6. Heat Wave

Progress was slow last week. I have been checking and watering the strawberries regularly, but that is about all to be honest!

The row of already dug weeds has been sorted and thrown on the heap to decompose. I say heap as we have three composters made of pallets that were already here. We have filled them. Then there is the pile of the strimmed weeds which is about 10 ft by 4ft! (I may be exaggerating here, I am useless at judging distances etc). And finally the heap of dug weeds and roots which is a mini mountain next to the raised bed. Soon we will have more space covered by decomposing waste than beds for planting!

Me and Matt did make it on Saturday afternoon to deliver more bottles of water for the strawberries to save me carrying them from work on my bike. It was so hot though, we couldn't even contemplate working.

Yesterday I was all ready to dig another trench when I realised I had the thin soled trainers on. Getting to be a common excuse that one!

Tomorrow is my day off so I am planning a proper digging session...just got to put some good music on my phone!

5. Be prepared

Having never been in the scouts, I didn't learn the importance of being prepared...until last week!

I had changed my hours at work on Monday which meant I could cycle to work. The cycling gardener was due to live up to her name on Monday! It started off well, my mountain bike is much more suited the pot holed drive than my car. However, once I tried to start on the digging, I realised that my thin soled trainers were not best for the job of stamping the shovel into the ground.

I had also forgotten the earphones for my mobile, so had to listen to music music with the phone turned up loud and placed on the floor next to me. It was tinny and even on full volume, still pretty quiet.Not quiet enough, it appeared. Our neighbour shouted hello through the hedge and when I went out, asked if I minded if he had a fire. He was going to burn the clippings that he had taken off our hedge and left at the side of the driveway. I had no problems, until he lit it. I had assumed he would take the clippings to his allotment for the fire, but instead he had it right in the driveway. As the smoke came through the hedge, I had visions of the whole allotment going up!

I managed to dig two squares of a new trench before hunger set in. With a 15 minute cycle still to do before I even arrived home, never mind ate, I decided to give it up as a bad job. I left my neighbour to his fire. If the allotment did go up in flames, I could deny I was even there!

On Thursday I was relieved to find the allotment still intact. I had come armed with cheese salad wraps, a banana, earphones, and sturdy trainers. I picked some motivational music and managed to dig a complete trench in 45 mins! I was so pleased with my progress I almost sorted the roots from soil then and there. But a song came on my phone with the lyrics "all I want is to be home". I put my shovel down, locked up and cycled home, flushed with success!

Saturday I arrived just after Mark, having had a bit of a shopping spree with the vouchers my parents kindly gave me to give us a kick start at the allotment. I had 12 strawberry plants, some weed stopper (material that you lie on the ground) and 2 drip feeders. My dad had also grown too many leeks to put in his garden, so had donated about 50 to me and Mark. Mark planted his in the raised bed, and I took mine home to go in the garden - having not quite dug enough over to have room at the allotment. We have been promised more from his second later batch of leeks in a few weeks, so I am aiming to dig enough to be able to plant them in the allotment.

I planted my strawberries in a pop up bin I had spare at home, cutting a few holes in the sides to make it look like a proper strawberry planter...quite a bit of soil fell out of said holes, but I am hoping it will settle! I tried out a drip feeder with them as well, in case there is no rain before I next visit.

Now we have a couple of things growing, it is looking on it's way to being a proper allotment, rather than a patch of thistle infested grass!

4. Fattus Rattus

Sorry it has taken me so long to add another post, I am intending to write much more often from now on.

I learnt an important lesson the other Saturday, well relearnt really as I should have known it already. Me and Matt arrived on Saturday and after unloading the car of shovels, flasks of tea etc, I decided to do a little light work and hang up a new fat ball and refill the bird feeder - in the hope of seeing our little robin friend.

Unfortunately, the bird food was missing from the green house. I then noticed that there was a fair amount of bird seed on the floor. When I looked at the broken pain at ground level next to the door, and saw more spilt seed, it seemed obvious who had been at the bird food. A whole bag of see and 6 fat balls though! That rat should need to eat for the rest of the week.

