First day on the allotment before I started doing any work.

I got my allotment in April 2012 after been on the waiting list for a couple of months. The plot itself isn’t very big, 12 metres by 5 but it keeps me busy. The first couple of days on the plot was spent digging it over and generally giving it a once over. My plan was to get my potatoes in and then work out where everything else was going to go at a later date. I had 9 rows of potatoes; 3 first early and the rest second early, and these were probably the most successful crop I had that year, weighing it at around 30-40kg.

The next couple of months was spent experimenting with different sowing techniques, planting out various herbs, strawberries and other bits and pieces, just to get into the feel of things. My aim was to find out what works and what doesn’t, and found that I had too much lettuce and radish, my french beans were the dwarf variety and didn’t climb up my frames, and that I didn’t sow enough onions.

Without been put off too much, I continued to work on my plot getting it the way I wanted. I managed to get my hands on around 50 paving slabs and had them delivered to the plot for the price of a crate of beer. These would create the paths between beds and help define them as they were getting a mess. Couple of weekends after, I managed to get most of them down and into place.

My next job on the list was to erect a new fence around the plot. The fence at the time was around 12 inches high and started to fall apart. I got some wooden posts from the local reclaimers yard and 50 metres of wire mesh for less than £30. Couple of hours work over a few weekends and the fence was finished.

Plot in mid April 2013

At the moment I am getting ready for another season on the plot. Potatoes are in and have been for the last couple weeks (maincrop went in the last weekend of April), and I’ve already got a few I planted in the pots poking their heads through the soil. The bed I’m dedicating to square foot gardening this year is underway, and I’ve already started work on other beds. Here’s to a successful summer.