The paperwork was signed two years ago last Saturday and the due payments were made.

However we actually started working on the plot two years ago tomorrow. Taking stock whilst sitting in the sun in a quiet moment just before leaving this afternoon, I realised just how much has progressed over the period.

The first year we actually didn’t get a lot of things off the plot because I didn’t plant a lot. One half was under green manure to handle the weeds. The other half was doing well till the floods happened and though we didn’t get flooded due to being on a slope, the plot was unworkable at the height of the season. Also there was no time to do a full winter preparation so there was no compost, no manure and a clay soil.  However we did get fruit beds and herb beds sorted out which have paid dividends over time.

Over the winter of 2007/2008 I managed to dig in the manure that was provided and to get a crop of green manure over the winter. This time last year I had just finished digging in the winter tares on what became the productive vegetable patch. We had a reasonable season last year and two households ate off the plot for a great amount of the year. I’ve eaten swedes, runner beans and cabbage off the plot over the winter. All the things that the local family doesn’t like but which I do.

This time last year we planted the five fruit trees and two blueberry bushes on the shed side of the allotment. They are showing buds now – there was one plum, one pear, and a decent supply of apples and blueberries last summer - considering it was the first year it was nice to pick anything.

Today I finished digging in compost to the vegetable area except for a small area that still has what might be spring cabbage if they develop. If not – well it’s easy to reach and will be a quick job to  be composted. I hope that there will be time to sit in the sun and admire the work in the next few days as settling time is now required. Too early to plant out but nice to have everything ready. There is an area to be filled up with shallots next week and I suppose that I shall have to pick an area for the onions too. But not till after Tuesday when the weather is supposed to be sleet showers.

The seeds are all sitting in a corner waiting for planting as soon as the soil is warm enough.  Perhaps we shall be able to do something in a couple of weeks time if the mild weather continues.

Another couple of sessions will see enough compost turned into the allotment – at which point all systems will be ready to go with regard to planting.

It’s been a pleasant enough week if a bit windy – you could almost say that spring has arrived even. There are crocuses in flower on the plot (thought that I had lost them) with daffodils and tulips showing their leaves if not their flowers. The chives are beginning to sprout again even though I thought that these had disappeared. The primulas are flowering gaily and the herbs are beginning to put out new shoots. There are buds on the fruit trees and along the hedges the hawthorn is showing the first signs of growth.

The wind has started to seriously dry out the soil where it has been turned and compost added. But just to welcome March in there is a forecast for rain and sleet showers from the Met Office. Oh lovely. Shades of the snow at Easter which was the end of March last year.

Here I was considering that I should plant out the onions and shallots at the start of next week when the soil has had time to settle down with the compost turned in. Do you think that the weather forecast is a reaction to something that I said about being all ready to get the allotment planted out and productive for the year? However I shall be glad to see the back of this back breaking digging in of compost. At least for this year. There will be a repeat of the job over the winter of course but probably there should not be the requirement to dig in so deep and so much.  After another winter of application of compost I am promising myself a year of green manure to save so much backache. But the best laid plans of men and mice don’t always work out with regard to allotments do they?

Lovely sunny day yesterday. Nice day for gardening – especially in the afternoon.

But there were hold ups and hiccups with getting the boiler mended in the morning. The morning ended about 3.30pm when all the clearing up was done (not their fault that it’s a small room and furniture needed moving or that I had left the vacuuming till the work was done).

Of the replacement part that was in stock a week ago (but not due to be delivered to stores till tomorrow?!?) and the hunt to find one after the boiled was unassembled, and then the fun in finding that yet another part needed replacement (not on the van at the door of course) we will not speak. Obviously some hiccup in the system somewhere and not the fault of the man and the apprentice doing the job.

So a day was lost but the boiler is working better than it has ever done since I have been the tenant here and that’s some years now.

I also managed to sort out an order that I had placed on Saturday via the internet hoping that it would arrive on Tuesday morning – however the company had taken down the website for maintenance and updating so the order had gone through but not the payment details. Oh dear.  So that will arrive at some point this week – I was hoping for yesterday to fit in with the boiler man. The shoes have been despatched so the email this morning says so those will arrive over the next couple of mornings – usually earlier rather than later as the Royal Mail van drops them off whilst dropping off postmen for rounds and collecting letters. I was hoping that those would be sent out on Monday to arrive today. Ho hum – a week of delays all round.

