Spending money on the allotment.

Even with plants being given; horse manure and cow manure being free; loads of free compost from my compost bins and free comfrey liquid, I still have spent quite a bit on the allotment.

I have bought more enviromesh barriers this year to combat a number of pests.  I have also splashed out a bit on antislug nematodes.  However, with the wet weather we have been having, the nematodes might have been a good investment.

What with reusing lots of things from last year and getting plants and seeds given to me, I think that I have done quite well.  While it is good to garden for as little money as possible, it is also good to have the things that you need to grow well.

I seem to have spent a lot of money on multipurpose growing medium this year.  I am trying new vegetables and herbs this year so that is where the extra growing medium is being used.  I have been potting up and potting on a lot of different things.  The leeks, onions, herbs, calabrese, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflowers, beans etc.  are all in bigger pots now and waiting for the weather to become more clement before I plant them out in the allotment.

I do make a great effort to spend as little as I can on the allotment primarily to see if I can do it.  However, this year I decided to splash out.  Last year I was not even scored in our local town competition and this year I wanted to at least get some recognition that I am a fairly good grower.

The allotment is completely organic, which is not a requirement for the competition so I will be up against people who use artificial chemical amendments and pesticides.

I want to do as well as they do but still remain organic.  Unfortunately this means that I have to spend some money.  It appears that I need to grow big for the competition.  This means big varieties, early start, larger planting spaces, lots of barriers, biological pest control and lots of comfrey liquid fertiliser.

I find that there is always something that comes good on the allotment regardless of the money spent and the effort put in and there are always failures.

I really need a cold frame to put all these plants into.  My greenhouse is full.  More expense even if I make one myself.