FEB
Dream balcony/cat garden!
So I feel a bit rotten that our cat doesn’t have a garden. She is a adopted indoor cat but she likes a good sniff and sit in the sun like most fur faces.
I have a big net to install and I plan to make a wooden frame so she is 100% safe.
I have done a bit of research and my planting plan is to begin by sourcing below…
1. Cat Grass
2. Lemongrass
This also keeps mosquitoes away… For some reason we get a lot at the allotment in the evening…. Might have to try this!
3. Catnip
4. Catmint
5. Mint
6. Valerian
7. Cat thyme
8. Spider plants apparently
9. Honeysuckle
I am sitting waiting for my delayed train into work… So musing about gardening is helping to soften my grump and kill some time. Although touch screen gloves would be an idea in the cold!! BRRR!
And I found this image. Is so beautiful!!! I like to think this is how flossie will feel on our balcony! (A bit…he he! 🐱) cat dreams!
Sunny day at the plot :)
I got to the plot at around 10 yesterday morning. It was snug in the greenhouse. At a toasty 17 c!
I dug over my D. carrot bed… And I was feeling all fancy with my twine guide line!
I might have got a bit carried away… And sown my carrot seeds. Ooops! Historically I don’t really like carrots. So this is my first attempt at growing them. I fear I have sabotaged myself!!
I then had a mad panic!… And found a closh in my shed! Which I deformed enough to cover both rows. It was nice and hot today… So it looked like a carrot sauna by the afternoon. Fingers crossed!
I also got a bit inspired and started putting sweet pea supports in as mini dividers! Again far to early for this sort of stuff. I just can’t help myself… And makes me look like I have a master plan (i hope) although probably that I am just a bit nutty!
I then had a little lounge in the sun! I am on holiday after all.
I got both my potato beds de-stoned and dug over. And had a general tidy at both ends. And added some more sweet pea triangles at the end of the back beds.
I built a tomato support system in my greenhouse…. Using various bits from our inherited storage rack… Every year I have issues with my giant tomato plants. This year I have a plan… No more attack of the triffids!
Then I took a photo of the lovely blue sky! 🙂 Could have been summer time!
I organised the new section of my strawberries. Hopefully this means I have an over lap what I take out my 3 year old starwberries. I just need to sort out the crazy back section!…
I feel like I am getting set for spring now! But I also got told I can’t have anymore space for my growing 😭… I was hopeful to upgrade to a second half plot. But with requests for space now out weighing demand… It can’t be helped. Which is good news for the allotment site, just not for this ambitious grower! So the plan is that I need to become more ingenious with my space!! I might need to invest in some more growing bags…
Right now time to get set for work… Back to reality! I might have to take myself on a walk at lunch… Think it’s another sunny one today!
2015 plot plan!
So it might be time I made a plan…
My plans have a habbit of changing so I have doodled a layout and given my beds letters. Might give them nick names…
A. Annie
B. Betty
C. Cynthia….Could get rather confusing!
Right here is my wobbly doodle…
A. Broad beans! However onions and garlic might need to move here!
B. Onions and garlic…
C. Strawberries
D. Carrots
E. Salad bits… Rocket, spinach, lettuce…
F. Beetroot
G. Raspberry bushes x3 summer
H. Raspberry bushes x 6 early
I. Potatoes
J. Potatoes… I might put these into grow bags to free up some more growing space…
K. Courgette… And spring onions.
Flower bed by greenhouse. Sunflowers! And flowers in general
Greenhouse. Tomatoes. Chilli peppers
Oh dear I need more space!!
Things I want to squeeze in:
My prized soy bean experiment (i searched for these for a while)! I’m not sure where to grow my soy beans as they need lots of sun… I thought the greenhouse night be an idea?
Sweet peas (I will find space!!)
Leeks
Chard
Flowers for bees!
The sun is shining 🙂 so off I go to the plot… But not before my second breakfast!!
Stage 2: rainy plot visit!
I saw the weather report for this afternoon; and it didn’t look promising. RAIN!
So I made sure to pack some chocolate buttons for my plot part 2! 😋
I was glad I fixed the green house door last week… as it kept me nice and dry! I don’t know where I would be without our inherited greenhouse!
Last year my onions And garlic were a bit of a disaster. So this year I am attempting a booster by starting them off in our greenhouse. Might be a huge mistake… But giving it a try
I have been reading a few websites suggesting it’s a good starter… So here goes!
With the rain; I had no excuse to not tidy the greenhouse. It’s starting to look a bit more organised! Which hopefully makes everything a bit easier. A tidy greenhouse in a happy greenhouse! Let’s hope!
Day off= my idea of a holiday at the plot!
I have a few days off work this week. So it’s a great excuse to get to my beloved plot!
Sweet peas are in 🙂
Last year I grew them in side, this year I am being tough! 💪 starting them off in the green house (no fancy heating, but I do have a door :)).
