I got the phone call..............

................ to say that my greenhouse will be delivered next Thursday, the 8th! Woo Hoo!!!!!!

Hubby and I are going to have a go at putting it up together... so it will have to be a kid free zone to save their delicate little ears from the expletives that will no doubt be flying around profusely!!! Hee hee.

Last night we had the biggest thunderstorm I've seen in ages! The girls were frightened and of course it arrived just as they were going off to bed. There was a howling wind and massive hailstones! It only lasted about half an hour and was gone as quickly as it arrived.

Anyway I'd put some compost in some modules ready to put some seeds in and had left them on the garden table. I checked them this morning and they were sitting in about 2 inches of water! I've brought them in to dry off a little before I put some seeds in.

I started off some sweetcorn in the airing cupboard a few days ago.... I think I forgot to post that..... but they have sprouted very nicely and this evening they went into their new homes..... nice tall Richy paper pots. I've put them in the conservatory where I hope they'll be very happy for a while.

Oooh things are really happening now!... Did I mention my greenhouse is coming? :-)

At last...

.... I've planted my spuds!

Yay... today has been a glorious day and the whole family has been at the Den to mark a momentous occasion!

We got our first veg in the earth! It was only fitting that the first plants in were spuds - that good old staple food. I have 3 rows of Maris Bards (1st early) 3 of Charlotte (also 1sts) and 3 of Maris Piper (main crop).

I also put in 2 rows of Red Baron onions but the sets were very dry and I don't know if they'll come to much.

When I say I planted I mean that hubby helped with some of it (2 lots of pots) until the footie call became too much and he retired off home to watch Man U play Chelsea in the most important game of the season (apparently). We won't mention the fact that Man U lost 2-1 and are now level on points but ahead on goals.... ooops I just did!

And yes the two little dragons were also there to help but spent most of their time planting stones (???!!?) or hanging out on Nanny's plot which is obviously more interesting than our own! But isn't anywhere that Nanny is?

I also put 3 pots of raspberries in. They are not in their final resting place yet but I think they'll be happier in the ground than sitting around in pots and will not wonder off with anyone who takes a fancy to them!

We had a really enjoyable day, finished off with a curry and a bottle or 2 of red wine, and some chill out time in front of the tv.

All I have to do now is wish a very Happy Birthday to my Mum!
Hope you had a great day xxxx

Happy Birthday and Paper pots

Happy 3rd Birthday to Little Dragon No2! I can't believe how big you are getting. I hope you had a wonderful day sweetie... I know you are fast asleep in bed now! Sweet dreams little one... Mummy & Daddy love you sooooooo much!

I've made some of Richys paper pots.... see http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=11390. I'm going to grow my sweetcorn, beans and maybe even my sprouts and cabbages in them.

I've also put some sweetcorn in the airing cupboard tonight to chit. I really hope I get some cobs off them this year. I bought some plants last year that didn't do anything in my Mums plot and I was so disappointed! I've got to wait 3 days before I check them..... ooooh I can't wait!

I hurt my neck last Tuesday and my Osteopath says that I can't do any work at the Den but I really need to get my spuds in soon! What he doesn't know won't hurt him!!

The weather is warming up this week so I'm hoping this is the start of the planting season! I drove past the Den today and some pallets had been left for us so that'll be the composters off to a good start!

Hooray.... the growing season has finally started!

Meeting results....

Well that was quite interesting.... we have 112 plots on our site and there were about 20 plot holders there in total!

There were moans about fences flying round in the wind.... dog mess..... people not shutting the gate when last out at night (even though someone has nicked the security chain!)..... rats by the pigeon sheds... and a rabbit alert! Last year was quite rabbit free apparently but te year before that there was a big rabbit problem... I hope it's not that bad this year. They also had a moan about people who are after a plot... they are constantly hassling the allotment council clerk and the allotment officer. I sank into my seat at this point as I am guilty of visiting the clerk on a regular basis before I got my plot! Ooops!

Apparently one of the new plot holders has had contractors in to do about a £1000 worth of work! The old timers thought that it wasn't in the spirit of allotmenteering and that they should be excluded from competitions!

But... I did make a good contact for pallets and manure!! Woo hoo!!! Hopefully I'll get a phone call to let me know about the manure soon... I can't wait, the beds could really do with some goodness digging in.

So the next meeting is in October.... I'll be an old hand by then!

Rude awakening...

I was woken up this morning by the sound of growling!

I heard the clinking of ladders and discovered tyhe window cleaner had started his rounds early! He must be making the most of the sunny mornings as it has rained every afternoon for ages now!

The growling was the cat!!! She had heard the window cleaner and was having a right old moan! I'm sure she thinks she's a rottweiler even though she's tiny!

Anyway I'm off to my 1st allotment meeting tonight... not sure what to expect but it could be interesting!... I'll let you know later :-)

Drum Roll Please........

Introducing.........................

The new look Dragons Den..................

The beds have finally been dug over



A base has gone down ready for the greenhouse.....