Monday saw the replacement of the bus shelter at the front door – the old one has been derelict for the four years and eight months that I have been here. Mind you it is now a question of whether the drunks from the pub down the road will leave this one in piece. But for two days we have had a smart bus shelter. Shame that it has only a front and roof – if the weather comes up or down the pavement we shall be just as wet and windswept as ever. But at least the passing cars won’t splash us.

Of course it was also dustbin collection day and the wagon was late. By the time that it arrived there was a scaffolding wagon parked outside as well as as the crew playing with the bus shelter -  a man and a boy had to erect the scaffolding on the gable end so that the pointing can be done on the leaky wall. Nope the bus stop was not in use for some period of the afternoon.

And this morning here I am all dressed and ready to go down to the allotment – and it’s spitting with rain!

Here is the recipe that Chris Rigden mentioned in her comment. It's taken from 'Joy of Cooking', 1999 Anglicised edition - ISBN = 0-684-85146-6. Chris says that she has found this book an invaluable guide in the kitchen – expensive, not a lot of pictures but worth it for the useful tips that it contains.

This recipe makes about 3 litres, but you can scale it according to the tomatoes you have available.

• 3.5kg green tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1.25kg onions, thinly sliced
• 130g salt
• 1.5 litres cider vinegar (or whatever)
• 900g light brown sugar
• 900g green peppers, sliced
• 450g red peppers, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs dry mustard
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbs whole cloves
• 1 Tbs ground ginger
• 1½ tsp celery seeds
• 8mm cinnamon stick, broken

1. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, and 130g salt.  Stir well, cover, and refrigerate 12 hours.  Rinse in cold water & drain.
2. In a very large, non-reactive pan, bring the vinegar to the boil and dissolve the sugar in it.  Stir in the prepared peppers, garlic, mustard and 1½ tsp salt.  Add in the tomatoes and onions and mix well.
3. Tie the seasonings together in a moist square of cheesecloth (or put in a spice ball) and add to the pan.
4. Simmer the mixture, stirring often, until the tomatoes are translucent, about 1 hour.  Bottle for preserving while hot; or let cool, remove the spices, and cover & refrigerate for up to 1 month.

The wind and sun have dried the soil on the allotment to the point where it’s possible to work. So for two days it has been a case of moving the pile of bagged compost and digging it into the plot ready for planting.

Of course there have been disasters along the way as ever.  The shoes that have been in use for 17 months down the plot have eventually worn out (that’s good going in the life of shoes for me). There was a replacement pair sitting in the corner waiting to come out so not bad. Looking back I see that the price of this shoe has risen £4 in the period between buying one pair and buying the next.

For reasons not known, all the winter onions have given up and become a crop failure. The garlic on each side is fine but not so the onions. Looks as if there is going to have to be a replant of that crop then. It looks as if the explanation comes down to “that’s gardening”.

The supply compost that is being dug in is going to run out before the soil requiring it does so that means that I am going to have to obtain more – an unexpected bill but the job does need doing as a lot of the soil has sunk over the years and needs a boost. Yes I am being very generous but sometimes the generosity is needed to pay off in future crops.  At least it costs nothing to walk down to the plot and work there!

And finally – the slippers which were bought 18 months ago have also worn out and I am now wearing the sparkly ones which I bought for fun just before Christmas.

On the cheerful side, the crocus, daffodil and tulip crop that I didn’t expect to reappear on the plot are all showing signs of coming back to life so that can only be a bonus.

It was a lovely spring day – far too nice to stay indoors. So off down to the allotment when the sun got its act together after lunch.

I looked around and decided to move the last of the tatty looking swedes. I sat in the sun to top and tail those that were fit to bring home. The rest and the rubbish went onto the  compost heap. So did the useful contents of three large garden sacks that have been waiting for attention for two weeks. The rest of the larger cuttings have been added to the pile of similar material that may well have to be burnt at some point in the year.

