Another day at the plot and lovely books

I spent a lovely afternoon in the sunshine today at our plot, did some weeding and dug over a bed ready for planting, planted some seed potatoes that were on offer (I normally just sprout my own in a dark cupboard), built up the next layer of compost with grass cuttings, veg peelings, coffee dregs and horse poo and then sat on a bench we made from bricks and a scaffolding plank and closed my eyes and listened to the birds and the sounds of nature all around me. It was amazing, I remembered when we first got the phone call to say we could have an allotment I said to Tom (my partner) which plot I thought it was, we had visited plenty of times on open day so knew the plots quite well, it was a middle plot with fruit trees on, when we visited to view our new plot it wasn't that one, it was right at the far end with no trees, it was only today I realised when we moved from the half plot to this double plot just over a month ago I was sitting next to the original plot I dreamed about and our new plot has loads of fruit trees on it too!

I was so happy and filled with gratitude, I gave thanks to *God and Mother Nature, my eyes filled up and I could feel an awakening in my body and heart, I feel so lucky and blessed by the life I have, we may not be rich in money yet but I am so rich in other ways.

I took some pictures to share of the beautiful flowers on the plot at the moment, this is Kale that has gone to seed, the flowers are so lovely, I am waiting for the flowers to die off and capture the seeds for next year before giving the greens to the chickens.

Gorgeous apple blossom, how perfect are the flowers, they have a delicate fragrance and the bees love them

I also went to the library and got some amazing books, The thrifty forager by Alys Fowler, foraging by David Squire, Old fashion remedies from arsenic to gin by Dr Rob Hicks and Nature handbook by Chris Packham I also scored The Power by Rhonda Byrne for £5 from The works, got to love the discount book shop!

 

I am going to do another foraging walk and talk tomorrow to coincide with “PLEDGE TO PLANT – EARTH DAY", be a part of the biggest grass-root effort in history by planting a seed/tree as a “give back” to Earth. I am meeting some people at Salisbury gardens behind Stanley park in Blackpool for an informal foraging session, to teach them about the plants they can eat, learn about the plants health benefits and the best ways to cook them. 

*God = all around us, not one person/thing, I believe in the universe, energy and spirit, I think all religions have the same theme running through them all, be kind to each other and the planet, I like to pick different parts from different belief systems and just know there is more to my life than just being here.

Roller derby, growing veg and food, food, food

Wow what a week, since getting the allotment 2 weeks ago we haven't stopped, it's a lovely place to be, really peaceful, full of wildlife and because its gated you feel like your in another world. 

We have tidied it up, still more to do as it was covered in weeds, started digging a pond and put a willow arch in and started a terracotta path. 

With all this extra exercise we have been eating loads! I'm loving banana and raspberry smoothies at the moment, they are so delicious and so easy to whizz up. Sometimes in a morning I add gluten free oats, vanilla, rice milk and maca powder. 

  

I also have been sewing and making things for a fair I attended today at a roller derby bout. It's the first time I have been to a bout and it was brilliant, our local team Blackpool roller coasters did really well and won, it was their first competition too so it was a great result. 

I still have some of these derby quote hearts left if you are a fan x

What a wonderful day at the allotment

Hello lovely people I am now the proud co-owner of an allotment. We was only on the list for 11 months so that's awesome and quick, apparently on average it's 3 yrs waiting. Our plot is number 22 which was my mums birthday . It was pretty overgrown but already had beds in it which was a bonus and a huge rhubarb plant. 

We have been there almost everyday weeding and digging, it really is hard work but the bird song and friendly neighbours make it easier. It's super hot there too and I've got a lovely tan, it always surprises me how well I look when tanned. 

I am hoping not only to grow as much veg and fruit as possible but to lose some weight too with all the hard work! 

We got some rhubarb to bring home to make a pie and in the way popped in the library to get some books, I got the virgin gardener by Laetitia Maklouf, the frugal cook by Fiona Beckett and self sufficiency by Alan and Gill Bridgewater. So tonight after a relaxing bath I shall put my feet up with a cup of nettle and peppermint tea and get some reading done. 

dear universe......

Dear universe if you are reading this, thank you, we have a dream, a dream which we really want to happen, were not quite sure how or when it will happen but have every faith that it will.
We live in a seaside town called Blackpool in Lancashire, UK. We have lived here all our lives, we don't fit in. We need to live somewhere that's warm, beautiful, rich in love and life. We live a different life to most in our area. We already have chickens. We have converted our back garden to be full of raised beds so we can grow our own veg and fruit.

We want to live in Portugal or France, Portugal first choice France second, we are going to have a house that's detached on its own land, the house needs to have at least 4 bedrooms, an open plan lounge/kitchen/dining room, another room that can be my craft room, a bedroom with a balcony that overlooks the mountains, big windows, wooden floors, a natural pool outside would be lovely as would a river/stream running through the land. An area for chickens, an allotment, an orchard and a large area for the dog to run around and for us to play games/sunbathe.

We are going to have an organic retreat, grow all our own fruit and veg, meditate, practise yoga and have affordable holidays for people who want to come over and switch off from modern life. Were going to have a couple of cottages at the bottom of our land that I will make all the soft furnishings for and decorate plainly to give a fresh airy feel for holiday accommodation.

I am going to run courses on pure living, these will be part of the holiday if required, I want to share my wealth of knowledge about living pure with anyone who is interested. I feel its my duty to share what I have discovered and feel many children and adults would be so much better off and healthier with the knowledge. 

We are both self employed, have two teen boys living at home who are home schooled, we rent our house ( have lived here for 12 yrs this September) so are free to move as soon as the opportunity arises.
We need to fund this dream and I am writing an ebook all about living without chemicals, I want it to have so many sales we can live out our dream. I am working on finishing it very soon

Thank you universe for already making my true love dreams come true, I have every faith in this one coming true too.

