Tales From The Allotment

So this was the view I was confronted with when viewing my allotment for the first time in February 2019.
I probably should have started this blog back then, seeing that my intention now is to keep a record for myself of all the changes, and challenges, of a first-time allotment keeper. I'm not really that much of a gardener. Although I grew up with a large garden to play in, for the last 15 years I have been living without a garden and I sorely missed the outdoor space and being able to get my hands dirty. My name went on the allotments waiting list in 2012 I think, so a bit of a wait.
When I was told there was allotments available I jumped at the chance. There was a choice of two the one above and this one...

With both of them being seen on a wet day in February, there wasn't much that was inspiring. However, although this one was clearly in better condition, it was closer to the road and cycle path. Thoughts of thieves and vandals tended us towards the one at the rear of the site, backing onto the railway, even though it was in much poorer condition and full of junk.  The allotments officer, Ian, said he would give us the the poorer one at half price for the year and that essentially made the decision for us.

The plot measures 55 x 35 foot - pretty sizeable - and larger than many other plots on the same site. It was a daunting prospect to one who has only an academic knowledge of growing vegetables. It was also daunting to read the rules and regulations - that at least 70% of the plot has to be dedicated to growing foodstuff and that it must be kept to a decent standard. But I figured I could probably manage with a little help from the family.

The first thing we did was clear the plot. All the boards and bricks were lifted and set aside (I am clearly settled in the "we might need that" camp!), oddities of junk (a water tank ball-cock, amongst other things!) were taken to the recycling centre and so on.
We also took stock of what plants were still growing in all that mess. Strawberries were running riot on the southern edge (left in the photo above) and rhubarb was getting feisty next to them. There were raspberries running gleefully all over wherever they felt like. Redcurrants, blackcurrants, a mystery thorny creeper, a bit like blackberry, but not. All seemingly mixed in and placed in a rather haphazard way.  A single raised bed (the green structure in the photo above) was placed pretty much in the middle of the western side, half on a path and half in the other beds. Nothing much was growing inside it, so we dismantled it. It was created from a square metal trough, supported on a wooden frame with slats on the sides. It was pretty ugly. But as soon as I saw that trough, I knew I wanted to use it as a wildlife pond. To me there's no point having a green (or brown) space without welcoming and encouraging the wildlife.

Other minor and not so minor disasters awaited us - paths made of microfiber cloth piled with rocks and then allowed to be grown over with grass were threaded randomly throughout the plot.

Also, as the year moved on and the weather warmed we started to notice this coming up...

We found out that this is Japanese horsetail, also known as marestail, and also known as "that bastard weed" after a wee while. It gets everywhere. it can grow from the smallest piece of root. The roots can grow over three foot underground, so it's very difficult to dig out. It also breaks very easily, which aids in it's spreading.

It was very demoralising to see this coming up in our newly dug fresh soil and at one point I was even considering giving up the allotment.  After some research online I found that covering it over for a couple of years with plastic was probably going to give it a sever setback. I don't think it's possible to get rid of it completely!

So we covered half of the plot, and planted some potatoes in the other half, next to the rampant strawberries and rhubarb.

We took out most of the currant bushes, and cleared as much ground as we could. The metal trough was turned into a wee pond, and we edged it with some lovely old bricks that were lying hidden in the grass. We also found a large amount of sandstone-type bricks - the type that low garden walls are often made out of, and we set these next to the shed as a kind of patio-seating area.  We had a BBQ there one evening and it was lovely!

Then came the end of the year, after harvesting the potatoes, strawberries and rhubarb, and we wound everything down for winter.

It wasn't pretty, but it was certainly an improvement. But it was right at this time that the key was lost, although it was in the New Year of 2020 before we realised!