Hubby has done a great job working out the instructions for the sprayer and giving the den a lovely coat of dragon green paint..... mind you it absolutely chucked it down with rain about an hour after he finished so we left it with a slightly camouflaged look! I even got him to spray the pallets outside the shed to make a nice little veranda! I'm gonna get him a rocking chair and a pipe so that he can sit there swigging moonshine watching the sun go down!

Meanwhile I was busy with the interior decoration! As this shed is doubling up as a playhouse of sorts to keep the girls from getting too bored it has to be bright and cheerful. I need to do another coat of paint and then I'm going to print some nice bright girlie pink circles inside! I've got a small plastic table for them and an easel to keep them occupied. I'm also getting an old sandpit as well. We might even get round to growing some veg at some stage!

Talking of veg.... now I have a lovely blank canvas to play with I'm really scared of making a start! I really need to decide where to put my permanent planting, ie the strawbs and rasps before doing anything else! My spuds are more than ready to meet their new home and get going. I also ordered some bare rooted strawbs from QVC today.... 12 plants for £9ish. (can't remember the name at the moment but they are meant to be very sweet - time will tell!)

PS I will get round to listing my seeds but as I'm running out of battery here I'm gonna have to go. Toodle pip! :-)

Just a quickie.......

Ok...... So I think it's about time I started some seed off.... I'm getting very impatient waiting for the Den to be ready to dig over and I need to do something!

I'm gonna look through my seeds tomorrow and make a start!

Who cares if the greenhouse isn't coming yet.... needs must and it's time to start the ball rolling.

Have I posted a list of seeds I've bought yet? Don't think so.... I'll check back and do a complete list tomorrow. I bough more seeds at the weekend.. PS Broccoli and plain broccoli. I'm gonna need another plot at this rate!

Quick weather check...... it's warmed up a bit but there's still alot of rain around. The summer forecast is warm and wet... should be interesting for the first year at the Den.

Grrrrr to the weather!.. and a big well done.

Can I just start this post by saying a big BIG congratulations to Little Miss Dragon jnr who managed to use her potty for the very first time today!

Woo hoooooo! Good on yer girl... I'm very proud of you.

Anyway back to the Den... This blooming weather is driving me mad!

Monday was T shirt weather... I did some clearing on Mums lottie, just old cabbages and broccoli but it was lovely and warm.

The shed went up on Tuesday... not as warm, well quite chilly, but it was dry.

It got warmer towards the end of the week... it was almost up to 20 degrees!

Then come Sunday.... It snowed... it was freezing cold.... it snowed again! There were blizzards by the evening!

Quick snowy picture...

I popped up to the Den just to make sure that the shed was still intact. Phew the windows were still there and it looked quite secure.

I feel a bit of a picture fest coming on....

Here's the finished shed....

Here's one of the plot... the weedkiller (3rd application) is starting to work....

And here's my plot number. It looks sad doesn't it... I'm planning on painting a new one, all nice and fancy and varnished! Might even go for the best new plot award this year! ha ha!!!

I've ordered my greenhouse!

Yay!

I phoned the Greenhouse People today and ordered the greenhouse. I did it by phone as I wanted to see if they wold be able to deiliver it to the Den. A very nice lady on the other end of the phone said it shouldn't be a problem... hooray! I ordered toughened glass, and the ventilation pack which includes a louvre window and 2 auto openers. Wow!

The only downside is that I will have to wait 5-7 weeks for delivery (did I say that yesterday? Just ignore me if I'm rambling!) The nice lady said that it might arrive earlier and that she would make a note that I would like it ASAP.... we'll see - watch this space.

This is what I've ordered....


Aaah, diddy little piccy!

I'm sooo excited, I hope I don't have to wait forever for it as the whole idea of a greenhouse is to get some seedlings started off early. Keep your fingers crossed!

We have a shed!!!!!!!!

Well, it went up in no time and I must say it's looking pretty good!

Just need to make the window more secure. Why is it you get a nice solid shed with a lock and key supplied but a flimsy bit of plastic for the window held in with a few thin nails!!!

The paint is ready for the outside, a nice shade of green, but I am considering giving the inside a quick coat of white emulsion to brighten it up!

I know... enough rambling..... here it is......

Fanfare please!!!!........

Ladies and Gentlemen... I present to you... the heart of the Dragons Den....

Now wasn't that work waiting for!

The roof has been finished but the above pics were taken on my mobile so I'll get some better ones when I'm next there. Can you believe in all the excitement I forgot my camera.

Now then, tomorrows news is...... I'm ordering the greenhouse! Woo hoo.

Did I mentin I'm going for a 6x10? Should be enough space for the odd cucumber and cherry tomato. The downside is it'll take 5-7 weeks to arrive. Anyway I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Look At My Little Chitters!

Well my poor little spuds are still happily chitting away on the windowsill but I think that the earlies are getting a bit impatient!

They are about to sprout into leaf!

Here are my little chitters.....