We're Back...

... and the soil is finally workable.

I've been quite busy lately , so Aaron has made a couple of trips to the allotment over the month of February however progress has been slow due to the wettyness of everything. Yesterday our scheduled trip out was bolstered by the clear blue spring sky and the fact we had nothing else to do.

The recent spell of dry weather has done wonders to the soil, we did dig and turn much of the soil when it was wet and that was hard work (for Aaron) but we were rewarded by aerated and mildly moist topsoil which, when raked crumbled like a Caburys Flake!

Yesterday also revealed that we were not alone out there, the sun had brought out many other Allotteers, it's only the very beginning of the season but already the place felt like a hub of activity. I pointed out to Aaron that as the season gets into full swing I can envisage many a battle over the 6 wheel barrows that are available.

So as it stands we have the majority of the left hand side dug up, de-stoned and raked but we cannot plant yet (last nights temperatures hit -4!) so that gives us ample time to do the same on the right side.

P.S. The weather was excellent, we sat and drank tea with the evening sun on our faces...twas but a tidbit of what awaits in the summer.

I threw it in the ground

It might be a bit early, but I couldn't resist planting a few rows xD

So apparently it's best to plant similar families of veg in the same beds - as they alter the soil in the same way (such as taking up more of a specific nutrient) and this means you can rotate your crops every year and keep your soil balanced and happy.

Here is what I've planted so far:

Legume family
Broad beans - "Karmazyn" (Bed 1 row 1-4)

Root family:
Parsnips - "Tender and True" (Bed 2 row 1,2)

Allium family
Onions - "Bedfordshire Champion" (Bed 3 row 1,2)



You're also supposed to test the PH (acidity) of your soil before planting but meh, I'm lazy. Lets see if anything comes up! And even if it is too early we can always replant :)

Also.. while I was planting the seeds... I was being watched. I've already seen them loitering around in other allotments, but now it seems I've caught their attention.

The birds >:| Well, the ones that cause all the trouble look more like pea hens (and then there's other pests like rabbits and then slugs), but birds are the most evil looking ones. Leave my teeny veg alone!

GO GO VEGGIES U CAN DO IT

Ready to plant? Um... I fink so

So apparently we can start putting stuff in the ground in Feb! Well herpa derp. I'm thinking onions, leeks, garlic and various other members of the allium family - but I'll have to submit my request to Stevo tho and make sure it meets his approval.

Anyhoo I went out today and got two seedbeds ready, they've both been dug up with a spade, hacked with a hoe, and raked over with... well you can guess.

Now here's the picture - and yes it kind of looks like all the others BUT I assure you - there are more earthworms this time round. You just can't see them cos they're imba.

- Aaron

3D allotment, because I'm a nerd

Gives you an idea of how big our patch is!

Allotment size: 6 meters x 20 meters. Each bed is 2.5 meters long, giving us 16 beds in total - that's a lot of brussel sprouts! Of course if we get a garden shed then we'll have to give up some space for that :)

Muddier than a Mound of Mudkips

I had to finish composting the left side, I was losing sleep over it! The mud was intense :o

Washout!

We headed out today, however the clouds above were looking unfriendly but on we went undeterred. We launched into the ground but it's tough going..the soil is soaking wet and quite clayey, it sicks to all the gardening tools and really just gives us grief. No matter though as being outside is all the motivation we need.

Then those unfriendly clouds turned more sinister and unleashed hell on us, we hurriedly dove behind the lee-side of the nearest shed and hunkered down. It was at that moment that Aaron leaned into me a little and with an air of defeat admitted that my idea of getting our own shed was a guddin.

But why would we not!! We can:

• Shelter from said elements
• Store our tools
• Have our neighboring Allotteers over for tea and crumpets
• Most importantly we can 'Chit' our potatoes :D

Aaron: .... Let's not forget the real reason you want this Stephen.

Moonshinin'.

Enter the Garden Hoe

Why get a rotorvator to break up your soil for you in five minutes, when you can spend a week doing it by hand instead? Exactly, that's what I thought.

Enter the garden hoe! I think so far this is my favourite gardening tool :3 The one I'm using hasn't changed much since Roman times, but there's a foam grip on the end so I'm sure that brings it into the 21st century.

By the way, some people have been asking where exactly is the place where us city kids embarass ourselves in front of seasoned gardeners, so I'll give you their website - http://www.beechparkallotments.ie/

And here's what a patch of ground looks like after being mercilessly hoe'd. The lines in ground are called 'furrows'. I was completely broken after doing that, it's really hard work! You can see the on the last couple of furrows I was slacking haha, I could of made them a bit longer :)

- Aaron

***DISASTER HAS STRUCK!****

It has transpired Aaron purchased cheap ass reasonably priced hoe, there I was creating the straightest furrows you'd ever see and then...KABLAMO:

And might I add - 10 year guarantee ! Im not sure we even hoe'd 10 furrows.

-Steve.

TPS reports

Aaron: Having to pull a weekend shift in the office means we can't be out attending to our green pasture >:\   Does a dairy cow explode if it doesn't get milked? ... Do we have a cow?

BUT it means more time to work on shopping lists wooop xD At the moment this includes a hoe, a pair of gardening pants to get RIGHT down into those lush piles of muck - aaaaand Stephen wants to buy one of those awful mini-garden sheds 'in case it rains'. Or, I think more accurately, somewhere to brew his moonshine >_>

Looking forward to a full day of flinging rocks into wheelbarrows and watching Stephen work on his wonky rockpath.

The Growening

Here it is!

This is it, the growing starts here. 2010 was the year of balcony growing but 2011 we crank things up a notch, well a few notches.

Allotment was secured on this day and it is a fine patch of soil if I do say so myself. We are flanked on all sides by what looks like seasoned Alloteers so I'm sure there will be advice given left, right and centre...literally!

This is Our blank canvas, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions hell even Butternut Squash is going to get a run here but there'll not be a seed planted until March so until then we'll be raking, digging and hoeing Our botttoms off so that, when the time comes there'll be zero distractions from the task of planting, watering, nurturing and yes even singing to the little green shoots!

Update from Aaron: Pulling stones out of the ground is kinda fun. Also - I got behind the wheels of a wheelbarrow, weeeee! (I'm happy to report zero casualties so far).
@Stephen don't forget to put the second photo up showing all the stones we found, people will want to see that.

WhOOPS, Nearly forgot!

Stones, stones and more stones! But we did not fret, we welcomed the stoneage as Aaron came up with the spiffing idea we use them for Our garden path...I had to do the actual manual labor of course. Aaron just stood there, flinging worms.










Aaron: We should also introduce ourselves. I made a handy poster that I'm sure Stephen will approve of instantly