Yesterday's thoughts on the allotment...

Plot 376

I, honestly, thought that allotments go back to the 1900's, maybe when the World War II had just finished, but no. The idea and start of allotments actually goes back to 1649!

The practical need to grow food, is part of our history and as such, farmers etc...required small acres of earth for the food production. However, this was a struggle with the land.
This all goes way back to when the Saxons were able to clear land and use it for usage, until the Normans came along and claimed ownership. The first mentioned of allotted land, arrived late in the reign of Elizabeth I when allotments were attached to tenant cottages for compensation for the reawakening of land.

In 1649, somebody called Gerrard Winstanley led a group of men to take over land. This done well in protest of the people, who were being robbed of their land by the Normans. At this time also, food prices were high. Winstanley's men began to cultivate the land. He claimed that all men had the 'right to dig'. Winstanley captured man's imagination, however the protest was sadly killed by the authorities. Although, the spirit of 'right to dig' still lives in many of us today!

Disappointingly, during the industrial transformation, thousands abandoned the maintenance way of life and relocated to cities to work in the factories. Still, there was a change in the air with the General Enclosure Act of 1845, the Allotment Movement and with it came a new principle; local councils were to provide land.





This went on and on, until even public parks were turned into allotments. It was estimated that 1.4 million allotments were used to produce 1.3 tonnes of fruit and vegetables per year! I'd love to produce that many!
Today, we have higher interests for allotments and so much to do with them, such as combination of crops,  fertilizers, appropriate equipment and tools. It's amazing how they coped during that time, having only the simple compost and manure, basic gear and appliances, still grew as good as today!
I've got a lot of respect for the older generation of our society!...



...and looking at the photo above, if not, better crops!

In the 1970's, my Mum had an plot in Bebington Road Allotments. It is a great honour to be part of Bebington Road Allotments, where my Mum was.



I recall, as a small child, playing on my Mum's allotment. One memory in particular, playing on my metal Ferguson tractor, even chain driven, with little legs powering it. With my tipping trailer, I filled it up with my Mum's onions before they had grown, I understand why my Dad shouted at me now!
It would have been lovely to have had my Mum's old plot to carry on the good work that she did, but somebody else at the moment is doing a good job on that plot and being in Bebington Road Allotments is enough for me, a great privilege.
Also, everyone I have met there are brilliant too. Let's just hope that allotments, in particular Bebington Road, goes on for years to come!

Happy Growing gardeners!

Working with toys and tools...

Plot 376

After a short visit at the allotment today, with my two helpers, I decided, with it being a rainy day, to go home and do some maintenance work with my toys and tools :)
This involves in the cleaning, sharpening and oiling of my shovels and other various gardening tools and equipment. Doing this makes the job a lot more easier and enjoyable.



All these tools above, were bought from various car boot sales and I reconditioned them myself, except for the long shovel with the flat edge! That was from the local garden centre.

Also, I have another piece of garden equipment, which I like to class as one of my toys!
Areas Rocket Cultivator.



This is a very old model. When I got this cultivator, sadly it wasn't working and neither was the gear linkage. All linkage was twisted, bent and ceased up. Fixing this proved to be a quite difficult task!
However, as I treated it as a project to get it running, this became more enjoyable rather than a burden. After some weeks of work and concentration, I managed to bring this old, mechanical cultivator back to life! It is now completely restored and in good working order, I am quite pleased. I am also quite glad to how this machine has been lifeless for a long time and it just makes it so satisfying to put it back to use. I just can't wait to get it onto it's chores! Hopefully, this will also be able to help other people out, to make life a little bit easier for them, as it would for myself!

Little helper...

Plot 376

Today at the allotment, I took my little daughter, who is always keen to help. However, as she's only 3, she can't quite hold a spade just yet!
 Not much happening, since it has been very cloudy and muddy up there. We decided to drive round the corner, to see my good friend Rob's chickens. She loves to see the chickens, as you can see below.




When we first got there this afternoon to see them, she was quite shy and timid towards the chickens...




...but was soon holding their eggs confidently...



...and feeding them corn seeds excitedly!

