JackMcH's Allotment

Steve, the no structure rules were for starter plots, real plots you can have what you want as long as you only paint the shed and fences green or brown
Preserving is the last thing on my mind at the moment, though it does need done soon

Just going to get stuck into the digging and weeding, I have bought that Black stuff you found, weed suppressant cover, along with 10mtr chicken wire to repair the front fence

I had a small go today, well after I had emptied the old plot and moved the stuff down to the new one,
The potatoes in the new one look good, still in the ground but they are clean and we have not had a frost yet, so I am hoping to harvest them tomorrow

Jack McH

 

Another busy full day, got a lot cleared
A problem I have got, I need to repair/replace the rabbit fence, I bought the chicken wire netting
and commenced getting ready to fit it yesterday, one of the very old regulars (very good, gold prize winner and helpful chap) said You need two people on the job to stretch it, here is my phone number, give me a call and I will come along and fit it with you
I am now stuck, I need it done (complaints) I feel a bit embarrassed asking an octogenarian to come out and fix it up, and is dependant on the weather, so I can not say come on Monday it may be pouring down, also unfortunately I am not too able, I work for ten minutes and sit down for twenty till the pain goes, but I need to get it done like yesterday, I could manage myself but feel he would be very offended

Next, I was clearing the ground, when another friendly octogenarian, comes down, I have known him since my first day, He gave me potatoes, curly Kale, and advice
I am unsure what to do with lay out
He has been here 68 years, starting in the walled garden as an apprentice when he was 14 for Lord and Lady Balfour who owned the big house and walled garden, Then when they went bust in the late sixties it turned to the Corporation gardens, and eventually to allotments in 2012

He advises to split it into four large plots, and thinks eight inch high raised beds are ridiculess
He then dug about three square yards, and showed me how to grow stuff in 24' x 12' beds
He then said I need to dig it all fork it all, then dig it all and fork it all again, then walk all over it
to compact the earth then dig it all over ready for winter and the frosts to do its stuff and he would assist as his immaculate lotty just needed the odd attendance over winter

I have had advice that twenty people would all advise different advice and to just go my own
though I do not wish to offend anyone and to be honest what these two people have said makes a lot of sense

Jack McH

 

Re the offer of help re the fencing, I've had a look at the forecast and it says (famous last words!) that's it's due to be dry on Monday and Tuesday. If I was you I'd phone him and say you'd love some help tomorrow but if the forecast is wrong and it's dreadful then Tuesday if you are free those days yourself. Even if due to his age he isn't a huge amount of help, he might be offended if you don't take him up on his very kind offer. If he isn't free those days then you could just get on with it yourself and he shouldn't take offence as you have taken him up on his offer.
Re the raised beds. I asked a very experienced professional gardener about raised beds and their merit a few months back. His opinion was that they were a complete fad and Chelsea had a lot to answer for! He said they were only of use if you had trouble bending, terrible drainage of were gardening on top of tarmac but otherwise a complete waste of time!
Like so many things, "there is more than 1 way to skin a cat". It's your plot so I'd just show appreciation for the advice given but do what you feel happy with.

 

It certainly helps to have two people on the job when doing chicken wire, but it's not essential as there are tricks for getting tight on your own.

Trick 1. Secure one end and then it as tight as you can to the other end. Do not secure the other end, just measure it out. About 6 inches to a foot short of the end post, secure a lat of wood to the mesh. Then using your seafarers knowledge of knots and improvised pulleys, secure a piece of rope to the post you're stretching the wire to, then thread it through the mesh so as to loop past the lat, hoist it in, and then screw or nail the lat to the post. If you have to cover more than about 10ft, you might need to apply this technique at intervals.

Tip 2. This one involves such high tech tools as a bent 2 inch nail. This is more for interlocking two layers but works for tensioning too. Simply thread the bent nail through the mesh, looping over a slack bit, and twist. It will pull it tight, and the twist will hold it tight.

If it's for rabbit proofing, remember to bury the bottom 6 or 8 inches of the mesh, ideally curled out over, so that the furry demons can't simply burrow under.

Sent from my HTC Desire 610 using Tapatalk

 

Here is my rabbit defence I did a few years back as described by Clueless, six inches down and six inches outwards. Since completing this I have had to fill in a couple of holes outside the fence where the rabbits tried and failed to get through or under it.






With reference to the offer of help and advice, I would accept if it is offered, tell them about your health and how you work and if an offer comes your way simply say. "I'll be doing that job over such and such days (weather and life permitting), if you are here I will be glad of the help." That covers all bases, offends nobody and gets the job done roughly on your terms and is neighbourly.

You will get offer after offer on a good allotment site such as yours, it's a community and that is what it is all about.

Steve...

 

Another busy day today NEW FENCE DAY

original



NEW


Jack McH

 

The gent in pic two, came to help me, and it was done as in @Steve R previous post
trench dug netting buried, secured
Doing quite well, as I only got the plot on Friday, four days lifted old raised beds, dug out quarter plot and weeds, took old fence out, and today replaced the fence

Tomorrow dependant on weather I am hoping to paint/preserve the shed, and fence rails
along with the new raised bed boxes, then slow down and spend the winter digging in Mares best, sorting paths etc

Jack McH

 

Another busy day/days,
I coated all the raised bed units with ronseal duck sealant, the fence and the gate
Fitted kick boards around the perimeter, and have managed to dig two beds over

Again rain stopped play, so I sat in the hut wiping dry the half sack of potatoes I had
gleaned I wish I knew what they were as they are delicious

I feel a bit guilty in the shed sometimes, as the committee told me the shed and everything in
it was mine to keep, it is full of tools both garden and work tools, and worst of all Kids stuff
china teasets, board games, and willies
The committee assure me it is fine, they had been contacted for nearly eight months both letter and phone and no replies
Then my mind brings up things like were they on the beach in Tunis etc, or had the family split up and he has gone back to Mum

Other than that it is great, hard work but great, and as Candypots said, I have it how "I" want it
now

Regards Jack McH

 

Here's a bit of thought for protecting a fence, I would like comments on.
I have 20 x 5' fence panels that are 2 years old, I have 3 replacements I case of problems.

They are nicely weathered and have a silvery look, I would like to help protect them with a clear spray. Now 20 panels is going to take some covering so cost is a consideration ie. 40 faces to cover.

I will spray what ever on as I have a compressor and a long hose, what I would like to know is what can I use to spray on.

 

Weekend before the snow, and after strong winds that dried everything out
I managed to put preservative on the wooden shed, I used sage green as nearest
colour to what was on it
The rules are Brown or Green only, so I met the requirements just brightened it up a little :-)

I have the land stripped dug over and manured, just awaiting the snow and frost to break it
all down,
Remaining main task is to put in some paths and edging, I have the wood, mypex for paths with bark chips, just need a couple of dry days

Jack McH

 

They Are coloured, but I notice a anti wetting product was mentioned, more research there I think