Waking up from Hibernation...

The winter months have been somewhat quiet, with little work done on my relatively low maintenance plot beside turning the soil in a few of my raised beds, a bit of mulching and a tiny bit of weeding. Without giving too much away, 2012 is going to be a year of transformation for Dyke's Edge blog in more ways than one, and like the seasons this chapter is about to end, and another is about to start...

Nothing to Report...

Well, I really need to bring my readers up to date with some ground breaking plot news. Ah.. there's the snag, there is nothing to report! Literally, nothng... No crops to eat, that lush green gone barring a few alliums sitting patiently until next year and a few buds on fruit trees sealed tight waiting for winter to pass. Now that doesn't mean I havn't been to the plot, in fact I love this time of year and i'm getting rather excited about testing my radiator out! I am spending more time relaxing than work on the plot now, which makes a good change as there's plenty of time to do some more of the groundwork later right?

Out comes the gardening books, on goes the radio... and the heater. I recorded 31 degrees celcius in the shed and only several degrees outside last weekend. Already it is surving it's purpose, and it's only going to get colder! Just to think this time last year, freezing my toes of...

The only time you'll catch me sweating my socks off now is when a shipment of wood bark arrives, and that isn't very often these days!

Dan & Lexi's Chickens

I've been meaning to get my teeth back into blogging for some time, but my lack of activity is a genuine true representation of a plotter who once had plenty of time on his hands last year, to one who has been plunged into a 9-5 life with now not so much time on his hands. And well it doesn't help finishing work and coming out into darkness.

Anyway, a recent holiday to my homeland of North Wales, I visited my friends Dan and Lexi and their back garden 7-strong free range chicken farm at the sunny seaside town of Kinmel Bay. Amidst a new-build housing estate, where children roam free and their parents completely unaware, lays their small holding behind an unsuspecting 6ft fence.

They have 7 hens... 3 rhode island red, 2 west sussex, and these french ones which their name escapes me. All of which are female of course, and each with varying rates of productivity which they are keeping close watch of... though all in all they wake up to a handful of eggs each morning which is all well and good as Danny who is of spanish..origin..ish, enjoys making his speciality dish 'spanish ommelette'. Which I will pretend just for the purposes of the blog, was very good! Maybe he'll actually make one for me next time i'm there...

I was genuinely surprised how easy they are to keep, they put themselves to sleep at night (the door just needs closing afterwards), and peck at the window when they want bringing out in the morning I am told. A quick shufty of their eggs whilst they're not looking, a scattering of seed, a top up of water, and job done.

I want some now!

Allotment Wildlife Continued... Squirrels

Well what'd you know, look what I spotted on the way to my plot recently. A grey squirrel. A little upset it wasn't a red one, but that'd be lucky! I spotted him/her scurrying across the car park, probably trying it's luck at some of the bird feeders which are well topped up this time of year or maybe unearthing a few onion bulbs i'm told, who knows. The wildlife on our site, never fails to amaze me...

Shed Central Heating

A slight fuel conversion has been taking place in the shed. I have decided to unify everything, out goes the gas (cooker and heater) and instead I have opted for paraffin as my new fuel choice. It's cheap and easy to get hold of. I can't say the new heater had anything to do with making that decision...

It's a little on the old side, art deco, 1930's i'd say but it works surprisingly enough. To go with it I have my chalwin paraffin stove for cooking my lunch when down on the plot, usually the favourite ASDA's chunky chicken and white sauce with rice. And some paraffin hurricane lanterns for when the light levels are low outside.

I was thinking of installing a log burner, but the "5 a.m.'r with binocs in the houses across" has been reporting every Tom, Dick and Harry that lights up a cigarette, has a steaming muck heap, bonfire or chimney chugging away that it is spoiling it for everyone now. Our allotment was there before them, I say!

Ah well, legs up, books out. This is the allotment life for me...

For the next few months at least!

Working 9 to 5 (and on the plot somewhere inbetween)

Funny how one week can change to the next. Not just on the plot, or a change in the weather but in your life too. Today I had some exceptionally good news thrown at me. It turns out the company which I have just started to work for is moving, and would you believe it is moving just a 5 minute walk away from my plot!

