Up next in 10
Busy March Sunday at the Allotment | Vertical Growing & Spring Garden Tasks
1K views
Nov 13, 2024
📆 Busy Sunday in March at the Allotment Garden + Vertical Growing Ideas! It’s been a jam-packed day on the plot — from spring prep to creative space-saving planting! 🌱🧤 In this episode, I share what I’ve been up to this busy March Sunday at the allotment, including early sowing, bed maintenance, and experimenting with vertical growing to make the most of every inch. Do you use vertical growing techniques on your plot? #MarchGardening #AllotmentLife #VerticalGrowing #GrowYourOwn #BusySunday #GardeningWithBen #SpringPrep #UKGardener
View Video Transcript
0:00
hello and welcome to gardening with
0:03
Ben's awardwinning podcast as voted by
0:07
grow your own magazine and by my
0:09
followers and listeners so if you're new
0:12
to the podcast make sure you click that
0:14
subscribe button to stay up to date with
0:15
all our podcasts listen back to all our
0:18
previous episodes sit back grab a brew
0:21
and let's enjoy today's episode hello
0:25
and welcome back to gardening with Ben
0:29
well the weekend is finally over sorry
0:32
to say but it's finally come to an end
0:36
and my weekend's not ended because I'm
0:39
off tomorrow so I've still got another
0:41
day down at the plot I have four days on
0:43
and then four days off so I get nice
0:46
time to spend at the
0:48
allotment so yeah today has been Sunday
0:52
it started off what was an absolutely
0:55
cold morning this morning it were not
0:58
very warm at all down the plot but the
1:01
weather changed and we managed to get
1:04
onto the allotment and get cracking and
1:06
doing stuff and yeah I got down there
1:09
about half1 this morning I didn't think
1:13
I'd be able to get all the tasks done
1:15
what I'd got planned but somehow I
1:17
managed to do it and sometimes like I
1:20
say it's worth off creating that
1:23
checklist of jobs to do and try and
1:26
complete them and I'd managed to finish
1:29
by half 2 so I home for about 3:00 and
1:33
I've had a couple of hours sleep after
1:36
before recording this podcast because it
1:38
certainly has tied me out today the
1:41
amount of work that I've done these last
1:43
couple of days if you'll see the
1:45
pictures that I've posted on Instagram
1:48
and on Facebook of what I've been up to
1:51
you will see that I've been a very busy
1:54
busy be um yes I saw my first be as well
1:58
today down on the allotment while I was
2:00
doing my Facebook live so if you've not
2:02
seen my Facebook live video have a look
2:05
and you'll be able to see what I've been
2:07
up to down at the plot so
2:10
yeah also yeah at today's jobs down at
2:14
the plot was to finish off my fruit area
2:18
my newest fruit area as I've been
2:21
putting quite a bit of spending quite a
2:23
bit of money on that area and it needed
2:25
all the maintenance work doing to get it
2:27
all finished and get it all sorted for
2:30
it to start fruition and producing those
2:34
fantastic delicious crops so today's job
2:38
was to finish off the fencing that I'd
2:41
started putting up because my drill had
2:43
ran out of power
2:44
yesterday it seems to last forever
2:46
Madill uh and it does seem to like slow
2:49
down it just stops Madill when it's
2:52
running out of battery so it just cut
2:54
out on me when I was just nearly
2:56
finished with
2:58
my fence
3:00
uh so I managed to get that completed
3:02
today so all that's done so all it needs
3:05
is a nice good liquor paint to make it
3:08
look really nice and make it look good
3:10
again and that all that's part of
3:13
April's jobs uh to do all the painting
3:17
unless I finish all my allotment early
3:19
which I doubt I will but uh it's
3:21
definitely April's jobs doing all the
3:23
painting hopefully the April Showers
3:25
won't wash it all off but that's the
3:27
plan for April anyway um so we've got
3:31
all the paint in to do so we've done the
3:34
fencing and then I've laid A New Path
3:37
because I've widened one of my paths
3:40
down the back side of my plot as I
3:44
couldn't get my feet down it my feet
3:46
were too big to fit down the paths so
3:49
I've widened it all so I've laid black
3:51
membrane down on there which is
3:53
fantastic stuff it's a weed suppressant
3:55
it lets the water through but it stops
3:58
