Adventures in the life of an English allotment
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 →
This afternoon, my husband and I pottered down to the allotment. There has been almost no let up with the rain over the past week and it's made it very difficult to get down to the plot and work on it. Armed with the ladder from home, our task today was to prune the tops... 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 →
Today I ambled down the plot determined to continue tackling the weeds which are currently on the cusp of overtaking the entire plot. When I arrived, I found Steve kitting himself up in his bee suit - it turns out the weather have it swarm season again! The swarm this time was located on the... Continue Reading →
Just as we were turning in late last night, I remembered that the geomagnetic storm, the biggest since 2005, would mean that the northern lights should be visible across the UK! I leapt out of bed, grabbed my phone and I dashed downstairs much to the bemusement of my long suffering husband. Outside in the garden,... Continue Reading →
This weekend, we went to visit our friends Jackie and Richard in the stunning Yorkshire Dales. I've never been to North Yorkshire but I adore watching the rolling hills and wild moorlands on programmes like All Creatures Great and Small, The Yorkshire Vet and The Yorkshire Farm. To say it was breathtaking was an understatement.... Continue Reading →
Finally, we have had a couple of dry days - the weather went so far as to show a hint of blue sky and sunshine in between the clouds. With yet more rain forecast overnight, I headed down to the plot to see if it was dry enough to do some prepping for the new... Continue Reading →
When I walked down to the plot this afternoon, I knew what I would find. Storm Katherine came through yesterday evening and overnight, bringing with it a torrent of rain and high winds. I knew the plot was going to be awful when I let the Topknot Gang out in the garden this morning to... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I ambled down the plot to catch up with everyone and feed the chickens. The sun was out, the sky was blue and there was more than a hint of spring in the air. It was lovely to see the site busy, with people appearing after their winter hibernation. Despite wind, rain and snow,... 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 →
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 →
Suddenly, it's boiling. With temperatures reaching into the early 30's it's unbelievably humid and the heat just saps the energy out of you. Quite why people enjoy this weather is entirely beyond me. What is there to enjoy about drowning in your own sweat every time you need to move a limb? I don't have... Continue Reading →
I had meant to write about this exciting development a couple of days ago but finding time to write has been tricky over the last few days. Our site Clubhouse, closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, has left us at the mercy of the ever fickle British weather. It's all very well in... Continue Reading →
Considering how wet this summer has been, any day when the British weather isn't trying to emulate the height of the monsoon means it's time to get down the allotment. Even rarer are the days where the sun is actually visible and the sky changes from drizzle grey to blue. Days like today can't be... Continue Reading →
My plans for a full day at the allotment today were scuppered by the fickle British weather. Despite living in an era of climate change and increasingly hot dry summers and milder winters, July has been a total washout. As frustrating as the relentless weeks of drizzle are, I find it somewhat nostalgic. I remember... 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 →
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 →
The heatwave continues and so does the amount of pollen in the air. It's been many years since I last went down properly with hayfever. Naively, I thought I was free of it forever. Foolishness obviously, judging from my streaming nose and insanely itchy eyes. I had planned to spend most of today on the... Continue Reading →
So today I headed down to the allotment with the aim of redoing the pond by the shed. The pond base is a massive tree pot which our beautiful olive tree came in. However, over the past three years, the liner has degraded to such a point that it hardly retains water. Happily, I had... Continue Reading →
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