Selfsufficientish.com

Growing things - it all looks lovely!!

Here's ours - just starting out - and so far, so good....

Good Lord Julie!!!! that is freakishly neat!!!! did I spy a planting template too!!!!!

But I did notice a board in your 4th photo that doesn't meet the other perfectly....

A tidy plot is the sign of a sick mind

Annpan wrote:Good Lord Julie!!!! that is freakishly neat!!!! did I spy a planting template too!!!!!

But I did notice a board in your 4th photo that doesn't meet the other perfectly....

A tidy plot is the sign of a sick mind

Ann, bu&&er off!

Hehehe.... I told you Andy's OCD is probably catching......
I'll be doing housework next......

room101 wrote:View from the allotment...

I though.. oh wonder where that is.. looks just like Torbay

oh it is Torbay

red wrote:

room101 wrote:View from the allotment...

I though.. oh wonder where that is.. looks just like Torbay

oh it is Torbay

julie... your husband's hard work really paid off it looks flippin incredible! thats the kind of allotment i would LOVE! mine is a bit more 'artistic', shall we say...

Ayisha, if it leaves you with dirty fingernails & you get to eat the fruits (or veg) of your labours, then it doesn't matter how artistic it is!

Don't worry though, I shall soon have it as untidy as I'm allowed shortly

you rebel, you!

Photos from year 1.

It's only a 5 rod plot & I've no chance of another one, even tho' there are loads which aren't kept up.



The council here are a joke...



Oh dear, I can only do 3 at a time. More posts to follow.

The (free but very small) greenhouse is now glazed & full of seedlings.

Some areas are still not properly dug over as building the fruit cage & planting trees took priority.

The pile of rescued timber/pallets needs to get used up so I can dig that bit. I'll probably plant spuds underneath it this year...

I did well all in all tho', considering many things were just 'chucked in' so that I had something going on.

Julie,
That looks amazing, it's the kind of thing I have vaguely in the back of my mind for when I finish clearing back all the brambles and dead wood on my new plot.
What size are your raised beds? I have been trying to work out what size I should be planning on that will still let me plant and weed the whole bed easily, and what depth I should be planning as well.
(link to my photos in my sig, so much to do before it looks anywhere near as pretty as yours)

Hi Jared,
Well, we designed the beds according to the size of the wood up the yard

So, our beds are 16ft long, 4ft wide & 9ins deep.
Andy made them 4 ft wide so I can reach across from either side without treading on the soil - keeps them nice & loamy then.
And we got the 9ins depth because the yard didn't have enough 7ins boards... although a 9ins depth also meant that I didn't have to dig the existing soil & grass underneath - let the worms do the work!

He pounded down some 2 x 2 stakes at each corner & some 2 x 1's along the length as well - to keep the boards fixed & stable.

Then the beds inside the polyhouse are again 16ft long, but just 2 ft wide - again, I won't have to walk on the soil - total superstar, my hubby - but don't tell him I said....

All so neat and tidy and mine is just a mass of weeds, self seeded coriander and flowering PS brocolli right now.

My wee attempts....

Constructing the raised beds




the left overs from constructing the raised bed




The orchard




The previous attempt - now my nursery and abandoned soft fruit




Parsley the lion and co




Screening the oil tank