Getting Started

Corr gardening is hard work isn't it?! We have been faffing about with pots in the back garden for a few years and thought we understood but I hadn't realised how very different it is!
We have been making a start over the last few days although the heat has been a factor in how long we've stuck at it.
So, what have we been doing? We now have our own lock on the access gate. We have been clearing as much rubbish as we can from the plot. It's amazing what you find in these places - we even dug up a key today!
We have cleared a huge area which was overgrown with nettles. This was not as easy a job as I had first thought and we still need to dig out the roots. I was being quite vain and trying to get the job done in a sleeveless top. thinking I could get a bit of a tan while I worked, but this turned out to be a very bad idea - my arms were covered in stings - note to self: wear something long sleeved next time you tackle nettles! You can see the area we cleared in the pic below. The nettle patch was from where I was stood whilst taking the picture, right the way back to behind the chairs.



We have also done a bit of digging. I read that it's important, for morale more than anything, to work on the best quality bit (ha!) of your allotment and get something growing as soon as possible. So we marked out a yard ish sized patch that had been under plastic sheeting and started to dig over the ground. It is very dry, I'm not sure if that is good or bad for digging but we made a start anyway. There was a lot of crap in the soil, broken glass, nails, a door hinge, a key - it was like unlucky dip! Here is a pic of Cameron trying to break the clumps of soil up a bit for me - he's really enjoying getting to use the tools (the only thing I haven't set him loose with yet is the bypass lopper thingy but he's chomping at the bit to have a go).



I made the difficult decision to use chemicals for a one off time to try and get my plot under control. The guy that runs the day-to-day stuff of the allotments (Ronnie) recommended this method. I know they aren't good and I had hoped to work as organically as possible but it is a huge plot and there is only one of me and a limit to how much I can do. The weeds are 95% perennial and I'm pretty overwhelmed with the sheer amount of them. I sprayed the chems on today and marked off the area with twine so that Cameron won't go wandering amongst it until it's clear. I felt so guilty the entire time I did it and once the ground is clear I hope to work as naturally as possible.