Hopefully, she'll have a plot of her own one day. Her elder sister is also very keen to have her own allotment, she tells me she just wants to grow fruit, herbs and lots of flowers; which I think will be very nice. She also wants her own chickens, and our little helper can have a chicken of her own too!

Strangers?..or not...

Plot 376

Earlier today at the allotment, my good friend and member of the committee, Val kindly donated some raspberry bushes for me to plant in my fruit bed. Plus her wheelbarrow to collect and drop off at my plot.



I decided to plant these straight away. With my sharp shovel at the ready, this took no time.
I planted them all in a row along the bed, they will hopefully bloom in the coming season and spread.
I will also hopefully have some juicy, pink raspberries too!



Collecting these raspberry bushes today, I had a little chat with Val. Which came as a nice surprise that, she was a teacher at Kirkland college many years ago. The college where in fact I studied metal work and civil engineering. This came as a nice revelation to me since she might have taught me...
So what do I cal you Val? Do I call you Val or do I call you Miss?.. :)

These are just little surprises life can bring you...

Damp days...

Plot 376

Well, another damp and muddy day at the allotment. Sadly, these winter, dismal days tend to damage the long lanes, flood the plots and most of all, keep people away. But gladly, myself and my friends still manage to make our way to our allotments. I think it's the warmth in our sheds and the hot coffee and nice cakes, that keeps us going.



The only thing is, these long comfortable breaks postpones us from the cold, outside digging and the construction for the growing season. Lucky for me, I can only drink half a cup of coffee anyway!

Meanwhile, I'm out there filtering the bottom layer of my compost into my fourth coming potato bed. The worms I found today, would have to be the biggest worms I have ever seen. They must have been at least 10 mm thick and very long! I had to protect them from my little friend, the Robin. He's always around when I'm digging, coming quite close up to me. However, I would still rather looking after the worms. They do a great job in the ground. My good friend once told me, 5 worms on one spade full is good. Today, I had 5 or maybe more, which I can't wait to tell him!
How exciting, WORMS!

First day back...

Plot 376

2012, wow not a bad year. 2013, hopefully a lot better. Hopefully, also a lot less rain and more sunshine.
Really looking forward to this year, got some good seeds and unusual seeds, which I am still eager to embark and start sowing. Hopefully, they will grow for me!
As I like to look after the pensioners local in my area, I'm praying to give them some bizarre veg soon and see their facial expressions when they behold yellow courgettes and bright lights of chard.

There's lots of nice reasons for me to grow my own crops; such as the different tastes, the differences in preparation and methods, the joy of helping people and how strange, I really do enjoy the hard work I put into it all! These below, are just a few of what is to come halfway through and to the end of this year arrived..



Their they are above, lay on the carpet by the way, not grass! :)

I'm ready for the New Year now, bring it on.

Old sticks and branches...

Plot 376

Along the lanes of the allotment, sticks and branches are around. I use these to keep the wood pigeons or any other animals off my crops. This works extremely well and adds a nice woodland theme to my plot.



With the thicker branches this year, I have made a runner bean frame, which I am going to grow runner beans themselves one side and the other half of sweet peas. I think this will look very nice, the colourful plants winding up the sticks. Check out my runner bean frame out for my crops...

 

There it is above. However, not only do I get sticks and branches from the allotment, but from Farndon and other forest like places I visit to. This can be a little tricky...



Around this area, there is plenty of sticks and logs for my burner also. This all comes in handy like recycling. After collecting, I must say, me and my trustworthy defender do need to get a shower back at home...

Before my next blog, would just like to wish all my friends and readers a happy New Year, best wishes for more to come.

Using scrap materials (part 5)...

Plot 376

My personal security

Got little visitors lately, the odd wood pigeon and a few magpies decided to attack my brassicas. Maybe they needed a little friend to talk to? So I made a scarecrow. This plastic buddy has hopefully scared them well away for a while. A plastic plant pot for a face, a yellow raincoat, tall and powerful! :)

Meet my allotment buddy Rob (part 4)...

