Netto

I was at the plot last weekend (nothing to report, just a bit more twitch grass gone) & one of the boys there, Dick, told me that Netto now has their seeds & stuff in & they're very reasonable compared to the garden centres.

Now the last time I was in a Netto was many moons ago & it was the scabbiest hole on Earth - absolutely awful... But cheap seeds are cheap seeds so off I went to the new Netto (couple of years old) in Northampton &, boy, was I suprised!

It's really pleasant & there's now way you'd know that its a discount supermarket - other than the price that is. Most seed packets were 80p & the selection was pretty good they also had onion & garlic sets, seed trays, garden tools, blah, blah, blah... I'm pretty sure they had those free standing 3 shelf PVC greenhouses for a tenner too.

So there we have it; If you have one of the shiney new Nettos near you I'd recommend a visit.

The sod has turned

Sunday was a momentous day - my first proper trip to the alotment, tools & all! HURRAH!

I dragged tha small amount of rubbish from one end (that looks like it's been recently cultivated) then ended up chatting for an hour with some of the other plotholders including Keith, my plot neighbour. He's a smashing old gentleman & appears to be the knower-of-all-things... Perfect, as I know nowt!

He pointed out what twitch grass roots look like (another mystery solved) & I set to digging it over with a fork & then picking out the grass & roots etc. The soils seems great to me - really easy to dig & free draining. It'll get dry in the summer, but there's a water trough just a few meters away.

Here's the sum of the actual work done in my first visit. Not much really but I'll be able to finish off this bed during the next visit.

Already on the plot are some well established blackberry bushes, a rowan tree, a large red currant bush, some new gooseberry bushes & a couple of strawberry plants. Not bad considering I've not done anything yet!

I mentioned to Keith (the wise) where I'd put my seed potatoes & I could see he was concerned, "I usually put mine on top of the wardrobe" says he.

Top of the wardrobe - GENIUS.

My potatoes have now been relocated apart from 4 of each as a comparison.


It was great to see a few families there & the kids were having a great time playing on their bikes "helping" their parents dig or "helping" to lay plastic sheeting.

I'll have to get my kids up there soon. Does anyone have any tips for "Kids on Allotments"?

Chittage

I got my spuds this weekend (that's not a euphamism). They're Pentland Javelin, Nadine & Maris Pipier. Finding somewhere to chit them turned out to be rather more difficult. I couldn't find anywhere in the house that'd be out of direct sunlight & out of reach of Jamie who'd quickly realise their potential as Power-Ranger weaponry!

Therefore I've employed my little greenhouse thingy with it's winter fleece coat on. We'll see...

I'M IN!

Gotcha!

I went to the site again yesterday to meet the field officer & hopefully choose one the plots the Council's overseer reckons is available. I chose #71 which butts onto the end of my mate's (Big Bob) - so that's all rather jolly. I left a message for the Council telling them of my selection & received a reply this morning saying all is well; The paperwork is in the post & no rent until October - WOO HOO!

Here's a photo from either end. I've highlighed the plot itself so they're not the actual colours!

Tagified

I've recently been tagged by Greenmantle, but I've only just realised that I'm supposed to do anything about it. Five facts & five more tags seems to be the norm...

Facts:

1. I'm a Geordie who moved down to Northampton about nine years ago. Both my kids were born down here & subsequently they have strange accents!
2. For the last few years I've been trying to learn to play the fiddle, which turns out to be bloody hard! I had my first "gig" the other day when I played for a Molly Dance troupe on Plough Monday at Fenstanton (my profile picture's from this). Check out the other pictures.
3. Last year I started geocaching, initially to get the kids out & about (it worked beautifully), but it turns out to be rather addictive... Geocaches are EVERYWHERE! Here's the rest of my clan with our latest find (the small container the littlun's holding).
4. I'm a keen member of the Wootton Road Runners & have done a few races, most notably I've completed the winter ToughGuy a few times (but never again).
5. I once got into the last 32 competitors at the World Conker Championships. I've competed again many times but never reached such dizzy heights.

Tags:

• Welsh Girl's Allotment - Partly because I like the style of the blog, but also because I appreciate the correct use of the apostrophe.
• Dig For Victory - There's a small chance he may end up on my allotment field after his move & we've all seen the size of his pumpkins, so I want to be on his good side!
• Veg Plot - The spawn of "Allotment 21" which was the first allotment blog I found. I liked the idea of them giving their marrow reiki! Thanks girls!
• Down On The Allotment - Gnome's Marlow-esque manner of writing in the third person is quite unique as far as I can tell & thoroughly enjoyable.
• My Tiny Plot - A really professional looking & active site with loads of content. They also, kindly, initiated a "Roundup or not" debate on their site to answer a question of mine. Ta MTP.

Enough of this nonsense. TTFN.

Shaddap Brain!

I just noticed that 2 of the 4 available plots are next to one another & before I could stop myself I started thinking "mmmmmm two plots".

This resulted in a prolonged Homer-Simpson-esque argument with my own brain.

Ho hum.

The Sign Of Four

Barry Vine phoned me back this morning & informed me that plot 120 has been paid for for the last four years! I guess I'd better tell Big Bob not to get it ploughed...

There's still four plots available in the main section though. I've got the numbers (66, 67, 71 & 79) so I'll check them out this weekend.

I'll have to figure out what the hell I should plant soon... Ooooer.

Curses!

Since the field manager & I had our walk around I'd considered the deal done & dusted. However, I left a message with the council allotment's officer about which one I'm having & he got back to me saying someone's already paid for it! Bugger!

My fault... But still: Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!

I've got to try & get a list of those available off him & then go back & have a look again.

Ho hum.