New allotment plans!!

The plot before any serious work started

This plot of land that you're looking at is, as of today, my very own allotment! I thought I would never see the day, but it has happened. Thanks to my very nice allotment neighbour, Emma, for sharing part of her plot with me. It is in fact her plot, but she has very kindly agreed to let me use one half: the strip between the two trees in the photo.

The site was only opened last November, so all the plots are completely new (although some of the people have clearly been digging and working on it all winter, theirs doesn't look as dismal as mine! :-). It is very exciting. The site isn't huge, but I've already met some of the other neighbours.

As you can see, there is a lot of work to do! The soil is pretty much full of bramble roots, and some nettles. The nettles don't worry me (they can go in the compost bin, I believe), but the brambles are another story. The soil, no surprise, is heavy clay, although not as bad as I feared (the stuff in our garden under the ivy that we cleared was much worse...).

I started digging the roots and assorted bits of glass and rubbish today - you can just about notice that the soil around the fork handle looks a bit different, but it is going slow (also no surprise). My plan to avoid getting depressed by this, is to break up the space into smaller areas and tackle each one at a time. I think I will start from the front (bottom of the picture. That line you see is the edge of the general path that runs down the middle of the whole site): next weekend I'll mark a rectangle with twine and 4 sticks, and concentrate on digging that space first. I don't plan to make proper raised beds in all of the plot, but I need to see order and I know that marking out sections of ground will help me focus on the work. I don't have much time if I want to eat the fruits of my digging this summer (March is prime planting time for things like potatoes; beans can wait), so I know part of the plot is going to be put on hold while I concentrate on sowing something. I can always cover it in black plastic or cardboard while it's waiting its turn - this is supposed to get rid of the weeds as well (they can't grow in the darkness).

Another thing that needs to be done, and I want to do it as soon as possible, is make a path down the long sides. The right hand side is the boundary with the next plot, and the path needs to be wheelbarrow-width (I think it's 60cm) and covered with a weed membrane. Today I bought the weed membrane, and I'm going to investigate where to get wood chippings to put on top; I like the finished look, and it should be relatively easy to lay down and cheap. On the left hand side is Emma's side of the plot, and I want to make a path of the same style (although it doesn't need to be a specific width). This structure will leave me with a long strip, with an apple tree towards the back. I like the idea of planks of wood laid across the plot: super easy to put down and rearrange, takes less space than a proper path, and I don't need to stand on the soil while working and compact it. Behind the tree I am going to put my old plastic compost bin, and plant some comfrey - and possibly some foxgloves, partly because I have spare plants, because there thrive in the shade of the trees (unlike veg), and the flowers will look good and attract pollinators!

Self-seeded oregano

New plants of oregano

These are my new plants of oregano, that have grown spontaneously from last year's seed. I had to do literally nothing to get these, just leave the pot alone: last year I bought a plant from the garden centre and planted it in this pot. The plant went to flower, and then to seed, and the seeds naturally fell on the pot.... and this year I got these new little plants for free! All I had to do is leave the pot alone and let the plant do its thing and follow the natural cycle.

Estas plantitas son oregano. Han salido espontaneas, lo unico que he hecho es dejar la maceta sin tocar desde el verano pasado y dejar que el ciclo natural ocurra: el ano pasado compre una planta y la plante en esta maceta, la planta dio flor, y luego semilla, y la semilla cayo en la maceta, y este ano, sin tener que hacer absolutamente nada, tengo plantas gratis!

Purple Chilli seedlings

Seedlings of purple chilli on my windowsill

These purple chilli seedlings are barely one month old. I started them in the heated propagator and moved them to the windowsill as soon as they were out, to get more sunlight. It is mid-late February now, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that these will turn into plants and give me chillis this summer! I'm quite proud of these: I saved the seed from one chilli that I got last summer from one plant that I bought from the garden eentre (and yes, it was dark purple, like an aubergine!). Almost all of the seed that I sowed has germinated, and I have a few more left that I will sow this weekend - just in case I lose some. And if I don't lose them, they'll make nice presents I'm sure!

Estas plantitas de chillis (guindillas) morados tienen apenas un mes. Puse la maceta primero en el semillero electrico, pero tan pronto salieron las plantitas movi la maceta a la ventana, donde tienen mas luz solar. Estas plantas son espeiales: guarde la semilla de una guindilla que consegui el ano pasado de una planta que compre en el vivero (y si, el pimiento era morado como una berenjena), y casi todas las semillas que sembre han germinado! Me queda un poco mas de semilla, que la voy a sembrar este fin de semana por si acaso se me pierden estas plantas. Y si no se me pierden, siempre puedo regalar las que me sobren, pues seguro que tienen exito!

