New Beginnings

Last year was pretty rubbish on all accounts in my world of gardening, so when I heard that I would be sharing a new allotment with my brother, I decided a new allotment should have a new blog. One that I would maybe update a little more often!

Also, the whole sustainable, make your own outlook has been spreading from growing our own veg to making my own jewellery, and hopefully soon, having our own free range eggs straight from our own back yard. So this new blog will cover all of the above, and any new ideas I have in 2011.

The new allotment became ours in August, but it was a mass of brambles and weeds. Currently, nearly all of the brambles have been strimmed, and are now in a big pile! They are going to be chipped soon and used for paths. The next problem, is that whoever had the allotment before us - at least 2 years ago, covered the whole place with carpet, layers and layers of carpet.

In the meantime, not wanting to get behind, I have planted some overwintering onions at home in small pots and will transplant them once a bed has been dug at the allotment. I have also bought some potatoes, and they are chitting at home. In the next couple of weeks or so, I am going to put some seeds in a propagator so that I can make a start on tomatoes, chillies and any other seeds I find in my stash.


Today I have been busy creating. I made some jam with a small amount of the blackberries I managed to harvest from the allotment before the strimming began.

I made the jam in the breadmaker, so while it was cooking away, I also managed to make a couple of pairs of earings and a pendant. To build up my stocks of beads and get new ideas, I searched through old jewellery that I don't wear anymore and found a bracelets with red wooden beads, I managed to re use the beads on a wire heart shape I made.

Back to the veggies, I had some garden centre vouchers for Christmas so went on a little shopping spree earlier in the month. I decided to try two new things, mushrooms and asparagus. I am not sure the mushrooms will work, as I spoke to a couple of people who said they have never managed to grow them successfully. It was an easy grow pack though, where all I have to do is put some water on them, we will see!

The only reason I decided to try the asparagus, was that the pack said to leave it to grow this year, then just pick a few spears next year, then pick as many as you want the year after. I know it is just a nicer way of saying leave it for three years before harvesting, but just being able to try some next year, made me feel better about having to wait too long!

The blackberries weren't the only thing I managed to harvest from the new allotment, despite there being no beds dug. There are three apple trees and a gooseberry bush that were planted by the previous owner. Only two of the apple trees currently fruit, one is an eater and produced a handful of small tasty apples. The other is a cooker, and produced bags and bags of lovely cooking apples - more than we possibly knew what to do with, unless we bought an apple press that is ;-) Unfortunately a large number ended up on the floor, and then in my composter, but there were at least a couple of apple crumbles over winter!

So this year, I have an allotment which is a blank canvas, no greenhouse, no brick building that is about to fall down, and no pressure to provide veg to the owner of the allotment. All the veg is for me to make chutneys, and soups and tomato ketchup, and any other way I can think of storing and using veg so that they don't go to waste!