Adventures in the life of an English allotment
This evening as the heat of the day was beginning to relent, we walked down to the allotment to put Pop back inside. It was still horribly hot. Pop had managed to shuffle herself to the corner of the run. While impressive, it was rather frustrating because it made catching her difficult. I managed to... Continue Reading →
Out of nowhere, we have been hit with boiling temperatures and high humidity. By the time I got down to the allotment, it was far too hot to do anything other than feed the chickens. I stopped to say hello to Cliff who was down with Koko. We both agreed it was too hot to... Continue Reading →
Today I trotted down to the allotment, marvelling at how changeable the British weather really is. Yesterday was showers and overcast. Today was boiling. Not dry heat which somehow is more tolerable but the sticky, oppressive heat that makes everything difficult. All the usual gang were there when I arrived and after a preliminary check... Continue Reading →
The last couple of days we left the chickens in Geoff's very capable hands whilst we went off on a local mini-break. With the pandemic cancelling our holiday in March, we felt overdue for an escape, even if it was for a couple of days. I managed to find a local farm which hires out... Continue Reading →
Today I walked down to the allotment wondering how Leia was coping. Last night, she had crammed herself into a corner in panic. There weren't any chickens near her but she was still terrified. She really is pathetic. I had been pondering overnight about why she was so scared. The only thing I could think... Continue Reading →
After waiting in for a special delivery most of the morning (which was damaged in transit and didn't arrive), I got down to the allotment quite late. When I got down, I was quite worried about Pop being in the greenhouse in the sudden, unexpected heat. Fortunately, Geoff had opened both greenhouse doors and brought... Continue Reading →
Where oh where has the sunshine gone? Judging from how wet and rainy June and July have been I suspect we have had our "summer" in May. Today was overcast and I walked down to the allotment to check on Pop and to go a few jobs. When I got into the greenhouse, Pop looked... Continue Reading →
This morning I got down on site early as today was the day for cleaning out the chickens. It's a long job, usually taking a couple of hours. However, today it took all day. Part of it was my fault for getting distracted with other jobs partway through. Having to go home to sell a... Continue Reading →
This evening, after wrestling with the mushroom logs, I gave Pop a bath. She has spent a lot of today half asleep and doesn't seem to have got up on her legs as much as yesterday. Remembering that she perked up after having a bath a few days ago, I dashed home and came back... Continue Reading →
Finally today I managed to start planting our mushrooms. There are two different ways you can grow mushrooms; in soil or on logs. Several weeks ago, I ordered some wooden dowels coated in mushroom spores. The theory goes, you can have several years of harvest from a single log. Sounds simple enough. Upon opening my... Continue Reading →
This morning I ambled down to the allotment, enjoying the sunshine which has appeared from nowhere. Everyone had come down to their plots to make good use of the rare break in the weather. I had a quick chat with Geoff, Brad and Andy before heading down to the coop. I put Pop outside and... Continue Reading →
Despite the south of England enjoying a mini heatwave, up here we have reverted to the age old relentless rain. This meant that I couldn't use the mushroom dowels or clean out the chickens. Tracy was down and we spent a while checking the loofa plants in the greenhouse. It continues to grow at a... Continue Reading →
After work today I ambled down the allotment. Although it's been a lovely week, it has been exhausting and I was glad the week was over. When I arrived, my first job was to water the loofa plants. I can't believe how much they have grown since I last came down. I am sure if... Continue Reading →
This morning I got down to the allotment early and was half way through sorting out Pop when Phil dropped by to say hello. It turns out that the remaining white leghorn cockerel is being picked up by the local farmer today. We had a chat about what to do with Leia's chicks as four... Continue Reading →
Upon my arrival on site this morning, I was greeted by Phil who asked had I seen the fish? Fish? The only fish we have on site are the three that Cliff rescued and live his in pond made from a converted bath. There are no other fish on site. Phil was quite insistent that... Continue Reading →
After spending a much overdue few days away, I arrived down the allotment this morning to find major changes had occured in my absence! As I walked through the gate, I saw Dave the Plod busy fiddling with something that suddenly spat out an enormous tongue of flame. It turns out, Dave was burning weeds... Continue Reading →
After work, I dashed down to the allotment armed with two containers full of hot water and a large plastic tub. As I arrived, I bumped into Geoff who was checking up on Pop for us. He had brought some large shavings which he thought would be better for Pop. We had a chat about... Continue Reading →
I had decided that today was the day I was going to build the vertical garden using pallets, weed fabric and compost. As I opened up the curtains this morning, I was greeted with overcast skies and rain. Great. Plan suspended until the rain stops. Despite the rain, the chickens needed feeding so my husband... Continue Reading →
The rain this morning stopped me walking down to the allotment as early as I had planned. By the time jobs were done at home, it was almost lunchtime before I arrived on site. I met Geoff at the gate and said hello. My first priority was Pop and checking on how she was doing.... Continue Reading →
After finding a local-ish advert for lots of rockery rocks going for free to a good home, I dragged my husband into the car and we set off. We drove for about fifteenth minutes to Rode Heath and finally pulled up at the right house after spending several minutes trying (and failing!) to find the... Continue Reading →
The Good Life Crewe 
Recent Comments