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Torti's Real-Life Allotment **LOTS OF PICTURES!!**


Giant_Torti

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Heya guys 'n' gals of tip it forums.

 

 

 

Some of you have asked in the clan chat about my gardening antics at my allotment so I thought I'd start a thread up here for you to view what I'm growing, how things are progressing and for you to maybe give feedback, give suggestions, ask questions or just read and view in general.

 

 

 

How did it begin?

 

A fair enough question, about three years ago I was suffering with a unhealthy and unnatural dose of depression and didn't really have that much in the way of hobbies apart from what I was doing on the PC. After a bit of nattering with my counsellor and some brief enquiries with the Local Government, I found that I could rent an allotment rather cheaply (less than £30 per year) and that one was available immediately.

 

 

 

With the necessary paperwork signed and gate key issued, I inherited the mess of my allotment.

 

It measured roughly 12 metres in width by 52 metres in length. The weeds were roughly 1.5 metres tall and looked like something out of a old Vietnam war movie.

 

 

 

Initially, with the help of my parents and one of my dads workmates we set about cutting down all the weeds with a commercial grade strimmer. Once the weeds had cut back we had to make a collective decision on how we were to remove the roots of weeds. Some people had tried laying carpet and digging up by hand, with varied mixed results.

 

 

 

I gave it a go myself, but in the end I felt I was fighting a losing battle and succumbed to the 'dark side' and decided to basically nuke the site with sodium chlorate.

 

 

 

This stuff kills everything, no holds barred, so I had to be very careful in its application. Eventually we got the plot looking something like agricultural and began planting a mixture of different vegetables, cabbages, cauliflowers, radishes, etc with varying degrees of success.

 

 

 

Recently I have been given a shed by my grandparents and we have also managed to buy a greenhouse very cheaply, in which we are growing a mixture of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and flowers.

 

 

 

We've also started to enjoy some nice potatoes which despite the bad weather at the beginning of the year, have come out really well and taste that much better than shop purchased ones.

 

 

 

I've also grown some sunflowers (all from seed) and some of the tallest ones are just slightly taller than me (6'5") and there flower heads have just started coming through.

 

 

 

If you've enjoyed reading this, or want to leave me a question or nice comment, please feel free to do so.

 

 

 

Here's all those pictures. Apologies in advance to dial-up users :( .

 

 

 

[hide=Sunflower seedlings]2516969648_f733f4b549.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Broad beans]2516148721_695c7205eb.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Potatos]2638957182_f561c2b1f9.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Cucumbers & Spuds, walrus bucket]2675116423_ef2e55455b.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Lots of lettuce]2704795868_e3cc43ba87.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Strawberries]2542161918_c27b56af2b.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Tomatoes]2703972783_f12acab90a.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

[hide=Tall sunflowers]2703971155_924e615502.jpg[/hide]

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed reading 'n' viewing! :D

"Boy, sure would be nice to have some grenades, don't you think you think?"

1840554111_a0023e3d17.jpg

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Very nice. I always wanted to grow some stuff myself, but we've always lived in completely infertile places. Except for our old home, where sunflowers grew wild. That was awesome.

catch it now so you can like it before it went so mainstream

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I love hearing stories like this. It's good to hear you've come out of it well and you've found a hobbie you clearly enjoy.

 

 

 

Those veggies look really well grown. I was expecting sort of second-rate standard but those just look like the ones you get from a supermarket! Nice work! :shock:

 

 

 

Every plant I've ever tried growing has died. Our backyard is tiny (as in, literally big enough to fit a bikeshed and a washing line into), and is filled with concrete slabs. It's also in the middle of a cramped, terraced Victorian-style housing block, with our yards sectioned off by 6 feet high brick walls. No soil, no moisture, no light.

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:thumbsup: Very nice there.

 

There is a nice garden in my backyard(about 5 feet by 25 feet) where we grow tomatoes and random flowers my dad likes :lol:.

 

We tried to grow sunflowers, pumpkins, cucumbers, raspberries, and peppers 5 years ago. Squirrels got to all but the peppers and berries. Peppers I never grew again and raspberries died off in the winter when the wind blew the covers off :roll:.

 

 

 

-.- Our dog finally started getting those squirrels last year but my parents gave up on those plants because bunnies moved in after the squirrels left. They are too fast for my dog and can squeeze between fences unlike the squirrels.

