Adventures in the life of an English allotment
After lunch I headed down to the plot determined to continue making good progress on the weeds. I started by grabbing the secateurs, weed bucket and knee pad and wandered over to Geoff's plot. I felt dreadful as I surveyed the jungle of weeds. You could barely see the paths between the raised beds. I... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I ambled down to the allotment ready to get stuck into the jungle that used to be our plot. With rain forecast, I started at the top of the plot, clearing the strawberry bed which had disappeared under several hundred bindweed and mare's tail plants. Clearing the bed took over an hour and... Continue Reading →
We popped down to the plot this evening to check on the chickens. As we walked down the plot, I spotted a small brown spikey hump moving slowly down the path ahead of us. Upon closer inspection, we discovered it was an adult hedgehog! We know there are hedgehogs on the site but it's been... Continue Reading →
Sad news from the plot - we have lost Flora. She was a big character in the coop with many hilarious moments. Flora was very sassy and knew just how to make sure she got the biggest share of the treats, or the best spot on a perch in the Nest House. Latterly, Flora had... Continue Reading →
Today was hot. Really hot. Too hot. I went down to the allotment this morning to get ahead of the weeds. I started with the weeds in the greenhouse which insist on growing in our tomato bed. The mix of bindweed and mares tail is lethal to any plants attempting to grow within several feet... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, we ambled down to the plot to prep the soil ready for transferring our seedlings from the greenhouse. The sun was out, the sky was blue and there was a gentle wind too which was lovely. I left my husband with instructions to hoe the beds after removing all the dreaded mare's tail.... Continue Reading →
At lunchtime, I headed down to the allotment with a vague plan of watering seedlings and feeding chickens. Several hours later, covered in dirt I realised I had not only lost track of time, but had been rather productive! I always check on the chickens first and I was greeted enthusiastically at the run door... Continue Reading →
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 →
Finally, after weeks of delays, we finally managed to get down to the allotment for a decent amount of time. As usual, we are behind everyone else but after a decade, I have resigned myself to this, ignoring my annual resolution to be more organised next year. My first job was to clear out the... Continue Reading →
Yet more sad news today from our flock - we popped out to top up the Topknot gang's food and water this evening to find Trixie had passed away. We rarely manage to just lose one chicken - often it's two or three in a short space of time and I have no idea why.... Continue Reading →
Yesterday my husband popped down to the allotment to check on the chickens. Ginny had been very quiet the last couple of days and we were worried about her. Unfortunately, he found that she had passed away overnight. Ginny was always on the shy side, preferring the company of Bonny over the rest of the... Continue Reading →
Buying seeds for the new growing year is always exciting. What do you choose? What new thing are you going to try this year? How about those beans that you tried five years ago that were a total disaster? Or how about that crop you've wanted to try but haven't because everyone said they were... Continue Reading →
Over the weekend, the weather was actually dry. Dry! Without precipitation of any type! No rain, snow, sleet, hail! After spending several long moments in utter shock at a large yellow circular thing in the sky - I believe it has a name, but I couldn't remember the technical term for it - we headed... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, wrapped up warm against the cold, I headed out to the allotment to start the huge task of digging out the main coop. It's a long and difficult job which takes ages - and I have a tendency to leave it for as long as possible which doesn't help! First, I checked on... 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 →
Well, here we are at the end of 2024! It's been a very challenging year at the allotment with a spectacularly wet winter and spring which meant we couldn't get onto the plot before May. By which time half the growing season was over so there wasn't too much we could do! and upon returning... Continue Reading →
It's that time of year when the plot and life on the site slows. Although there are still lots of people on site, the cold and rain have more than a touch of autumn which will drive everyone else away over the winter except for us chicken keepers. But due to being away quite a... Continue Reading →
On Friday afternoon, Aurora seemed very quiet. We'd assumed she was broody as she has been spending lots of the day in her favourite secluded spot on the lawn. However, when I went to pick her up to put her back in the run, I realised she had lost weight and seemed somewhat unsteady on... Continue Reading →
Two weeks ago, I was walking to the allotment before work, I spotted a trail of feathers across the road. Ominous, I thought and searched for a body on the other side of the road. To my surprise, I found a wood pigeon, battered and clearly injured, alive on the pavement. I quickly ran to... 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 →
The Good Life Crewe 
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