"look at the state of it...."

....Dads first comment as he saw my future greenhouse

See what you think...I think it has potential!!

Updated photos of 'Project Pumpkin'

Here they are planted.....

Pumpkin Cam

'Project Pumpkin'

Good Afternoon,

On Fridays I volunteer at The Castle School in Newbury, Berkshire. I am only there for 45mins a week but we have started what we like to call 'Project Pumpkin'

As you will know from my a blog earlier I have now dug in my mustard seed to increase the nutrients in my soil. As luck would have it, it has been raining very hard for a couple of days now so my soil is now well watered. Perfect soil for our pumpkins....

Lots of space, just in case they decide to grow!!

Pumpkin cam

I forgot to take any pictures of them planted :) but let me assure you I planted them with utmost care!

Fingers crossed x

viewable shed designs!!

Shed design?

Shed design ideas

Shed design roof idea

Its been a while...

Hey everybody!!

It has been a while since my last update, over a month I see!! Well, it has also been that long since I last went up to myAllotment. I would like to say I was driven there by the desire to get stuck in, check on my mustard seeds and prepare for my shed. I can't. I was driven there by the need to tackle the, now MASSIVE, grass surrounding my plot!
I received a lovely letter from my local council informing me of the "unacceptable length of my grass" and the impending inspection that is to come this next Tuesday.

AFTER my neighbour came by with his strimmer!!

On the right you can see I started to turn over my mustard seed into the ground. As some of you may remember, mustard is a very good green manure, once it has grown to a certain height we are meant to 'dig it in' adding essential nutrients back into the soil;

 "Oh yes mustard! That'll do... MUSTARD?  Now don't let's be silly...." 

And now for a freeze frame halfway through the digging. For blog purposes only you realise, not because I have taken up smoking again and needed to catch my breath!;

So, plot looking acceptable, mustard turned into the ground I am done for today! 

I shall be updating more regularly for a while as some of my ,thought about, projects are starting to happen.....watch this space!!

"A little rain never hurt anyone" said Ezekiel to Noah

In beautiful England with its rolling hills and delightful beaches we have been getting wet. It has rained and rained and rained and rained!!
Not drizzle, not light showers but tipping it down. In plain English "we have got pissed on" for about 3 weeks now.
Today however I had had enough; with my wet weather gear on, a flask full of freshly made coffee and bursting with determination I pushed myself out the door.....

So what has been going on:

 My mustard seed has started to grow but not much. Maybe an inch at most.

As you can see I have more weeds than everything else but where the fork is and the left hand side of the bed closest to us is scattered with the mustard seed. Now I had surveyed the scene time for a break....

Deserted allotment + hot flask of coffee = Bliss

A trick learnt on the building site; how to use a wheel barrow as a seat  ( remember to remove coffee first) 

In the background is the start of my compost heap...

da daah!!

As you can see I used 5 pallets. I tied them together with a tough garden string, then fashioned stakes out of some 2" x 1" ( 2inch by 1inch) wood. I hammered these in down the side of the pallets for a little extra stability. Being a gardener I gather a lot of other peoples green waste, perfect for my compost...

A good few hours graft. Now on to the shed. I have looked around and have decided that for the money it will be cheaper for me to build my own. I shall of course capture my efforts and share them with you every step of the way. 

Take care and carry on Gardening x