Wake up Call

The name of this post reflects that I'd felt I'd had a dose of reality after the induction day for fellow new allotmenteers held at the site on Sunday. We had a lovely introduction from the treasurer and other committee members, then had a walk around the 62 plots on site. It was great to meet some of the other newbies.

A head scratching moment for a fellow newbie as we admire a freshly erected  DIY greenhouse

The thing is- suddenly everyone elses' plots looked really good!  I was suffering allotment-doubt, like self-doubt I suppose: a crash in allotment esteem!  A lot of the plastic had been whipped away from the plots revealing burgeoning broad beans and neat rows of garlic and onions. And, taking a closer look in to the greenhouses, I could see tray after tray of seedlings.

Now I don't think the very cold wind helped, and bear in mind that the treasurer said our plot looked great: it hadn't looked as good for years, and we'd done an excellent job. But my spirits were a little low.

I felt too tired and knackered to do much in the afternoon, so I sat in the warm of the greenhouses allowing the boys to get on with the work!

Which was:

Weeding, weeding, weeding- mostly dandelions.

And the painting of long greenhouse number one. L used the blue and white paint he'd used on our last shed, turning it into a bit of a beach hut. Greenhouse number one looked great afterwards, and now it has a bit more protection from the weather.

Other work has included potting up the peppers and chillies at home, and keeping up with keeping our tiny greenhouse based seedlings damp, which are liable to dry up within one or two of days of watering.

I've been pleased that the tulips I put in have come up, and are a nice "strawberries and cream" colour.  Good to see that the Bleeding Hearts are doing well too.