First allotment Visit and Other Stuff 09/09/09

The upper end of the site; left hand side is the communal and small individual plots which are represented by the pink section of the google map and the right hand side is to be cultivated by a man and his son, which is represented by the red section of the map. The thick shrubby growth full of hedgerow type plants and bramble at the top of the site will be cleared over time to expose another 15’ - 20’ of land.

The lower end of the site to be cultivated by one person, represented by the blue part of the map.

My little spot - to the front you can see the planks of wood that marks out the general width.

Today was the day of my first work day on the allotment front and it went quite well I’m pleased to say. I met another member of the community (boy can he talk, he even introduces himself as a talker not a worker). When I got there at a bout 10.50am the site manager happily showed me that she had begun to mark out the individual and communal plots, yeah!! She has given me a lovely piece that has been worked this year and doesn’t have too much shrubby growth to the back of it. There are crops on it but most of those will be gone within four weeks, leaving some leeks which will be out by next year spring in time for my plantings, so happy times all round really.

On the more official side fees aren’t due till the end of the year so another yeah!! And the keys are being sorted, it seems they are a special type of key and a £20 refundable fee needs to be paid for each one, moneys are returned on the safe return of the key.

I really underestimated the knowledge base of the other members, they are on a seriously steep learning curve . Today I brought one of my concerns to the front, I observed that there were quite a few rows of undug spuds on the ground with quite a few going green and when they said that area was earmarked for rotovating I saw all my spud growing ideas going up in 2010 blight. So a very quick lesson in plot hygiene re spuds and blighted tomatoes and their foliage was given, then I got stuck in and begun to dig up a row. By the time I was done there was a bucket of perfectly good spuds to pass around and another bucket of spent foliage and greened/ slug damage spuds put aside for burning at a later stage.

I was also quizzed on pea sticks and winter veg and much more, its nice to be in a community that will appreciate you but I’m looking forward to tomorrow when I’ll be working on my own with just the site manager for company.

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My youngest totally enjoyed herself and befriended the neighbour and his wife (an elderly couple) who makes his water available to the site. She took her pack lunch into their home and had lunch with them. She also enjoyed acquainting herself with the site’s cat, his name is Oscar and is extremely friendly ( I forgot to take a picture of him though).

Preparation to go the plot, especially with a little one has to be precise:

First aid kit: (not everything is in the picture) cotton, wipes, toilet paper, tweezers, clean container to mix wound cleaning solution, teatree oil for stings and bites, bandaids, ice pack, calpol for pain control/ fever ( still to get - savlon).

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Pack lunch for her and water for us both (not pictured).

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Tools in a carrier on wheels: I packed my kneeler, fork, shovel, trowel, hand fork, leather and regular cloth gloves, I also took a couple pairs of surgical glove which keep my hands really clean in case of an emergency eye complaint by little one. The whole lot is transported over the handle of my daughter’s pushchair.

A couple other essentials are note pad and pen. Good thing too as I realised I forgot my pruning shears, measuring tape and a small mirror in case I need to see if there is something in my eye, so I jotted it all down to remind me to pack them for tomorrow. I also plan to take a long a bucket and doggy bags at some point in case my daughter has to do a wee or a poo! although the wee will end up on a compost heap.

Other things I got done today was the foraging of some damson fruit which is on the route to my daughter’s school. Yesterday we indulged and they were really sweet ( I have never had a sweet damson before). The picking tool I made was not as efficient as I hoped it would have been but we still got 1lb 9oz of fruit. Which I’ll turn into jam tonight. Below are a few pictures that tell the tale…

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And when I got back home I harvested these goodies for dinner. Note the very small Kalibos cabbages they tasted great and I’ll continue to grow cabbages from now on.

Anyhow that’s it for now, bye.