|
|
09-06-2010, 01:57 PM
|
||||
|
||||
My allotment progress log!
I've had my allotment since 16th May 2010 and when I first took it on it was covered in weeds, the shed was failing apart, there was an old compost heap (that belongs to the plot next door) that had burst and the contents were all over the floor by the shed, there was a huge mound of rubbish (stones, glass, old plastic, broken tools, broken pots etc...) on the other side of the shed (propping the shed up!!) and it looked a mess.
 Week 1 (16th & 19th May) ~ I cleared the contents of the shed and sifted through the huge pile of rubbish and took quite a bit of it to the dump. I spent hours and hours clearing the whole patch of the worst weeds and skimming the surface to remove the grass and rubbish. It looks a lot better now that you can see some soil! Week 2 (22nd & 23rd May) ~ I mended the shed, I wish I had taken some pictures of how it looked, it was falling down, it was so bad that the guy in the neighbouring allotment told me to pull it down! I reinforced it (a lot!) and gave it a 2 coats of wood treatment. I fixed the hole in the roof and completely replaced the roof felt. I fixed the lock too and temporarily fixed some plastic over the window to protect the contents from the wind and rain.  Week 3 (29th & 30th May) ~ I gave the shed another coat of wood treatment and it looks much better now! My neighbour can't believe it's the same shed! I dug all of the collapse compost heap and realised that it was full of bindweed... the roots were all the way through the compost. I have repaired (as best I could) the pallets and fixed the compost heap again, so that it's no longer bursting all over my patch. It doing so, I've discovered that the ground underneath is seriously waterlogged. After speaking to my very helpful neighbour I now know that they all have the same problem. I have dug a ditch (I'm not sure that was a good idea and I nearly broke my back!!!!) and I'm hoping that it will help to drain some of the water. It looks a lot better, but there's a long way to go and the weeds have started to re-appear!!!  I'm going to try and update this week by week and I'll take some pictures too! It's hard work, but I'm enjoy it so much!!  
|
|
09-06-2010, 02:09 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Week 4 (6th and 9th June) ~ I've dug the ground on the left hand side of the shed and levelled it out. The ground is still extremely wet and so I've decided to use it as a seating area. I've paved it and it looks great, I'm really pleased!!
I've relocated the rhubbarb from the middle of the patch to a small bed by the shed. I've dug a patch of the ground (approx 10ftx12ft) today and found that it's quite wet and clumpy. The sun is shining, so I've broken down the largest clumps and left the others on the surface to dry out and hopefully break down! The ground doesn't look very good and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need to add something to it, I'm just not sure yet! Anyone have any ideas?!
|
|
09-06-2010, 02:14 PM
|
||||
|
||||
 This is how it looks today. You can see that the weeds I cleared are re-appearing fast, it's full of bindweed! Does anyone know how to remove it fully? I am right to just keep digging it out? 
|
|
09-06-2010, 02:21 PM
|
||||
|
||||
 The boundary is the grass verge on one side and the pallets which make the compost heap on the other. It's looking much tidier than it was.   I don't think I've done a very good job of re-building the compost heap! The pallets were broken, so I've tried to fix them, but as you can see it's not straight or level!! The ground there is so compacted it's very hard to dig. I dug about 2ft down for the stake, and ended up with clay and couldn't dig anymore because it was just too hard. Hence, it's not level and looks a mess!
|
|
09-06-2010, 02:28 PM
|
||||
|
||||
 I've laid the paving slabs (on the water logged soil) and left a small bed to plant in. I've relocated the rhubbard to that bed too. I need to buy some more paving slabs and add 3 more to the front. The soil looks dry in this photo, but when you get up close (and the sun hasn't been shining on the surface) it's soaking wet!  When I first started this side of the shed was being propped up by a huge mound of rubbish! I've cleared it all away and I'm going to use this space for my compost bin and water butt (when I get one!) Someone was really kind this week and responded to my ad in the paper for unwanted garden equipment. They gave me their old compost bin!!! To the right of the photo is the ditch, it's covered by the long grass now!  This is the ground that I've dug today. As you can see, it's full of huge clumps of soil! I'm not sure what to do about this, I've left them on top for the time being and I'm hoping that they'll dry out and be easier to break down. Does anyone have any ideas about this? Also ~ the ground is poor, I think I need to add something to it, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help!
|
|
09-06-2010, 02:52 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hi Peony
Really great to read all about your new allotment You have done an amazing job so far~ and in a short time too GR8 Work and you have transformed your shed Fab that you have managed to sort so much out and that you got a nice looking compost bin there I like your sunny patio paved area Good luck with everything ~ and hope you manage to sort out the drainage and heavy soil ~and thanks for letting us see your allotment and all the exciting progress you are making Creating Some raised beds made from very cheap [maybe sold for about £2 per 12 foot board / as reject quality ] scaffolding boards may be a solution for part of your space [ I think i will be getting some of these cheap scaffold boards to try them out ..the guy says he will cut them~to what ever sizes~ while I wait Years ago in Sydney I only had a concrete yard ~and I made a one brick surround border 4' x 14'/ then I laid the base with a layer of newspapers~ then a bale of straw pulled apart and laid on top then sprinkled that with seaweed ~and watered well ~ and I planted my first ever vegetable ~ a single small cucumber plant~ which ~quickly produced 3 long yummy cucumbers daily Luckily my neighbours liked them tooxx
|
|
09-06-2010, 04:55 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hi Carole! Thanks for your comments!
