Had a really fun day today! Went to a chicken farm in Cheshire to look at some chickens and for my uncle to buy some new chickens for his own plot. There are so many kinds of chickens to choose from! 

Introducing the new chickens to the existing brood was interesting. They were unsure of each other but there wasn't too much pecking! I'm really excited to get our chickens now!! 

Also today, I made a rhubarb crumble from freshly picked rhubarb - it was delish!! I also cooked corn on a cob from fresh corn also from my uncles plot... Loving the home grown veggies!! yummy!! 

Jennifer :)

Paint brushes are out!! The plot is beginning to turn a lovely shade of green... And that doesn't include the plants yet! Standing back after painting a few of the wooden frames and the chicken coop really shows how a lick of paint can make all the difference!! Could do with some extra help though guys, there is A LOT more painting to do!!  

We've now also got some chairs and a lovely bench which has been added to the plot - it's starting to look lovely and homely! Let me know what you think and leave a comment.... Don't be shy! :P 

Very excited to go to a chicken farm tomorrow to have a look at a few different kinds of chickens and see which ones would be best for the plot, will keep you posted on the progress!!

Jennifer :)

Another week has flown by and we have made more progress! We now have half a path, some flower beds and we have ordered the cover for the poly-tunnel! 

Me and a few others suspect the path is slightly curved but we think it makes the whole setting more 'authentic'... After all, it is an allotment! 

Now that I can see a layout appearing, my head is full of ideas on how to make the most of the space!

I was browsing online for some inspiration and came across this on www.thelovelyplants.com! The site secretary, Derek has also used this idea of using old tyres as plant pots aswell! There are a lot of spare tires on our plot and this is an easy thing to do! Just need to decorate them :) The possibilities are endless, jam jar chandeliers, tin can wind chimes even scarecrow competitions! 

Do you have any ideas?!

http://www.thelovelyplants.com/11-examples-of-amazing-garden-art-and-decor/

Jennifer :D

Well, quite a lot to tell! It's been a week since I visited the site for the first time and it's hard to believe how far we've come! The poly-tunnel is paved and we've made a great start on the patio area :) next up - covering the tunnel and putting together the raised flower beds! :D and let's not forget a COOKING FIRE PIT!

In other news... Guess who are moving into this luxury town house on our plot? ...

you guessed it... We're getting CHICKENS!! Really excited for the arrival of our feathered friends! I've had the luxury of trying some other chicken eggs from on-site allotment chickens and they are AMAZING.... And look how big some of them are compared to regular supermarket eggs! 

Fantastic aren't they?! There is so much to look forward to, everything is starting to take shape and I can't wait to see it when all the building work is complete :)

Home grown veggies... So much better :)

Jennifer :)

So today myself and Asma became brick layers and laid some paving slabs! Did a good job too if you ask me! It felt great to stand back and say "we did that"... Just from laying 6 slabs... I can't wait to stand back and say that when we finish the whole layout, InshAllah! All the people at the allotment were lovely and willing to help us, which made us feel really welcome :) I'm really looking forward to going back for round two tomorrow InshAllah. Would be lovely to see some more faces coming along to help! I'd love to see you there.

..... And it kind of wouldn't be normal if I didn't break something as soon as I start doing some hard work... AlhumdolilAllah, it was only an old rake and not my bones! Clumsy me, poor thing never stood a chance after I trod on it!! 

Jennifer :)

So, really excited about this project! Went to see the plot today and have a look at what we have available to us and everything we need is there ready for us! We have bricks and newly composted soil to make raised flower beds, cement and sand, flag stones, a fantastic amount of gardening equipment and even a small library of gardening books! 

I was also informed of other initiatives that may help out along the way, so this looks to be an exciting community project. There is a lot of work to be done but with the help of everybody, InshAllah I think we can really make something beautiful! 

Jennifer :)