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 →
Mid-season Tidy
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 →
Never board at the Allotment
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 →
Seed Sale
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 →
A humdrum update
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 →
Of chickens, weaving and weeding
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 →
Death to weeds!
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 →
Excavating the plot
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 →
A day of two allotments
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 →
Chippings and Clubhouse cleaning
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 →
When you wish you had taken your second thoughts first…
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 →
Digging and planting
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 →
Winning the war on weeds
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 →
Overcast but not raining!
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 →
Clearing the jungle
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 →
Melting in the heat
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 →
Snow and mud
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 →
Winter updates
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 →
Death to grass!
This evening, I again snuck out of the house and of baby bedtime to do some serious allotment work. As ever, my trusty side-kick Fiona joined me after work. We decided to go all out to tackle the massive grass patch which after spending three hours on, is now called "B*****d grass!". Fiona worked like... Continue Reading →
Momentous week
I am writing this in the middle of a momentous week at the allotment. On Saturday morning, at the crack of dawn, I went down to start the major digging works that my other half hadn't managed to finish. I planned to dig over at least the top plot and sort out the birds. I... Continue Reading →
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