Adventures in the life of an English allotment
This morning I dashed down to the allotment before my husband. Abi was dropping by to pick up another three chicks for a friend's family in Sandbach. She arrived as I was unlocking the gate which was impressive timing. We walked down to the patio, picked out three chicks and she disappeared off to drop... 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 →
I finally managed to get down to the allotment for a full day's work today. It's been a manic end to the summer and apart from running down to feed the chickens I haven't had a moment to do anything. The plot isn't quite as bad as it could be but the weeds are slowly... 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 I ambled down to the allotment to check on the plethora of chickens. Yesterday must have been rather stressful for them all and I was keen to see they had settled overnight. As I arrived, I caught Geoff who was heading down to check on the rescue chickens. They were all there and... Continue Reading →
Early this morning, I walked down to the allotment determined to get lots done before it got any hotter. The temperature over the next week is supposed to rocket up into the high 20's/low 30's.As I arrived, I opened up the greenhouse, fed three hungry chicks and a grumpy Emily before making a start on... Continue Reading →
I got down to the allotment early this morning to find several people already down and working. Steve caught me and Phil and suggested we split the hive today before the weather closes in. We made a start by cleaning out the nuc box and collecting frames to replace the ones we would be taking... Continue Reading →
Late this morning, I dragged myself out to the allotment. It's been a manic week at work and I am absolutely wiped. I arrived and spent a happy hour nattering to Cliff, Phil and Geoff. It turns out that while I have been at work, the bees have spent a week away before Phil brought... Continue Reading →
Snowed under by a pile of paperwork, the time down the allotment this weekend was considerably less than usual. But it was such a relief to get out of the house! I spent the last two days hoeing the plot and weeding the flower garden. The bark and weed fabric around the compost bins by... Continue Reading →
This morning I walked down to the allotment via the corner shop to pick up some biscuits for the clubhouse. The sun was out again but the breeze took the temperature down enough to remind you it is still early April.I swung by the clubhouse briefly on my arrival, waved to the gang before opening... Continue Reading →
This morning, armed with cleaning supplies, I lugged the stove back to the allotment. It had occurred to me that the strong chemicals needed to clean the stove wouldn't be a good mix with my idiot cats. I arrived on site, dumped the cleaning supplies and stove outside the greenhouse and went to join the... 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 →
Celebrating the first day of the Easter holidays today! It's been horrendously busy at work the last six weeks and I plan to enjoy two weeks of freedom! I got up late and decided to have breakfast in the sunshine down the allotment. When I arrived, all the usual suspects were sitting having a tea... Continue Reading →
Today marks a significant day in the allotment year - Potato Day. Arranged every year by the Crewe Town Allotment Federation, it's an opportunity to buy seed potatoes and a variety of other seeds for the growing season. Every year, we buy a selection of seeds, enjoying browsing all the different varieties, most of which... Continue Reading →
It's been a busy couple of weeks and now that technical issues are finally sorted, I can recommence normal updates!The last two weeks have seen huge growth down the allotment as we have (very unusually for Northern England) had two weeks of glorious sunshine! Our daughter's tree has been planted and looks perfect in the... Continue Reading →
Still bogged down with flu, I dragged myself down to get some fresh air. The sunshine finally has appeared and according to the Met Office, it will be here for the entire Bank Holiday weekend. I walked down to the chickens and was greeted by a chorus of disgust at the lateness of the hour.... Continue Reading →
I received a very exciting email this afternoon - I have found a nursery which is able to supply a Plymouth Pear tree! I emailed every fruit tree supplier in the UK who claim to specialise in traditional or rare fruit trees and eventually, after many failed attempts, I have found somewhere that has a... Continue Reading →
This morning after the compulsory Saturday morning lie-in, I went down to the allotment. The unrelenting rain yesterday worried me as our plot has been more of a bog than plot after rain the last few months. People on site have taken to suggesting we have our own pre-made paddy field.Happily, apart from a few... Continue Reading →
We ambled down at a leisurely hour this morning to feed the chickens and to have a look at our work from yesterday. Chickens were grumpy at being fed so late and made their objections loudly. We fed them, changed their water and cleared out the nest box and left them to it. We had... Continue Reading →
This morning we again pottered down to the allotment ready for a couple of hours work in the sunshine. Although the weather was finally clear, it will take several days of sunshine before the allotment stops being a bog and dries enough to properly dig over. Both of us got spectacularly stuck at various points... Continue Reading →
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