5 hours of shed painting...

Today was officially the first day of the summer holidays. So I spent the day as I mean to go on- productively!

I was at the allotment for 5 hours simply painting the inside of the shed- and enjoying the pond for a portion of that!

It's doing really well at the moment. The plant life around the outside is really starting to hide and protect the pond and other animals around. There are plenty frogs being spotted in their too now. Every few days there seems to be a new lily pad unfurling so hopefully it will flower at some point! Not sure if that will be this year or next thought.

I've really got no idea about what's growing around the outside. I did scatter a fair few wildflower seeds a few months ago, and there are some really pretty flowers coming up, so I'm assuming there some sort of wildflower. There are plenty of other things as well, from buttercups to dandelions and dock leaves, but for the moment I'm just going to leave it all. 

The Brussel sprouts are coming along really well now too! I had a peek under their leaves today and there are little baby sprouts sitting above every leaf, so hopefully I'll get a good harvest from them in a few months time! I have plenty people in my family who're looking forward to home grown sprouts on their Christmas dinner! 

And of course- a photo of my hard work today.

I painted the inside cream. I needed to paint it to protect the wood, as some of it is fairly old and has been left outside for a while (one wall is from an old fence) so it needed protecting on the inside and outside. I wanted the cream colour to lighten it all up. It took hours, but I'm happy with the final product. Now I just have to give the outside one final coat of blue, and then I can start attaching things to the inside and out. I have some hanging baskets for the outside and I want some shelves up on the inside, as well as hooks to hang my tools on. Project for next week I think!

The jalapeños look pretty happy in the shed too!

The summer holidays have finally arrived...

The summer holidays are now here!! Yes, I'm fortunate enough to have 7 weeks off work over the summer (if it makes you feel any better- I don't get paid for it!) But I really do cherish the time off. 

 Especially this year! Now I really have no excuse to get things looking as good as I can until the winter comes around and I can start my winter project.

Over winter I am going to create raised beds across the plot. 

 While I have actually discovered that yes, clay soil is a bit of a pain because it's quite hard work, but to be honest, everything I've planted so far, flower or vegetable doesn't seem to care! Clay soils retain much more nutrients. Unlike sandy soils where when it rains everything is washed away, the clay soils helps retain that, and retains the water so things don't have to be watered as frequently over the summer. I have realised that despite it being a relatively heavy clay soil on my plot, it fortunately seems to drain really well. However, I think raised beds will help manage things. I have learned already that I don't need to plant a million of one thing! After all, there's just me and my husband (and our bunny) so I'm thinking smaller beds but a fair few- then I will be able to grow a range of things and a sensible amount!

However- for now, I am working on taking advantage of the sunshine and the warmer weather. 

 My shed is getting there! There's now some cute little flowering plants in the pot on the front of the door. I am going to add a few paving slaps in front, then I'm going to plant some things around it and add further plants up the left side.

I am also going to sort the inside out. Here is my little shelving unit at the moment. We currently have cucumber, tomatoes, jalapeños, bell peppers, aubergines and there are some leeks waiting to be planted out which I've grown from seed. 

 I am going to paint the inside of the shed as well (in cream- why not?!) not only will it make it even nicer but it will also help protect the wood. 

 I'm also going to add a few shelves and hooks to spread things about. 

Always scowering for useful free things, my husband came across these windows in our back alley. They're lovely old windows, perfect for making cold frames from! Another project for the winter!

Making a shed from scratch for £100

So, I've been saying for what feels like an age now, that I need a shed! Of course an allotment needs a shed. My car has basically become my shed! There's just my husband and I, so we just have a little old Toyota (she's 20 next year- so she's getting on a bit!) but we have just had the backseats down for months now, as all the tools and things just live in the back. It does mean however that I can't cycle down to the allotment, I always need the car! We tried cycling down a little while back with forks and things in tow and it was just annoying! So the time finally arrived! 

 My husband is handy with a saw and things, and so is our friend (who worked as a carpenters apprentice for a while so we had to get him on side!) 

I wanted to use as much as I could from reclaimed wood/materials. And I would say the majority- if not 90-95% of the shed is made from exactly that. 

We had acquired some 150 year old roof timbers from the flat above ours a few months back, as well as some old double glazed windows from someone else on the street. Then another friend was replacing his fence so we used all those old panels as well. We also had a lovely old solid wood door from another friends new (old) house. Our handy friend is also friends with some people who own a reclaimed timber place- so that's where the rest came from!

 So- they spent hours (literally like 12 hours one day 2 weeks ago) in our friends work shop creating the shell of the shed. They then transported it to the allotment and began putting it all together. 

So the allotment became a building site for a while! 

They were able to get the main part done. Then the next day my husband and I went back, and we finished it off! It was about 25 degrees outside and we were seriously sweating by the end of that day! But by the end we definitely had a shed! So the only new thing that went on it really was the roof! Because it was important for me to have both shed and greenhouse, I needed it to be as light as possible, so we decided to use clear plastic corrugate for the roof. It's super cheap- about £6 for a length- although, it's pretty flimsy so that's why it's only £6.  The sun continued to cook us, but I also wanted to get a coat of paint on. We used a specific outdoor shed/fence paint. One tin pretty much did one (and a bit) coats of the whole shed. So here it is!

And here it is sitting at the top of my allotment! 

Overall, it's not very big. One metre wide by 3 metres long, but that's enough for me. I don't plan on moving in. 

 It's solid as well. The floor is made from 3 inch thick solid wood- it's actually the roof beams I mentioned earlier (I know- I feel quite guilty using them for a shed floor- but the shed floor now looks amazing!!) 

 The old wooden door was reused- as the door! There are 2 large double glazed windows on the front and side (both open which really helps!) the left side and part of the front is clad in the old fencing and the back is reclaimed thick chipboard. Even the frame is all reclaimed and recycled wood. 

 Altogether, the timber cost us £20. 

 The roof and screws/nails cost £40.

 The paint (3 tins, 2 blue and 1 cream which I'm going to use to paint the inside) was £40.

 So total shed-come-greenhouse cost was £100. And you definitely can't buy something like that at the same price in the shop!

I totally love it!! And over the last 2 weeks we've taken everything along- and it's all a perfect fit. I plan on attaching hooks and shelves and things inside for bits and bobs. I've also got a shelving unit in there for my greenhouse plants. 

There's now tomatoes, jalapeños, peppers, cucumber and aubergines all sitting quite happily inside.

Today I've also added a zinc pot to the front door under the window with plants in, and I plan on adding a few other things to the front to jazz it up!

Photos will follow soon!