[greenfingers]

Hello to everyone
We are new allotmenteers this year.Our plot was totally overgrown in  fact it was a jungle and the shed looks like leaning tower of piza!!
I have a husband and three sons 10,8,5(maybe that should be four sons!!)
So far we have successfuly grown little gem, radishes,carrots, runner
and dwarf beans.Not so successful were cauli's cabbages spring onions.

[mum of 3]

hi, we too are first year allotmenters with 3 kids aged 2,3 and 12 who are having the time of their lives picking all  the poddy peas .our youngest seems to always have a handful good for kiddies isn't it?have your 3 got a patch yet?

[John]

Hi greenfingers - don't worry about your cauliflowers - they've not been the success story of my year either!

If the kids get too troublesome, you can always compost them

Funny how you get a 10 yr old scared of slugs and a 2 year old shows you the one he's caught and you have to stop him from tasting it. I love kids, great entertainment until they get overtired. Then they go home to torment their parents

[kiowa]

Hi there Greenfingers ,
 i'm new here too ,my sympathy goes out to you having a plot like a jungle.....ours was like  that when we got ours,even last week my husband found and pulled out a living room carpet from the pathway behind compost heap,which the grass was growing out of !
as for our green house ,i cant believe after the winds last winter that its still standing (ha-ha) but that is going to be pulled down for next year ,the shed we DID pull down (that was worse than the greenhouse ),,,but i keep thinking what it will be looking like next year ,or hope to look like and that cheers me up !!

[greenfingers]

Thanks guys and gals you made me laugh,its good to share stories good and bad. Yes the kids have got little plot we brought my five year old some gloves cause he didnt want his hands muddy!(he should have been born a girl!)and hes got some little tools he likes weeding the most! Just got to get them to eat the veg now lol.. :?  Happy growing!

[MumoftTwo]

Hi - I'm new here too, with (as the name suggests), 2 small people in tow, first edition aged 5 and second edition aged 3.  They're really enjoying helping (and eating) with everything, although their attempts at watering have been known to be a bit over-enthusiastic .

I'm having an experimental first year, and have planted everything I could get my hands on to see what is going to work best for me

[Marmaduke]

I'm also new.  My only small one is three and covered in white and orange fur.  Had to take hime to the vet yesterday and got some gouges on my arm in thanks.  

If I took Marmaduke to the plot he would try catch and eat all the pigeons.  He probably wouldn't want to come home again though.

I still haven't managed to clear my plot, but we finally have a free weekend to have a real go at it.

[wellingtons]

... I'm new here too, but not new to allotmenting.

I have a plot that is about 120ft by 40ft which I manage with the aid of my rather divine other half.  I do have a 16 year old son, who can be persuaded to provide muscle power every now and then.

My plot was rather overgrown when I took it on (due to ill health of the previous tenant over the winter and spring), and in the first year we had runner beans and spuds shooting up all over the place.  Oh and poppies!

Our successes this year have been similar to last year as pretty much everything does well.  The plot has been well looked after for many years and we're lucky as we are within yards of the river (although we have no access to the river).

Salads have been great (although I am currently struggling with germination of rocket and spinach), as were the strawberries, raspberries and redcurrants ... oh and the rhubarb!

We have stuggled with peas ... but not mange tout (even though they were planted at either end of the same row!  The pumpkins are protecting the main fruits and others are setting but dropping off really early on.  Crops are down on the beans (not necessarily a bad thing as there are only so many carrier bag fulls of runner beans a woman can handle)

Carrots are better this year than last ...

[greenfingers]

:shock: blimey you guys work hard on here! My husband is trying to put a greenhouse up at the mo without any instructions,ITS HILARIOUS!!
Hopefully if its up by next year :roll: i will start things off in there as i want to give the little seeds a good start in life.

[Laura]

Hello to everyone
We are new allotmenteers this year.Our plot was totally overgrown in  fact it was a jungle and the shed looks like leaning tower of piza!!
I have a husband and three sons 10,8,5(maybe that should be four sons!!)
So far we have successfuly grown little gem, radishes,carrots, runner
and dwarf beans.Not so successful were cauli's cabbages spring onions.

Keep grafting! It's worth it. We only took "control" of  our allotment in late May & it is simply a wonderful way of spending free time.

Whatever you grow this year will make you feel wonderful; we ate some turnips last Sunday from the allotment and the sense of pride was amazing.

Mind, get some Ralgex!

[greenfingers]

Hi there laura & ian  
 what is ralgex for?? :?

[noshed]

ralgex is the zen method of erecting greenhouses - just ask john

[John]

That was cutting, noshed
I think Ralgex is for back aches - like Radox?

[greenfingers]

Oh i thought it was some kind of weedkiller!!!

[noshed]

It probably would kill weeds as well.