Greenhouse News!

Thanks to my

WONDERFUL MOTHER IN LAW

(now that's a phrase you don't hear being used very often, but I say my words with total love, gratitude and thanks)

my greenhouse has progressed from just being a frame with polycarbonate sheets to a

PROPER GREENHOUSE THAT NOW LOOKS THE PART!

Not only did she offer me her greenhouse staging which was a perfect fit for my 6'4" x 6'4" GH but she took it apart, baged all the nuts and bolts AND transported it from Ferring on the South Coast to my home in Carshalton on the Hill in Surrey! Oh and I forgot to mention that she even took pictures of it for me, so that I would know how to nut and bolt it all together again. How brilliant is that. Good thinking Mrs C!

And here it is, in all it's glory in my lovely new GH.

Another thanks today, goes to my good friend Lotty from Notty (you know who you are!) who has 3, yes 3 GH's

Via a chat on MSN yesterday he advised that I should membrane the ground first, so that I wouldn't get any weeds through, so that's what I did - and totally unaided too, yes, shock horror, all by myself, oh apart from the pair of scissors - they helped me.

Before laying the weed suppressing material, I laid the paving slabs (please notice they are PINK as PINK is the new GREEN) on the bare earth to make sure they would be nice and level. A bit of adjustment here, and a bit of extra earth under the other bit and I was happy that they weren't going to rock around (like restaurant tables often do - how annoying is that now ladies and gentlemen??? Its about as irritating as someone driving a car with no road tax - another pet hate of mine)

Now the plan is to get 2 pieces of wood down either side and across the top end of the slabs to form a "lip" which Nigel (lotty angel) has kindly offered to do for me tomorrow, and as the council has just unloaded another batch of free wood chip by the main gate, I am going to fill the base with that (in the hope there is pine chippings as I love that smell!) Again, I have been offered help in the form of Arthur (the same Arthur that bought me the thermometers and chopped up my brussel stalks) who said he would "barrow some up for me."

I am a spoilt rotten plot holder!

Lucky old me!!


Now to the hard work.

Just in case you didn't get my FINE TILTH mentioned in yesterdays' blog posting I thought I would give you a before and after example, so pay attention now.....

To the left of the picture is the one I prepared earlier and in true Blue Peter style - the fine tilth

To the right of the picture is newly dug (today) and yet to be de-stoned, de-rooted, de- weeded & raked to a fine tilth.

At this rate I won't need Mr Rotavator! There's no stopping me now!

And finally - this is my new GH thermometer that Arthur bought me as a present in pride of place!

Sunshine is forecast for tomorrow, so no hail storms to dodge, so I'll be back down the lotty bright and early to put up my other staging, help Arthur with the wood chips and probably do some more digging!

This is Ali Campbell reporting from Plot 144 - Stanley Road Allotments and Garden Society