Allotment gardening

I take my four-year-old son Matthew down to the allotments to see if we can get our hands on some horse manure. Luckily for us, the allotment chairman Bryan Swabey is tending his plot and lends us his wheelbarrow and a couple of forks - one small enough for Matthew to use. We dig in and load up barrow after barrow of steaming manure. I dump quite a bit on the empty patch at the back of the plot and then put more in one of the compost bins. I think we loaded about eight barrows in all - Bryan very kindly helping load them up. I want to spread most of it on the bare bed and then leave the rest to rot down in the bins. My uncle has advised me against spreading it over the peas and beans because it would result in too much nitrogen being produced. But he did say I should keep a pile in a corner of the plot to line the trenches when I start planting potatoes. So I might nab a bit more when I come back on Wednesday.

After a week at work, I am keen to see if anything is growing at the allotment. It has rained a lot this week and it is still drizzling when I nip down to check on progress. The first thing I notice is that quite a few of my fellow plot holders seem to have put fresh horse manure down on their patches. I then notice a big pile of horse manure on a vacant plot. It looks like there has been a delivery for communal use - possibly quite a few days ago as it looks like two-thirds of it has already gone. A quick look at my plot shows that more broad beans are coming through and, at last, a few peas seem to be growing. A closer inspection shows a little line of thick green shoots pushing up through the earth. Things are looking good. A quick look at the onions shows a lot more of them have green sprouts sticking out of the top. I am very pleased - things really are going well. As I leave, I notice that the Korean couple who own a nearby plot have sprinkled horse manure round some of their crops. I might try to nip down again tomorrow and get a few wheelbarrow loads of manure. I could use it to cover the crops and fill in the bare patches on the biggest bed which has green manure growing on it. I could also use it to improve the bed that was carpeted and put the rest in one of the compost bins for later use when it is well-rotted. I did think the work might ease up over the winter - oh well, at least we seem to be getting somewhere.

It has rained all weekend and I spend a few hours today trying to fix the greenhouse in my back garden. I pulled the door off the other week and smashed all of its glass panels. The wheels on the door runner had rotted and, although I tried some makeshift replacements, none of them worked. I then found a website called Gardensite that sold the replacement bits I needed and they arrived on Saturday. I spent a few hours fixing the new parts to the door - although it still doesn't exactly run very smoothly. I also found some replacement glass panels in my shed and fitted one of them to the door. I couldn't put any more on as I couldn't find all the clips that hold the glass in place. They are presumably lying among all the fallen leaves on the ground but the rain prevented me from looking more thoroughly. My next job is to clean out the greenhouse and wash all the pots and trays ahead of planting my veg seeds when they arrive in the new year.

It rains hard all day but I still make a quick trip down to inspect my peas and beans. Not much to report really - still some beans showing through, no sign of any peas. But at least my bottle cloches are still standing. I've got to be happy with that.

I take my son to school and then race down to the allotment to see if any peas or beans are growing through. To my surprise some beans do appear to be coming up - not loads, not the rows I sowed but there are definitely some popping up through the earth. When I come home I decide to take some advice from the HDRA and make some plastic bottle cloches. I cut the bottoms of three, 6-pint milk bottles - releasing a few dribbles of absolutely vile smelling off-milk in the process. Then I take them down to my plot and put them over the top of the largest three patches of beans. Not sure if it will work but there is a frost predicted for tonight so I'd rather play it safe. Not much more to do now except wait.

I take a fork and a pair of secateurs down with me so I can get on with my last two remaining jobs. I haven't seen the plot for a few days and I'm happy to see more green manure coming through. It isn't going to cover the whole bed but it is certainly better than I hoped for. I prune back the blackberry branches - quite a severe pruning because they are in a terrible state. Then I climb into the compost bin that has the least compost in it and start digging it up and throwing it into the neighbouring bin. There is a lot of it and the bin I am throwing it in is filling up nicely with what looks to me like very good compost. I'm not sure when is the best time to put it down on the plot - I still have one bed where the earth needs improving. What I really need is a wheelbarrow, then I could fill it up and distribute the compost where it is needed. I think that's going to be top of my Christmas list. After an hour-and-a-half I call it a day. I go over to have a look at the onions and some of them seem to have shoots coming out of their tops - does that mean that they are growing despite my doubts? Next time I come down, the peas and broad beans should also be beginning to show through the earth. Roll on Thursday.

My plan today is to go down and clear out and organise the shed a bit. I have just been chucking my tools in there up to now but there is loads of stuff in there left over by the previous holder Dave Tibble. The man who has the neighbouring plot keeps his spade in there. Although I warned him I would be putting new locks on this week, his spade is still in there. I have nipped down a few times to try and catch him but I haven't seen him yet. Hope he isn't too angry.