I can picture it now, lunch on the plot, legs up on my deck chair, the birds singing, the bee's buzzing. Ah, tranquility!

I am thoroughly excited about the move, it is going to be a lifestyle change for better. But not until December at least.

Maybe, just maybe thinks will be picking up pace with the blog again!

Working 9 to 5

I have to say, when you have not blogged for a while it takes a little kicking up your backside to get into the swing of things. The new 9-5 job (now over 2 months in) does have a lot to do with it though mind. Visits to the plot have been fewer and far between, reserved strictly to evenings and weekend.

Despite the lack of my updates, things have been ticking over. The runner beans which were planted along the fence have been shared 50/50 between me and my new neighbour. What grows on his side is his, and what grows on my side is mine. A very simple rule really agreed between us which has worked.

I look around many plots on my site, and there are so many who have shut up shop well over a month ago now which I am really surprised by. Many of my beds are occupied, with outdoor tomatoes yet to come with a little sunshine, i've even got another bed of potatoes in destined to be ready around late October with a little luck. Then there are the cabbage white bitten brocolli and cauliflower which might recover?

Long-term, there are some more cabbage white bitten sprouts, some very healthy looking leeks and this weekend if I can get some space ready the onions will be going in! Note the words 'get some space ready'? I am not joking either, every bed is occupied until I rip something out.

The traditional harvest time is nearing, though really I have been harvesting most of this year something or other. I have a dozen apples, and loads and loads of raspberries. A little sunshine now please?

As for that pumpkin competition between my plot and over the fence, cobblers to him! Grrr...

The Shed... Continued

I have been giving some attention to my man shed. I particularly like the idea of themeing the interior to make it more comfortable for those cold winter days which are not too far. I am drawing my inspiration from my home roots of the seaside. Already I have Sammy the Seagull my mobile feathered friend hanging on the ceiling, and now I have added a decorative fishing net across the window front and another ornamental one which has decorative shells in each of it's squares.

The subject of sheds if often a sore subject with plotters, recently there have been repeat break-ins on our site and a hole in the fence has been suspect as our site is relatively secure with a strong 'neighbourhood watch' presence.

Whilst I take some of my own precautions, there is nothing of real value in my shed but it must feel sickening for those who have had there personal space invaded. Sheds are a valuable shelter for those plotters who brave the harsher winter months and even the burning UV rays of the summer sun.

Plot Update

The lack of presence on the blog illustrates just how busy a time of year it is for not just me, but all us fellow plotters. There has been much to do from getting the plot up to scratch for a recent open day, to the continual harvesting and cultivation on the plot.

Most recently, I have been harvesting blackberries every other day which are being frozen for later use in wine making. My broccoli continue to produce florets, and I have had a very successful crop of baby carrots. I have made successional sowings of broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts and potatoes which will be my autumn/winter crops.

The second crop of peas are starting to fruition, and with a little sunshine there will even be some raspberries, tomatoes and runner beans to look forward to.

As for this years trial crop, my tobacco (golden virginia) which I have 5 plants of, they are coming along a treat. During the early stages of growth, slugs were a problem though this was dealt with by regular spinklings of slug pellets. Whilst I consider myself a 'non-smoker', contradictory to that I also consider myself a 'social smoker' of tobacco that is! There are one or two plotters who pipe smoke, and I think there is something magical about the smell of this method of smoking. Now call me an old man, but I am going to give it a try!

Note: Growing tobacco for personal consumption is perfectly legal in the UK. However, it is illegal in some countries and their jurisdictions. So check first!

First Broccoli & Parsnips

The latest from the plot... Time on the plot has been further strained. We had a beautiful week over here in Blackpool, though sadly the weekend has been a rather damp one. Wednesday evening I dug up a bed of new potatoes, of which there was so many I had to take the trolley home! The bed is to be replaced with broccoli, 8 plants of. Talking of broccoli, 5 spurs were removed from some which had recently come to fruition. Cutting back just the heads, I have left the plants intact in hope some smaller spurs will grow from them.

