Adventures in the life of an English allotment
At lunchtime I went out into the garden to check on the chickens. As usual, I had to turf Stratus and Cirrus out of the nest box. As I tried to move Cirrus, I realised how dirty she was. Her previously snow white feathers were approaching a mid-grey with brown muddy flecks. On impulse, I... Continue Reading →
The skies were blue, the air crisp and there wasn't a rain cloud in sight when I arrived on site this morning. Lots of people were down, making the most of the dry spell before the inevitable rain forecast for the entirety of the rest of the week. I said hello to Geoff and Andy... Continue Reading →
So early this morning, I ran down to the allotment to help our friends Liz and Sarah clear the enormous pile of wood from the unsuccessful bonfire night mountain. The half plot has been covered by this stuff for months with no concrete plan to move it. Luckily, one of our friends owns his own... Continue Reading →
It was a long day yesterday and I barely had time to stop let alone complete the blog. So here it is, very late! I walked down early to make a start. The greenhouse and the shed needed cleaning and tidying, weeding and general sorting amongst other jobs. It was going to be a busy... Continue Reading →
Today was an epic long day at the allotment. I arrived with one plan but ended up doing something else. Initially, I went to have a look at the stumpery. It's looking much better although I decided there was no point in re-organising the logs until we had enough to fill the stumpery. Pondering what... 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 →
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 →
This morning, free from the shackles of work, I walked happily down to the allotment. There were several people down at the clubhouse already so I joined Cliff, Coco, Steve, Chris and Mick the Greek for a while. I topped up Leia and Rey's food and water before hitting on a temporary solution to the... 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 →
Today I popped down to the allotment later than usual. After the excitement of the last couple of days, I thought it would be a good idea to leave Emily alone for a while without being pestered by an over-enthusiastic owner! I saw Emily out when I arrived and watched as she kept going in... Continue Reading →
Lack of sleep and an early delivery meant I was down on site much earlier than usual. Last night I spotted and bought a builder's bag of cedar bark chippings. The seller was able to drop off the bag at the allotment early so I could spend a whole day sorting out the fruit section.... Continue Reading →
This morning I went down to the allotment much earlier than usual. I swung by the corner shop and picked up some food and ambled onto site. I opened up the shed and enjoyed breakfast in the sunshine. Breakfast scoffed, I went over to say hello to Mel and her sister who were busy working.... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I ambled down late after a lie in. The chickens seemed pleased to see me although they weren't impressed at the lack of sunflower seeds. Upon opening the nest box, I discovered 6 eggs! Happily, 4 of them were from the Vorwerks and Cream Legbars (2 from each) which shows that spring is... Continue Reading →
Today I had a spare couple of hours to go down to the allotment and tackle the second half of the weedy section of the plot in front of the fruit bushes. First I fed the chickens and I am pleased to report that Emily continues to lay eggs! I am astounded as this is... Continue Reading →
Today I took full advantage of the lack of rain (although the clouds threatened it constantly) to make inroads into the abandoned section in front of the fruit bushes. For the second year in a row, our potato crop has failed seemingly without reason. Everyone else on site has managed to produce a good crop... Continue Reading →
Today I ambled down to the allotment ready to get cracking with the messy section at the bottom of the plot. First I checked the coop - I couldn't find either of the new chickens! I checked in the nest box, around the coop and recounted the chickens. Eventually, I spotted them hiding under the... Continue Reading →
This morning I pottered down the allotment a bit earlier than normal with the aim of clearing the weeds once and for all. The sun was out and the weather warm before 10 am. By the time I had been there an hour it was boiling and I retreated to the bottom of the plot... Continue Reading →
This morning I managed to get down to the allotment and made a start on all those jobs that I have been unable to do over the last three weeks. There are definitely signs of spring including the flowering of daffodils and other early flowers. Shame the temperature didn't match spring expectations! Chickens were grumpy... Continue Reading →
So it's been a while since I posted - Christmas and New Year celebrations out of the way, it's time to do a catch up! Over the last few weeks, it has been very busy at work as well as very wet and/or snowy. So visits to the allotment have been brief to avoid being... Continue Reading →
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