We're off to do some digging..... Yeah Right!

I still have a load of digging to get done, so thought to myself - "lets make a start after all I need some space for the red cabbage...."

So off I toddled down the road this afternoon.

On the positive side I managed to get some hoeing and weeding done, planted 3 french beans (Brightstone from the heritage seed library). I've another couple of plants at home, which, if any good I'll use to save the seed for next year. Also planted the solitary squash which I managed to raise from seed (Avalon). Although I do already have two others planted out - a gift gift from a fellow allotment holder.

I also cut another lettuce - yes that makes the grand total of ....... THREE !!! Oh and pulled a few beetroot - they're about golf ball size, well maybe a touch bigger so looking forward to those.

And the digging....... got the azada out... whacked a couple of brambles and decided today just wasn't the right day for digging. But what's an azada I hear you cry..... well that's for another day.

Food, Glorious Food (well a few carrots)

Had to drop in to the allotment on my way home tonight. Needed to take some slug pellets home, as you do!

Anway whilst there decided to see if what carrots I had sown way back in March were ever going to be worth eating I thought I'd pull some up. The result, along with new spuds (Swift) from some tubs on the patio home provided dinner (well and some fish but that was from Captain Birdseye).

The Beginning..

Just to confuse you all every now and again I shall throw in a "historical" post. So I thought to myself I really ought to say how and why I ended up with an allotment.

Well...... once upon a time....... I had been toying with the idea for a while, not because I'm a keen gardener, not because I am a devout organic veggie person, far from it - for me the veg is just something to keep the meat company on the plate!

No - I wanted my daughter Madeleine (who you can see exploring below) to know what real veg tasted like, not the limpid excuses the supermarkets generally have for sale. The intensity of the idea was ratchetted up when we discovered Louise (Da Boss!) was pregnant again (and just so you know Eleanor Mae was born on the 6th May 2007).

One evening I made a remark along these lines and the next day I had a phone call from the aforementioned boss :

"I've got you a present"

"What!?"

"Well you know you said wanted an allotment.... well I've got you one,"

"What!?"

So the next morning I went along to the site and got shown what was available.....

Now - hindsight is fantastic. Yep no photos got taken of the depressing plot confronting me. So dear readers the best I can do is show an image from Google Earth as it has not been updated since last year:

The "blob" towards the top right is an oak tree. The rest of the green stuff were brambles. Not small, friendly brambles but nasty, humungous giants waiting to pounce on unsuspecting children.... Eeek!

So there I was the proud tenant of a mass of brambles. Joy!

The Adventure

Being 2 years old almost anything is an adventure.On Saturday the whole family came to "help" me. Madeleine, who is just over 2 generally keeps off the plants. But keeping to a row needs such concentration.....

But finally - Yes we get there...