Besides broccoli, further spacing in the parsnip bed was necessary. Which, in the process I unearthed some very fine edible specimens which have been blanched and frozen for use in a Sunday roast at a later date.

Technology on the Plot

Some of my more hardcore readers may have noticed that I have been somewhat distant from the plot lately, that has been equally reflected in my blog activity. Well, I have started a new job which has become even more demanding on me in terms of time and commitment. Trips to the plot have been restricted strictly to evenings and weekends (weather permitting).

The usual process of transferring my daily activity to the blog has been a few snaps on the plot, then uploading these to the web when I get home or can make time to do it.

Well I will be upgrading my personal technology later this week which will transform the way I blog from hereon. This means posts and photos can be created on the plot, and uploaded to the blog as close to real-time as possible. I will also have the internet at my finger tips, which Google can answer many of my gardening questions in the absence of the olde tyme plotter. I am expecting the phone to do many more things, perhaps there will be some gardening apps, or I can keep check on the weather. I will be sure to let you know.

Like Digging for Gold

My latest harvest on the plot, an early main crop of potatoes called 'Record'. I have harvested them in them in their prime, with the top of the plants now in full bloom. Just a 3ft x 3ft patch was generous enough to give me at least 10lb+ of 1-2 inch sized new potatoes, loosely skinned. There is some great satisfaction in digging potatoes, it could perhaps be compared to digging for gold. Not that I have ever been digging for gold before, but this is certainly fun!

Now this raised bed is cleared, it is ready to make way for some Cauliflower or Broccoli plants which I sown earlier. Space overall on the plot is at a squeeze with almost every bed in full use.

First Year On The Plot

1 Year Ago...

For a moment then, I almost forgot that just recently I am celebrating my 'first year on the plot'. I received my plot on the 3rd July 2010 and doesn't time fly? Well really, no it doesn't. It drags! Which, I don't think is a bad thing!

I once remember Paul McKenna talking about the concept of time, the psychological techniques which can be applied to speeding up and slowing down time. Now we all know time is constant in reality, but if there is one thing I have learned with allotmenteering is that there is always something to look forward to. That recurring feeling has a tendancy to slow things down a little. Well it does for me anyway.

Remember that feeling when you were a child, looking forward to christmas morning. Waiting and waiting for that one moment in the year to come when under the tree I knew that there would be a scaletrix, a toy garage or a train set waiting for me. Well I have gotten older and things have changed, but that concept is still quite the same if only a little simpler.

Already I am looking forward to pulling up parsnips and unearthing potatoes, this years late raspberries and next years strawberries. Besides that, I can't wait for my log burner, the smell of whisps of smoke amidst the bitter cold air outside. Each month is magical for it's very own reasons and you gain a real respect for each of the seasons.

Through tending this parcel of land, I have met new people and made friends along the way. I have founded new skills and yet used practically every skill that I do have. Now how many old time allotmenteers would have thought that a computer is as equally as important as say a spade or fork?

Allotmenteering is perhaps one of very few hobbies which encapsulates so many different interests and leisure time activities, from horticulture, gardening, DIY, cooking, preserving, wine making/brewing, socialising, reading, blogging, apiculture, smallholding, ornithology, photography, keeping fit and the rest. Allotmenteering is a lifestyle change for the better.

So let's get out our allotment cups, mugs or for those who choose not to have those luxuries, simply cup your hands together. Here is to my first year on the plot.

The plot now...

Cheers,

Craig Rockfield!

Gooseberry & Grape Fruit Wine

Somewhere outside the plot, I had previously identified several untamed gooseberry bushes growing amidst the ravages of no-mans land. I have waded waist deep through stingers and thistles to reach these prized gems. These small dark gooseberries are of an unknown variety, they are not by any means tame either.

I managed to harvest a good 1lb weight worth, and I have made up for their shortfall with a large handful of red grapes to make some 'Gooseberry & Grape wine'. Now that the must has been watered down, it's colour has changed from ruby red to flamingo pink!

