Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Over the past week, Gertie has become increasingly withdrawn and has lost weight. I've been trying to tempt her with a range of different treats including the failsafe, scrambled eggs. Yesterday she was so weak, I brought her inside and kept her company while I worked. At lunchtime, I took her into the kitchen and... Continue Reading →
Slugs are the bane of an allotmenteer. However, what happened at home in the garden two nights ago has gone down in history as one of the most spectacular slug attacks I have ever seen! I got home late after training and went out to shut the girls in and transport Gertie to the Purple... Continue Reading →
With a couple of dry days (finally!), I managed to get down to the plot and finally start sorting out the growing beds. Grabbing my trusty Wolfgarten tiller, I began on the top bed by the pond. I decided due to the heaviness of the soil, which was still holding a lot of moisture, I... Continue Reading →
With temperatures significantly below zero, I have been worried about Gertie getting cold overnight on her own. Despite my best efforts to winter-proof her coop, it's really not ideal for a lone hen in these temporary. I had thought about boxing in her perch but I worry that she would struggle to get in and... Continue Reading →
This morning, when I walked out into the garden, I discovered that the quail were in rather dire straits. The deluge of rain and wind we have had over the last two days has been unbelievable. The garden and plot are absolutely saturated. A single drop more rain and both would turn into a lake.... Continue Reading →
Over the past couple of days the temperature has barely lifted much above zero. With the water now off on site, it's back to lugging numerous containers full of water down to the plot, trying to bully frozen fingers to work properly. The gate and padlock this morning weren't frozen (thankfully!) however, they were so... Continue Reading →
Over the past few weeks, I have been worried about Gertie. She's been spending the majority of the day huddled on her perch. I kept bringing her down and encouraging her to eat. She would eat a little bit quickly lose interest. I've tried her on layers mash which she begrudgingly is eating although without... 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 →
At lunchtime, I headed out into the garden to clean out Gertie and Quail Mansions. I started with Gertie. She has been spending lots of time on her perch and not eating much which is worrying. Pondering where to put her, I decided she might enjoy the sunshine for a bit, so I deposited her... Continue Reading →
I walked down to the plot early today, determined to avoid the worst of the rain that was forecast to last most of the day. I dashed around the coops and fed everyone. Geoff's black rock came out into the run today which showed progress. She has been terrorising Geoff's other hens and blocking their... Continue Reading →
Over the past couple of days Gertie has been busy exploring the garden with the rest of the Topknot Gang. Unfortunately, she hasn't been accepted by Coco or Trixie but the silkies don't seem to mind her walking near them. Initially, I opened up her coop expecting her to just enjoy the fresh air and... Continue Reading →
After Gertie spent the weekend with Geoff, we collected her and put her back into her temporary inside run. How Geoff works his magic on chickens I shall never know! I left her on Saturday morning lethargic and not interested in food. Thirty-six hours later, she was bright, alert and eating like never before! I... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I headed down to the plot with only a vague idea of what I needed to do. Weeding clearly, but I hadn't decided where I would start. I opened up the shed and surveyed the mass of weeds. Where to begin? To put off this difficult decision, I went to go and catch... Continue Reading →
After carefully checking the forecast for today, I decided it would be a good use of a day off to spend it at the allotment. It's been ages since I have been able to spend a full day on site, partly due to the weather (first too hot, then too wet!) and partly due to... Continue Reading →
All this week I have been popping down to the allotment in the evening to feed the chickens. I am pleased to report that Gertie tends to eat considerably more in the evening feeds. Sometimes even polishing off another half bowl of food, leaving her crop so full that one more pellet or piece of... Continue Reading →
Before work this morning, I ran down to the allotment. Although I tend to grumble about having to be up much earlier on days I go into the office, I do enjoy blowing away the cobwebs and getting a blast of fresh air to start the day. When I got down to the plot, I... 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 →
With the sun out and showers forecast for tomorrow, I decided when I woke up this morning that today I would finally clean out the chicken coops. It's incredibly difficult to clean the allotment chicken coops over the winter due to the water being off and having two large wooden nest boxes to clean. Plus... 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 →
Between a lunch of hot cross buns and a roast lamb dinner, we headed out to the allotment. We've had a busy couple of weeks and I've been very aware of how much progress others on site have been making on their plots. There are a ton of jobs that need doing on our plot... Continue Reading →
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