It feels like it's been much longer than just a few weeks and I feel like I haven't got very far at all. Now that I've written everything down, it's easier to see that I have achieved quite a bit! I was so lucky with the compost bin, it was so nice of them to give it to me! I'm planning on making some rectangles to clearly define the patches, hopefully it will make them a bit easier to keep too! Wow ~ your cucumber plant sounds as though it was working over-time!! It must have liked the soil and the position it was in! Do you grow vegetables in your garden or on an allotment? Thanks again for your comments, it's nice to be able to share my progress with people!
|
|
09-06-2010, 05:54 PM
|
|||
|
|||
WOW!...You have certainly done a great job there Peony.....seriously credit where credit is due...Well done ...
You have certainly put many others into the shadows...As for that shed... It looks as good as new... New Guy down our plots, so he tells us well experienced, had many plots over the years ect. He started a half plot just above one of mine....back in March. If he has cleared 8sq foot, so far!!....So far he's rotavated the bind weed and couch grass, spent hours watering the whole area, turned the top soil over ect....I'll say no more ....  ...'cept its now back full of said weeds..... As for your bindweed, other than using weed killer, to me there is only one way . Turn a row over, break it up and get down on hands and knees to get the roots out..Yes you will always miss the odd bit and it will appear again. but will be a darn sight easier to handle.... Best of luck, decide how you want the plot to look, dig over an area and plant it out. Believe me it will spur you on, "I did that "... Again well done, have a great season , happy planting.... 
|
|
09-06-2010, 08:13 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hi Peony, you have done a cracking job - well done!!
The only way to get rid of weeds is to dig them up with the roots intact. With weeds like bindweed you need to have the patience to go through the soil and remove all the small bits of roots as you dig the bindweed up because they will grow again. Bindweed has a creeping root system so as soon as you put your spade through that creeping root the flippin' thing regrows! Good luck!! It's hard starting from scratch with a rubbish and weed covered plot!
__________________
Lesley Jay Vegetable Growing Guides Vegetable Container Gardening Guide Potato Days & Seed Swaps 2012
|
|
16-06-2010, 05:39 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Hi Peony,
You have made some great progress in a very short time frame, and if I had to bet on it, I would have said that shed was brand new. Keep the photos coming, it's great seeing the progress other people are making, espesialy when I'm doing the same work.
|
|
18-06-2010, 08:57 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Awwww.... thanks!! You guys make me feel so good!! Thank you so much for all your lovely comments!
Week 5 (13th & 16th June) I've had a really busy week at work and my sister has had a baby, so I've only visited twice so far. I've transplanted some tomato plants, aubergines and peppers. I've put them into pots and stood them by the side of the compost heap for the time being. The ground still needs quite a lot of work and is very exposed to the wind ~ which seems to whip across all of the allotments, so I'm concerned that without a lot of support and wind break they'll get damaged very easily. I'm hoping to visit tomorrow and do quite a lot more! I hope the weather is good enough, at the moment it's pouring with rain here! Thanks again for all your comments, it spurs me on even more!!! I'll keep adding pics to this thread for you all to see!
|
|
19-06-2010, 07:56 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Week 5 continued... (19th June)
Today I've cleared the ground behind and to the right of the shed and laid some more paving slabs. I've added a few more paving slabs by the front of the shed, the door opens much easier now! It's not finished yet, but it's getting there!  I also fixed some trellis to the shed and planted a clematis (a present from a friend) in the bed. Not really vegetable gardening, but hopefully it'll look nice and attract some wildlife!   I've dug some more of the ground, added manure and feed and fixed some canes for the Dwarf French Beans that I've sown in the ground. I hope they grow!!  Considering that I've spent 5 hours there, it doesn't look like I've achieved very much! It was fun though! 
|
|
24-06-2010, 10:37 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Week 5 continued.... (24th June)
I went down to the allotment after work and spent 4 hours there, it was lovely! I'm exhausted now though!!  I've dug more ground and planted kale and cabbage! I've also planted courgettes and marrow!     I need to get some netting to cover the courgettes up, the birds seem to like them a little bit too much! I've pushed the pipe into the ground to use as a support for the net. It's getting there, I'm just not sure if I'm doing things in the right way!!!
|
|
10-07-2010, 10:28 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Week 6 & 7 (26th, 27th June & 2nd, 7th & 10th July)
It's been ages since I've updated this and lots has been happening! Here are some photos....  IMG]http://i30.tinypic.com/nx3wnm.jpg[/IMG] The courgettes and marrows are coming along nicely. Although, they don't seem to like the sorching heat too much, so I've now made a small polytunnel for them... 
|
|
10-07-2010, 10:30 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
The cabbage and kale are really coming along now! A couple of birds managed to get under the net I had covered them with and quite a few have been eaten. I've sorted this out now and re-covered them with more net!
  Do you think the cabbages that the birds have attacked will grow?
|
|
10-07-2010, 10:30 PM
|
||||
|
||||
 I can't believe how well the rhubbarb is growing... despite the drenching it keeps getting from my little gardener!! It doesn't look as though I've done very much! But I've been really busy, strimming the grass and edges, clearning the ditch again, weeding etc...
|
 |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Linear Mode