Introducing Mrs Marmalade and a craft fair invite x

I'm not sure if any of my regular readers know that I am organising a weekend vintage and handcrafted fair in Blackpool 23rd -24th June and I have another blog promoting all the stall holders and anything crafty I may come across, here is a snippet from my other blog:

 

There is the most wonderful lady sewing away in Blackpool, she makes the most adorable pincushions with kitsch trinkets on top and gorgeous patchwork quilts that make you think of home, her designs are bright, cheerful and unique just like her, as a stallholder and a good friend I asked her about her crafting:

She said "The joy of homemade has always charmed me - reworking vintage loveliness into "new" and finding lost treasures appeals to the Mrs Marmalade in me. Making quilts is a pleasure I have been making baby and dolly quilts for 10 years and just can't stop :O] x!"

 Always on the look out for unusual finds she scours charity shops and boot sales looking for interesting pieces to add to her wonderful kitsch collection of trinkets .

She takes pieces of vintage and retro fabric and turns them into the most lovely fun

items for your home, she explains she was a late starter, just a decade of making and a dreadful sewing student at school she is only too happy to sew and make in place of everyday busyness, she is most happiest sewing, creating and reading blogs

 

If you want to carry on reading pop over and say hello at truly scrumptious fairs blog please x

How does your garden grow.....

We have a reasonable sized garden for a house in Blackpool and even though in the past have grown veg, we didn't make the best use of the space we have, so a couple of months ago we gutted the garden, moved the pond, cleared out all the junk that had accumulated and saved the things we would use like tyres.
the only plants we left in were the bluebells that were just peeking through and the blackcurrant bush, there wasn't much else growing or worth saving. I got 20 willow plants off ebay from Scotland and planted them along the back fence in the hope that when they grow tall the neighbours will be blocked out a bit. We also got some pallet's and spent a long time, days in fact taking them apart and sawing them to size to make some raised bedsIt also took ages trying to fill them with compost, 2 of my compost bins spread between the 4 of them did nothing at all, we collected horse manure for free from a farm and my friend donated bags of cow manure each time she came round, we also managed to get some big bags of organic compost from Lidl (supermarket in UK) for cheap. They are still not full but they will do, thinking the raised beds was going to be a cheap way of gardening kinda went out the window by the time I had finished.

I have reused tyres to plant green beans, courgettes and potatoes, moved the chicken arc next to the big chicken house to make more room,

 My friend took me to the industrial site and we collected some windows from a skip, these have served well as pop up cold frames for rhubarb and lettuce, I did plan on making a mini greenhouse like Alys Fowler's one of her TV show but never got round to it. Along the back fence we have willow, mint, strawberries in tubs and hanging bags, bluebells and delphiniums.

In our beds we have lettuce, peas, carrots, potatoes, pak choi, mooli radish, sweetcorn, rocket, butternut squash, runner beans, french beans, red onions and lots f marigolds to deter the beasties that love to munch on my salad! I have planted foxgloves for the bees and have honeysuckle growing up the fence, this is for bees and for in medicine too.

I love popping out early morning after letting the chickens out of their house and looking around the garden to see what has grown overnight, the chillies, peppers and tomatoes are growing in the greenhouse very slowly this year because of the lack of sun in Blackpool, I'm hoping that will change soon.

Under the blackcurrant bush I have sacks of potatoes growing which I think should be ready soon, hey were the first things I planted out. I use the re-usable bags from Marks and Spencer which cost about 50p, you just snip off the bottom corners for drainage and then when your spuds are ready slice the side open and voila easy access and much cheaper than the potato sacks from the garden centre.

 In the right hand top corner of the picture is our herb patch, we are growing lavender, oregano, horseradish, 2 types of sage, lemon thyme, lemon balm, marjoram, chamomile and lupins - I know not a herb but just for the bees. I love getting herbs from the garden when I'm cooking, it makes me feel proper!

Lots of lovely rocket in this bed, I adore rocket, it's peppery flavour goes so well with tomatoes on ciabatta

one of the sweetcorn plots growing very well this year, not had much success with the other times I have tried to grow it, so fingers crossed we will get some cobs this time. I have copious amounts of nasturtiums growing all over the garden to feed the caterpillars then they wont eat my lettuce, the chickens love the leaves and the bright orange and yellow flowers are a joy, I haven't managed to get anyone to eat them yet, even me, which is weird because I eat all the other garden things, the thought of eating flowers though hasn't quite got me yet.

another little patch of herbs right by our back door so if its pouring down I won't get soaked!, here we have rosemary, thyme, parsley and elephant garlic, which I can't wait to grow because it's meant to be massive and we love to cook with garlic.

Growing cucumbers this year for the first time, didn't realise how spiky the stems are!

foxgloves are so pretty, I think it's quite magical when the bees pop inside to collect the pollen

the pond is right in the corner but everything has grown so much you can't quite see it, we have watercress growing in the pond and froggy was last spotted a few weeks ago so I don't know if he is still around or hopped of to the birdbath for a splash

 Look here our first cucumber, I was so excited when I saw it, I ran in and told the boys to come see, they did say well done but I think I was most enthusiastic and I don't even eat cucumber!  love to grow things and am so happy when my hands are in the soil, I'm still learning and each time I do the growing thing I learn more. I got a great book called grow something to eat everyday, it's like having a grandad giving you tips, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to grow and I'm proof you don't have to have a big garden to grow lots, its all about the position of things, I'm always trying to squeeze more in. The thing I can't seem to get right is the continuous growing, we always have gaps where there is nothing to eat except lettuce. What are you growing this year?