Adventures in the life of an English allotment
The weather has really not been what it should be for May. Almost no rain in April saw the allotment emulating the driest parts of the Sahara. The seemingly endless days of drizzle in May has provided enough water to make the weeds grow in abundance. Such are the difficulties when growing plants in the... Continue Reading →
Today I trotted down to the allotment, marvelling at how changeable the British weather really is. Yesterday was showers and overcast. Today was boiling. Not dry heat which somehow is more tolerable but the sticky, oppressive heat that makes everything difficult. All the usual gang were there when I arrived and after a preliminary check... Continue Reading →
Where oh where has the sunshine gone? Judging from how wet and rainy June and July have been I suspect we have had our "summer" in May. Today was overcast and I walked down to the allotment to check on Pop and to go a few jobs. When I got into the greenhouse, Pop looked... Continue Reading →
This morning I ambled down to the allotment, enjoying the sunshine which has appeared from nowhere. Everyone had come down to their plots to make good use of the rare break in the weather. I had a quick chat with Geoff, Brad and Andy before heading down to the coop. I put Pop outside and... Continue Reading →
This morning I got down to the allotment early and was half way through sorting out Pop when Phil dropped by to say hello. It turns out that the remaining white leghorn cockerel is being picked up by the local farmer today. We had a chat about what to do with Leia's chicks as four... Continue Reading →
Upon my arrival on site this morning, I was greeted by Phil who asked had I seen the fish? Fish? The only fish we have on site are the three that Cliff rescued and live his in pond made from a converted bath. There are no other fish on site. Phil was quite insistent that... Continue Reading →
After spending a much overdue few days away, I arrived down the allotment this morning to find major changes had occured in my absence! As I walked through the gate, I saw Dave the Plod busy fiddling with something that suddenly spat out an enormous tongue of flame. It turns out, Dave was burning weeds... Continue Reading →
Today I ambled down to the allotment determined to finish off the path and beds. Rain was forecast for this afternoon so it was a race against time to get it completed. Liz swung by before I started work to have a look at the new layout. She was staggering underneath an enormous pile of... Continue Reading →
So today was another one of those memorable and eventful days at the allotment. As with these days, things started off quietly. I went down to feed the chickens in the main coop, collected four eggs and sorted out their food (tons left) and water (also tons due to the intermittent torrential downpours). I spent... Continue Reading →
This evening, I walked down to the allotment in the blistering heat. It has been insanely hot today, it hit 31 degrees by 10am and the temperature continued to climb. Even at gone 6pm, the temperature was awfully high. As I arrived on site, I spotted my poor monkey puzzle tree was beginning to wilt.... Continue Reading →
I made an early start at the allotment today as the weather was dry. Even though it was overcast, it was quite humid. My first job was to clear out all the old sawdust from when the chicks were in there. We have had several leaks in the greenhouse, unsurprisingly really considering how much rain... Continue Reading →
This morning I walked down to the allotment alone initially just to feed the chickens. The weather was not looking promising and I left my husband busy sorting out the lawn before it started to rain. As I first arrived, I spotted Steve de-miting the White Leghorn chickens from Phil's plot one at a time... Continue Reading →
This evening's plans lay in tatters as another storm rolled over our house. The thunder was rather spectacular, reverberating tones sustained for several seconds before dying away. Prior to leaving home, we made sure the cats were inside. Like fireworks, loud noises and our furballs are not compatible. It was raining when we left but... Continue Reading →
I walked down to the allotment later this morning. There's something about Monday mornings which, even in lockdown, seem to take more energy then any other day of the week. Upon my arrival I sat and had a chat with Geoff and Andy. Weirdly, there were very few people down on site given the sudden... Continue Reading →
Today I got down to the allotment early to check on Leia and her chicks. It was just possible she might have an extra chick or two. When I got to her coop, I counted five chicks and spotted three eggs remaining. With Tracy's help, we removed the eggs. It's important to remove them so... Continue Reading →
Today was incredibly exciting. There really isn't anything quite like the excitement of waiting to see if a broody has been successful. When I first arrived this morning, I spotted one eggshell so I knew Leia has managed to hatch one. Considering how she mucked about at the start, I was amazed she had got... Continue Reading →
Today I ambled down to the allotment armed with 8 beautiful salmonberry plants. A fellow allotmenter was selling them - they are rather like raspberries and grow best in pots. Upon my arrival, I found Tracy and gave her a couple as well as a handful of tiger nut seeds. Its quite late to plant... Continue Reading →
The dreaded heat continued so I walked down just to sort out the chickens. Other jobs can't wait until it's cooler this evening! I stopped for a chat with Geoff, Andy and Tracy until it was too hot. Then I retreated into the shade of the main coop. Rey is getting braver although she is... Continue Reading →
It got even hotter today. After a night of little sleep, my husband popped down to feed the chickens in the morning. I decided to hide in the house in front of a fan until the relentless heat dropped. The morning report from the allotment came back that all our girls were doing well, Leia... Continue Reading →
Late morning, we walked to the allotment excited to see how many chicks Cliff's broody had managed to hatch. The heat was already climbing significantly and we knew we would have to wait until evening for it to be co enough to do anything other than feeding the chickens. We arrived to find a few... Continue Reading →
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