Newbie in Warwickshire

Hello I'm Mandy married to Barry, with two lads aged 15 and 17.  Four dogs, three cats and nine chickens..  

and today, we took proud ownership of our allotment.  We did have a try at being allotment holders some 16yrs ago but at the time pregnancy and  a toddler, along with work took over so we had to give it up.

I've always been keen on the theory though and have always scrabbled around blackberry bushes in the autumn (taking along children to learn how to dodge stinging nettles and thorns!!!) for their wonderful fruits to make jams and scrounging marrows etc to make pickles. Along with hunting for sloes for sloe gin.  

Anyways.... having been on the waiting list since the middle of last year we had a phone call yesterday to come and have a look at a plot.  I quickly registered here to see what needed to be done in February.  From this wonderful forum I gathered that my broad beans needed to be in.  Well the plot seems perfect to me with my very inexperienced eye, has been rotovated and is completely clear.  So less than an hour ago two rows of broad beans were planted along with a rhubarb plant.

We are giddy with excitement.

We bought a second hand greenhouse in the autumn which will be going up hopefully next weekend and just need to get a shed and in the future a rotovater (sp?)

I expect I will be asking some very daft questions in the not too distant future...

Lets start with one,  talking about sheds...   which is best a wooden one or a metal one???  I've noticed that metal sheds have come down in price over the last couple of years..    I did notice some very cheap sheds in the B& Q sales just after Christmas, shiplapped 4 x 6 for 99 quid.. If memory serves me right, but hubby said, "don't buy anything else, we don't want to jinx getting a plot) So I didn't and they seem to have rocketed in price.    Anyone know of extremely cheap sheds?

Mandy

Welcome MandyCharlie.

He's my main man, he has long golden hair and a loyal and sensitive nature....

I've never seen a golden muntjac !!!

Hi Mandy You get a whole row of my Welcome weeds

hahahahahahahahaha   oh thankyou, that was brill

couple of other thoughts - if you want to grow potatoes now is the time to source seed potatoes for chitting, Also time to plant garlic if you want half a chance of getting a crop this year, and I planted my shallots yesterday.

Ooooh thanks for those tips, always welcome for a newbie.  Chitting?  I can remember my grandfather talking about chitting spuds, but he died about thirty years ago... must look as to what I need to do for that.  (haven't ever grown spuds,,, but have been told of the "competition" where you get to choose three potatoes and grow the biggest yield on the allotment.)  and shallots... will definately be looking at them.

There you go Mandy, I told you he'd be about.

Where were you last night MJ?  The forum was like the Mary Celeste; it was so boring that I had to go to talk to the wife.  :shock:

There you go Mandy, I told you he'd be about.

Where were you last night MJ?  The forum was like the Mary Celeste; it was so boring that I had to go to talk to the wife.  :shock:

Yeah Me too noticed you logged off early for you