One Man and his hoe...

I went down the allotment on Sunday morning and raked and dug and stuff. I now have four main plots in which to plant my seedlings. Each plot in 5 x 1.5m with a 0.75m wide path between them.

The Lettuce is in overdrive, a little ahead of schedule, and I have a litter of around 60-70 two leaved veggelings ready to move to the next stage - 9cm pots. The carrots are peeping through and should be ready in about a week.

Other news is that I am applying for a distance learning course in horticulture see http://www.hccollege.co.uk/courses.asp for information.

P.S

Mrs Craggle - Please remember to water the seedlings while I am away.

Dawning of a new age

So last night, under the light of a waxing Moon, me and the wife sowed our first seeds into propagators. According to hippies, for millennia people have planted and harvested according to the phases of the Moon. The Moon-watching gardener's rule of thumb is to plant crops that grow above the ground during a waxing Moon and to plant those seeds that produce crops under the ground during a waning Moon.
So the lettuce should be ready to be "pricked on" in 7-14 days and the carrots some time in the week after that. Pricking on is the term used when moving the plant into its own habitat after the initial growth has produced a two leaved seedling. Then "planting out"into the ground once five leaves are present.
There is some work to be done on the allotment this weeking in preparation for planting out. On Saturday I will be picking up some well rotted horse manure from flower fairy (see www.pink-flower-fairy.blogspot.com), raking it in and clearing stones.

Genesis

A lot has happened in the last 2 weeks. I have acquired a 17.8m by 5m allotment patch at the sum of £21 pounds a year. On my first arrival on site I was pleased to find some remanance of the previous lodger's work remained. Raspberry canes, strawberries and goos-gooses (gooseberries) were already growing although they will need some work.
I have obtained my tools and tidied my workshop (at home)
and I am now ready to pot my first seeds. I have decided to grow carrots, lettuce, spinach and of course pumpkin. Apparently, according to gingerbeardy fellow at the garden centre, if I follow the instuctions on the seed packets this growing business is a doddle. I'm not so sure however, I have taken a few precautionary measures to ensure my first years crop yield is a success.
I have purchased some special seedling compo to ensure a good healthy start and although it's not strictly organic I will endevour to find an alternative for next year. I have also dismantled some wooden pallets to build a composter to place on site.
I have taken some photos and I will publish them just as soon as I have figured out how to do it.

Orange Organics

Check out the competition www.griffin147.blogspot.com

History

Some time towards the end of last year (2005) the usual people were sat around a table in the Bulls Head, Hall Green having a discussion. Ideas such as go-kart racing, becoming detectives and flying helicopters were being banded around but one topic struck a chord with me. It began by laying down the rules to the "growing the fattest pumpkin competion". All present were eager to take part and shook hands on it. The drinking continued and the idea was probably forgotten by most.
That night lying in bed the notion came back to me and it struck me that without a garden that I did not stand a chance of winning. I would have to rent me some land.
Since the decision was made to commit to allotment patch I have likend to the idea of becoming semi-self sufficient and creating a totally organic world and finely tune the science of nature without the use for chemicals.