Allotment garden!

Thanks to a tip from a dear fellow-gardening friend, we got our own garden plot this year at an allotment garden on the edge of the city. It's spring here now, the days are getting warmer, the sun is still shining at 9pm, plants are starting to green - it's an exciting time. The garden plot is (almost unbelieveably) the same size as our current apartment - around 500 square feet. However, we, along with nature, are in transition mode - we move to a new apartment (still in Oslo) next week, nearly doubling our living space... More on that and our efforts there later, but for now - a quick picture of the gardening work ahead of us.

 

The allotment gardens are called 'Eterjordet', and are tucked into the edge of the forest by a large lake in Oslo (Østensjø). Nearby are lots of ducks, hiking paths, and a bird preserve. The kind lady who has been running these gardens for the last 20 years or so gave us one warning when we arrived concerning pests - translating something like: "we have brown snails, 2-leggeds, and roe deer." Since the forest paths are public and there is no fencing around the gardens, we will have to see what kind of veggie munching visitors we might receive.

We inherited a wooden platform and box for tools from the last plot owner which should prove handy. The plot is super overgrown, so there will be some work - am looking forward to a bit of physical labor, especially if the sun hangs around for it!

We had our first official work visit there today - just stopped by to put up the fencing for compost, which we'll need when we start clearing the mess. I took this pic as a 'before' shot - I don't think we'll be keeping much more than the black currant bush in the foreground, the railway tie (which may be cool after we remove all the overgrowth), and the wooden platform in the back. Lots of digging and clearing to do, then, what to plant?

(Did I mention the plot is very overgrown ?)