Adventures in the life of an English allotment
This morning I walked down to the allotment determined to finish off the painting of the shed. Unfortunately, the weather has become really quite cold and I guessed I probably wouldn't be able to feel my fingers after the first half hour. Actually, that was optimistic. After 15 minutes I couldn't feel my fingers and... Continue Reading →
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 →
This morning I walked down to the allotment for my daily escape from the house, armed with two tins of paint and a brush. The sunshine was beautiful and I was certain that the paint would dry quickly without too much trouble. When I arrived, I sorted out the chickens food and water, letting Leia... 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 →
With some hope of a dry few hours, I popped to the allotment this morning to try and clean out the chickens. It's been a job that I have intended to do for the last 4 weeks however, the weather has had other ideas. I arrived on site to find the usual selection of faces... Continue Reading →
As Britain is hit by yet another storm, the allotment lies half flooded with the other half saturated. Any additional rainfall will surely put our plot entirely under water yet again. Forecast is for a month's worth of rain over the next few days - I am seriously considering opening my plot as a boating... Continue Reading →
And just like that, it begins again! The Allotment Federation's annual seed sale always marks the beginning of the new season - a time to plan in earnest, finish off digging the plot (assuming it isn't flooded) and clear out the shed/greenhouse/coop (delete as appropriate). I love the sale because it's one of the few... Continue Reading →
Last week I finally got around to sorting out Georgie. She is one of our rescue ex-commercial layers who has developed a weird growth on the sides of her beak. Cliff had a good look and recognised it as an overgrowth. Apparently it can happen quite often but I haven't had any chickens with it... Continue Reading →
Work has been crazy the last few weeks and I have barely made it down to the allotment, let alone had time to post an update. Now however, this shall be rectified! Over the past few weeks the weather has been horrendous, repeated deluges, high winds and cold snaps so it has been difficult to... Continue Reading →
Over the last couple of weeks the deluge has continued. I have given up hoping the plot will be dry enough to dig over before Christmas. I suspect I will now have to wait until the spring as the next torrent of water is due to arrive shortly. Today we bought six bags of landscaping... Continue Reading →
This week we have been experiencing a deluge. Most of the plots have had puddles, lakes or oceans on them. As usual, our plot was pretty much entirely flooded although Keith's was definitely worse! The water did drain off but it took a few days and just as it was getting dry, we had the... Continue Reading →
The weather has definitely taken a wintery turn over the last few weeks. The leaves have turned yellow and orange and begun to fall. The temperature has dropped significantly and the dark nights have drawn in. Today I went down the allotment with Fiona. We spent several hours cleaning out the coops which were long... Continue Reading →
Sad news when I got down to the allotment this morning - Emily has died. She was a cracking chicken and an incredibly successful broody. The coop won't be the same without her. Geoff has done a stirling job of looking after her since she left her chicks. By my reckoning she must have been... 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 →
Today I got down to the allotment very late as I has several jobs to do in town. I found several people by the clubhouse although no one stayed too long. Geoff, Cliff and Cliff were all enjoying the breeze whilst Mick the Greek and the others were busy working. I chatted for a while... Continue Reading →
Late this morning I walked down to the allotment ready for a full day's work. The weather has been so fickle lately that it either has been too hot or too wet to do anything productive. The mix of sunshine and rain has meant the proliferation of bind weed on an industrial scale. Everyone has... Continue Reading →
This morning, we walked down to the allotment determined to get through the massive list of jobs that I have been ignoring due to the inclement weather. We made a start by feeding Leia who seemed quite perky this morning. I put her out and left her happily exploring while we went down to the... Continue Reading →
There are many different types of rain. Some comes at you sideways, finding every gap in your clothing and flooding it. Another is so light it's like walking through a fine mist. Today's was the British classic, drizzle. Unless you have lived in the UK, drizzle may need a little explanation. Drizzle is always accompanied... Continue Reading →
Today the heat was still horrendous but the temperature had dropped a little. Even better was the slight breeze which occasionally gave a brief break from the relentless heat. Due to the heat, I have been leaving the greenhouse door open to allow through flow of air overnight for the Plymouth Rock chick. I managed... Continue Reading →
Today was hot. Boiling. Rapidly approaching the temperature of the surface of the sun. At 5 pm, it was still 32 degrees. It's inhuman. I ran down to the allotment to refresh the chickens water. In the main coop, the water bowl was nearly empty. I refilled it to the brim and for good measure,... Continue Reading →
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