My Allotment The First Year - The Honeymoon Period

          Overgrown and Unloved

       So much work so little time 

After getting over the initial shock of what awaited me and fighting the elements I started to get down and dirty.

Charging into the battlefield with what ever implements I could get my hands on  I raged war on weeds two men enter only one survive I was determined to be victorious, 

Cutting back a whole lot of crap and a few trips to tip later I was now able to assess just what I had to deal with.

 The removable of random        flowers,bushes and weeds

 

Hidden amongst the jungle I discovered various soft fruit including rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, currants and gooseberries (goosegogs if your welsh)

                   Rhubarb

        Currants and Gooseberries 

               Strawberry Bed

The previous plot holder had left a shed there which provided welcome storage space which can be translated to lets fill it up like Tetris. Having a greenhouse would of course be beneficial to any potential grower. I was lucky enough to inherit one from my grampa not only did this save me money but also I had a bit of my grampa with me who sadly passed away I like to think he's watching over me nurturing my plants.

        Erecting the Taj Mahal 

Finally a place for my plants to grow and to shelter from the rain 

One of the crops planted was potatoes simple easy and also breaks up the soil 

                        Potatoes 

As the season progressed as space and time was limited it meant once a space had been cleared and dug over it was then planted. Finally every thing was coming together.

I even started to make friends 

Thing were actually starting to grow 

Potatoes and lettuces 

Onions 

Runner Beans

Cabbages

I was starting to reep the benefits by the end of the season not only did I take on an additional plot but also had successful harvest.

Produce 2011

Cucumber- 9

Lettuce-40

Potatoes-40lb

Chard-10 bunches 

Broad beans- 28lbs

Peas-21/2lbs

Tomato-36lbs

Courgette-40

Cabbage-10

Rhubarb-27lbs

Sweet corn- 4

Spring onions-53

Raspberries-13 1/2lbs

Gooseberries-4lbs

Beetroot-14lbs

Black currant -8 1/4lbs 

Kidney beans- 60lbs 

My first year was pretty successful all things considered. It provided me with an excellent learning curve and hopefully this is illustrated in the progression I have made in the years since.

I will be sharing photos of the next couple of years with you all.