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  • #1

    How am I going to cope?!

    I've just been lucky enough to take a year's sabbatical, and now I'm having to get back on the treadmill once more. I'm a primary school teacher, and have a job starting after Easter, full time. I know how much this job takes out of your private life, and I'm worried I won't be able to continue with my hobbies, one of course being my veggie patch!!! At least I will have the long summer holiday (two weeks of which we're away!).

    Who else has a full time job, other hobbies apart from gardening and manages to balance it all?! How do you do it?
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  • #2
    Don't worry sweetcorn. If you prepare all your beds now and do all your sowing before Easter then maintenance can be as little as 2 hours a week. Its amazing how much you can accomplish in a couple of hours.

    What a rewarding life you will have, shaping childrens minds and growing your own veg!

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    • #3
      Originally posted by cottage garden View Post
      Don't worry sweetcorn. If you prepare all your beds now and do all your sowing before Easter then maintenance can be as little as 2 hours a week. Its amazing how much you can accomplish in a couple of hours.

      What a rewarding life you will have, shaping childrens minds and growing your own veg!
      One good point the lighter nights will soon be with us & even a hour in the evening can be useful.
      The river Trent is lovely, I know because I have walked on it for 18 years.
      Brian Clough

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      • #4
        Originally posted by bubblewrap View Post
        One good point the lighter nights will soon be with us & even a hour in the evening can be useful.
        It's nearly 5pm now and there is plenty of light to consider going to the allotment for half an hour or so!
        We both worked more than full time and occasional weekends and we used to have 3 allotments! You just find ways of reducing the tasks by adapting what you grow,using raised beds,weed suppressant membrane watering through inverted bottles next to the crops for eg

        We found that 7hrs a week was plenty for 3 allotments ( it's the chatting wot is time consuming!!!)

        You'll be fine!
        "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

        Location....Normandy France

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        • #5
          Welcome to the club, Sweetcorn! I was a mum of four, now grandmother to six and a bit (the bit is due in April). I've worked most of my life, part-time when the children were tiny and full-time most of the rest. I've also managed to keep up with my interests (reading, sewing and gardening) although they do have to be fitted into any available timeslot. I find the gardening really suffers in the winter as I work fulltime, and by the time I get home it's too dark to do anything outside. However, summer is good. Time after work, and also the weekends.

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          • #6
            One question sweetcorn, are you female? If the answer is yes, then my reply is 'because you just will'. If no then, like other males, I suppose you'll simply find a member of the female persuasion pretty quickly and let them do it all.
            Into each life some rain must fall........but this is getting ridiculous.

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            • #7
              You really needing a laughing smiley on here, I was giggling insanely at your post, bluemoon, because it's so very true!
              “The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.”

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              • #8
                good god bluemoon is it anti male day or somthing

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                • #9
                  i dont know what your worried about sweetcorn. you are in the perfect job. have you never heard of child labour. however if that dosent work still dont worry as i spend 6 months of the year out of this country and when i am here i only get a hour or so a week. the way i do it is when i have holidays i spend a couple of days down there catching up and getting loads done then its easy just to pop down once in a while to keep on top of things.

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                  • #10
                    Welcome to my world! I too teach primary (ankle biters) full time and find it hard work keeping on top of the house and garden without keeling over. Last year I coped well enough, on top of having the garden in tip top condition (ish) for our wedding reception, and of course whilst planning said wedding.
                    I find it really useful to have good weather during the holidays, which there is absolutely nothing you can do about, but there you go! It starts next week with half term, when I'll be out there clearing the greenhouse (yes, I know it should've been done last autumn) and digging 'the patch' over once more. Evenings are dedicated to looking through my seeds, seed catalogues and gardening books to see what needs doing when. During Feb half term, I usually manage to get a few early seeds sown. After that, it's down to the lighter evenings; once it gets propertly light for a reasonable amount of time, hubby and I aim to spend at least half an hour outside as soon as we get in from work: it just keeps things ticking over nicely. The Easter (spring break!) hols are when the bulk of the sowing goes on, plus of course the potato planting. Then pricking out etc. has to take place in the evenings and during weekends. Planting out during the summer half term too.
                    If it all gets too much, feel free to PM me and we can sound off about the heavy work load to each other! and compare how behind we are with the garden.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Nicos View Post
                      ( it's the chatting wot is time consuming!!!)
                      p
                      Never a truer word Nicos
                      Sweetcorn, I'm sure it will be ok. I work full time, and have had to leave my allotment to its own devices during busy periods, and yes some things suffered, but on the whole, it looked after itself. My tip is to try and do even 15 minutes regularly rather than a whole day now and again, but if you can't, don't beat yourself up about it, you'll be surprised at what you can achieve.
                      All at once I hear your voice
                      And time just slips away
                      Bonnie Raitt

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                      • #12
                        Hi Sweetcorn, it is completely possible! I work up in Chipping Campden (isn't that North Cotswolds) and live in Cheltenham. Even though it is a hell of a drive everyday, and my work keeps me extremely busy, i find that i have plenty of time to do the veg garden, i use it as my main method of relaxation, and it really does take your mind off things! We set up our garden last April, 2 weeks before our wedding, which was 3 weeks after we moved house!

                        If i'm honest, the blog takes me longer than the garden at the moment!

                        Good luck.
                        Vegmonkey and the Mrs. - vegetable gardening in a small space in Cheltenham at www.vegmonkey.co.uk

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                        • #13
                          I think the trick, if you want something enough, whether its to exercise, garden, or write a novel, is to schedule that time in your diary, and stick to it. Even half an hour in the garden will get some jobs done and restore your sanity.
                          And avoid time-sappers, like watching mindless TV or Googling (I can waste hours on Google, just pootling around finding out stuff)
                          All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                          • #14
                            i work f/t and find a couple of evenings and the weekends is enough,sometimes last year on the few fine days we had i was at the lottie until after 9 and it really clears your mind afer a hard days graft
                            The love of gardening is a seed once sown never dies ...

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                            • #15
                              Some inspiring answers, folks. Feel much more confident that I will be OK now. Vegmonkey, I am just 3.5 miles from Chipping Campden, so know exactly where you mean, and yes it's a helluva long way to drive every day!

                              Waffler, I may just take you up on the PM offer - some days I feel very nervous and anxious about how I'm going to manage after such a long break from the heavy schedule of primary teaching. Mine are indeed going to be ankle biters too - Year ones!

                              This weekend has been fab for getting to grips with stuff tho', hasn't it? I've got so much done, and really enjoyed it. It is great therapy - you forget all your worries when you're busy on the veg patch. We're eating some home grown Cavelo Nero, carrots (the tiniest in history, I think!) and leeks tonight, and it's v. satisfying to know they've come from the garden and we only moved in last April.

                              Two Sheds, I think you're right about timetabling some time in - the thing is there are lots of other things I do too, and if I don't get disciplined with my times, it'll all go to pot!

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