wiganworld   (Feedback, help, your ideas for new content.)

Yes that's her, I love her she's a "real" gardener and you could relate to what she said. I did have my own allotment at Bamfurlong but it was a council one and when we took it over it hadn't been worked for years and the weeds were literally shoulder height. The council would do nothing to help get it started for me, the ground was so hard even a rotovator was difficult to use on it! I worked hard on it for four years, I made it totally organic, even putting in a little pond for frogs and a wildlife friendly hedge, but it was really, really hard work keeping on top of it, and I made the sad decision to give it up as I could not put in the hours that were needed and the council were really quick to send you warning letters if you let it slip a little. I made raised beds in my back yard, all around the circumference and filled them with allsorts of plants and put my fruit bushes in there.I put my strawberries in hanging baskets and my herbs in old chimney pots. My neighbour said I could used his massive double greenhouse and the area in front of it. I made five really big raised beds and one smaller one for the area outside and to be honest I got as much produce from the greenhouses and raised beds as I did from my old allotment. It is so close to my house that I can make a cup of tea and take it with me! For me that has made the difference, being able to "nip" for ten minutes if I want to,instead of HAVING to go there for three hours at a time. The Worcester berry is very thorny, but the berries are absolutely beautiful.I'm totally addicted, and with the job I do I deal with a lot of old Irish men who give me advice and tips on what to plant and when!!