Day 1...Planning

23rd June 2008
Well here we go, the time has come to grow our own fruit and veg. The kids are not very happy their play area (and mine) has been cut down by a third, but needs must.
We are attempting to grow a small selection for now and see how we do. This is going to be challenging as the wife wants the new spuds and the carrots grown in bins to stop the worms and slugs!!. She wants the same fruit and veg we get from the supermarket, you know the ones- the ones grown in worm free soil!, and the kids think I have lost the plot(the wife said that went many years ago) - when really I have found the plot- the veg plot! Ha Ha.
Looked on the old tinternet for some information and found a good one- http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/ and got meself a veg planner......'Sad' was the response from the kids.....Ah Well we will have to give it a go......I wonder if I could grow one of those money trees!!!

Thats all for now folks, will be back soon.

Day 2 .......Still Planning and the Work Begins

24th June 2008

Well the plot that the wife said I have lost has now been
found!. This is the place where the veg are going to grow, an area that measures (guess-timate) 13ft x 7ft.
Next on the list is the wood order for the raised bed, and some horsemuck. Here we go with the start of the spending!!
One good bit of news is that I have got some help, my little lad Tom is going to help and he cant wait to start getting dirty with his dad......in the garden.

Day 2...We Are That Keen, Work Begins

24th June Evening

Well, here we go, its 4pm and we are keen to start, so after marking the plot out, the team get to work and in no time at all, the grass was up, and the ground was ready to be turned over.

Tomorrow we are off to the woodyard and garden centre,

Pictured are my sons Tom & H and me(Gary)before we get dirty.....in the garden

Day 3.... Spending Begins

25th June 2008
Kerching! The first money is laid out, £15 for the wood and £8.98 for 3 bags of organic manure. By the time I returned from the shopping spree, Raul (another helper) and Tom had more or less finished turning over the soil. A small amount of weeds come up, and a large amount of bricks and stones. Unfortunately, it had to be redone; re-digging in the manure.
Tomorrow is the exciting part, a bit of DIY, me being an expert aswell - should be easy (JOKE!).

Day 4.... Getting Wet in the Garden

26th June 2008

Well, what started off a nice day, as you can see by the picture, ended up very very very wet.

But, we got a lot done. The wooden edge to the plot is now complete thanks to Tom, Raul and myself. Oh and the photographer, Shinney (Daughter).

The day was very wet, but we hardy souls stuck it out with the help of the garden parasol... it was more like a sieve than a brolly, and PG Tips and Kenco Coffee, we got through it.

We are all very pleased with the end result (see picture below) however, I could do with finding a wood yard which supplies straight wood, not this new banana shaped stuff!

Thats all for now, off for a warm shower and another brew.

Day 5.....Spend, spend, spend.

After drying out from the day before we set off for a ride to Rivendell Garden Center. This used to be the best place around for plants at good prices- but Oh how it has changed. I thought I had walked into Sainsbury's!! with all the frozen food, jams, biscuits and pickles, we had a good walk round but didn't buy anything for the garden so we then set off down the road to Wyvale Garden Center,result! 50% sale was on Suttons seeds.......I got a bit carried away the wife went off and saw probably all the garden center whilst I was busy picking my seeds, 11 packs I got and a magazine with a pack of beets free. Also in the magazine was an article about keeping chickens.....but more about that later. She then said 'a riddle, that's what we need as well' .......well I thought she wanted me to burst out in rhyme! but no she meant a riddle for the soil. Got on of those too, so at the till it came to a grand total of £17.57.
One more stop on the way home, a visit to Wilkinsons....and guess what--50% off gardening products.........oh how you can imagine the wifes face was. A propagator X4, seed trays X 8, potting compost X1, netting- Hee Hee(more of that later also) , labels, Organic Miracle Grow, and a treat for the wife, some Jamesons Brazils......I had more than her as she drove the car home. Come on let's get home and start she said but not today, Speedway is on and I am not missing that.

Day 6.....Time to get dirty

So here we go, time for a bit of riddling, it shouldn't take long, these were the immortal words that came from my mouth.........anyway, 2 days later with still a little riddling to go we made a plan of where is going where, which my son has kindly posted onto the blog, a corner for the corn on the cob, and then we planted a small row of Leeks, these seeds were good- they were already connected and imbedded into a tape, none of that licking your fingers and flicking the seeds and swallowing a few! which I did later. I also planted a small row of Spring Onions, a couple of rows of Swedes--not the blonde variety--we then added some Carrots, then came the Beetroots, 2 rows of everyones favourites Garden Peas, then we left room for the Lettuce, then also some room for Red Onions and Spanish Onions--these little beauties are in my greenhouse.......this story comes later. After finishing the planting time to put a net over to keep the birds and the ruddy cats off and our dog Penny (as seen on a few of the pics).
Well did we laugh!!!, it was on, it was off, it was on and off again- it was pinned on, a tug across to stretch it and 'ping' the pins were off, kids diving for cover--'Dad we need safety goggles' one said, 'got mine on' I replied. Eventually 40 mins later, sweat, laughter and frustration 2 pieces of netting were fixed on- DONE!..........thought this gardening malarky was relaxing. Ha.
On the previous post I mentioned the chickens, this was hillarious, our daughter completely fell for the story that we were going to rescue 4 chickens and keep them in a pen where the patio used to be...........'WHAT' she yelled, 'No way, you want me to look after the kids when you go away, see to the dog, water the veg, pick anything when it needs to be picked, cut the grass, see to the house and NOW feed the ruddy chickens.......NO'. 'Oh and I forgot to mention' I said 'we may get a couple of piglets and a turkey for a plot I have looked at'.........her face was a picture....red, steam was appearing from her ears. We let her worry for half an hour then we 'said no we aren't, just make sure you read the mag I got(about choosing a chicken) just in case'.
One other bit of news is that we purchased a greenhouse off Ebay, only a plastic one mind, it should arrive tomorrow-hopefully. Cheers for now.