New cloches and bad backs

So the clocks went back last night and that means an extra hour in the day (sort of).

Mary and I had been out yesterday and got a couple of bits and pieces from Homebase that we thought were needed for Doug and some more veg to plant. We had also dug up some more soft fruit bushes from Nigel (our miniscule back garden) to transplant into Doug.

Well the weather this morning was less than inspiring but off we went over to Springbourne in the drizzle. Once on site we got to work planting a couple of rows of red onions and then it was onto replanting the soft fruit bushes. I got the holes dug and Mary heeled the bushes in. We then decided to prune them back ready for the winter. This is when disaster struck, as Mary bent over to start pruning her back went. She's now sat on the couch with an ice pack and various pain killers.

As Mary then couldn't work anymore she supervised as I planted the new savoy cabbages and put the cloches over some of the brassicas we had already planted. I don't think there is much more we can plant until the Spring now, but if half of what we've planted comes up we'll be very happy.

Early Signs are Looking Good

Popped down to see Doug this morning after a few days away and we were greeted by the sight of some well taken brassicas (so far we've only lost one seedling), some healthy looking fruit bushes but most excitingly of all two rows of garlic shoots!

Unfortunately this morning was just a flying visit to measure up for some cloches but we'll be back tomorrow to do some more work (weeding, digging, etc), plant some cabbages and have a general tidy up. Hopefully some more pictures to follow tomorrow as well.

Purple Raspberries

We had a very important delivery yesterday.... three Glen Coe raspberry canes.  

The Glen Coe purple raspberries in their new location

Since Phil and I both had the day off work, we took time to go down with Lyta to plant our lovely new additions.  With any luck next year we will then be able to pick lots of purple raspberries and make purple jam :P

"When I were a lad..."

"The trubble with t' youth of today....."

Phil took the opportunity  to wear his new cap and smoke his new pipe so that he looked like the grumpy old git he is trying so hard to become.  He could be heard pontificating about the youth of today, and how it was different in his day!  Lyta took plenty of time to pose as well.

We were very surprised to find that only one of the purple sprouting broccoli plants had died, the others appear to have taken well. All the cauliflower plants are still going strong.  We still don't really expect them to come to anything but it will be fun finding out.

Then one of the other plot holders gave us a whole load of beetroot, including a red & white variety which is cooking nicely on the stove as I type. Yum :)

More planting

I had to visit Doug on my own today :(

The allotment shop is only open on a Sunday for an hour or so, and I do feel a somewhat compelling requirement to purchase at least some of what we grow therein.  We knew they had garlic and onions (although they only had shallots left) and I found both those and some broad beans for my morning of planting.

I had cycled down to the allotment bearing a pot of jam.  When we visited yesterday, Doug had been generously adorned with two currant bushes so I wanted to thank the donor.  It turned out that the previous plot owners had provided the kind gift so the jam went to them.  It appears this is quite a common thing - the donations of spare plants, not the jam reciprocation.  It is a lovely community - plenty of people offering help and advice - which is wonderful and scary at the same time.  As the "new kids on the block" everyone appears to know who we are but it's going to take ages for us to remember who they all are.  I'm grateful that we have the obvious connection.  It makes trying to integrate easier for someone like me who finds using social skills such a challenge!!!!

And so I set to planting.

We bought a rhubarb crown and a blueberry bush yesterday afternoon so my first job was to inter each of those.   One of our plot neighbours, Jerry, generously gave me a watering can full of water with added food which would help the blueberry bush to settle.  He also advised me to plant some of the garlic between my rows of broad beans to help reduce black fly.  He said there was no proof it works because it's difficult to tell how bad the pests would have been without but he always did it, so I took his advice as gospel.

So in after the brassicas went a row of just garlic, two rows of broad beans with another row of garlic in between and finally a row of shallots.
My final task was to put the netting over the brassicas.  They're probably more at risk from frost, cold and slugs but at least we're pretty much taking bird damage out of the equation.  We said from the start that anything we got from those plants would be a bonus so we don't expect much.

Doug really is now beginning to look like a proper garden.  We have a very long wait before we can harvest anything but it's great to have the time to ease into the routine and hopefully begin to see what develops.  We'll be back next week to see what's going on :)

Doug's been Dug!

Feeling quite tired this evening, but also quite proud of ourselves because we spent the late morning/early afternoon digging over Doug's beds and putting our first plants in!!

It took Mary and I the better part of 4 hours to dig over the 2 beds - fortunately the people who had it before us took really good care of the ground so the digging wasn't as hard as it could have been. for which I am eternally grateful!

Can I just say at this point that chicken pellet manure really, really stinks - but hopefully it's helped enrich the allotment!

So far Doug now has Cauliflower, purple sprouting broccoli, red currant, raspberries and strawberry plants growing on him. Whilst I'm busy in the New Forest tomorrow Mary will be busy planting a rhubarb crown, blueberry plant, garlic and onion sets.

I hope you enjoy the photos, I'm off for a well earned beer!

The List so far

Just to keep in with the theme of Doug I thought I would do my first post in a gentle purple hue!

After an evenings research I've found we can get purple fleshed potatoes - that has got to be the best. Imagine sitting down to purple chips or purple mash. Would you eat it or create a picture?

We've also found out that we can get purple carrots, garlic beans and a whole host of other veg. One of our best finds at the weekend was purple raspberries!

Anyone want to come to dinner in a few months time?

All set to go

Meet Doug.

He is approximately 8x7 yards, needs some digging over, some manure and a bit of weed clearance but otherwise is all set to go. He already has some strawberry plants at the back and a couple of raspberry plants at the front. The rest is up to us. This is where the hard work and the fun begin.

When I went down this morning, I met some of the other plot-holders, all lovely people ready to share knowledge, plants and home-made vittels (this could get very messy!) :)

Our first decision

It's going to have a purple theme.

Purple has long been my favourite colour and it's intrigued me for a long time about how many purple fruits and vegetables it's possible to grow. Now we have a reason - purple fruit and veg are high in anti-oxidents (must be good it sounds technical!)

The hunt is now on for as many different types of purple fruit and veg as we can find :)

In the beginning....

We applied for two allotment plots a few years back. The waiting lists were each in the hundreds so we expected a long wait.
In the meantime, we managed to get some practise in with Nigel the Garden. Nigel is painfully small but we tried very hard to utilise the space as best we could. We made mistakes but still managed to get small crops of various different fruit and veg.

Then a week ago we got the call for which we had been waiting so long.

Bournemouth East Allotments had a quarter plot for us and would we like to come and see it? Bit of a no-brainer really.

The following day we found out that it was probably one of the best vacant plots going - it was being given up by a plot-holder who was moving to a bigger plot, not one which had been neglected. Our fears of it being too hard to even get started had been dispelled.

We're under no illusion that it will be hard work but it's going to be fun too!