Cauliflower seedlings / semilla de coliflor

These weird-looking seedlings are my purple cauliflowers. It's the first time I sow caulis and the seeds have surprised me. The instructions on the packet said "do not cover with compost", and as a result you can see the little white tendrils of the roots snaking on the surface before they find their way underground... Some of them where a bit floppy, so I did cover them with a bit of compost just today; it may make it worse, but my plan is that the roots will grow better by being held in place by the compost. The ones floating on top of it really looked ready to be blown away! I sprouted them inside a clear plastic bag in the kitchen floor, and as soon as they got this big I took them out of the bag and put them by the window - so now the plants have more light and less humidity to grow.

Estos tallos extranos son mis coliflores moradas. Yo segui las instructions y puse las semillas encima del compost sin cubrirlas. Si os fijais veis unos hilillos blancos: son las raices que han salido horizontales. Algunas me parecieron tan endebles que las cubri con un poco de compost, para que no se vuelen. Las sembre dentro de una bolsa de plastico transparente, pero en cuanto nacieron las saque de la bolsa para que no se pudran por de humedad, y estan en la ventana de la cocina donde hay luz.

Pre-Spring Cleaning/ Limpieza de pre-primavera

I was tyding up in the garden today. It was the perfect day for it, sunny and quite warm - it felt like a nice spring day! (No frozen fingers while digging in the compost...). However, it is too early to plant or sow almost anything outside (we may still get bad frosts, or even late snows). With days like today it's really difficult not to get carried away, but so far I've resisted temptation: My seedlings are still safely indoors.

In preparation for next month's planting, I've started clearing the beds from winter's home-made cloches. A few things haven't done as well as I wished. The onions in particular are very disappointing - I planted one lot under a plastic mini "tunnel" and another lot directly outside, and both are barely visible (I think I lost most of the bulbs). I'm going to wait until April or so and see if they kick into life with the warm weather, but I don't have hopes. And the leeks have completely disappeared (they were also under the plastic; the soil didn't feel too dry, I was watering during the winter, but I wonder if they dried out during December when I didn't go out watering that much).

On a positive note, the elephant garlic, which I thought I had lost, has sprouted one leaf! I'll be monitoring closely (I'm really excited about that one, never grown it before!). A lot of the spring flower bulbs are already poking through (bluebells, daffodils), and the crocuses have just opened their flowers!

Hoy estuve preparando el jardin para la primavera. Hizo un dia ideal para trabajar fuera, sol y buena temperatura (no se me congelaron los dedos al meter las manos en el compost!); pero todavia es demasiado pronto para empezar a plantar al aire libre, aun hiela por las noches e incluso puede nevar. Con dias como hoy es dificil no dejarse llevar por la tentacion  y empezar a plantar fuera, pero de momento estoy resistiendo: mis plantitas y semillas estan todas a cubierto...


He quitado las protecciones del invierno que ya no hacen falta, para ganar tiempo y tener todo preparado el mes que viene cuando empiece a plantar. Las cebollas y los puerros, que estaban debajo de un mini-tunel cubierto con plastico, han sido una decepcion: casi ni se ve donde estan! La mayoria han simplemente desaparecido. Y de unas cebollas que habia plantado directamente al aire libre, ni rastro. 


Por otro lado, el ajo elefante, que ya habia dado por perdido, ha echado una hoja! Que ilusion, tengo muchas ganas de que este vaya adelante porque es la primera vez que lo cultivo. Otros bulbos de flores de primavera tambien estan empezando a salir (campanillas, narcisos), y los crocus acaban de abrir las flores!

Blue iris surprise

Early flowering blue iris

Estos iris azules los plante en septiembre, y por fin esta semana han salido las flores! Fue visto y no visto, un dia solo habia tallos verdes y al dia siguiente... esta explosion de color!


I planted these blue iris back in September, and finally this week the flowers opened! It was so quick, one day there were only green stalks, and the next... this explosion of colour!

Sowing in early February

I'm glad to report my seedlings from last month, despite being so early, are still alive and growing. Mostly. The heated propagator worked better for some things than others. It worked to sprout the tomatoes, I got seedlings in only one week! But I moved them to the windowsill within days to prevent them from rotting in the humidity of the propagator, and they're holding on there.

The lettuce seedlings weren't that lucky, the ones on the propagator all collapsed (I wasn't quick enough to move them outside). The ones sprouted on the yogurt pot on the window, however, are growing strong (what a pleasant surprise). Proof that it's always good to try several methods when you're not sure how it's going to turn out! (eggs in different baskets and all that).

So, with the tomatoes moved and the lettuce gone, I had space for new sowings. On the propagator I have put two chillis: 'fatalii' and a purple one from seed I saved last year; red salvia and lobelia (ornamental).

In a basket inside a plastic bag and next to a radiator (another experiment) I have a few pots of cauliflower seed, and a few broad bean 'aquadulce'. And spurred by the success of the yogurt pot I've sowed some more salad leaves, and a pot of pimientos de Padron (a Galician chilli pepper) on the windowsill.

Outside, I have sown a pot of radish under a plastic cloche (a plastic bottle cut out), and a few more broad beans directly in the ground. I'm very curious to see how these go, I never sow outside so early...

It's very exciting checking the pots every day, as I am trying most of these things for the first time!