A New Year - A New Lease of Life

This is my first blog post in a while. For several reasons, I have neglected my plot shamefully. In fact (and I want to hide with shame when I say this) I didn’t go to the allotment in months. Deary deary me!

The main reason was that, when I left the job I hated, I was so happy that I wanted to spend as much time as possible with my family. Now, my primary teaching course (which, admittedly, I love) takes up most of my time. I also volunteer for a few things every week so again, I want to spend my free time with my family.

But, as always, the new year brings a new life. I have found that spark in me again – the little fire that warms me when I’m outside working the land. So, with that in mind, I've told myself that I will keep the allotment up. I have been sensible and cut my plot in half. Next year, if I’m still in Caithness, I’m hoping to plant a heritage garden where I grow all varieties and plants that people 100+ years ago grew.

This year, I’m concentrating on making small vegetable beds that I can manage with a busy university course.

The last couple of days I’ve been helping my sister finish some of her nitty gritty research for her MSc dissertation. We finished that yesterday which meant I could go to the allotment today. My tasks were:

·         dig 1 bed (1m x 2m)

·         make the compost bins out of the many pallets that are lying around my plot.

I always learn something new when I’m gardening. I learned, today, that I should have measured out the bed before I started digging. Why? Take a look at the photo. All that energy that went into digging the paths!

I gave myself little targets and, when I reached them, I treated myself to a rest on my rather muddy, dilapidated, spider’s webs-y garden chair. It was a beautiful day and I relished in looking around my plot and listening to the birds next door.

I didn’t manage to get the compost bins finished. I only put up one side of them. I’ve learned, though, that sometimes you must alter your plans for the allotment to remain enjoyable. If I’d pushed myself too hard today, I wouldn’t want to go back for a while, and the plot would get to the stage it was last year.

Oh, and another thing I learned: Always always take a bottle of water with you. I forgot today – and, as I was eyeing up the very old water in the milk bottles, I really regretted it!

Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Well, I did promise an update, and here it is:

My polytunnel isn't just "no more", it is a crumpled pile of depressing tubes! Not quite sure what we can do with them. My brother, Alex, has an idea that we use it as a kind of template and build our own. Given the price of polytunnels and greenhouses, I'm inclined to think this is the best option.

But it isn't all bad!

The tomatoes that had been left in the polytunnel, all of them ending up on their sides, were abandoned when I thought it was a lost hope. But somehow, with no water, and no support, they are still flourishing and the flowers are still in tact. Actually, the plants look really healthy! We've now taken the plastic away from the polytunnel so the tomato plants went in a sheltered place. As we're having our allotted summer at the moment, I'm hoping they will be ok. I've been surprised at what we can actually grow here!

In other news, we harvested the shallots and some of the garlic. As the weeds had taken over, this was a case of digging up everything and looking for the bulbs as if we were finding treasure. It was very successful and I'm looking forward to pickling them soon (the shallots - not the garlic!) Dad harvested most of the onions. Our red onions' stalks seem so much stronger than the normal ones. Why is that?

We don't have the luxury of an allotment shed so the onions were taken home to dry. We can't guarantee the good weather for long so we couldn't just leave them on the ground. They are hung up in various places all around the garden, ready to be whisked away inside at the first sign of rain.

There is so much to update you on, but I will leave some of it for another day! Everything seems to happen at once on the allotment! Even though it is really hard work getting started, my plot is one of my most prized possessions!!

But for now, I will leave you with this mish-mash of colour. A while ago I planted poppies, corn marigolds and sweet peas and left them. They all look really strong now, although the poppies have bent in the wind, and the sweet peas don't actually have any flowers. But I still love this little corner! And so do the insects!

Best Made Plans...

If there is something that is clear from my first year of allotment-ing in Wick, it is that you should never rely on the weather!

We've had a few storms recently. I really love windy days. The last few mornings I've been outside there's been that crisp autumnal atmosphere that always makes me want to harvest vegetables.

But I went to the allotment yesterday and turned to see my polytunnel - well, it's not much like a polytunnel any more! It's more like a pathetic heap of plastic and snapped metal tubes. Yes, the wind managed to snap the metal. And my tomatoes had just got flowers too! :(

But it's not all doom and gloom. I've been talking to the family about it and we have clever plans and cunning tricks. Fingers crossed - we can go to the plot tomorrow and salvage some bits and pieces from the wreckage!

Update to follow soon!

The Stone Saga

I was at the allotment again today. I'm officially hooked! Although it was raining on and off, I really wanted to get a bit more of my flower border dug over. I don't if it was because it was wet, or whether I was just more tired, but it wasn't as easy as it had been the other day. There were certainly more stones!

