The Cutty Garden has always been as much about the wildlife that I share the allotment plot with, as it has been about filling plates or vases. My own patch of nature reserve where I can observe, and maybe even help support, wild things and their intricate lives. Late spring is always a busy time …
Allotment Diaries – Looking ahead to a new year
January can be a quiet month on the plot. There is little to harvest. When the frost comes, the ground can be hard as iron. This is time for tackling those jobs that we don't find time for the rest of the year; organisation, clear out the shed, building structures, cleaning tools. January sales came …
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National Allotments Week 2020 (Gallery)
'Growing for Health and Wellbeing' National Allotments Week 2020 - Late Spring and Summer, a Pictorial Celebration!
Pond-tastic!
I love ponds; I can stare into them for hours. I have very fond memories of pond dipping events with visiting school groups or families when I worked at an RSPB reserve, and before that of being one of the school kids myself; eager and curious. A pond of my own has been a dream …
Dig for Virus-Victory
Hi Folks! It's spring! And a glorious one at that. As the country, and indeed the world, locks down, thank goodness we are still permitted to tend our allotments! I have been spending more time at the plot than ever in the last couple of months, along with my fiancé, having finally re-found our motivation …
The Pickled Potting Shed
The allotment around late May/early June Tending an allotment plot offers countless delights throughout the year: seeing the first green growth in spring, or the new shoots of seedlings, a deep connection with nature and the seasons. And of course, using your home-grown produce to create delicious food! Now as we reach the end of …
Allotment Diaries
Last week the annual invoice for our allotment fees arrived, and with the deadline unable to wait until next payday, I somewhat reluctantly transferred the required sums. I thought of the weeds and overgrown patches, the gap in the beds where my plans for successional sowing were beaten by summer heat, laziness and other distractions, …
Polytunnel Party!
Well what a day that was! Bright but frozen, full of bird song, it started beautifully. I wandered round the corner to my parents' house a little before 9.30am, dawdling in the glory of the spring sunshine. A pair of Pied Wagtails were pottering around at the mini roundabout down the end of the street, …
Two Years of Allotment Life
Yesterday (22nd February) marked two years since I took on the custodianship of Plot 12, Bepton Road Allotments. Known fondly as 'The Cutty Garden', this small plot of land has undergone quite a transformation over the last 24 months; as has it's gardener. Perhaps the most notable recent change is that the allotment has doubled …
Happy New Year
A bright sunny morning, and a quiet day to myself. Time to pour a refreshing drink of sparkling water infused with healthy fruit and herbs, shake off that post christmas fuzziness and settle down with pen and paper to plan the coming year. I am getting ahead of the game and drafting out some January …
Sussex Field Notes 