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 …
Continue reading "Allotment Diaries – Looking ahead to a new year"
'Growing for Health and Wellbeing' National Allotments Week 2020 - Late Spring and Summer, a Pictorial Celebration!
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 …
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 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 …
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, …
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, …
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 …
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 …
This weekend I have been ticking off a major 'bucket list' activity - I have been building a hedgehog house and bug hotel on the allotment in an unused and unproductive corner. Hopefully lots of critters of all kinds will take up residence and repay us with plenty of pest-predation and plant-pollination duties! But what …
Continue reading "Rooms for rent on the Cutty Garden Allotment!"
