Planting

We are zooming ahead with progress on the allotment, we have now planted carrots, parsnips, broad beans, early peas, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, basil and rosemary. Not bad going considering we only got the plot in January. We met some of our neighbours last week whilst we were their plot is attached to a Pupil Referral Unit and will be used to help children who are depressed and also those struggling with eating disorders, the idea is to help themj understand more about the goodness and nature of food and encourage them to eat well by being involved in growing the food. What a worthwhile project, they are also working with a local artist to design the plot and have wonderful animals and characters made out of reeds, I must admit it makes ours look a bit scruffy though I am pleased with the new raised beds I have built, they are only small but hopefully they will be very productive.

Mini is still enjoying coming with us, now the weather has dried up a bit it is a lot easier and she is getting used to her wellies and waterproofs. It can't be too long now until we start seeing some produce.

We finally joined the allotment society for a joint membership of £3, bargain or what, I also found myself volunteering to help the committe with IT stuff so I'll wait and see if anything comes of that. Looking forward to spending some time at the plot in the Easter hols and hoping for some good weather.

More seeds

Got some parsnip seeds and some early peas planted up this week, I've also covered the beans and peas with some mesh to stop birds and other creatures pinching the early seedlings. The forst part of this week has been amazing weather wise and we spent two full days down at the plot with picnics, one day we were all in t-shirts the weather was so fab. I think it is easy to start to think that it is spring and plant things that it's too early for in February, I am so desperate to plant stuff and see some early results that I have to be careful not to be over enthusiastic, as it is still february and hard frosts or snow are still very possible. The plot is looking great compared to when we took it on and I'm starting to see the real potential that could exist.

Mini has learnt a new game which was partly my fault as I sat her in the wheelbarrow when we were down there one time, now she likes to ride around it and when I take her out to try and do some work she just shouts 'more!' which is funny the first few times but then rapidly gets annoying. She has also started to eat mud if we leave her unsupervised with her little spade, aren't children delightful!

More digging please

Only tomorrow to go and then we can definitely get down to the allotment and do something. It has been so frustrating this week at work and even more so driving past the end of the road where the plot is but it is dark so early in January, at least I know the longest day has passed and it will only be getting lighter from here. We are both off this weekend so should be able to have a really good go at finishing the path and starting the main beds. Hopefully it won't pour down the whole weekend, with our current levels of enthusiasm we'd probably go anyway but it's not as easy as that when you have a toddler in tow because we can't confine her to the shed or have her out in the rain for a long period of time and of course her needs come first. I suppose we could rope in an ever-willing Grandparent but this is a family project, we want her to be involved and we want and need to spend time with her when we have been working during the week. This is the British winter but surely it won't rain solidly for two whole days... will it???

I've been surveying the house the last couple of evenings to see where I could locate some seed trays, to get some things started off the trouble is little Mini is into everything right now and I have visions of the compost being emptied everywhere or her trying to eat it. We have very few windowsills in our house as it has original sash windows so the choices for a sunny spot are quite limited, I think eventually we will work towards a proper greenhouse on the plot but you can't do everything at once, patience is not my strongest point and I want everything sorting now but I'll have to realise that this takes time and that's all part of the magic.