Wednesday, 29th November

It was like Spring today so we spent a couple of hours digging over what we'd dug before, just to get more air in and help break down the clay that we have as earth! Did well, I got down deeper and discovered that our plot probably had some bushes, fruit or otherwise, along one side. I couldn't budge the huge roots - P will have to assist another time. It was pleasant, and warm, and my boots only started to get stuck in the mud towards the end of the afternoon!

Still loving it, still longing for a nicely dug, weed free, bog free area to work with, but it certainly is good excerise.

Took along a saw this time so B (and K) could have a go at sawing the large log I found when we first started. He didn't get very far (nor did K), but he did use the saw to dissect more pears (that continue to fall on a regular basis). K did some toy saddle and bridle making while I dug and dug and dug.

K and B have both drawn out their dream versions of the plot. They include some veg but mainly flowers together with streams, ponds, winding pathways, a seat and shed! Dream on!

It's all boring at the moment, but don't give up (until I do!), please keep checking in!

Sunday, 19th November, 2006

The whole family spent a good 2 hours at the Plot this afternoon. Weather was good, ground was not! It is just soooooo water logged it drives you up the wall (yes, I know it's winter, but just read on). P did an amazing dig over with the fork while I tried hard to get rid of some of the roots he'd dug up. At the moment it feels like a never-ending task, but I'm hoping it'll get better as the ground dries out. We decided to get rid of the carpet and cardboard (which was just so soggy) as it was flattening out the ground and not really helping with the airing side of things. Again, we compared our lumpy clay soil to the beautifully dug over, unlumpy soil of the plot next to us and felt like weeping!

As we were leaving, the couple who look after the adjoining plot turned up, so I begged him their secret of lovely soil. It appears he's been on his plot for 20 years and that ours does have poor soil due to people staying very short times on it and not really getting all the old roots and junk out of the ground.

Now the bad bit - he suggested we continue to dig and weed and turn over the ground until winter has really set in and then leave it for the frost and winter hardness to kill off anything in the soil. Continue to clear and dig for most of next year and then put on lots and lots of manure and compost (he'd used mushroom compost from a local mushroom factory), ready for planting 2008!

Now the good bit - if we do this, he guarantees our plot will be as lovely as his and the soil will allow an vegetables to be easily grown.

So, we plough on ....

Wednesday, 15th November 2006

Quick update. As you'd been away last week on holiday, I thought the plot would have sprouted extra weeds in our absence so we were itching to get along to continue our major dig!

As it happened, the ground didn't look much different, perhaps we're going to be lucky and not have many weeds on our site (just loads and loads of old roots, which is still pretty bad). All the sections we'd previously covered were still covered, so I just continued to clear another strip. The plot next to ours has been recently worked on. He's dug over a large section and the soil looks lovely, crumbly and clear. We seem to have a bit of this kind of soil next to our walking path, but the rest is pure clay!

We've had a bit of rain since our last visit as the ground was pretty waterlogged - you could hear it squelch as you lifted the fork! Before we left, I dug over a bit extra, just to break it up and let the air dry the ground out a little to hopefully make it easier for me when we return. B was unable to help with any digging this week, he couldn't even remove the fork from the ground poor love. Instead he dissected the numerous pears that have fallen at the head of the plot, and continued to fall (plop, plop) periodically as I worked.

We were alone on the allotment for most of this visit, but one other chap did arrive to pick a few of his huge carrots. He's given me one of his rusty, holey wheelbarrows to help me out. Very kind of him really and it was a help, rather than lugging a large crate of old roots to the dumping area. This chap has quite an industry going on his plot! Huge amounts of odds and ends, buckets, wood, pallets, tools, carpet, netting and a locked shed or two of goodies!

Here's an update photo. Doesn't look much different, can't wait to get some growth on the plot - of the wanted kind that is!

Friday 27th October, 2006

First photo of the plot

Managed to get a couple of hours digging/weeding this afternoon, and covered the first strip with cardboard and we're ready to tackle the next strip!

Kids, after a short burst of work, went to have fun in the brook. Once I'd pulled them out, they were soppng wet with squelchy feet in wellies!

Great fun.

"Mud, mud, glorious mud"

Kids were extremely eager to get going with weeding the plot, so we headed off after a short burst of work this morning.

We all wore old clothes and our wellies/boots and got stuck in - literally! The earth, thanks to all the rain last night, was really muddy! Managed to start clearing a very small area but I reckon we've thrown out more mud than old weeds and roots! Covered the small bit with old carpet now and the kids want to go back tomorrow, weather permitting, to continue, together with a packed lunch!!

Went to have a look at the local garden centre to see what veggie seeds they have. It seems K is more interested in growing flowers and B is certainly interested in the pond side of things. Found a nice, small, liner for £12.99. Suggested to the kids that in between weeding, while we wait to start planting, we could start digging a hole for the pond to keep interest blooming.

Anyway, T has found some good organic seed firms, and I'm going to have a look at these ones too, the first was suggested by the new "Move to the Country" (I wish) magazine.

www.victoriana.ws - Colossal Climbing Peas.
www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk - early crop starter plants (bit of a cheat really, but sounds good!)
www.suttons-seeds.co.uk - got some kids runner beans from here last year and they were easy to grow and tasted fabulous.
http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk - always seen this company around, so may as well try them too!

Initial ideas

This is the list of ideas for the plot, it seems rather a lot, let's hope we can squeeze it all in!

A small pond and mini-wildlife area with sawn tree truck seats, rotten wood for insects and plants to encourage wildlife. This may be K and B's area to look after as I don't think we'll have space for individual "gardens".

Beetroot
Onions
Leeks
Potatoes
Carrots (possibly do these in large pots)
Runners
Peas

B would also like strawberries - may do these if we have any left over space!

Welcome to The Plot

This blog is linked with our home education blog call Elles Funtimes and it will be about the running of our allotment that we're sharing with another home educating family. My children, K (9) and B (7) are looking forward to growing fresh food for the family and perhaps having their own small site to grow their own choice of flowers, fruit or vegetables.

We visited the plot today to find the council had kindly rotivated it for us. They said they'd do this to help us along with the dreaded weeding that always needs to be done before miracle veggies can be grown! We've heard lately that rotivating can actually hinder the process of weed control, but at least the plot looks bearable, rather than just an overgrown mess. B and his friend helped to measure the entire length of the plot and then we used string to divide it in half so we know our boundaries.

Both children are keen to get going, especially K, who wants to start weeding, whatever the weather, later this week!