The compost heap that I would like to use for marrows and courgettes this summer had grown middle age spread. It was a case of sides to middle and add some compost discovered under the pile of sticks. The rebuilt heap looks to have a goodly population of worms at work in it which is good. It is all tucked up under its cover again to go on maturing for another couple of months. At least not using any form of compost heap container does allow the piles to be used as a planting area when they are mature enough.

And finally I turned over the patch where the swedes had been growing to allow the ground where I had trodden to dry out.

The first signs of growth are appearing. I have dead headed a dandelion and the buttercups are  creeping beautifully. There are the first signs of crocus, daffodil and tulip. There are also signs that the chives will reappear – I thought that these had died in the cold after I split them up.  The rhubarb is also putting up shoots so there are early signs of produce – rhubarb crumble is a great favourite.

It will soon be time to take up the spray can and clear areas of these annoying weeds – especially the buttercups. So many things to fill in all these corners – tubs of comfrey for compost and fertiliser, a miniature sunflower, tomatoes in tubs …

I am not a hippopotamus with a passion for a muddy site close by a river. There is no profit in trying to rear a hippopotamus or two on the allotment as they would do nothing for the family larder over the year.

The year rolls on and there is still compost waiting to be dug into the plot in preparation for planting next month. It’s almost next month and even here March is supposed to be the beginning of the planting season.  But there is no chance of working unless there are two or three days with bright sunlight and a drying wind.

The jigsaw puzzle count is above normal for the average winter. The reading count is above average. As for shopping – I’ve run out of being interested in shopping. The house is as clean as I ever keep it and as tidy as it ever is. The store cupboards are all tidy, clean and full. All the requirements for the allotment are in place.

The only job that needs doing is to take the computer keyboard apart and clean each key before replacing it. It’s a nice keyboard so could be worth the effort so I suppose it would pass an evening or two. It would save the necessity to buy another one.

The really depressing thing is that I’m having to buy a good few vegetables at the moment and want to get back to eating my own produce.

The weather forecast today started out as snow later. It has arrived some hours earlier than forecast. In some places it will be settling on snow that has been walked on, thawed and frozen into ice on the pavements – in the sheltered spots where the sun does not go at this time of the year the ground is still not clear from ten days ago.

That means that the proposed visit to the allotment this morning is called off for the day. And tomorrow unless the sun comes out. And Saturday has a forecast of rain!

Definitely an ASBO for the weather for spoiling all my plans.

I’m getting behind with the planned work on the allotment and it’s all going to have to be done in a rush at the start of the growing season.  There’s only so much housework you can do in a small flat and only so much shopping that needs doing.

Picture the problem. A downstairs flat in a building on a slope with high ceilings and being social housing it has the old fashioned fitments - light bulb on a string situation. The kitchen cum sitting room is actually a little below street level seven steps and a small slope. The bedroom is high on a hill looking miles out into the countryside.

Nope you can't change the rooms around as the front door leads into the kitchen end of one room with all the facilities for cooker, cooking and washing machine.

So now that the decorations are complete the hunt is on for something simple - light shades. Huh. Most of the world must have fancy chandeliers or multi-headed beasts with dozens of little bulbs that blow up in rotation every three weeks if you are to believe the offerings in the local shops. There are shades for dinky little bulbs in rooms that only need the equivalent of 40 watts in little corners. Hmm - in the dark days of winter a couple of 11 watt energy saving bulbs make the place light enough to read, cook, knit, do jigsaw puzzles.

Of course these bulbs are not little short lads, these bulbs. A normal round shade is like a mini skirt that doesn't cover the knickers. A shade shaped like a toilet roll centre may be too short and restrict the light. An uplighter will just lighten the ceiling and not the room. I did think I had seem just the thing (wide, round and deep enough to hide the bulb) - shame it was damaged stock and the last one.
Wish me good luck on the hunt. It may be that next season's stock before I replace the eyesores that are presently in place.

Is is just me or are there are lot of ugly shades on the market? Nope Tiffany types won't do. Nope I'm not looking for a scarlet woman of a lampshade nor a little dun bird close to the colour of henny penny in the famous story. I'm looking for something tasteful and discreet.