I'll admit that I am not a huge fan of creepy-crawlies. That makes this shed clear out a bit slower than it might take someone else. There are lots of cobwebs and lots of big old spiders. I take everything out and use a brush to sweep away cobwebs and make the spiders run off and hide. Mr Tibble has a reputation as being a bit of a hoarder among other plot holders but the shed is not too bad. Tools aside, there is a lawnmower, lots of containers full of screws, nuts and nails and some packets of seed. Some of these have rotted away but one is full of different varieties of runner bean seeds. Although I am not thinking of growing runner beans, I keep these as they could well come in useful. I fill up a bin bag full of rubbish and then re-arrange the tools. There are plenty of them, most of which leave me completely baffled as to their uses. I wipe everything down with an old rag, sweep the shed out and take the bag away. The last two jobs I want to do are to combine all the rotted down compost from three of the bins into one and then fill one up with leaves from my back garden to make leaf mould. I also want to prune back the blackberries growing up the fence at the back of my plot ready for next year. And then wait for my peas and beans to grow.

I go down in the morning with my power drill/screwdriver and take off the old hasps. The one I bought yesterday fits beautifully. I also prepare one of the beds for the pea and broad bean seeds, digging it over and breaking it up as much as possible. I put two bags of horse manure on the bed at the back that was under carpet in an attempt to get some goodness in.

In the afternoon I go back to the hardware shop and get another hasp and two padlocks. I fit them in the afternoon and then my whole family comes down to help me sow the peas and broad beans. The peas take up more room than I thought and I have to shove some of the broad bean seeds into a bit of ground that hasn't had the same level of preparation. It will be interesting to see if one does better than the other - that's if any of them grow at all. A Korean couple, who have a nearby plot, seemed to be looking at me in amazement as I planted the pea seeds - but that could just be my gardening paranoia. This means that all the bits of the allotment now have something growing in them - except the bed at the back which is still to be broken up fully.

After a couple of days at work I am anxious to trot down to the allotments and see how things are progressing. A quick trip shows that the green manure my parents sowed in the main plot is coming through. It is a very satisfying moment as it is the first thing that I have planted at the plot that is actually growing. It is a bit scattered at the moment but I am hopeful more will come through. At least the bed will not be bare for the winter. The roots are also supposed to help break up the earth and when I dig the rye grass in in the spring, it should improve the quality of the soil. Thumbs-up all round I think.

One of my next moves is to replace the locks on the door of the shed. When I first took over the plot, I used a crowbar to get into the shed as the previous owner had moved on and not left the keys. Now it is time to replace the hasps and put new locks on. There are some quite valuable tools in there which the previous holder left for me and I would feel happier if they were safely under lock and key. A trip to the local hardware shop gives me the chance to buy a hasp that looks like it will do the job.

Today it is raining. I dash down to the allotments during the hour the Malden and Coombe Horticultural Association's hut is open to buy two bags of horse manure. I intend to put it down on the bed at the back that was covered by carpet where I figure the soil needs improving. I stash them in the shed for use at a later date.

Time is running out to buy seed from the Malden and Coombe Horticultural Association. If we buy through them we get about a 40% discount on seeds in the Dobies catalogue. My wife and I sit down and choose the varieties of strawberry, tomatoes, courgettes, squash, lettuce etc that we would like to grow next year. We drop the completed form round to one of association members houses - no money to pay at this stage - an additional bonus. My thoughts are now turning to improving the soil and planting some overwintering peas and broad beans. A trip to the garden centre is required.
We pop down to a big place on Fulham Palace Road and by some dwarf broad bean seeds - the variety is called Sutton, and some peas that can go in the ground now. I like the thought of filling up my beds now - whether things grow successfully or not. It will all help my learning experience - and the HDRA are very keen on not leaving the earth bare over the winter.

I hasn't rained much so I drive down to the allotment and load up the boot with six-odd bags then off to the dump. Back and load up again and the rubbish is gone. I am left with a couple of piles of burnable rubbish which I cover with some of the leftover carpet to try and keep it dry. The next task is planting a few onion sets. But first it's off home to hoover out the boot before my wife needs the car.



My dad bought some Japanese onion sets which it says are OK for overwintering. In the afternoon, I follow the instructions on the pack and push them into the earth leaving just the tips showing. I have the feeling I didn't prepare the ground enough as some of it is still quite hard. My neighbouring allotment holder comes over to have a look. He has now finished turning over all his plot and I still wonder if I should have done the same. I press on with the onions - if they don't grow I will at least have learnt a lesson. I look for any signs of the green manure growing through on the main plot - nothing so far. I have to say the allotment looks better than I could have hoped when I started this in August.