Plot 376

When I joined the allotments, after about two weeks of working into it, a young man approached me with his brother and requested how to get an allotment. It was very hard to tell whether this man was really interested in getting an allotment at this time, nevertheless I told him how to go about it, giving him the appropriate address and phone numbers for the council. I can honestly say, I am glad that he did get one, I have made a really good friend :)

Rob is a person who will really help you out without a shadow of the doubt and puts others first. He has a lovely partner, very much like himself. It is great to know Rob and Hayley, I also speak for my family when I say this. My two daughters also think a lot of them and our get togethers are great!

One highlight, not long ago Rob was the first to drive my truck, as he calls it, which I am happy to have given that fun experience. I do take great pleasure in helping Rob when he needs it, because I know when I need help and can turn to him, he is more than likely to oblige.

Rob's allotment above, near the beginning. 

And above here, my mate Rob, looking after his chickens on a frosty morning!

The sowing of the seeds (part 3)...

Plot 376

Over the last couple days, myself and Bob decided to start sowing some seeds; giant leeks, hot peppers, with red and savoy cabbage and broad beans already planted. Can't wait to get these into the ground, because I want them to grow!
Giving my daughter Lauryn some space on my plot next year, she can hopefully grow some beautiful dahlias or chrysanthemum rainbow, just add some lovely colour to the plot besides from green!
I had got some unusual vegetable seeds called 'Funky Veg Kit' at Christmas, this consists of stripy tomatoes and purple carrots, etc...I have also purchased various vegetable mammoth seeds from Rob's granddad,  I am eager to start planting them as well!

The making of my compost (part 2)...

Plot 376

Making my compost earlier this year, I started with tonne sacks of brown, rotted leaves from Farndon woods, horse manure from free cycle, vegetable scraps, fruit scraps and teabags, plus some good manure and grass cuttings donated from my good mate Rob. This is the compost I'll be using for the following season next year and I am hoping I shall have good results from it!



My compost above and as you can see below, Rob's compost and what a fantastic job he's made.

The preparation, before the growing season (part 1)...

Plot 376

Over the last few days, I have been very busy preparing the ground for my potatoes, this includes digging over the soil and spreading manure into the ground. Hopefully in February, I will be preparing it for planting the potatoes! I have also had some help from my good mate Rob!

The start of my allotment journey...

Plot 376

When I received my allotment, I immediately started work as I was so excited. The picture below is a photo of another allotment, very much of what mine was like at the beginning.



I worked very hard to get my plot, which was like that but worse above, to what it is now.
The picture below is my Mum's plot 30 years on. Many memories I can recall, its nice being close to it.



Everything I used was recycled. The first job I was to do was to build a fence around the plot, to prevent people using my allotment as a car park and dumping ground! I then had to clear the allotment with petrol cutters and trimmers, etc and then I took all the green waste and general waste to the local recycling depot. This however was a big task in itself! The next big step was to make the raised beds using scaffold planks and when the beds were made, this then took me 26 tonnes of soil and approximately 3 tonnes of manure to fill them. After that, I got some Victorian doors from a friend. This made a lovely greenhouse, with herringbone stone block floor!
Finally after 4 weeks of hard work, became the growing season! I was straight to the garden centre to get onion and potato sets. Quite surprisingly, they grew, even with it being my first time!




Most of the other crops I also chose this season, was runner beans, cabbages, artichokes, salad like leaves and salad crops. I also have a lot of fruit, fruit trees and bushes, canes, etc...growing.
I spent the whole season at my allotment, not missing many days. I enjoyed keeping the woodland theme nice and weed free. This Winter, I've spent a lot of time organizing and preparing for the coming season ahead. The only thing I will miss, is the crackling log burner, which I recycled from an old gas bottle, keeping me warm in my shed. I have also met some wonderful people, who also share the same interests as myself! In particular, Rob, who is very helpful. I enjoy going round to his plot, drinking coffee and having a chat. For a young man, he knows a lot about gardening and growing crops. I think he teaches me sometimes!
I have also joined the Allotment Society Committee, which I am most pleased about.







Please take time in reading my upcoming entries!
Many thanks,
Carl