Allotments on Youtube (part 1)

Rickvanman's Allotment Videos (this is day one).

More from Rick..

Freegle Goodies

Kale, Runner Beans, Strawberries, Mint and a Chilli plant

Lots of seeds!

I also got a load of plants from another very generous lady, but I didn't have time to take a picture as she pulled them straight out of her back garden! So I rushed down to the allotment to pop them straight into the ground.

Testing the soil

I have heavy clay soil, which means I need to add lots of organic matter to it to make it more workable. It's also a good idea to test the pH of the soil, to see whether it's acid or alkaline, and what treatments you need to give it to make it more neutral (unless you are growing acid loving plants). 

I used this kit which I bought on eBay - seemed to be good value and was easy to use. (If the link runs out, the seller was kkjc2.)

The only pain was that you need to use distilled water, otherwise you end up testing the pH of the water you use, rather than the soil. Distilled water is water that has boiled into condensation, and then cooled to become water again - hope that makes sense. You can buy it, or make it at home. I did make it in a very efficient way - I just boiled a couple of pans of water, and shook off the water forming on the lid. That only made enough for a couple of tests, but it's not too bad if you do it while making dinner or something else in the kitchen.

As you can see from the photos, my soil looks like it's a good neutral - 6.5 on the scale. You're supposed to do a few tests on different areas of the site, so I'll do some more once I've got more beds ready for planting. 

First seeds sown

I was able to get up to the allotment for just over an hour today. It was a beautiful evening. I pulled some weeds out, raked the soil and planted a few lettuce seeds. The plan is to plant some more every two weeks or so. The bottles and egg shells (and coffee grounds which you can't see) are my (possibly futile) attempt at protecting the seedings from slugs.

The line is measuring out a foot - I thought I would try some square foot gardening principles, as the usable space I have at the moment is so little.

I also managed to pull up some weeds along the outside of the bed, and trim the grass a bit. The shears left on the allotment aren't really up for that job (although they're great for brambles) so I might invest in some proper lawn shears.

Planting seeds

Planted these with the children today. Sweetcorn, Courgette, Peppers, Thyme, Sunflowers. I need to cover some with plastic to keep them warm. No idea if they'll work or not, as some of the seeds are quite old. Some Sunflowers have already sprouted on the left, planted at a friend's house a few days ago.

Finished weeding the first bed

Finished weeding the first bed. Took nearly an hour, just to go round the edge! Then added compost and raked it over. You can see from the big lumps on the left why you should NEVER DIG THE SOIL WHEN IT'S WET (as I did on Saturday) - the lumps are absolutely rock hard and unworkable. I'll have to take them out and wait for them to break down. 

Saturday jobs

Getting started on the first raised bed - weeding

A mulch of straw and horse manure for the rhubarb (as suggested by my nice neighbour Robert) - provided free from the local stables