Greenhouse In The Potting Shed

Decorating the Forest Garden Potting Shed  with metal signs and adding a DAB Radio which was another Freecycle find as well as the plan layout of the allotment for 2023 to the gable wall. 

The sign that says "To You It May Only Be A Shed But To Me It's A SANCTUARY" is so true, its my happy place on my happy place as since my wife passed away I really don't want to be at home during the day. The allotment and this potting shed is good for my mental health.  

I've had the small greenhouse for a few years and have historically used it in the kitchen behind the patio door to start off seedlings, now it will give another level of heat within the potting shed to the pepper seeds that I have sown today. 

The tin foil back is to reflect the light back onto the seedings when they grow 

The tin foil back is to reflect the light back onto the seedings when they grow, and as can be seen more self watering pop bottle propagators have been sown with seeds.  

On the other side of the potting shed the amount of hooks and tools is increasing and its making it so easy to find and replace tools at the start and end of a visit. I've wanted this for so long and it makes me extremely happy as the potting shed is slowing coming into its own. 

You may have spotted another greenhouse within the potting shed in the photo above "

New Plot 15

Plot 15 has not existed for a very long time. Until now it has been a tipping ground for all kind of debris, and weeds, piles and piles of weeds.  Strangely one of our plot holders has taken it over on the basis that there is so much debris within the huge mounds that there is no rent taken for it for the first year. 

The plot holders of 11 & 11A and 3A did not pay their rents last October and the reality is with 22 trees and a plot filled with rubbish no one is going to want plot 3A and the same guy had plot 11A and again enclosed it in brambles made a tip of the plot. 

Plot 11 has been left vacant to allow access to 11A and in fact the plot are not divided equally at the moment so that will be rectified. 

Using The Potting Shed

With the opening vents finally installed, today was the first day that I actually started potting up in my  Forest Garden Potting Shed which I have to say I absolutely love having on the plot, as it gives me somewhere to shelter if it rains and to sit and watch the wildlife wonder around the plot and of course start off my seeds and potter.

I started laying out trays and modules ready to start sowing and then thought better that the potting tray go nearest the door.   

So after a revamp this made me determined to buy or make another staging to infill the back gable wall and have the potting tray on there so I could max out the staging space directly against the window. 

So after a revamp as you can see from the three photos from the door with the potting shed being 8ft or 2.4m there is plenty of room for a staging and a potting station or tray to go along the back gable wall. 

With the direction of the sun the temperature is warmer on the sunward side and significantly warmer that the outside temperature. 

I've been using the self watering pop bottle propagators for a number of years now and kicked off sowing various tomatoes and vegetables in the propagators. I normally so six seeds 3 either side of the lifting handle. 

With my first six sowings for the season under my belt I made my way home from the allotment. 

Setting up the inside of the Potting Shed

The work on the agenda on my visit to day was to get the second staging built and start fitting out the inside of my Forest Garden Potting Shed  I also laid some vinyl flooring to help keep the floor clean and to protect the timber from walked in mud off my boots

I'm going to build a third staging to return along the gable wall at the back of the shed that will hold the plastic storage unit on the bottom shelf. Chitting potatoes on the bottom shelf of the first staging on the left, and the framework from a blow-away greenhouse and a perching stool on the right 

I do love having the hooks along the top of the wall panels at eaves level, Days later I ended up extending the tool hooks all along the 2.4m of the shed and returning to the door opening  

Magnetic white board holding my plan for the year and some seeds, and a few temperature gauges and metal decorative signs start making it feel homely  

I've left the protective film on the opening windows either end for the moment  

View from the First Window 

View from the Second Window 

View from the Third Window 

View from the Fourth Window at Michelle's reclaimed plot 15 

 As I'm fitting this #forestgarden potting shed out I just love it more and more. 

Roofing and Staging Building

So it's was back on the allotment to finish off the roofing and start building the two staging units that come with the  my  Forest Garden Potting Shed as we didn't get finished yesterday.

