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Hi Molly, love the name - I'm a big fan of HP Welcome to the Vine
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Growing in Scotland
Afternoon Vine!
We started off last year in a small flat with nowhere but a window sill to grow (unsuccessfully attempted French beans and tomatoes). Then we got a house with a garden and an allotment within a month of each other! So we jumped in with enthusiasm but little else!
The allotment is small (can't remember how big exactly, but I think it was 1/3 - 1/2 standard) but plenty to begin with. Soil is towards clay but wasn't too difficult last year. We're on the North East coast of Scotland. We were slow to start last year with the house move but we managed some potatoes, kale, peas, salad onions and strawberries which all produced a little, and sweetcorn, onions, leeks, French beans and pumpkin which did not. I also did some sunflowers, poppies and sweetpeas and there was a running battle with horsetail and other charmers.
This year I hope to improve, by making sure I don't miss the boat with seedlings in early spring, improve/fertilise the soil, suppress weeds on the paths, begin the process of edging/raising beds so that there's less opportunity for weeds than last year. I'm also thinking of starting seedlings and planting them out, rather than being unsure which tiny sproutings are ones I've sown and which are interlopers! I also wasn't great at protecting crops once they were up so I know that's something I can be aware of. I'm going to plant more variety of fruit and veg and more flowers partly for cutting but mainly to attract pollinators and be wildlife friendly as that's important to me too.
In the garden I started a little herb/salad bed. The main thing I tried was a plastic 'blow away' greenhouse. I hadn't realised it was a windy garden till it got dashed to bits. I really want to grow tomatoes (a favorite of mine to eat, and in memory of my granddad who grew them). I think I might try a grow bag or two in the garden as its south facing but I'm not sure how to protect them without it being blown to bits.
I'm also planning to do a DIY raised bed/mini polytunnel at the allotment but it is windy there too so we'll see how that goes. I guess I might not be successful with toms until I can get a proper greenhouse/polytunnel.
Anyway I've rambled on too much. So far this year I've done some tidying up at the allotment, planning and day dreaming with the said of seed catalogues! We've picked up some early seed potatoes and strawberries onion sets. Next step canes, strawbs for soft fruit and finding/buying wood to contain the raised beds and building them. And trying to get a decent amount of manure/compost and stuff to mulch.
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