rotation, but I might changed my mind!

We've offered these smaller beds at the back to Lucy, who's keen to grow peppers and chilis in them. Obviously we'll help her get them cleared!

One thing that's already in place is some rhubarb. There's actually quite a lot of it in a couple of the beds, so we might have to take some out, but it's nice to feel that we're not completely starting from scratch and have something already growing.