The Shed Is Up

I am showing a series of photos today taken at the allotment over the past six days. Last Friday Cats Dad came down to help me prepare a base for a six foot by four foot shed. They said they would construct it if there was a suitable prepared site to erect it. Cats Dad was an architect so it was done with straight edges on a piece of timber, and a spirit level. Three hours of tapping here, digging here, moving soil a bit, until finally it was pronounced level!

I was so proud of the level shed base (sort of Roman mosaic style as we had a limited amount of recycled slabs from Cats parents house) that I took a photo. I had to wait six days until today for the shed to be delivered in pieces.

The plot now has four rows of Potatoes, two Onion beds, five Rhubarb crowns, One Leek bed, and the rectangular bed that will take Cabbage, Swede, and Purple Broccoli plants. It now has a new shed freshly waterproof painted with Cat. I spent all three of my days off up there digging, weeding, hoeing paths, and visualising how the allotment will look.
This year is the RHS Grow Your Own Veg year. I have had an allotment for three years now. The first one I waited for a year before I finally got a section of one. I then gave it up for this one at Walton. There is a waiting list now to get a plot up there.
The RHS is spearheading a campaign to encourage people to grow their own fruit and veg. The problem that I see is there is not enough allotment plots/land for people to grow their own fruit and veg.
In some places generous landowners have let gardeners cultivate unused land for community garden allotment projects. In London I saw a disused car park had building rubble sacks filled with soil for people to grow veg in them. Even they had a waiting list for their bag gardens.

I spent seven and a half hours today in the sunshine listening to the birds singing. I watched the years first Butterfly flying around. I saw two male Pheasants square up by the edge of the allotment flying and shrieking at each other.
Working the soil is blindingly hard work, but afterwards you feel relaxed, in touch with the seasons, and happy. I cannot wait for the harvesting of all the produce that I have grown. Cooking them for a meal will make the whole process worth while. All the blood, sweat, and scratches/nettle stings.
I do believe gardening is therapeutic for people, and brings holistic benefits to all those who work in them. I think that its great the RHS wants people and Children to gain those benefits, and to help healthy eating by growing their own.