A lot of work to do.......

Discussion in 'Allotments Discussion' started by Webmaster, Dec 26, 2013.

  1. Kristen

    Kristen Under gardener

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    Sorry, missed that bit :)
     
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    • fileyboy

      fileyboy Gardener

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      Webmaster, Some years ago we had a chap who had a tank and did what you are thinking of doing,the only problem was his held 300 galls.At the time I was allotment sec. after complaints about it I was asked by the committee to have a word ,What he was doing was filling the tank after work every day so every body was having problems getting water.he said I only use a watering can I do not put a pipe onto the tank. After finding out what he was doing,going on to site at 5.30 every morning placing a 2in hose on to his tap and flooding the garden.(he was a big showman at the time)I had to warn him about his actions and told him to stop (which resulted in a very huge rant and rage from him)but he was told that if he did not stop he would have to leave the site.So please for your own sake ask someone about what you would like to do first.Yes we can fill our baths or tubs with a hose pipe but you can't water your garden with it,as we have 160 plots on our site we made a ruling that half the site could use the hosepipe on odd days and the other half on even days, this has now worked for a number of years now with very few problems.
       
    • Webmaster

      Webmaster Webmaster Staff Member

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      I see what you are saying, but I have heard from other plotholders about how difficult it can be to get 'hose time' at busy periods of the day. My plan is to fill at the least busy times of day, so as not to inconvenience anyone, though my tank is large, it isn't 300 gallons :) , and that way, I can visit and water my crop without having to wait for the hose and also (as said above) without inconveniencing anyone else and making them wait for the hose,

      The way I put it aboe may have come across as trying to keep the hose to myself, but it isn't :D , by having the float valve on there as well, would also stop wasted water from the hose as and when I fill that way as well.:blue thumb:
       
    • Webmaster

      Webmaster Webmaster Staff Member

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      Did a bit more today .... More of the same ......

      The size of some of the worms over there!! This is a small one, and I am sure I have Tiger worms in the ground I am digging over, as they have real defined lines.

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      Started working along the border today towards the shed end, also dug over the biggest area and squared it off.

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      And they have placed my flyer in the allotment notice board :)

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      Apart from this, nothing else has changed .... Hopefully I will get to spend another hour or so over there tomorrow and break my back some more :snork:
       
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      • Jenny namaste

        Jenny namaste Total Gardener

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        The progress is amazing Nathan and I do admire your thoroughness. I hope you had some rain to make the digging a bit easier for you.
        Well done for putting GC on the Lottie map... :thumbsup:
        Jenny
         
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        • Webmaster

          Webmaster Webmaster Staff Member

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          Ideally, I'd like to dig the whole plot over (where I'll be growing), and then worry about where I will have pathways etc.

          I really need to get rid of the root systems, I have seen others on the site just rotavating straight over and leaving roots all chopped up, and we all know how easily nettles take hold.
           
        • Webmaster

          Webmaster Webmaster Staff Member

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          More of the same today, though I did have some help (pics below ;) )

          Doesn't look like I did much, but what I did dig over, had lots of couch grass in it, which I made sure I removed every bit I saw, so took longer to dig over this small area.

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          The help was asked to carry on at the other end, so that he wasn't in the way of my swinging fork :biggrin:

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          And my sprouting Shetland Black Potatoes :)

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          • banksy

            banksy Gardener

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            Hi Nathan, I spotted your flyer on the noticeboard... and joined today!

            Good work on your plot, looks like its really coming along.

            I am even further away from the car park and feel your pain for the long trudge from parking to plot, to make it worse its a slight incline towards our end of the site :sad:

            With regards to the hose pipe situation, I am quite sure that we are allowed to water directly with them, well I do anyway, especially when my butts are getting low, and yes there are some plot holders with the proverbial sprinklers who leave them running for hours on end. For busy times get yourself one of those two-way tap connectors, then if someone is using a hose for an inexcusable length of time, you can 'share' the supply. My issue is the distance from my plot to the tap..... my hose is very long! :hate-shocked:

            Anyway look forward to seeing you around. I am mainly up there early mornings before work (5.30 am onwards in the summer).


            Cheers!
             