I later found the shredded bird seed bag half way up the allotment, I don't think we need any more evidence than that.

Not seen the robin since, I think he is disappointed that a bunch of amateurs have moved into the allotment. He probably had high hopes for us when we put the bird feeder up! I don't blame him in the slightest, having kept rats in the past, I should have known that they eat through anything and will steal any food they can lay their little paws on.

The rest of the day went better, I managed to dig and sort roots on a trench, but was so tired after, I needed a nap!

Mark and Matt spent the majority of the day burning things! They burnt all the wood that wasn't any use for anything and abour 10% of all the strimmed weeds. Great, 9 fires to go then!

3. Let the digging begin!

On my next visit to the allotment on Saturday, I was disappointed to find that it hadn't dug itself!

However, this time I had back up. My parents had come over to have a look. After an approving look round, both were ready to get stuck in. Mum did the final bits of clearing in the greenhouse, and Dad was straight in with the digging. He gave me a quick lesson in trenching, which involved digging four sides of a square patch and then levering it out of the ground. All weeds can then be pulled out.

I have no doubt that the weeds will be back with a vengance, but I plan to minimise this by putting black bags etc so they aren't back to 4ft tall by planting time in the spring! The trenching still takes a good while just to do one trench, but it is a lot quicker than the poor effort I made just using a fork!

On Monday Mark had managed to dig another trench and a fire pit by the time I arrived. As it was such hard work, we spent the rest of the time there planning when to have a fire to get rid of some of the weeds we had strimmed.

We have kept on the good side of the resident robin by putting up a bird feeder in the pear tree.

2. Run Away!!!

Finally we got the keys on Thursday! The three of us went straight over there armed with some secateurs and short handled shears. Within five minutes of being there we had already met a neighbour, who was eager to give tips on how to clear. Apparently the tools we had wouldn't be enough to clear a whole allotment. Lucky we had a brush cutter booked for the weekend then! We trimmed the hedge so we could actually get through the gate, but rain stopped play so we went home to some celebratory beers and more planning.

Me and Matt went to start work on Friday. Still armed meagerly with shovels and shears, it was looking like we had bitten off more than we could chew! Also our carefully trimmed hedge (allowing access but still somewhat hiding the gate, so as not to draw attention from unwanted guests that were tempted to break in) had now been hacked back by our neighbour to create a parking space for us. Tongues were bitten, and we thanked him through gritted teeth. Best not argue with people in our first week!

Saturday went much better. By the time I arrived after work at lunch time, half of the allotment was strimmed and the paths were looking clear. We were all in love with the petrol strimmer, it was so effective! The bramble branch that had grown into the runner of the greenhouse door, had also been disposed of and the door was now opening smoothly.

Us new arrivals were still under the scrutiny of the locals but this time it was a falcon, looking to see if we had cleared the space so he could see the mice better! We also have a resident robin, a large rat and at least two frogs. I decided to salvage a couple of plastic containers to bury and make into a make shift pond to encourage the frogs to stay. Unfortunately, I also saw my first slug. AAHHHHH!!!! But I am hoping froggy will help me with that.

By the end of Sunday we had cleared all the weeds from where the beds will be and cleared the greenhouse to find a raised bed on each side running the full length of the greenhouse. We managed to get a good look at the finished article while sheltering from a downpour in the afternoon. Even discovering that there are very few leaks in there!

Decisions were also made. Matt wants to be known at the semi-naked gardener after working so hard, he had to take his shirt off to cool down! I also decided Mark's role was to be in charge of chilling out. It was his idea for the seating area, he mentioned trying to find a sturdy fence post so he could hang a hammock, and when we salvaged a wooden table for the greenhouse, he said it wouldn't be for putting seeds in - but for putting cups of tea on!

Pictures of the allotment to be added soon, in it's new cleared tidiness.