Day two of owning an allotment mainly consisted of bickering over what crop to grow first and how best to lay the bed we’re planning to dig. Constructive use of our time considering we actually spent the afternoon setting fire to a pile of weeds, rifling through the once-used compost heap, stabbing some bramble roots with a fork, and building a greenhouse tent.

We also met one of our neighbours. She kindly offered us the use of her wheelbarrow as we looked liked incompetent newbies with our shiny new spade and a trug filled with water. She’s on the same row as us and came to see how we were getting on. Social interaction. It went well. No one died or went home crying so that’s a victory. So far having a plot near other people isn’t so bad.

We also learned a little about our plot and the ones immediately surrounding us. They were abandoned after the last flood when the tenants lost all their produce. It turns out that our section was under two and a half feet of water. That was slightly more than we had anticipated having to deal with when we took it on, and slightly higher than any of the raised beds we had previously bickered about constructing. On the plus side, she told us we won’t have to water the beds every day in summer, unlike the holders of gardens on the dry side of the allotments. It seems we can go a week without watering. So, you know, swings and roundabouts.

Once she left Rob erected our walk-in greenhouse whilst I cleared space for it in the corner of wayward brambles. We bought the greenhouse from Homebase and discovered there was a pole missing. Still, it was only a small pole and they’d made up for it with an overabundance of plastic connectors.

There’s a storm due tomorrow evening and we’re hoping the greenhouse survives. I’ve weighed it down with my trowel (Rob cunningly used the tent pegs provided). So, day two on the allotment involved less physical work than our first day, but we’ve still come away with a sense of progress.