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            • Jenny namaste

              Jenny namaste Total Gardener

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              Banksy, what you will soon learn is that we all love piccies on GC.
              Hope you've got a camera...;) :whistle::hapydancsmil:
              Jenny
               
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              • banksy

                banksy Gardener

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                I won't hijack Nathan's thread, but will just say yes I have a camera and a firm believer that a picture tells a thousand words....
                 
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                • Jack McHammocklashing

                  Jack McHammocklashing Sludgemariner

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                  Brilliant thread Nathan, BUT I have just removed myself from the allotment list here in Fife

                  I could not possibly manage all that, twas but a dream to have an allotment, I realise now it is for the young

                  Jack McH
                   
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                  • shiney

                    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                    A good choice, Jack :blue thumb:

                    As you get older an allotment is a nice dream that only works well if you have lots of good weather. Otherwise you find that forcing yourself to keep it looking good means working in poor weather or overdoing things - you have to be careful of your back.
                     
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                    • colne

                      colne Super Gardener

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                      I just found the allotment threads - what huge lots they are!
                       
                    • Webmaster

                      Webmaster Webmaster Staff Member

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                      Thought I would update this a little ...... I haven't got as much done since the last update, as I would have liked.

                      Just to bore you, these are my chilli's, which actually are not on the allotment, but at home in a heated propagator :-

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                      The 2 at the back of this pic, are Ed's Carolina Reapers .... Recognised by Guinness Book of Records as the hottest chilli's in the world, I will probably end up Hydroponically growing one of these, as the yield is supposed to increase greatly.

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                      I've done some digging :-

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                      I've had some seedlings show themselves :-

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                      I planted the garlic I bought in cells into compost, to give them a little head start before planting outside where the birds will take them.

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                      Some more seedlings :-

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                      More digging :snork: :-

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                      Ideally, I would like to dig as far as where the Galvanised Pole is sticking out of the ground (in the middle of where the shed is) :-

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                      Some Sweet Banana Pepper seedlings showing themselves :-

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                      Now, this takes me to Wednesday last week, when Iain sent me a message to tell me that the Council had laid on a big trailer for taking green waste away, and that if I needed to get rid of any, get there quickly as it fills fast ...... I was back to the allotment within 20 minutes, though I was hoping to go and collect some 5 year old rotted manure.... This is what I need to get rid of :-

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                      I got rid of 6 FULL bags like this :-

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                      Which brings me to today ..... All I seem to have done is pot seedlings up out of cells and into pots :-

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                      My Sweet Banana Peppers are looking healthy :-

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                      My Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seems to be doing okay ... though the other 3 haven't shown themselves yet :dunno:

                      Also had quite a touch, a 'twig' in a pot showed some new growth in the form of buds, so I read the label on it that someone had left attached, and it turns out it is a Grape Vine (Rose Dream http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Fruit/Soft+Fruit/Grape+Vine+Rose+Dream_230745.htm?sku=230745 ) , So I potted this up also, and have left it in the tunnel for now to give it a speedy growth boost.

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                      Also, in the above pic, I have sown quite a few 'well spaced' Carrot seeds, as the pot is nice and deep ( carrot variety Eskimo F1 )

                      Apart from the above, I have also carted loads of materials etc to the plot, wood chips, 2 more compost bales, 5x 50litre trugs of 5 year old rotted manure (more to come), 2x lengths of 4" waste pipe (more on those later ;) ), more timber, 6' canes .... Need more timber, to create a racking system in the tunnel (again, more on that later ;) ) and also need to get some concrete blocks taken down as well (for the water storage tank to be put on).

                      Sorry if I have bored you all with my rambling

                      So ...... Sorry if I have bored you all
                       
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                      • colne

                        colne Super Gardener

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                        I am impressed with it all Webm. It seems to me such a large garden must produce food for many people; is your allotment average? What are the dimensions? Can you keep some chickens to convert some of that to eggs? Can you have dwarf fruit trees?

                        I grow all we really want in my main bed of 30' X 10' and couple small beds. What do you do with the excess to store it? I like dehydrating - and do some canning (in jars) but vacuum packing and then freezing is excellent for those seasonal things.
                         
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