Summer still seems like a time away, so here’s a look back to 2011.
Local Tour – The Gillies Allotments from tontowilliams on Vimeo.
Category: Garden / Allotment
Batten Down The Brassicas, It’s Windy Out There
It’s not often my sleep gets interrupted, but at 3am this morning I woke to the sound of the wind whistling around the house, it sounded quite wild out there. Today was also “bin day” and as I walked to the railway station it was clear it had been. Many bins were lying on their sides, their contents strewn around the street. I made a mental note to check on the allotment when I got home.
After work I walked down with the dogs, hoping my weekend preparations had stood up to the worst of the weather. Fortunately it seemed to be the case. The fleece on the brassicas had worked free at one end, which I quickly resecured; and a piece of carpet that had blown from a neighbours plot was returned.
Other than that no damage, so I took a bit of time to check on some of my sowings. I could be wrong but I think the peas might be poking their heads through (see below), I’ll check again at the weekend.
Wilson is an old hand at the allotment, we’re often there harvesting after work, however for Ruby, it’s a new experience, however I think she’s starting to get what it’s about.
Frosty Start, Sunny Finish
After a busy weekend on the allotment, with my early spuds going in the ground as well as shallots, radish, lettuce, parsnip and a complete set of brassica plants that arrived last Friday, I was hoping for them to escape any significant frosts. Knowing that to be unlikely I did make sure that they were all under cover. I made good use of the cloche that I built a week or so ago.
This morning I woke to a proper frost however. The roof of our house was white, as was the ground, I hoped that my preparations were enough.
After work this evening I walked down to the allotment with the dogs to check how my new plants were. By now the sun was out and the Mercury had risen. Everything appears well, all of the brassica plants that went in only a few days ago seem fine, my cloche has done a good job. I’m sure they’ll be more frosts to come, but it’d good to know that my preparations seem good.
Watching The Birdie
I’ve always kept a bird list. Birds I’ve seen etc.
Since we moved to our current home I’ve kept an exclusive list for the property. The rules are simple, only birds that I’ve seen on or from the property can go on the list. As it’s a small urban property the list is relatively short, 31 species in total; the most in any year, 24 species. It includes some great highlights though; merlin, buzzard, sparrowhawk and fieldfare. This year so far the count is 14, so a good start.
I was updating the list yesterday when I noticed a pair of blue tits checking out one of the nest boxes. A pair nested in the same box last year, so there’s a good chance this pair will use the box this year. I’d like to think it’s the same pair, but there’s no way to know for sure.
Allotment Video Update 12th March 2014 & 14th March 2014
I finally managed to get the video I recorded earlier in the week to upload so here it is, scroll down for more recent updates.
Since then I’ve been busy planting broad bean seeds (eight rows), peas and rainbow chard. I’ve also dug trenches for my early potatoes, which weather permitting will probably go in on Monday. The temperature however has dropped from a balmy 11° when I shot the video above to around 2° this morning.
Building A Timber Frame Cloche
Having the ability to grow plants early in the season “under-cover”, means getting a head start on the growing year. They keep plants warm and protect from frosts. I’ve used plastic cloches for a while, mostly ones that I’ve bought ready made (for about £5 each) these are relatively small, covering not more than a single row of plants and not giving much headroom. So I decided to build something myself. Partly to have something custom made to my plot, and also to see what it would cost me in materials.
The basic frame is made from 38x47mm treated softwood, and the overall frame is about 2m long and about 0.8m wide.
I strengthened the corners and other joints with off-cuts. All held together with wood screws. I pre-drilled all of the screws to make assembly easier.
The hoops are made from flexible 15mm waterpipe, and screwed to the frame. I allowed for about a half-metre height above the centre of the frame.
The covering is 250G plastic purchased from E-Bay. I had a sheet that was 4m x 3m, and used as a double layer. Ideally slightly thicker plastic would have done as good a job and therefore a smaller sheet would have been needed. The sheet was secured to the frame using staples and trimmed with a knife.
Costs:
- Timber £10 (plus some off-cuts from other projects)
- Plastic £8
- Water pipe: I already had some left over but it sells for around £2.30 for a 2m length.
- Screws & Staples: Again I already had these but expect to spend less than £5.
Tools:
Drill, screwdriver, staple gun, Stanley-knife, hacksaw (to cut plastic pipe to length)
Construction Notes:
In total I spent about half a day building this (incl. shopping for materials). A nice level surface helped get the frame together. I’m pleased with the end result and it will give me a flexible area to grow plants early in the season. Cost wise this was probably on the expensive side but I did already have some of the materials and only really had to buy the wood and plastic.
The same type of framework could be used with netting instead of plastic to protect brassicas and other crops. With the plastic on, don’t forget to water the plants underneath.
I didn’t film a “How-to” video as there are plenty on YouTube, if you’re interested.
Allotment Update: Digging A Bean Trench
A “How To” video on digging a bean trench for the summer. The trench will help keep my runner beans from drying out in the summer and provide them with nutrients.
Allotment Video Update 17th January 2015
A cold start on the plot with frozen padlocks.
I’ve also created a 2015 Allotment album on Google+ so that I can post all my 2015 allotment photos to one place. Here’s a link
The Big Allotment Challenge Series Two: Quick Review
I was fairly unimpressed with series one when it was first shown last year, but thought I would see if there was any improvement with series two.
I waited a few days to watch the first episode of series two, watching on iPlayer, rather than live on the series’ newly promoted slot on Friday night from its previous slot on Tuesdays.
Sadly, although I thought there was improvement on series one, it’s still not the show for me. Too much about the competition element, instead of the actual growing. I don’t like the style and I don’t like the judges, particularly the thoroughly rude Thane Prince, who even when she is being complimentary seems to have a patronising and sarcastic tone.
I won’t be watching the rest of the series.
Electronic Scrapbook 