| My allotment in Liverpool |
| HISTORY in March 2006 I decided to get an allotment in order to add exercise to my lifestyle without joining a gym or plodding around a local park. I recently moved to a new house and my wife insisted that the garden was to be ornamental and that as the allotments were some 500 metres away, she readily agreed to my taking a plot especially as she is a keen vegetable consumer. I was not a complete newcomer as I had a plot some 15 years previously for about 18 months. I remembered the despair I felt when digging it at the slow progress I made and determined to start this time with raised beds so I would have completed sections to plant within days. |
| ACTION On the 11th March 2006 I approached my local allotment society office and was lucky that a plot was available as the present incumbent who had tentatively grown a few items the previous year had relinquished the tenancy. The office is a large container which replaced the previous wooden one which had fallen victim to arsonists about 15 years ago. Vandalism is a constant threat and as many as 50 sheds have been known to have been broken into in one night, thankfully that was a rare occurrence and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it was the last. |
 |
| PROGRESS View to the Mersey looking south-west. There is a half plot beyond mine and then a hedge which provides practically no shelter from the prevailing north west wind. It is about 150 metres to the river with a promenade and parkland beyond the hedge. The plot slopes to the river and is about 30 feet above sea level. This photograph taken in October is from the left hand concrete post shown in the photograph above, seven months after starting work. The boundary to the left is inside the path I have laid between my plot and next doors. It is made of narrow beds with posts and wires to grow soft fruit etc. I hope it will create a bit of a windbreak in the spring, if necessary I will fix screening along the posts. |
| EXPERIENCE I must emphasise that I am not a beginner as I have been a keen gardener all my life, and as I am over 60, I have had well over 50 years of experience starting with my helping my father on his allotment soon after the second world war. My thoughts and tips are a culmination of all those years and I hope that I can help beginners to avoid the many pitfalls and disappointments that still occur. The more experienced may like to share my knowledge and give me some of theirs. I still buy books and magazines to continue learning and have of course embraced the fantastic scope of the internet. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| March 17th 2006 The site is not properly marked out and one third is covered in old carpets. |
| July 1st 2006 Most of the plot is dug over and most beds are in place and cropping. |
| Oct 16th 2006 Beds are emptying, shed is in place and boundary posts are evident. |
| From this........................To this.............................to this! |
| In only seven months! |
 |
|
 |
 |
| 3rd March 2007 The plot is just under a year old I stood on the roof of my shed to take this shot and it shows the plan of the 30 main beds. The line of beds on the right hand boundary is not visible and the left hand boundary beds are not yet completed. The two beds that I am using as frames are clearly visible and the wooden sections can easily be moved around. Many of the raised sections are covered in netting which makes everything very flexible. The sprouting brocolli can be seen covered in nets at the bottom right. The compost bins are at the very bottom and like the beds, the sections are movable. The hoops are for covering with netting in due course and will be placed over peas and other vunerable plants as the nearby woods are populated with hungry birds, not to mention the butterflies. |
 |
| 17th May 2007 Once again I climbed onto the shed roof, and now most of the plot is planted. The left hand boundary is completed and planted with peas, runner beans and sweet peas.I have been very extravagant and have paths either side of the boundary beds to allow easy pickings. The path on the left is a whimsical varied design using new and old bricks from skips. The central 18inch paths are woodchip and the left hand inner path is 2 foot slabs, like the outer paths, to give me wheelbarrow space. I have constructed a pergola attached to the shed and have planted a vine to grow over it. The three frames in the middle have 2 butternut squash plants in each, the far frame in the middle contains 2 melons and a bed in the foreground is covered in fleece to protect the carrots from carrot-fly. The overwintering peas and broad beans that were in the second frame in the March picture are now cropping. |
| QUICK LINKS |
| THE BEGINNINGS |
| By Dr George Cook |
| Finding, digging and planting your plot with the emphasis on raised beds |
| An easy pictorial guide to individual vegetables and their cultivation |