It’s definitely time to get out on the allotment instead of worrying about minor things like what hides the light bulbs in one room of a small flat!

At last all the planning is over for what to grow on the allotment this year.

There are the staples that the family enjoys – onions, shallots, carrots, marrow, courgette, peas, runner beans, swede, beetroot, lettuce, radish, fennel, spring onions, turnip, parsnips, potatoes (just a few), wild rocket, spring onion.

Then there are two items that are supposed to be staples on every allotment – leeks and red cabbage. I have never grown either but am willing to give them a try. And one allotment holder managed sweet corn last year. So I shall be brave and give these a try as well.  I have even found that I have some tomato seeds which may grow outside. I am will to try them to see what happens in tubs in a sheltered corner. Nothing tried, nothing gained. Even if the crop fails, it adds to the experience.

I’ve even finally tracked down the comfrey to plant in a tub in a corner for its use as a plant food. It took myself and one of the experienced assistants at the garden centre to spot it hiding in the herbs section. For some reason I looked everywhere else in the seed racks and had to go to ask for help. Still I suppose that they are used to customers of all sorts

Of course there is still the snow lying in places where the sun never goes at this time of the year and the ground is not fit to work. But it has been fun doing the planning. It will be more fun doing the growing. At least Easter is later this year. Perhaps it will not snow then as it did at the early weekend last year.

I’ve been cupboard tiding over the past few days and suddenly thought back to when I first moved into the flat just over four and a half years ago.

I came with no wardrobe and two bedding boxes – one which held clothes and one which held bedding. The last residence had a built in cupboard which allowed for hanging things up (and a well designed kitchen with enough cupboards and drawers). For a period when I first moved in, I remember that clothes not being worn were neatly folded up and stored in the bathroom cupboard which must have held the hot water cylinder in years gone by before the installation of the combi boiler in the kitchen.

How times change. I now have a double wardrobe which contains more clothes than I have ever owned before and a chest of drawers for bedding and towels. And the bathroom cupboard? Ah yes the glory hole full of spare tins of paint to repair the walls next time the flat leaks, a dozen jigsaw puzzles as yet unmade, spare lino to match that in the kitchen, bathroom and hall, screw drivers, hammer and paint brushes. Things that I would never have owned previously!

The bookcase which used to display a multitude of ornaments has become the spare shelves that holds kitchen stores due to lack of space in the kitchen cupboards (alright so which man came up with the idea of filling up the largest kitchen unit with the gas meter and a load of pipes?). Gone are the many ornaments that filled shelves and floor space in the last abode to clear space for important things like a saucepan rack and the galvanised dustbin with lift up lid in cream that replaces those easy to break swing bins – no more troubles with the broken lid for me.

Life changes. I can manage without built in wardrobes but life without a decent kitchen is inconvenient.

There is a large heap of compost waiting to be dug into the vegetable beds ready for the planting season. There are creeping creeping buttercups in many corners sitting looking at me every time I visit. This year there is going to have to be a steady campaign to clear the areas so that I can make use of more corners. Mini sunflowers will be planted in tubs with comfrey in another tub to stop it spreading and tomatoes up against a sheltered but sunny corner will take over from the said buttercups. Do you know that cows and sheep will graze around buttercups and leave them standing? If farm animals have no taste for them, I am not sure what I can do with them on the allotment either.

But with jobs in hand that I dearly want to do, what does the weatherman decide? He threatens us with a severe bout of snow, sleet, rain and an evilly cold wind. I am told that the local family braved the cold this afternoon to bag up the pruned material from their front garden and transport it down to the allotment ready for me to sort onto the appropriate heaps to rot down at my leisure. Not today my dears, not tomorrow either it would seem. It has been no weather for going out to make a concerted effort to get things done despite the ground now being considerably drier than last weekend when there was standing water!

The seeds are all in store here and the compost is ready to move, the lime is ready for the cabbage beds and the tubs are waiting ready for filling to take up more vegetables. The last of the winter crops are ready to clear off the plot, the house is as tidy as it can be and everything but the weather is go for outside work. I’m ready to go gardening but it looks as if I will have to wait another week.