'Growing for Health and Wellbeing' National Allotments Week 2020 - Late Spring and Summer, a Pictorial Celebration!
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, …
My Allotment Journey and How It Has Changed My Life (A Blog Post for Mental Health Awareness Week)
Three years ago I made a decision that would change my life. That sounds like a bold statement, but let me explain... Things were difficult; I didn’t know it at the time but I was approaching the breakdown and ending of a long-term toxic relationship, whilst being at a career crossroads, and a point of …
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 …
Rooms for rent on the Cutty Garden Allotment!
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 …
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Digging the past
Allotment archaeology We frequently find echoes of past gardeners whilst digging our allotment plot. Perhaps most intriguing are these pieces of clay pipe we often collect from the soil, which offer a direct link to the people who tended the land before us. We also find various pieces of china and pottery probably from a much …
What ‘Organic’ means to me at the Cutty Garden Allotment
September 16th 2017 - Organic September Saturday At the Cutty Garden Allotment, we garden organically. By this, I don't mean we have certificates and paper work to label us, nor do we employ any secret magic under the full moon. Simply, when I took on the plot in February 2016, I made a promise to …
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