Waiting for the Plot to arrive

Not all plots are created equal, so it seems having waited for my precious plot to be allocated in my old haunt of Huyton , Liverpool (5 year or so waiting list) i have moved house. Upped stick and moved to sunny North Wales, Flint Mountain to be precise…

Now the plot situation in wales seems to be just as long as in most other areas, however the local village newsletter appeared and in it was a small ad for applications to join up to an allotment association also an advert appeared on landshare good old Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall to the rescue.  within minutes  an Application was sent……  3 weeks later meeting called and association set up…. plot   in negotiation… ??? 

local landowner offered a field to use, so a visit was called for by the prospective plot holders (7 in all so far) to aquire the field for allotments. Measurements taken , length of plots walked excitement built. All this took place about August 2011. Looks like wait till spring 2012 before the plots are up, so in preparation stage right now, drawing, planning , sketching, seed listing re listing all lists and checking tools, looking for hints and tips books the lot….  but still  WAITING   ……   

Waiting for my Allotment

Well time passes , things move on and  i now live in sunny north east Wales. Good news is the village i now live in has formed an allotment association, and I AM IN IT.. yay….

Land has been found members signed up.  Just waiting for the landowner to lay out the plots. 

We all had a visit to the site, there is only  7 of us so far, maybe 8 but looks promising more space for plenty more… so just a waiting game.Spring will probably be our start up dates for access to the site as it is just a field at the moment. Plans as being drawn up and seed lists made ,spring does seem a long way off but the association seems ready to go as soon as we get the ok off the landowner… 

being 35+ and looking at the price of things

OH well credit crunch ahead life seems to be coming to a stand still for many, mine however sees me not on the net a much as id like, credit card filling up, the petrol station seems to be my most visited shop apart from the asda and the gauge drops like its pouring out the back of the car.
Well i no longer have my strip of land to grow things so im now restricted to a few pots in a border, however i have had success with some radish this time,aubergine, strawberries in a pot and some carrots cherry tomatoes and a selection of herbs for my kitchen.

carrots crowded into a pot but growing well, tomatoes ( cherry and black cherry)seem to be bearing fruit at the moment with the promise of more, aubergine has flowers also promising to give me 2 or 3 fruit to look forward too. Got my self a little starter greenhouse(was a gift) to get ready for next year, also placing my name on the list for an allotment in my area (3-4 year waiting list) so all being well will get my green fingers going in time for a shout from them.

life is growing

well all seems good on my strip of land, strawberrys starting to flower, leeks poking up, radish almost ready to pick, garlic and onions standing to attention and my peas are starting to look like plants, my potatoes are now in pots all for small earlies and my sweetcorn has started to grow, planted 15 in to pots about half have appeared, but 7 is plent for my first attempt, as my space is limited im wondering where im going to put the rest of my stuff, beetroots ready to go in the ground , i planted some spring onioins, cucmber and corgettes this week, hope the come up ..... meanwhile been working on my pond, had a cleanout form the winter and added some pea gravel to give it more of a light effect, although i have a small stream attached but alas it seems to lose water from somewhere, only losing about an inch over 8 hours but at that rate it will be empty within 4 days.....

new year new ideas

well over xmas dinner it was said " these veg dont taste like when we were kids" ,,,,and i had to agree, so it was then that i decided to become a kitchen gardener, nothing to grand, just a strip of maybe 3ft but the full length of the garden (not actually measured it yet ) its about 28-32 feet long, So i set about the usual way, make a list of what we wanted to eat, make a list of what we thought was expensive in the shops, plus what would we like on the xmas plate next year so the lists started to grow and grow, alas we only had a small strip that i was going to cultivate so it was a ong and harsh list of cuts and snips, and this is what i got it down to.

definatleys....maybes and no chances,,,,,,

deffo's
strawberrys, we had grown 6 plants last year in pots and had a few succulent fruits off them.
apples ,, we have been luck enough to of inherited a self pollinating apple tree of eaters in the garden already.
sprouts ... cos they were the main flavour we came out with at the table,,
parsnips again for the chrismas plate tomatoes (previously had successin grow bags in a yard so worth a shot... and finally
peas, also for the plate,,,,

maybes
sweetcorn, beetroot, leeks, broccolli, cababge, carrots and herbs plus a list that went on for at least an hours debating...


no chances
melons, grapes, most fruit, okra, mint broad beans(i know its unwritten law to grow these)

being a foolhardy chap i need to see results asap, and as a consequence it all had to be easy to grow.......

world cup fever

Well world cup fever was at its highest in england this time, world cup 2006. we were going to win it(england that is) but like before we failed , maily due to the fact that we didnt have a system of players that could be replaced or strengthend if needed.

Alas we were knocked out on penatly's yet again, oh well such is life, maybe now all the car flags and houses decorated in george crosses will return to normal?

i did enjoy the euphoria of England winning the cup but now we are out am i really going to watch the matches that are left? maybe the final but even that is a maybe??? oh well euro 2008 qualifiers start at the end of the month roll on EURO 2008

change my job

WELL i had enough of the motor industry and have moved into SALES, electrical retailing is a new challenge, but you cant beat the questions the public ask,
for example:- while standing loking at a TV with the price tag of £399 in 12 inch writing they ask " is this the TV that is £399????" or there is a pile of DAB radios with a 4 feet high sign above them stating DAB RADIOS and a big ARROW pointing down at them the question they ask is "are they them DAB radios "
but hey who am i to argue???