 

 

 

Best thing I did was save some dill seeds from last year and throw the only one I had this spring into the flower part of the garden. It is now almost 4 feet tall and is about to produce seeds for next year. =D> Looks like a small tree right now and can't wait to "chop" it down soon.

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That's a very nice story Torti, glad you got it solved out.

 

 

 

Everything looks good, specially the cucumbers and the potatoes :thumbup:, glad to see that your new (Not extremely) hobby gave something nice in return.

 

 

 

Question : now with your new vegetables how will the recipe on Torti soup look like?

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Very nice job! I've never been able to grow cucumbers myself, they always dry up and die whenever I try to harden them off (even if they're started at the right time). I've been very successful with tomatoes and lettuce however, besides a little aphids while they were in flats.

 

 

 

And the potatoes - I've heard those can be a real pain because they're a pest magnet. I'll have to try growing those one day.

 

 

 

Again, very nice garden. ::'

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Awesome! The weeds in my new garden are also about a metre tall. I may also have to "nuke" them ;)

For it is the greyness of dusk that reigns.

The time when the living and the dead exist as one.

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Wow those plants look really good. I was thinking about getting some seeds myself, but I dismissed the idea because I thought the ground was too infertile and didn't want to do the work. Then a week ago a PUMPKIN started growing in my front yard ::' , and occasionally potatoes grow in my back yard with mixed results (my town used to be basically potato farms so I guess a lot of seeds were left behind)This thread has made me decide to start growing something. :)

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Initially, with the help of my parents and one of my dads workmates we set about cutting down all the weeds with a commercial grade strimmer. Once the weeds had cut back we had to make a collective decision on how we were to remove the roots of weeds. Some people had tried laying carpet and digging up by hand, with varied mixed results.

 

 

 

I gave it a go myself, but in the end I felt I was fighting a losing battle and succumbed to the 'dark side' and decided to basically nuke the site with sodium chlorate.

 

You're lucky that you were able to take the easy way out :P I helped out with an agricultural project on the Taos Pueblo Reservation and we had to dig up all the plants/roots by hand for the compost area and a pathway! It was long, tedious work!

 

 

 

Anyway I admire your patience and it looks great so far!! Keep it up :thumbsup:

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That's really cool, bro. I'm hoping to move somewhere tropical after college so I could do something like this year round. I've always had a knack for growing things and I love to watch a plants progress.. But my mom thinks everything I plant is just a weed and rips it out of the ground -.- Wild ([puncture]ly) lettuce grows like crazy around here so I was protecting one plant and it was just starting to flower. I was psyched until my mom was doing some yard work and I walked out to see her destroy it :wall:

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Wow nice!

 

Cucumbers and everything!

 

 

 

I have two questions:

 

I saw you had some big potatoes, were they just randomly that big? Because my dad always plant some potatoes, but they have never gotten that big. Maximum size is maybe 10-20% smaller than a normal roun tomato, but the most of them are like really small.

 

 

 

And, me and some friends have been thinking of (just for fun) buying a tobacco plant, to see if it'd be possible to get a cigarr out of it. I think they sell it here (Sweden). But how hard do you reckon it would be?

 

(of course you gotta check what sort of soil, which type of plant and get a green house)

J'adore aussi le sexe et les snuff movies

Je trouve que ce sont des purs moments de vie

Je ne me reconnais plus dans les gens

Je suis juste un cas désespérant

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Hmm, I don't know if Jagex made Cabbages look relatively similar to real life cabbages, or it's how you grew them. One of the many mysterious of the world I suppose.

 

 

 

Anyways congratulations on growing them this far, very hard work. =)

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Farming sounds like a lot of fun to be honest. Not gardening though - I'd rather make something I can eat rather than something that just looks nice. I used to live on a farmland and if I would have grown up there I would probably have a green thumb by now.

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Wow nice job! Really interesting to read, especially as my dad and I started growing things this year. Bit restricted though as we have about 5 square metres to grow things in, just got tomatoes and beans. If you have any tips I'd love to hear them :)

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A big THANK YOU!! for your interest and replies.

 

 

 

[hide=Lengthy Reply in here]

 

Those veggies look really well grown. I was expecting sort of second-rate standard but those just look like the ones you get from a supermarket! Nice work! :shock:

 

 

 

Thank you! Although I must confess to showing the 'best of batch' but 100% of everything thats edible gets eaten, no wastage here!

