Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Today I headed down to the plot early with a long list of jobs to do. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It's been weeks since we had such beautiful weather! My first job was the most important, catching up on all the site news with Cliff and Geoff.... Continue Reading →
Over the last week, snow and ice have ruled supreme in the UK. The news has been filled with snowy wastelands and amber weather warnings. Yet Crewe was a different story! It seems to have a slightly different micro-climate which is always warmer than the rest of the local area. In the first day where... Continue Reading →
Over the past two days, we have made huge inroads into the jungle of weeds which used to be our plot. On Saturday afternoon, I headed down and focused on clearing the nettles, doc plants and other weeds from the back of Geoff's plot. The nettles are lethal and it was challenging to cut them... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, we both strolled down to the plot to get going on some jobs before the forecast washout for the rest of the week. It's frustrating as the plot is only just beginning to drain after the last deluge. Our first job was to check on the new girls in the Main Coop. There... Continue Reading →
With the weather forecast dry for today, I headed down to the allotment hopeful of a productive day. Upon arrival, I dashed around the coops to feed the girls. I noticed that Elsie, who has been a little quiet the last few days, was having a dust bath by the ramp. Pleased that she seemed... Continue Reading →
Over the past week, the nights have been noticeably drawing in, with the chickens taking themselves to bed much earlier. The temperature has dropped and the autumnal drizzle is making a determined appearance from battleship grey clouds that cover the sky. The chickens have been snuggling together at night, keeping each other warm. It's the... Continue Reading →
After being away, it was wonderful to be back on the plot. I was greeted by the usual jungle of weeds. Apparently, it has been really wet and that would explain the explosion of weeds all over the plot in such a short time. I opened up the shed and said hello to Maude and... Continue Reading →
Yet again, I got beaten back by rain. The only difference this week is that it was accompanied by thunder and lightning. It was forecast to start at 4pm. As usual I took no notice of the forecast as I headed down. Seriously, how often is the forecast right? I thought to myself, looking up... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, I finally made it down to the plot. We've had some rain this week and I was dreading what I would find. I imagined the weeds would be several feet taller and the greenhouse would resemble an overgrown jungle. Much to my surprise, the plot wasn't as dreadful as I thought it would... Continue Reading →
I didn't manage to get down to the allotment until after lunch today. I spent the morning trying to persuade my eyes that I hadn't spent half a day outdoors, so they needn't stream and itch anymore. Typically, they refused to cooperate! But knowing how much more work there was to do, I knew I... Continue Reading →
After spending all week on the verge of melting into a puddle, we made it down the allotment to tackle what used to be a well-tended plot. As we arrived, I looked at the plot in despair. There were so many weeds and it was going to take hours to get it back under control.... Continue Reading →
Mid-morning I ambled across to the allotment. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was perfect weather to be outside. The only flaw in my plan to spend the day at the allotment, was the heat. Today was a scorcher! With a south facing plot, there was absolutely no break from the... Continue Reading →
After a wonderfully relaxing holiday, I trudged down to the allotment this morning dreading what I would find. In my mind's eye, the weeds were waist deep and would require days of hacking back to rediscover the plot below. Having seen the amount of sunshine Crewe has had over the past week, I knew the... Continue Reading →
I took advantage of the dry weather to make some progress on the plot today! It's been very damp and drizzly most of the week and with yet more rain forecast for tomorrow. I grabbed the weed bucket and slowly made my way down the path, weeding as I went. It seems almost impossible to... Continue Reading →
Yet again February and March have disappeared in a blur of work and holidays and somehow it's April and I've not started growing anything! It doesn't matter how many years I have the allotment, I always seem to end up planting late. I promised myself I would get things growing in February after last year's... Continue Reading →
I may have been somewhat over-enthusiastic yesterday in Wilkinson's. Hauling the loot home took ages! This morning after breakfast, I raised our egg boxes to find three big ones to put on the window sill in the dining room. There is always something so exciting about putting the potatoes out to chit. Maybe it's because... Continue Reading →
So this morning, wrapped up warmly, I headed out to the allotment. It's been a busy week and I wanted to make inroads on weeding the raised beds that Geoff kindly has let us use the past couple of years. As I arrived, I ran into Ken. It was lovely to see him looking so... Continue Reading →
Late this afternoon, I ambled down to the allotment. I had hoped that the weather would have warmed up during the course of the day, but no such luck! Wrapping up warmly, I filled the big water bottle with hot water and used it as a hand warmer as I walked to the plot. The... Continue Reading →
As I smashed the ice on the top of the waterbutt before work this morning, I wondered about how warm the last few winters have been. It seems so much colder this year and I have to keep reminding myself it's January and cold weather is normal at this time of year. The Met Office... Continue Reading →
So another year has arrived and it's time to work on the allotment plans for the new growing season! My favourite part of the winter is spending hours trawling through my seed boxes and searching online for different seeds. Then there is the annual challenge of trying to work out how to fit in all... Continue Reading →
The Good Life Crewe 
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