Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Today, I walked down to the plot noticing the drop in temperature and increased wind chill. It was definitely not the glorious hint of summer we had all last week. Nevermind, as long as it remains dry, jobs can be done! After discussing the cream paint issue with Sarah, Geoff and a few others, I... Continue Reading →
After thinking about the paint on the door all night, and seeing it again this morning, I decided that I really didn't like the cream colour. Not one bit. It wasn't going to be one of those things where you grow to like it. The only solution was to go into town, braving the queues... Continue Reading →
Another glorious day today and I made the most of it by taking my laptop, a drink and a snack down the allotment. I set up the chair as a table and sat in the doorway of the shed on a cushion. The only issue I had was the sun was completely in my eyes... Continue Reading →
We all received an email from the Allotment Federation yesterday detailing all the necessary changes to ensure that allotment sites can remain open. The list is long but boils down to wash hands regularly with soap, communal gathering places to close and stay on your own plot. Reasonable precautions but it's still rather sad that... Continue Reading →
Today was the first day of lockdown due to coronavirus in the UK. No one is to go out except for specific reasons such as medical appointments and once a day for exercise. Fortunately, allotments look to be one of those reasons why you could be outside due to the need to feed chickens. Taking... Continue Reading →
This morning, the sunshine continued from yesterday with a little more warmth to it. We both headed down keen to finish off the digging and to sort out a few other jobs. As we arrived, I spotted Sarah, Liz and Andy busy on their greenhouse and bumped into Geoff in his coop. It's my favourite... Continue Reading →
Finally, after weeks and months of relentless rain, we have had a couple of dry days back to back. The wind has helped dry the soil surface and the lack of rain has also meant the pools of water have drained away. Upon my arrival, I was fairly certain it would still be way too... Continue Reading →
At work we have been keeping 9 fertile eggs in an incubator - yesterday in the midst of the chaos of coronavirus, we welcomed the arrival of nine wonderfully gorgeous fluffy chicks! When I arrived this morning, there were seven little faces looking at me from the incubator. The first two chicks arrived yesterday to... Continue Reading →
This morning I walked down to the allotment to make sure the chickens were all coping with the heat. They are prone to over heating and it is important to give them lots of water. On arrival, I found Leia and her buddy had been moved into the broody coop to protect them from being... Continue Reading →
This evening my husband and I went down to the allotment to check on the chicks in the greenhouse. We found them both in the nest box together although the cream legbar looked a bit uncertain about being so close to Leia. She wandered about as I refilled the water bowl and picked up the... Continue Reading →
This morning I ambled down to the allotment and joined everyone at the clubhouse before feeding the chickens. Geoff, Cliff, Phil, Dave the Plod and Coco were all there chatting away happily in the sunshine. As I arrived I heard an odd sound. If I had had a good night's sleep, I would have confidently... Continue Reading →
For the last few days, our Plymouth Rock chick has been struggling to stand and walk. At first, I thought it was because the other two chicks were picking on her. They were but her legs don't seem to be in the correct position and she seems to be in pain. On Tuesday morning, I... Continue Reading →
Today I went down to the allotment ready for a full day of work. In the afternoon we were expecting Steve's bee mentor to arrive and I wanted to make sure that the plot was clear of weeds before they arrived. I joined Cliff and Michael at the clubhouse for a chat. It wasn't long... Continue Reading →
This morning I ambled down to the allotment to check on the plethora of chickens. Yesterday must have been rather stressful for them all and I was keen to see they had settled overnight. As I arrived, I caught Geoff who was heading down to check on the rescue chickens. They were all there and... Continue Reading →
This morning I dashed into town to pick up a carrier to prepare to pick up the new chickens. Armed with two large carriers, I walked down to the allotment and put them into the greenhouse. I spotted Geoff in the clubhouse and stopped by to say hello. Upon arrival at the clubhouse I discovered... Continue Reading →
Yesterday I did something a bit different. I went down to my grandfather's house in Plymouth to collect cuttings from his legendary apple tree. Legendary not in any great sense but because it was the only plant that he managed to grow successfully in his tiny back yard. The bathroom in his house overlooked the... Continue Reading →
This morning I arrived to find Phil and Steve had been busy sorting out the hives. They had removed the frames from the nuc box and placed them into the box. Unfortunately, Phil had forgotten to check the frames as he was transferring into the hive. They took exception to Phil moving the frames for... Continue Reading →
This morning I dashed down to the allotment expecting to see Emily with a trail of chicks enjoying the sunshine. When I arrived, she was still in her box and showed no signs of moving off her eggs. I managed to catch a glimpse of one of the chicks before leaving her to it. I... Continue Reading →
At lunchtime today I ambled down to the allotment for a few hours to escape the enormous pile of paperwork I had been staring at all morning. I arrived on site to find Geoff and Rachael enjoying the end of their tea break at the clubhouse. I had a quick chat with them before we... Continue Reading →
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