the weeds from growing through it so
4:00
I've laid all that down and fastened it
4:03
all down so hopefully that will keep the
4:06
weeds down because wherever I can keep
4:08
the weeds down the better and I can just
4:10
concentrate on doing the bits that I
4:13
really want to do nobody likes weeding
4:17
uh but mind you if we didn't have
4:18
weeding to do we'd have nothing to do on
4:20
the plot uh so yeah weeding does keep us
4:23
fit and
4:24
healthy and apparently you can eat so
4:27
much stuff uh I didn't realize you can
4:29
actually
4:30
dandelions um look it up first before
4:33
you do go eating them uh but yeah
4:36
there's so much that can be done on the
4:40
plot at the moment so we've laid his new
4:42
path and then we have created a new
4:46
flower bed down the side of my plot now
4:49
I've had to use R uh old house tiles uh
4:53
to put the down the side of my plot
4:56
because my plot is higher than my
4:58
neighbor's plot so the soil's starting
5:01
to slip
5:02
away uh it's a bit like being on the uh
5:06
Cliff side where it's finally coming
5:08
down and your Garden's getting smaller
5:10
and smaller so yeah uh it started
5:12
slipping away so I've put some tiles in
5:15
to mark it out and then I filled it all
5:18
back up with used compost uh because I
5:21
save all my compost from my tomato
5:23
plants and stuff like that and my seed
5:25
trays and yeah I've saved all that up
5:29
and I F all that flower bed up and I do
5:32
love it when you put all all compost
5:34
down on it because it all looks fresh
5:36
and healthy compared to the soil areas
5:39
uh so yeah it's all looking nice down
5:41
that side so we've got to think about
5:44
what flowers we're going to be growing
5:45
in there through summer I've obviously
5:48
planted all my raspber canes as well
5:50
down this side and they're starting to B
5:54
up so it's shows that they've actually
5:56
taken and grown well and we've also got
6:00
down the side of my plot my three
6:03
formless black
6:05
bris they're all looking healthy and
6:08
well so hopefully they'll start growing
6:11
soon uh I've not seen any growth on them
6:14
yet uh but they're still green and
6:17
healthy and they've still got some
6:18
leaves on them from when I bought them
6:20
so that's a good sign that they're still
6:22
alive so we've got all this new flower
6:25
bed which is really good and the last
6:28
job which was to put up my new guttering
6:35
well it's old guttering uh but I want to
6:37
make a vertical garden I've never grown
6:40
a vertical garden before I've seen loads
6:42
of people do it vertical Gardens are
6:44
ideal for those that haven't got big
6:47
spaces like they only got small gardens
6:51
with walls and stuff like that people
6:53
tend to grow stuff on walls and make use
6:55
of all the space that they've got really
6:59
and
7:00
part of my shed was looking a bit dry
7:03
and dire uh it wasn't attractive so I
7:07
got these four pieces of guttering
7:09
hanging around for a while uh well I've
7:11
had them for years to be honest and I've
7:12
never made use of them I just keep
7:14
shifting them every single year and this
7:17
year I thought I'm going to use them I'm
7:18
going to put them up and we're going to
7:20
try some vertical growing and the only
7:24
drawback with having gutters uh growing
7:27
in gutters is that they're not very deep
7:29
at all um so you need to make sure that
7:34
you keep them watered quite regularly
7:37
because they will dry out and obviously
7:39
if it's compost you use compost will dry
7:42
out fast as well and these are placed in
7:45
a Sunny Spot so they're going to get a
7:47
lot of sun and they will dry out pretty
7:50
fast so we've got to get some plants in
7:54
there what don't require a lot of water
7:57
in all the time I've seen people grow in
8:00
it
8:03
um strawberries lettuce herbs so yeah
8:09
I've got to think about what I want to
8:11
grow in it I have got some strawberry
8:13
plants free but the thing is obviously
8:15
strawberry plants will dry out fast and
8:18
I don't want that they need the water
8:20
strawberry plants so we can't really do
8:22
that but I might even put some flowers
8:24
in them as well just to make it look
8:26
more attractive
8:28
and Wen it up really make it look really
8:31
nice uh so we'll have to see about that
8:34
see about putting flowers in them uh we
