Apr 27th, 2005
Week 9
Everything is happening at once at mtp. I’ve put the carrot seeds in (in two rows, 12cms apart), the leek seeds have been sown, as have the perpetual spinach. Also one of our neighbours (a different one) gave me some young cabbage plants and the cucumber plants are happily hardening off in the cold frame (now that I am a hardening-off expert). The best news this week is that the potatoes are coming up. I’ve never grown potatoes before so I had no idea what they were suppose to look like when they came up. When I saw the first shoots I have to admit that I had to dig one up just to make sure that it wasn’t a weed. When I had verified that it was indeed attached to a potato then I quietly reburied it and the celebrations began! I’m so excited to harvest potatoes from mtp in a few months.
So the plot meeting went off okay. Surprisingly quite a few people turned up despite the weather being pretty awful. We discussed a range of topics that are vital to allotment holders; mowing of pathways, the size and dimensions of the average toolbox, the pros and cons of public benches in the allotment (the concensus was that while practical they may become an open invitation for the local kids to come and hang out on them, which let’s face it, is ultimately bad). And we also discussed the annual rent (£10 for a full plot and £5 for a half plot (plus £2 water charge)). I still can’t get over how absurdly cheap it all is!
I’ve reached the hardening off stage and just realised I haven’t a clue what that is. Well, when I say I haven’t a clue I mean I have an idea that it’s something to do with putting the plants in colder or more harsh conditions for a while before they go in the ground but I don’t ‘exactly’ know what to do. I’ve noticed that gardening books pass around the phrase like you ’should’ know exactly what to do - but the truth is I don’t. So with 11 cucumber kids itching to get out into the big wide world and an amateur mum who knows virtually nothing I did the only thing you can do in this situation - I consulted the Oracle (that’s the Internet to you and me). I found 
I can’t believe we’ve been working on mtp for eight whole weeks. The time has flown by, but of course we’ve got a lot done. The top beds are starting to take shape now and I spent the last 20 minutes yesterday flattening out the top area ready for our brand new bench when it arrives (up to now we’ve been sitting on Clive’s bench when he’s not looking but shush don’t tell him). I’m also toying with the idea of buying some artichoke plants to put in the middle bed. We love artichokes and the thought of picking our own makes the 
Our neighbour gave us some Strawberry plants a couple of weeks ago and I put them in the seed bed next to the (still empty) cold frame. I thought that would be a good place for them since it has wooden sides and so presents a small mountainous obstacle to any snail type creatures. We’ll see if that one works. But I noticed today that the plants have turned a lovely shade of red, so I took a photo to show you. Yummy aren’t they?
The beds are starting to take shape now. We had thought that we would edge each bed with wood to make the plot look classic, traditional, environmentally-friendly. But then we went to Homebase and saw the price of wood and thought hmmm….these plastic edging-type products look interesting don’t they? So the end result is that we have tidy-looking beds complete with ready-made walkways perfect for size 9 wellies but now the plot looks like my grandma’s garden. All we need now are some marigolds!
…population 22 and growing. As you can see I did my first ‘potting on’ this weekend. There were a few casualties, inevitably. My inexperience and heavy-handed transplanting skills meant the death of two cucumber plants and five tomatoes. Although I did manage to save one sweetcorn seedling from the decimated crop that died last week of an ‘overnight chill’. So I’m happy with that. That means we now have 11 cucumber plants, nine tomatoes and three courgettes, - too many cucumbers right?
I can’t possibly think about the allotment because my cat, Cider, has had an operation today. He went to the ‘vet’ dentist to have a tooth out. This was mainly brought on due to munching way too many mice, bunnies, and assorted small rodents. But look at the poor little mite. Pitiful isn’t it? Needless to say he’s had the best hospital care money can buy (ie me). On the hour mashed up food, special treats, milk in his bowl and a tiny piece of chocolate (don’t tell Ryan). You’d never know he was a trained assassin who knows 360 ways to kill a vole with his bare paws! He’s feeling a bit rubbish at the moment (but soldiering on). All well-wishers invited…
I can’t believe it’s already six weeks since we got the allotment. It has flown by. We’re busy digging the beds over and adding a little bit of lime here and a bit of manure there. We also bought a brand new fork (we bent the last one) and some edging to keep the beds in order. The potatoes are in (a week apart) and the garlic plants are doing well, as you can see. Our neighbour gave us some strawberries that are currently settling in over in the seed bed. So, it’s all good! Just hanging around waiting for the potatoes to show!
…our new friend, the coldframe. It cost just £44 from our local garden centre (actually this was the cheapest price I could find for this type of frame - even online!). So now you’re thinking, “£44 for that! - I could have made one out of bits of wood scavenged from skips.” Well, that may be true but that relies on two things happening. One, that I can find a supply of wood and two that I have the carpentry skills to put it together. Certainly item number two on that list is lacking and item number one assumes I can be bothered to find wood. So my purse is £44 lighter, but in exchange I am the proud owner of a brand new coldframe - complete with adjustable lid and everything!