The rocks are something that I could have done without! There seems to have been a lot of rubbish dumped on the allotment site - I imagine this was when they were building the children's home. I can't think how else they would have got there.

I seem to have got the worst plot for it too which is probably a good thing. I have several handy siblings that I can bully/bribe into helping me move them!

But some of the rocks are just too big to move. There is a pit just outside my polytunnel where we tried to unearth two huge stones together. The picture really doesn't do it justice. The problem is that it is just as deep as it is wide. We tried using a lever system, and digging out all the soil around it, but to no avail. Any advice/help would be very very much appreciated! :) There may even be a free packet of seeds in it for you!


When we finally do get it out, we're thinking it will make a nice seat. Something we can sit on to peruse our hard work! ;)

The Light Appears

The last few times I've been to the allotment, I've had that horrible sinking feeling of falling into a pit of weeds and letting their tangling, annoyingly strong roots block out all light. Unfortunately, it's been when I was showing people around the allotments so I could hardly fall on the floor and weep! They would perhaps have been put off, and I certainly didn't want that!

So I wasn't looking forward to going to the allotments today, even though I knew it had to be done. The Dock Leaves and the Rosebay Willowherb were taller than me and they looked mean and foreboding. Not to mention the fact that the (ok, I admit it: beautiful) flowers on the Willowherb are a haven for the bees and wasps which were flying all around my storage chest. Yes, I'm a gardener who is afraid of bees. I don't like the little blighters, even though I accept that they are good for the environment.

So, with a Dad and brother in tow, along with numerous tools, some of which I never knew existed, we made our way to the allotments. My brother, Alex, ummed and arghed a bit at the weeds but almost immediately began work on the fruit patch. We had planted raspberries, strawberries, a

blackcurrant, blackberry, and a gooseberry, but the weeds had taken ownership of the patch and the poor bushes had been left to fight for survival.

Dad instantly took the scythe and began cutting down the worst of the weeds. He was like a man on a mission and I think he actually quite enjoyed himself! While the menfolk were happy clearing the weeds, I took up my digging fork and began digging over the flower border. A couple of months ago, we took a family trip to Inverness and Mum and I went a bit mad in Dobbies Garden Centre and bought loads and loads of plants! I had planted them in a roughly dug-over bed at the allotment, and left them. Wow, have they grown! They seem to have appreciated the freedom and they're growing upwards and outwards so some of the plants are almost touching each other.

Usually, when I dig, I only turn the soil and use the fork to break up the larger patches. The soil at the allotments is quite compact, having had a lot of heavy machinery on it. However, I found that digging today wasn't as difficult as usual. The conclusion I came to was that, however annoying the weeds might be, they seem to have done the soil a service as their roots have broken into hard ground. I've never read this before anywhere so I don't know if it's true but, to me, it seems like the most obvious conclusion. Any thoughts? The soil is also full of worms which are probably also breaking up the earth.

Perusing my work and feeling quite smug with myself, I glanced up to see how the boys were coming on. Blimey, I was amazed! You could now see the raspberries coming through without having to part the grasses, and Dad had managed to cut down all of the tall weeds, making the rest of the plot breathe a sigh of relief. I could feel a weight being lifted from my mind, and the whole allotment seemed a lot more hopeful.

After that, I started enjoying myself a lot more. I've never enjoyed digging. It's one of my least favourite jobs, but I was finding I was actually enjoying myself as I considered the potential for Plot H.

So, my conclusions for an allotment weed battle:

Take a Dad and brother along with you
If at all possible, purchase a scythe. They're brilliant things! Oh, and a stone for sharpening too!
Encourage worms. We like worms. Worms are our friends.

Plot H

My Allotment is a mess. Look:

Yes, it's dreadful, isn't it! Some of those dock plants are taller than I am, and they're tough as old nails too.

I went to the allotments yesterday when we were having our allotted 1 day of summer, and I looked...and looked...and then stared...and then looked some more before I actually gathered my wits enough to try and do battle with some of these weeds.

But I have a huge plot. I need a large plot because I have a large family and it's my dream that I can eventually grow most of the vegetables and fruit we'll need through the year. But, at the moment, it's looking like all we'll ever get to eat is dandelion stew.

And what would be the most practical way of getting rid of weeds? Well, that would probably be to use weedkiller. But even if we were allowed to use it (which we're not!) I would have serious concerns given the adverse effects it may have on wildlife. Not to mention whatever it may do to our insides when we eat the vegetables!

So, this blog is mostly about my endless battle with my weed enemies. The hard way. As I'm the chairperson of the local Allotment Association, you must indulge my posts about Allotment Admin too, and how proud I am of the new website I'm setting up.

Coming soon!!