8:36
could do with that um but I would love
8:39
to try some mixed lettuce and that's the
8:42
plan have a look around for some mixed
8:43
lettuce leaves like I said I've been
8:45
getting loads of seeds in all the
8:47
catalog magazines that I get uh
8:49
different types of lettuce leaves so I
8:52
might put some of those in just ones
8:53
that we can just snip off and have a
8:55
nibble at when we fancy it um and
8:59
obviously I can feed my hamster Basel uh
9:02
some uh leaves as well uh so yeah I'm
9:05
looking at growing different salad
9:07
leaves in it so if you've got any
9:08
suggestions of what you can grow in
9:10
gutter in drop me a message on Instagram
9:13
or on Facebook and let me know because I
9:17
do need ideas of what to grow in this
9:19
gutter so it's all starting to come on
9:23
really well and fast um it's looking
9:27
really healthy again my plot and it's
9:29
starting to take shape really good and
9:32
yes we have got absolutely loads left to
9:35
do uh I'll be moving on to my main plot
9:38
area next week which will probably take
9:42
more than the 4 days that I'm off but
9:44
I'm hoping to get a lot of it done and a
9:47
lot of it sorted because it's going to
9:49
require a hell of a lot of work this
9:50
area um my main beds area is really good
9:54
really fine uh not much that needs doing
9:57
around there it's more towards the top
9:59
my plot that I have never touched in the
10:02
16 years I've had my plot because like I
10:05
say the best way to work your alotment
10:07
is keep doing a bit further every single
10:09
year now I've got to the top and it
10:13
needs doing uh it's a place where I just
10:15
chuck all my rubbish or waste and stuff
10:18
like that and I really do need to get it
10:20
tided and looking good now and getting
10:23
the rest of the plot complete I'm hoping
10:25
to have it as a nice seating area as
10:27
well up at the top of the pl plot so
10:30
that I can just sit there and look at
10:32
all the hard work that I've put in and
10:34
reap the rewards of what it looks like
10:37
and how well it's come on so that is the
10:40
plan
10:41
for the rest of the month getting the
10:43
top of the plot done and getting it all
10:46
looking good and obviously towards the
10:48
end of the month I'm going to be sewing
10:50
all my seeds and getting all them done
10:53
um I'm still waiting for it is it has
10:56
been nice weather now but I'm just
10:58
waiting till the end of the month uh
11:00
like I said a lot of stuff can catch up
11:02
so I will be getting obviously my
11:04
tomatoes and uh peppers in and
11:07
everything like that cuz they do need to
11:08
get started soon so we need to look at
11:11
getting those in and obviously I need to
11:13
get paid as well uh I need some compost
11:17
and that seems to be going up in price
11:19
so much at the moment so we need to get
11:21
all that done and get all the seats in
11:24
at the end of the month that will be my
11:25
end of the month's tasks uh I can't wait
11:28
to start sewing all my seeds I'm excited
11:30
for that that is when you know that the
11:32
allotment has fully started for the year
11:35
when you first SE all your seeds now
11:37
I've got my onions growing my onions
11:40
I've uh started from seed I started them
11:43
in January I think and of January uh
11:46
they're all coming through so we'll be
11:48
getting ready for putting those out soon
11:50
and getting those planted in the ground
11:52
now I'm growing them from seed this year
11:54
rather than sets because I've never had
11:56
much luck with growing onions from sets
11:58
they never seem to grow well so we're
12:00
trying them from seed I did it from seed
12:02
or set I did them seed and sets last
12:05
year uh to compare which ones did well
12:07
well and I was impressed with how well
12:10
the seed ones did so we're going for
12:12
seeds this year I've got a few different
12:14
varieties of seeds so we're going to try
12:17
a few different ones and see which ones
12:19
come on well and hopefully they will
12:22
come on well because I'm putting a lot
12:24
of time and effort in this year from
12:26
you'll notice with how much I'm actually
12:28
doing down at the plot this year is how
12:31
well it's all coming on and how well
12:33
it's all coming together and I'm just so
12:36
