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 →
After thinking about the paint on the door all night, and seeing it again this morning, I decided that I really didn't like the cream colour. Not one bit. It wasn't going to be one of those things where you grow to like it. The only solution was to go into town, braving the queues... 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 →
Another glorious day today and I made the most of it by taking my laptop, a drink and a snack down the allotment. I set up the chair as a table and sat in the doorway of the shed on a cushion. The only issue I had was the sun was completely in my eyes... Continue Reading →
We all received an email from the Allotment Federation yesterday detailing all the necessary changes to ensure that allotment sites can remain open. The list is long but boils down to wash hands regularly with soap, communal gathering places to close and stay on your own plot. Reasonable precautions but it's still rather sad that... Continue Reading →
Today was the first day of lockdown due to coronavirus in the UK. No one is to go out except for specific reasons such as medical appointments and once a day for exercise. Fortunately, allotments look to be one of those reasons why you could be outside due to the need to feed chickens. Taking... Continue Reading →
Today we had several important meetings at work to sort out how we will manage during the coronavirus shut down. After these were done, and whilst waiting to go home, I decided to walk up to the allotment. Unlike my allotment at home, this one has no risk of flooding. It comprises three huge raised... Continue Reading →
This morning, the sunshine continued from yesterday with a little more warmth to it. We both headed down keen to finish off the digging and to sort out a few other jobs. As we arrived, I spotted Sarah, Liz and Andy busy on their greenhouse and bumped into Geoff in his coop. It's my favourite... 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 →
At work we have been keeping 9 fertile eggs in an incubator - yesterday in the midst of the chaos of coronavirus, we welcomed the arrival of nine wonderfully gorgeous fluffy chicks! When I arrived this morning, there were seven little faces looking at me from the incubator. The first two chicks arrived yesterday to... 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 →
I dashed down to the allotment this morning to find a miraculous event had occured. Leia laid her first egg. I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that she would never lay, only strut around looking pretty. I did spend several minutes considering whether Rey had chosen to lay a different coloured egg... Continue Reading →
We arrived down on site today armed with two enormous bags of chicken food (layers pellets and mixed corn) and a gigantic bag of sawdust. My initial plan was to clean out the chickens today but with a storm looming, I put it off. All the girls were happy to see us and we're clearly... Continue Reading →
Today I dashed down to the allotment in my oldest clothes, ready to tackle the mammoth task of digging out the main coop. Over the last few days, Cliff has been busy spraying the coop with diluted jeyes fluid to kill off any bugs or disease in the coop. This was a temporary fix before... 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 →
I received a call from Cliff this afternoon saying that Fizz was looking a bit ropey. She hasn't been herself over the last couple of days but my husband picked her up this morning and she was pottering around the coop when he left. Cliff found her huddled up and put her in the nest... 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 →
Aside from the cold weather, the sun has appeared the last few days, allowing the plot to start to drain. I spent a good deal of time on site today chatting with some of our new plot holders, Tracy and Andy. Everyone was in the clubhouse as I arrived and I even managed a cuddle... Continue Reading →
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