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.
How exciting to be planning a garden….do you have to worry about any little critters coming snack on your veggies… I have the deer here…the eat everything…. good luck… Will be fun to follow your hard work…thanks for sharing…auntie Marilyn
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I’ve not seen deer on site yet, but I do know that we have some around. We do have rabbits though, so we’ll need to make a gate to keep them out when we start planting crops. They’ve already tried digging in the wood chip path!
Glad to have you reading and sharing our experiences with us from across the pond. All advice gladly welcomed!
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looking better….you even had fire….whooo hoooo.
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We’re discussing building a permanent fire pit. Would love a cauldron on a tripod!
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ooooooh that sounds wonderful…you can make garden soup right there….your little tent needs a table and couple chairs…
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Yes! That would be amazing. I’m hoping that one day Rob will build me a little potting shed and we can also use it as a pantry for our garden soup days.
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