I had not quite got as far as fitting the opening vents on the sides but th felt was fixed to the slopes of the roof, although the verge boards are not on in this photo. 

Something I could do was erect the first staging which I built inside the potting shed 

Plot neighbour Wally came to the site and gave me a hand fitting the opening vents and I started to sort out items that needed to go into the potting shed. 

I've had the sign on the potting shed for some time and was going to put it on a post at the entrance to plot 1, Plot 1 A being the area at the back of plot 1. 

The Potting shed being adjacent to the paved path off the main grass path was an ideal spot to for the sign. Opening vent window, bargeboards and finial now fitted on the gable end of the potting shed.   

The turned over area was dug over and weeded by Emma and Kelly over the weekend when Andy and I were erecting the potting shed. 

I asked of I could have the security fences that had been protecting the leaning wall and was informed I could as they had been purchased and they had no need of them or wanted to store them. So Wally and  set them up in the corner to start forming what would become the greenhouse climbing frame that I've had in mind for some time.  

Potting Shed Erection Day

 

Today Emma, Andy, Kelly and I started the erection of my Forest Garden Potting Shed which started with the uncovering of the component parts that have been stacked next to the base since delivery

As can be seen from the paving slab base to the potting shed it had been raining yesterday and the slabs were still wet. As much as possible I had stacked the potting shed elements in the order we were going to need them for the erection. 

Both sides of the bag with the manual, screws, nails, nuts & bolts and fittings. 

As can be seen We laid the two flooring units upside down on the paving slab base. 

As can And then proceeded to screw the two units tight together alternating the screw directions 

Then we turned the flooring over and moved it so it was located exactly where we wanted it as the base had been made to measure for the potting shed.   

We started with the corner and fixed the two panels together and then we added the second panel and Andy screwed them together. 

A classic Kelly's face whist holding the panel in place 

Andy fixing the two side panels together as he is younger and better at getting up and down rather that me, I'm quite happy to support and keep the panels in line.   

 

After fixing the door return panel the panel and creating a U shape the panels were sturdy enough to no longer need supporting against the wind, and Emma and Kelly started to clear the corner of the plot where the greenhouse climbing frame is going  

I had a bright ides of using large clamps that I have to hold netting down the the raised beds to hold the studs in the panels together which worked really well. 

By this time Emma had been taking the photos and recording our progress for this blog posting but the both wanted to be in the photos, so I told them to pick up the drills one had a drill bit in and the other a screw bit, and to try and look like they were working.  

Gable End Door Opening Panel

Gable end panel fixed with a lot or persuasion from a hammer to get the joint and panel the members to locate correctly. We then fitted the fixed windows to the front and gable ends, which was a little challenging due to the heavy tolerancing between the window forms and the timber framework.   

Main Roof Supporting Rafters at mid way were installed using the metal brackets supplied.  

For what they charge for the shed they really should pre drill the apex bolt holes, the drill is not supplied with the fitting kit and not everyone has the skill to drill holes perpendicular to the timber rafter members.

With the rafters up the purlins were added at the apex and mid slope locations.   

Main Roof Supporting Rafters were fitted but as you can see there was a slight up lift from the middle support to the gable end on the left. This directly affected the in flatness of the roofing sheets and made it impossible to get the sheets to abut at the apex and still be parallel to the gable end.

Andy and I spent some time trying to tweak and find out what was causing it, and we did get some improvement by hammering home the gable panels more, but I believe it the lack of pre drilled holes in the rafter members that was the main cause as we were so exacting on the level of the foundation and the verticality of the walls when constructing  the potting shed.   

Main Roof Supporting Rafters and purlins as good as we could get them we fixed the roof sheeting which has a treated side and it's important to fix it the right way around.

With the roof felted but the opening vents on the gable ends still not fitted we called it a day and all went home. 