 

 

 

 

Every plant I've ever tried growing has died. Our backyard is tiny (as in, literally big enough to fit a bikeshed and a washing line into), and is filled with concrete slabs. It's also in the middle of a cramped, terraced Victorian-style housing block, with our yards sectioned off by 6 feet high brick walls. No soil, no moisture, no light.

 

 

 

That must be really frustrating, there are plants that can withstand a limitation in either of the three, but I'm certain that there isn't anything yet that will grow like that.

 

 

 

That's a very nice story Torti, glad you got it solved out.

 

 

 

Everything looks good, specially the cucumbers and the potatoes :thumbup:, glad to see that your new (Not extremely) hobby gave something nice in return.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks, yeah it does help, there's nothing quite like the quiet solace of watching the sunset after tending to the plants.

 

 

 

Question : now with your new vegetables how will the recipe on Torti soup look like?

 

 

 

Answer: Torti's are NOT for eating ! :-D

 

 

 

Very nice job! I've never been able to grow cucumbers myself, they always dry up and die whenever I try to harden them off (even if they're started at the right time). I've been very successful with tomatoes and lettuce however, besides a little aphids while they were in flats.

 

 

 

And the potatoes - I've heard those can be a real pain because they're a pest magnet. I'll have to try growing those one day.

 

 

 

Again, very nice garden. ::'

 

 

 

I'll be honest and say that I do get some advice from other websites, books and other allotment owners, so its a wealth of knowledge to pool into.

 

 

 

The trick with potatoes (so it would seem) is to plant them in not too wet soil and make sure there are no great variances in dampness over the months they grow, otherwise you can end up with 'funny' shaped ones or even worse rotten potatoes.

 

 

 

Awesome! The weeds in my new garden are also about a metre tall. I may also have to "nuke" them ;)

 

 

 

This is the stuff I used

 

 

 

Awesome. :)

 

Just wondering, are you doing this as a form of employment, or just as a hobby? Either way, looks like you've been really successful. Keep up the good work!

 

 

 

 

 

Its just a hobby. There are far too many 'Gardeners' that have more experience/equipment in my local area to even begin thinking about going self employed.

 

Thanks for the encouragement though.

 

 

 

Wow nice!

 

Cucumbers and everything!

 

 

 

I have two questions:

 

I saw you had some big potatoes, were they just randomly that big? Because my dad always plant some potatoes, but they have never gotten that big. Maximum size is maybe 10-20% smaller than a normal roun tomato, but the most of them are like really small.

 

 

Well not all potatoes tend do grow at the same rate, depending on the hardness of the soil, dampness, nutrients, etc. We had mixed batched with some 'as big as my fist' and a few that didn't warrant peeling, but were nice enough boiled with a bit of parsley on.

 

 

 

And, me and some friends have been thinking of (just for fun) buying a tobacco plant, to see if it'd be possible to get a cigarr out of it. I think they sell it here (Sweden). But how hard do you reckon it would be?

 

(of course you gotta check what sort of soil, which type of plant and get a green house)

 

 

 

Hmm you know I'm not too sure, but I guess if it can be done, you could give it a whirl.

 

 

 

How an allotment can get you out of depression?

 

 

 

Well I guess its partly the sense that something, not a person has a dependence on you, also theres nothing like doing some good hard grafting (try digging clay soil by hand) and the end result of having something nice and healthy to eat as well helps.

 

 

 

awesome work, Torti! great job mate <3: :thumbsup:

 

 

 

Cheers matey! ;-)

 

 

 

Wow nice job! Really interesting to read, especially as my dad and I started growing things this year. Bit restricted though as we have about 5 square metres to grow things in, just got tomatoes and beans. If you have any tips I'd love to hear them :)

 

 

 

Hey thanks. Hmm the one thing I would say thats important about tomatoes is to make sure they have enough space and also that they are regularly well watered, gaps in watering can result in nasty split tomatoes which can sometimes harbour rot and bugs. As for beans it depends on what type?[/hide]

 

 

 

For those that would like to continue to watch the works I post all my pictures to my public flickr account here.

 

 

 

Thanks again! <3: =D>

"Boy, sure would be nice to have some grenades, don't you think you think?"

1840554111_a0023e3d17.jpg

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Meh, gardening's for people with patience and sanity. the only plant I've ever grown in the past decade was a bean plant for 5th grade science class. and it died in a week anyway.

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tip it would pay me $500.00 to keep my clothes ON :( :lol:
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