[growth] Tiny adventures
Jul. 11th, 2018 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaberett- On Monday, as I was getting my act together to head over to the allotment for a little, a robin came within about a foot of me on the verandah. I am very excited about this and have high hopes that it will continue deciding I am shaped like a friend.
- Also on Monday, while actually at the allotmennt, I rounded the corner (picking blackberries) and there was A Fox! The fox did... not think I was a friend, alas.
- Brought home on Monday: blackberries, an odd black currant, and pile of bamboo nicked from the abandoned allotment next door with the site manager's blessing. The bamboo was promptly used to conduct a scaffold for the patio tomatoes, which are starting to think about turning yellow and definitely needed more support than my existing stakes were giving them.
- Brought home yesterday: dwarf sunflowers in a terracotta pot from M&S, reduced to £2.80. If I am going to panic-buy anything I'm reasonably happy for it to be sunflowers.
- Today at the allotment: I sorted through all the various bits of loose wood that had been set aside for Eventual Beds, determined that most of it is well on the way to being partially-composted woodchips, sorted it into piles, and determined to come back with a mallet at the point that my compost bin has actually arrived. (Relatedly, I have spent a fair amount of time looking at hardware websites and have more-or-less convinced myself that pulling out all the rotting plywood and building new raised bed edges is a Better Bet.) I also discovered Another Bed, this one not raised, and was pleasantly surprised by the soil quality when I started weeding; I intend to alternate Awful Paperwork and continuing to weed it tomorrow, whereupon I will put the other two butternut squash in it.
- I think there is then ooooooone more level bed that looks plausibly weedable, which I propose to put pak choi and calabrese in if I can get to it in time, following which Growing Season Will Be Over (for my purposes, in the short term) and it will be time to Seriously Start Reworking The Raised Beds, plus or minus late beetroot and carrots.
- I have pretty well convinced myself that the mystery black currants are probably jostaberries. They are very tasty and I am very fond. What is less clear to me is what exactly the actual gooseberry is; it's a sweet red variety, but I'm pretty much at ???English Red Jacket??? and... who knows. Regardless, it's not going to crop terribly heavily this year, but I'll keep nibbling at the fruit anyway and once it's done I'll see about weeding, pruning and fertilising.
- ... the grape vine has at least two bunches of honest-to-goodness immature grapes on it. I'm extremely suspicious and nonetheless considering building it a support structure of bamboo.
- Can you tell I'm really enjoying getting to spend time grubbing around in the dirt? I really am. Even though I do now have an entertaining variety of Comedy Insect Bites.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-11 10:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-11 11:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 05:19 am (UTC)(N and I are considering moving part-time into the Enfield flat for lungcrap reasons, and... an allotment would make this proposition much more attractive.)
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 01:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 02:36 pm (UTC)Hmmm....
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 02:50 pm (UTC)How overgrown are we talking about? I can probably deal with bindweed and ivy and nettles and long grass and so on, and would eventually want considerably raised beds anyway; I'm not so good on brambles or gorse, though, and would rather not deal with thistles.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 07:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 07:44 pm (UTC)nod raised beds are a must for me.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 08:27 pm (UTC)Also: we're going to be in Enfield on Saturday, would you like to meet up?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 08:34 pm (UTC)I would love to but I'm actually going to the afternoon matinee of Fun Home! So we could maaaaaaybe do something in the morning, but I'm likely to be a bit flaily about how to make timings work...
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 09:03 pm (UTC)Fair enough! We are not too bad at mornings at the moment; I'm about on Sunday afternoon too if that's easier. But let's see how energy supplies are going, too, because Saturday is sortof the day for going flop for me at the moment.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-13 09:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-13 09:19 pm (UTC)It is late and we are not there yet so let's see how it goes; but morning or evening are both possible (though I may want an early night, I certainly need one).
(no subject)
Date: 2018-08-31 08:41 am (UTC)Further thoughts:
What are the rules on perennials, trees, etc?
I'm thinking asparagus and rhubarb for sure, but also globe artichokes, perennial leeks (they are a thing!), a decent raspberry patch, myrtle, black mulberries and pomegranates grown in an espalier...
All the things I won't put in the back garden here because a) vine weevil is endemic b) none of the soil is safe c) it's a rented house and we'll only move.
(I've now lived here longer than I've ever lived anywhere ever, but thing.)
(no subject)
Date: 2018-08-31 09:56 am (UTC)Perennials are absolutely permitted; trees one theoretically needs permission for but the site manager will just say "Yes sure" at my site!
(no subject)
Date: 2018-08-31 11:44 am (UTC)My thinking is also that, while perennials may mean higher outlay, they're lower maintenance once established, which could be good when I'm dividing my time between Leytonstone, Enfield and Aberdeen.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 08:08 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 08:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 04:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-13 09:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-07-12 06:24 pm (UTC)