Sometimes The Universe Sends You A Curve Ball

Posted on the 31st October 2023

OK when I uploaded the last post my intention was to catch up with updating the blog, within a month to six weeks, but the universe had other ideas and took me on a journey that I was not expecting and really didn't want to go on! 

As John Lennon said "Life is what happens whilst your busy making other plans" 

I have a lot to post and catch up with, but as I'm in the last few days of Radiotherapy for a growth in my jaw at the Royal Marsden in Sutton and I'm fairly knackered and sleeping a whole lot, it's still going to be a little while, until I can manage to get Man V Slug back on track and up to date. 

So if you have been visiting and waiting for me to catch up, it will happen but it's going to take a little time yet. 

Life is a rollercoaster and for a little while its been one hell of a ride, and I really needed my allotment for my mental well being but could not physically get to it on my own. I will explain in greater detail, as I start updating from the start of April.

For a couple of months I was in a really dark place, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and I even have over winter plants in the potting shed, a huge list of things that I need to achieve on the allotment over the Winter months once the side effects of the radiotherapy and my other mobility issues have reduced. 

I'm planning for next year and optimistic about the future and buying even more seeds to make next year a bumper year on the allotment to catch up for this year.  

1 in 2 of us will get cancer that's 50% and those figures and percentage were much less when I was a kid. The Big C needs to be talked about and acknowledged for how prevalent it is these days.    

Not fallen off the Edge of the Planet

Posted on the 10th April 2023. 

Its been non stop work on the allotment since Sunday 2nd April and the day I started erecting the potting shed and getting the Greenhouse Climbing Frame in the corner dug and weeded because after the wettest March for many years, we have finally had some decent weather. Thus I have not had time to document what I have been doing on the blog. 

I have all the photos and the records for what happened when and will update the Journal / Blog when it rains and I have time. 

A little taster of what's to come... 

Planning and Reviewing April in Previous Years

 Reviewing the diary over the last Ten years for April 

2013 - After Burning everything that could be burnt in March, I finally started digging and weeding the first four beds on Mill Green Allotment, installing the woodchip paths and establishing the comfrey bed.

2014 - Potatoes in buckets, Potatoes in the ground, Sowing Tomatoes, Beetroots, Spring Onions, weeding and fertilising beds, potting on tomatoes into vending machine cups. a cold snap and fleece over the spuds.

2015 -  New edging to beds, Planting potatoes in buckets, Potatoes in the ground, Brassicas into vending machine cups, Sowing Tomatoes,  

2016 - Daffs in Comfrey bed 1, Digging and weeding new beds, Freecycle Slabs, planting Potatoes

2017 - Infrastructure works, paths desperately need replacing Neglecting Mill Green in favour of Spencer Road site as access is just so difficult due to construction traffic and no where to park. Jen in hospital with pneumonia so huge reduction in anything associated with the allotment, finally discharged and turns into Hell boy and re admitted. Constructed runner bean cantilever brackets and the extension to the shed at Spencer Road. Construction and erection of the comfrey pipe at Spencer Road. Kerb edgings and a double Dalek picked up from Freecycle. 

2018 - Plot 1 covered with weed membrane, Still on Spencer Road allotment at this stage, Plant Spuds in Buckets, Sacks of grass from Ron, Tomatoes potted on into vending machine cups, Allium Trays and planted onions, Spuds planted in the ground, Bought new B&Q Strimmer, Sowing Cucumbers, Butternut Squash and Marrows, Apple Trees in Blossom, Bluebells flowering in the Comfrey Bed, Cabbages and cauliflowers planted donated by Keith & Pauline, Onions in modules planted out,   

2019 - A lot of time was spent going backwards and forwards to the hospital due to the injury I had at the end of March and the Cellulitis that had flared up on my leg. Because of the pain and the infection gardening was really out of the question. My daughter and future son-in-law did what they could to help me get plants in the ground on the plot and I was only allowed to attend in a purely supervising role. I did make onion bed planting membrane and I was allowed to visit on my own to fill up the compost Dalek. First Early spuds in buckets, Obtained Tumbling Composter off Freecycle.  