It's colour will certainly make this a characteristic fruit wine for sure. When it comes to labelling, rather than the traditional named titles I have previously given them, I think I will call this one 'Pink Flamingo'! that should give Blossom Hill and Jacob's Creek a run for their money.

The Last Corner

For most part of Dyke's Edge blog, the camera has evaded parts of the plot that I don't want you to see. Slowly but surely, my progress has crept across the plot and that progress has been well photo documented. Now, only the last corner of the plot remains to be cultivated. Work has commenced in clearing the area which has until now been my allocated for stock piling materials and construction waste.

All materials that I intend to keep have been allocated a small slither of space toward the central back of the plot, thus keeping everything looking neat and tidy. Just the way I like it.

With competition time too nearing, I must get my act together quickly!

Insect Life Cont... Caterpillar Peacock Butterfly

Spotted this little critter walking across a path on my plot today. Soot black with illuminescent dots. I hadn't a clue what kind of caterpillar it is, but it sure was kind of scary looking. So with the help or Iris, I now know that it is that of the 'Peacock Buttefly'! Thanks Iris.

Dyke's Edge Blog Awards

With the blog near celebrating it's first birthday, it has to be said that part credit for it's prosperity is due to a handful of supporters of Dyke's Edge blog, themselves too allotment & gardening bloggers. Those bloggers in particular mentioned below need be recognised for their hard efforts in our allotment blog community, for they have an active presence in our blogosphere. Their generous mentions and kind links have a profound knock on effect by generating new readers and visitors here at Dyke's Edge allotment blog and the many others which they endorse.

The Gold Award goes to 'Green Lane Allotments',
which can be found at glallotments.blogspot.com
who gave the most referrals to Dyke's Edge blog in the past year.

In second place, the Silver Award goes to 'Allotments for You'
which can be found at allotments4you.com,
who gave the second most referrals to Dyke's Edge blog
in the past year.

In third place, the Bronze Award goes to 'Allotment Heaven'
which can be found at allotmentheaven.blogspot.com,
who gave the third most referrals to Dyke's Edge blog
in the past year.

These three bloggers are given the 'Top Referrer' award for they have generated substantial traffic and endorsement to Dyke's Edge blog over the past 12 months. May I thank each and one of those for their tremendous efforts on their own blogs, you are all true ambassadors of the allotment & gardening blog community. May I also thank the many other bloggers who have not been mentioned who have endorsed and supported Dyke's Edge blog and thankyou for your continued and loyal support.

Water Store Bay

Elsewhere on the plot, I have been working on my water storage bay to the left of my store. I will be using the store roof next door to capture rain water for my thirsty plants via drainage pipers. If all goes to plan, the butt to the right will have an overflow to fill up the additional butt to the left which I also have a tap for.

A new Rustic Oddity!

Having a little rumage around 'no-man's land', I came across this quite possibly vintage number plate 'L R 178T'. Dirty, scuffed, scraped, battered, dented, how more rustic can you get! I think my little woodstore could eventually become a collage of rustic show pieces. I've the set of old keys, the fire scorned oil lamp, the horse shoe and now the number plate!

This is where I am going to be a little cheeky, if anyone has anything rustic laying around that they would like to appear on Dyke's Edge 'Store of Fame', then drop me a line at craigrockfield @ hotmail . co . uk (established bloggers/readers only please, no anons). Anything considered... so long as it's not modern or clean. It must be able to endure the elements and become more rustic with age!

Fruit & Veg Bushel Crates

I feel right chuft with myself today. I was having a little gander on the web at old wooden storage crates just the other night, and I spotted some rather rustic looking apple boxes selling for over twenty quid each plus postage! Gee wizz I thought, pricey for a few pieces of wood to hold your harvest in.

Example of an old french apple crate

Anyway, I did like the apple boxes as I do love all the rustic looking and days gone by stuff, farmhouse style etc. So in just short of two hours on my plot, I found an unused pallet which was about to be burnt, grabbed a few nails, a quick recharge on my toy jigsaw and Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt! O.k., the lettering was a later addition on my computer, but thats the real thing folks.

Now all I have to do is make some more!