excit I really am passionate about this
12:39
gardening and my allotment um it is a
12:43
place where I love to spend and I love
12:45
to talk about it I really do and that's
12:47
what I get from enjoyment from these
12:49
podcasts that I can talk to you all
12:51
about it because I've not got any
12:54
friends that do like to listen to me
12:55
talking about allotments so I'm just
12:57
talking to a microphone here my flat on
13:00
my own talking to a microphone telling
13:03
you all my allotment Tales but you all
13:05
seem to enjoy it so thank you and people
13:08
keep listening and I keep getting
13:10
messages from from everybody and they
13:11
seem to be enjoying it and yeah um I got
13:14
a bit of feedback from yesterday's
13:16
episode uh talking about how you seem to
13:20
get addicted to collecting wood when
13:22
you've got an allotment and it's great
13:24
to hear that other people have got that
13:26
addiction as well whenever you see free
13:28
wood you will get get it and even if you
13:30
can't make use of it there and then you
13:32
will come around to using it eventually
13:35
so it's good to see that other people
13:37
have got an addiction to wood as well as
13:39
me and it's not just my problem
13:41
everybody's got a problem with free wood
13:42
maybe we'll have to start a counseling
13:45
session up for allotments that are
13:47
addicted to collecting wood it used to
13:49
be bricks years ago but I've got out of
13:51
the Bricks now and I don't use bricks on
13:54
my allotment to be honest
13:56
now um I just tend to use wood uh for
14:00
borders uh so probably bricks would
14:02
probably be better because obviously
14:04
they don't rck down and stuff like that
14:06
but yeah I prefer the wood look to the
14:08
brick look
14:10
so I hope you've enjoyed today's episode
14:13
we will be back down at the allotment
14:15
tomorrow for another very very busy day
14:19
um it's my last day off tomorrow so I'm
14:21
hoping to just get some an air one area
14:25
cleared tomorrow uh around my poly
14:27
tunnel and get that sorted and then I've
14:31
done literally half of my plot is all
14:35
maintenance done and then I can move on
14:38
to the main plot area where I grow
14:40
literally everything and that is going
14:42
to be the biggest task doing that area
14:46
uh we'll see how we get on with that but
14:49
yeah I've got a lot to do at the moment
14:51
so it's all coming together well so
14:54
thank you for all the people that do
14:56
subscribe to this podcast if you've not
14:58
clicked the subscribe button please do
15:00
because then you do get notified when
15:02
new podcasts come up sometimes they come
15:04
up at night when I've been on the
15:06
allotment in the day or sometimes they
15:08
come up in the morning when I'm at work
15:10
because I pre-record them the night
15:13
before so yeah thank you for all your
15:16
support thank you for all the messages
15:18
that you always send me regarding the
15:19
podcast it's great to hear from people
15:22
who actually listen uh sometimes I
15:24
wonder who's actually listening to these
15:27
uh but it's great to put uh names to
15:30
people that are listening and have a
15:31
chat with them about the episode so
15:34
thanks for that until next time remember
15:36
keep smiling keep gardening and keep
15:39
listening to gardening with Ben's
15:42
podcasts so thank you for listening to
15:44
today's episode of gardening with Ben we
15:48
hope that you've enjoyed this episode
15:50
remember to do click that subscribe
15:52
button stay up toate with all our
15:53
podcasts feel free to share them on your
15:56
Instagram stories so that it spreads the
15:58
word about my my podcast and we get lots
16:00
more listeners feel free to check out my
16:02
social media sites Facebook and
16:04
Instagram as well gardening with Ben and
16:07
also my YouTube channel to stay up to
16:09
date with all my handy videos how-to
16:12
videos and sharing my tips and advice
16:16
and feel free to check the link as well
16:17
in the description for my gardening with
16:20
Ben t-shirts lots of funny gardening
16:23
design t-shirts in there for you to
16:25
purchase at great prices too so thanks
16:28
again and as always remember keep
16:31
smiling and keep gardening
#Gardening
#Home & Garden
#Home Improvement
#Landscape Design
#Yard Maintenance