-- Leo's gemini proxy
-- Connecting to ur.gs:1965...
-- Connected
-- Sending request
-- Meta line: 20 text/gemini; lang=en
Posted on 2022-09-18 by Nick Thomas
So here's something I didn't expect to happen this year. When we moved to the area, I put my name down for an allotment - there's always a waiting list, and it's usually very long. Somehow I got to the head of it in ~6 months, and was given a full-sized plot (~250M²) this week.
The garden is much smaller, and while I've not maxed out potential growing space there yet (I've talked about ripping up the lawn before), I'd more or less given up on the "grow your own food" part of self-sufficiency while living here. The allotment brings it back to life!
When we lived in Shetland, we volunteered with the very excellent Turriefield CSA scheme. This is a form of co-op, and while they run a veg box scheme, it's not their main focus - they want to educate people and encourage them to grow their own food, using sustainable techniques. Very good veg, though.
A condition of being on the veg box scheme was to join the co-op and spend at least a few hours a year working the land with them, and while you were there, they poured information and confidence into you. We ended up doing ~50 hours/year, and it helped us to build and fill eight raised beds in the Shetland back garden. We grew our own cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, salad, broad beans, leeks, kale, and celeriac, there. Not enough to be self-sufficient, or even close to it - these were 2.4x1.2M² beds, so total area was only 23M² - but a big confidence boost all the same.
So, when we were offered this allotment, I was confident we could manage the plot - it's a pretty natural progression from what we've already done. We're pretty lucky with it, too - it came quite overgrown, but not severely so, and there's a fair bit of structure already. Every time we clear a bit, we uncover a usable bit of allotment - and crops! The previous tenant (allotments are rented, but the fee is under £50 per year) also left a variety of tools, seeds, and equipment. Some pictures of how it was on Monday, anyway:
Over the past week, we've put about 8 person-hours into it. The main achievements in that time:
- Clear and sweep the visible paths.
- Weed the non-growing surfaces.
- Tame one long rhubarb bed. Yield: large quantities of rhubarb (perennial, keep).
- Weed two square raised beds. Yield: onions, beetroot, strawberries (harvested, emptied).
- Weed one long raised bed. Yield: carrots (not ready yet, wait to harvest).
- Repair boundary of this raised bed.
- Weed one long raised bed. Yield: asparagus (perennial, keep).
- Clear one long trefoil stand.
- Tame one long raspberry stand. Yield: hordes of raspberries (perennial, keep)
- Clear brambles at the front of the allotment.
- Clear brambles at the edges of the allotment. Yield: several soft fruit bushes (redcurrent? Keep).
- Tame the front face of the bramble stand whence all other brambles emanate.
- Clear two of the three greenhouses.
- Temporary fix for allotment entrance: move a water butt to support a broken fence post.
A selection of pictures, ordered chronologically, which might tell a kind of story:
Amazing what you can accomplish in the equivalent of a single working day. Neither of us are particularly fit at the moment, so it's been nice to spread the physical labour out, although I did put in four hours in a single session on Friday. My back's still feeling it.
There's still a lot left to do, though. The allotment is bisected by a tall wooden fence about ⅔rds of the way down; we've been working methodically from front to back, and haven't reached it yet! Left to do before we get there:
- Replace the broken fence post at the allotment entrance.
- Tame the back face of the bramble stand, relieving pressure on the third greenhouse.
- Clear the third greenhouse.
- Clear the large field patch.
- Dress the non-growing surfaces with more weed-resistant membrane and extra woodchips (including the car parking space).
We can then move on to the section behind the fence, where jobs include:
- Weed three square raised beds. Yield: squash(!), beetroot, turnips, chard, more strawberries, at least.
- Tidy two sheds.
- Repair one shed roof.
- Put solar panels on shed roofs?
- Prune cherry tree and securely fix to fence.
- Clear paths.
- Fix gate, gate locks, shed locks.
- Add a solar-powered pump & tiny water feature to the tiny pond.
- Deal with a small mammal colony (mice, I think, but could be shrews or voles).
- Absolutely eradicate the grassed section in favour of more growing area.
I'm passing through this area every day at the moment, to get to and from the sheds, and it's tantalising in its richness, but I'm trying to stay methodical and not get sucked into any of these jobs yet. Here are the pics I have, anyway:
The hedge to the rear of the plot is an interesting beast; mostly hawthorn, but also some sloes mixed in. My dad was big on homebrew when he was alive, and I could probably get some sloe wine going. There's a load of elderberries in the wider area too, so elderberry wine could also happen. I don't actually like either of those drinks though, so might just leave the fruit for the birds instead.
Once the allotment is cleared (or perhaps in parallel, to an extent) comes the work of actually using it - the perennials need maintenance, the annuals need planning out and planting, and the whole needs to be fed. Turriefield was always very big on organic agriculture, although they never bothered with any of the certifications the Soil Association requires for labelling; I don't have quite the same zeal for it, but at the same time, I don't really know how to grow things in a non-organic manner. In any case, soil health is incredibly important if you want decent yields in an organic system, and you need to be extremely canny about pest control as well. There's also a lot of manual weeding!
As for what we're going to plant - the embarrassment of greenhouses means that tomatoes and/peppers are a must, and we'll try aubergines as well. It might be possible to get salad leaves all year round - it's worth a try, anyway. Cucumbers and courgettes, perhaps a dwarf lemon tree if I'm feeling bold. Fresh herbs, maybe?
Outside, leeks and onions are a staple crop. Perhaps peas and runner+french beans instead of (or in addition to?) broad beans this time. Potatoes, in some kind of container. I love carrots, but my wife doesn't... perhaps one for further discussion. She'd like a large stand of sweetcorn, which we both like. The asparagus, rhubarb, and raspberries, all stay - although I'll be expanding the asparagus, and reducing the rhubarb, if I can. Leafy brassicas - kale and perhaps a cabbage tree. Chickpeas? They don't look super-difficult to grow here.
250M² isn't enough to be self-sufficient, but it will be good to learn how much we can get out of it. The site is close enough that any food coming off it will have ~0 food miles attached, which is great all by itself, and it might add up to fewer supermarket trips over the course of a year. No pesticides, no capitalists, surpluses to curry favour with the neighbours... it's all coming together.
Medium-term, we could see about a polytunnel, which would increase productivity some. We've also talked about keeping chickens; it'd be good to get experience with that, and we all like eggs. We could also expand to a second plot, if one became available. It's going to be a very educational place for the baby to spend time in, of course, and feeding him stuff we've grown ourselves is pretty awesome. We've been self-sufficient in strawberries all summer, and it makes me all gooey instead every time he eats one!
Long-term - it's all good preparation for that properly self-sufficient, properly off-grid home. That very much remains the dream, and this unexpected win gives us a great boost towards it.
Questions? Comments? Criticisms? Contact the author by email: gemini@ur.gs
-- Response ended
-- Page fetched on Sat May 18 10:17:11 2024