2020 - April 2020 was the sunniest on record according to the met office, rain finally came on the 28th April. Due to lockdown many people started taking more care of their gardens, and National Gardening Week was 27th April - 3rd May. As shielding my wife most of my growing activities were confined to the back garden although those with allotments were allowed to visit for exercise purposes. The normal amount of tomatoes in buckets was reduced and I had the Bio Green City Jungle and the Quadgrow on the decking to grow tomatoes in. My WORK Hydroshot arrived but I could not trial it on the allotment. Growing Tomatoes and Radishes in the Space Saver Greenhouse. Cutting more path weed membrane for plot 1. Reviewed the City Jungle and made unboxing and assembly video. Won a couple of competitions, for a Compost Caddy and a hanging basket gadget.

2021 - Green Manure Cut and dropped then dug in. Paving blocks taken from the back garden down to the allotment to replace the milk bottle soft bricks. First Early potatoes in buckets planted. Onion sets put in the ground. 2 Plastic Dustbins off Freecycle, Cutting blue water pipe to length. Freecycle rubber matting and black pipe for hoops. Watering System Extended. Picked up Freecycle water butt for the plot 1 greenhouse. 12th Snow in the morning gone by the afternoon. Clearing behind the plot 1 greenhouse and erecting the timber table. Cleaning and Jet Washing the Plot 1A Greenhouse. Jet Washing the paving slabs and setting up and teak oil the table behind the Plot 1 Greenhouse. Sowing Beetroots and Sweetcorn in modules. First year trying to grow Aubergines, I didn't manage to get the area for them to live on the plot and the plants took an age to grow. I gave up on them this year. 

2022 - Major work this month getting the asparagus beds ready. Sowing and potting on brassicas and tomatoes. My Daughter caught Covid and moved out to protect my wife, Asparagus beds made and when crowns arrive they were planted. Grow With Me 2022 Tomatoes into pots. Sowing Melons and Spring Onions. Sowing Moonshine Sweetcorn that had really poor germination rates. Sowing Little Gem Cos Lettuce & French Dwarf Beans.

To Do List   

March has been a complete wash out, with my wife passing away in January and the funeral in February I've had the time to do work on the allotment but not the weather and now I'm behind on where I was hoping to be at the end of March when I reviewed and planned in February. I still need a whole lot of allotment therapy for my mental wellbeing, I'm just hoping April is kinder with the weather, than March has been.   

Mill Green - Plot 1A

• Re Add additional supporting timbers to the roof of the shed - TBD
• Tidy Up the Allotment - Ongoing but getting so much better 
• Weeding - Completed the weeding of plot 1A
• Greenhouse 1A - Get ready for early spring sowings and perhaps some hydroponics
• Greenhouse 1A - Constructed a dormer window with twin solar fans to replace the vent like the one on Plot 1 Fans arrived and fitted in March.

Mill Green - Plot 1

• Potting Shed  - Finally arrived and is stacked up against the wall and covered in a tarp, plan is to get it erected at the first good weather opportunity when Andy and my girls can help me erect it. 
• Potatoes in Buckets - Were a dead duck, spuds removed and soil used as soil conditioned on beds 
• Greenhouse Cage - The plan has been for some time to build a greenhouse frame in the corner of Plot 1 on the main path and secondary path with plot 2. The frame will be lined with mesh panels so that climbing plants can be grown over it and I can enter the greenhouse and just pick vegetables that are hanging.
• Beds and Paths - The area that the greenhouse cage in the corner needs to be turned over weeded and beds and paths installed during April.
• Water - System needs modifying water tuned on 30th March.

Home 

• Planning - Ongoing
• Cut Planting Membrane - Made more full bed blanks some will be turned into planting membrane
• Space Saver Greenhouse - Clear and Cleaned and ready for action as thw weather improves.