I got my chilli peppers in… I plan to start these off back at home.
I have a bit of a headache today so I have retreated home. Not before I tipped one of pots of peppers over 😱. Feeling poorly and gardening don’t really work. I need to make a medical kit for the plot… Pain killers, plasters… Maybe some antiseptic tissues!
But now I need lunch! Just need to move the furry heater (the cat) off my lap (she is making the most off me having a day off work) then back to the plot for stage 2!
Raspberries are go!
I was rudely awoken today. Crash bang!… My box of organised seeds went flying with the cat!!
On a positive note my rasberry canes arrived! They were rather smaller than expected… But I suppose they are dormant!!
Here are the raspberry canes all unpacked. All 3 varieties!!!
And this is today’s plan:
The seeds!!
Here are my sweet pea seeds. It’s lucky dip sowing this year!
I started soaking the seeds today. So hopefully I can get these sown tomorrow.
I have to say the seed plan go shelved and I focus on the raspberries!
I planed to put my raspberries in the back bed on my plot. But I realised I had nowhere to grow my potatoes if I put my raspberries here!!… I have hit the half plot rotation wall! After some debate I found a new spot. I had a good dig and put some good well rotted manure in.
After some mad digging! Here we go…
Hopefully the hard graft is done for now! I just need to fix up the wooden frames and some good mulch materials…
I took a photo of my strawberry growing tube! That I planted up last week.
After all the hard work I had a little sit! So I went home and ate lots of chocolate! 🙂
Weekend workout
Good workout weekend.
Drum roll!
I fixed the green house door! And I will now be known as ‘queen of the staple gun’! Hopefully it will last another 2 years. Here are my tools… Took me about 2 days to actually locate the correct equipment… So in itself that was a minor achievement!
And this is the door installed 🙂 I’m just glad its finally done!
I had a huge dig. My first big work out for the year. I started at around 10; and left at around 2. My tummy was literally growling for food when I got home.
Dug over my future potato bed (the Z bed)… Again. And put some strawberry plants in pots down the side of the bed. The soil keeps escaping the bed onto our shared path… Hopefully it’s a good flexible planting/edging solution.
I had a strawberry tidy up… It might be the wrong time of year for this; hopefully I haven’t done to much harm.
I pulled out the illegal plants that had grown in any available space and removed the old brown decaying leaves. I then put down some new grow stop matting. I only got half the bed done.. but you can see the madness vs attempt at organisation!
I planted up my vertical growing tube with strawberry runners from last year. It’s sort of vertical gardening… I will get a photo next time I visit the plot. Again maybe I should have waited till March… But I was just a bit keen. Hopefully as they are runners they are already pretty tough! I hope it will end up looking a bit like this.
I dug half my mini back bed and put spring onion seeds in.
Dug the bed nearest the greenhouse and removed what I thought was ‘green manure’ as I had dug it in. But it wasn’t really doing a lot; as far as rotting down goes. So it might have just been a weed. Who knows. Anyway I putted what was left, out. This took an age! I then put broad bean seeds in 🙂
I’m already going off piste from any sort of plan! When I have seeds in my hand I just can’t help myself!
It was a great day for digging as it was gloriously sunny… If a bit soggy. I even got down to my t-shirt…The allotment t-shirt tan is never far away! Can’t wait to get back there next weekend!
To my sweet pea
I’m a little obsesed with sweet peas, and very determind to grow them for a second year. Last year we grew a few for our wedding… So now when I see sweet peas it makes me smile! Mainly because of how much I was willing them to bloom!
Here they are probably early July… When they were in full bloom. We had been away on honeymoon for 2 weeks. So we probably missed the best blooms. But it was a nice suprise when we got back.
Here are some I collected for a neighbour
This is one of the bunches….at our wedding. These ones literally bloomed the day before the wedding in June.
We had a florist to do the house flowers. That equally became an obsession on its own right. I did learn something… That florists and I really don’t really work. I much prefer the growing!
This year I am trying to work out new ways to squish sweet peas into the ends of beds…. Then I found this inspiration image online! Which looks rather pretty!
I collected pea children from last year, and I am planning to soak and sow them soon indoors. Hopefully with a cosy start they will get nice and strong like last years plants. I’m always a bit nervous starting seeds now as they can get a bit leggy. Looking forward to getting them growing!
Snow and welly boots!
It’s Tuesday and I am already thinking of the weekends allotment potential. I had to stay away from the plot last weekend as I had a cold… Usually I battle on decided to get some rest and leave the plot to slumber. Today it snowed which was a suprise and I realised 2 things; 1. Never leave your wellies at the plot and 2. If you do make sure your back up walking shoes are in the house… Not in the car boot!
It’s only a little snow… but enough to cause a bit of fun on the commute to work. Not enough for the wellies yet! It always makes me smile when I see ‘London’ wellies getting an outting on snow days! They always look so shiney and clean!!
Bloom or Bust: Alota Allotment! 