Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Busy day today but I managed to squeeze in cleaning out the Topknot Gang's coops this evening. Coop cleaning can be such a faff and usually takes ages. As my husband got busy prepping dinner, I challenged myself to see if I could clean both Omlets before dinner was ready. Removing the old bedding completely... Continue Reading →
With the sun out and showers forecast for tomorrow, I decided when I woke up this morning that today I would finally clean out the chicken coops. It's incredibly difficult to clean the allotment chicken coops over the winter due to the water being off and having two large wooden nest boxes to clean. Plus... Continue Reading →
After a long day at work, I came back home to find Cirrus in quite a state, lying on the run floor. We quickly pulled her out and I checked her over. No obvious signs of water belly, injury to hips and legs or hard lump in the belly suggesting that she was egg bound.... Continue Reading →
Yet again February and March have disappeared in a blur of work and holidays and somehow it's April and I've not started growing anything! It doesn't matter how many years I have the allotment, I always seem to end up planting late. I promised myself I would get things growing in February after last year's... Continue Reading →
Before work this morning, I fed the home chickens and quail. With DEFRA finally lifting Flockdown on next week (the 18th April), it's so good to know that the girls will be able to explore the garden again. After feeding the fluffy and ravenous silkies and shifting three idiotic birds off the nest. I had... Continue Reading →
Between a lunch of hot cross buns and a roast lamb dinner, we headed out to the allotment. We've had a busy couple of weeks and I've been very aware of how much progress others on site have been making on their plots. There are a ton of jobs that need doing on our plot... Continue Reading →
Today we went lambing. I've wanted to do this for years but we've never managed to get to the local agricultural college in time to join in. Last weekend, I spotted a sign advertising lambing and immediately booked two tickets! A week of impatiently waiting and today was finally the day. We arrived a little... Continue Reading →
I've been thinking about how reusing, recycling and upcycling are important values of every allotmenteer. On the plot, we try to reuse as much as possible, taking care to minimise the waste we produce. Almost inevitably, we have taken steps to change how we use things at home. We have drastically reduced our use of... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I discovered some exciting signs of spring on site. It's been a long, cold and dark winter and the current cold weather makes it still feel very much like winter. But over the past week, small changes have been happening. Small buds are appearing on the fruit trees, the bees are coming out... Continue Reading →
How has another week gone?! It's always the same at this time of year. Somehow January and February disappear and all of a sudden it's March and almost nothing has been done! After a day out with family yesterday and the majority of today spent doing jobs at home, I headed down to the allotment... Continue Reading →
Poor Gertie. She is holding her own well at the moment but she isn't happy. The others are tending to give her space but as yet, I haven't spotted anyone preferentially staying with her yet. I may yet have to strong arm one of the others into the role by putting them together in a... Continue Reading →
Sometimes chickens like to mess with you. Usually when you least expect and always in a way you could never predict. Two days ago, one of the Topknot Gang decided to lay an egg a third of the way down the run. Heaven forbid that the egg was laid near the end of the run... Continue Reading →
Browsing the internet in the early hours is never a good idea. Unless it involves chickens. I was perusing several chicken groups I follow on social media when I spotted an absolutely stunning mauve- coloured booted bantam who was looking for a new home. She comes from a very reputable local breeder who I have... Continue Reading →
I may have been somewhat over-enthusiastic yesterday in Wilkinson's. Hauling the loot home took ages! This morning after breakfast, I raised our egg boxes to find three big ones to put on the window sill in the dining room. There is always something so exciting about putting the potatoes out to chit. Maybe it's because... Continue Reading →
So this morning, wrapped up warmly, I headed out to the allotment. It's been a busy week and I wanted to make inroads on weeding the raised beds that Geoff kindly has let us use the past couple of years. As I arrived, I ran into Ken. It was lovely to see him looking so... Continue Reading →
Late this afternoon, I ambled down to the allotment. I had hoped that the weather would have warmed up during the course of the day, but no such luck! Wrapping up warmly, I filled the big water bottle with hot water and used it as a hand warmer as I walked to the plot. The... Continue Reading →
As I smashed the ice on the top of the waterbutt before work this morning, I wondered about how warm the last few winters have been. It seems so much colder this year and I have to keep reminding myself it's January and cold weather is normal at this time of year. The Met Office... Continue Reading →
The weather has been abysmal the last week, alternating between pouring with rain, blowing a hoolie or a combination of both. But a short dry spell this afternoon gave me an overdue opportunity to clean out the chickens and quail in the garden. The Topknot Gang are in fine form although Trixie is still limping.... Continue Reading →
Last week something rather unusual happened to my husband as he walked home. Adventures with animals always seem to happen to me so I could hardly believe it when he arrived home to tell me what he saw! Walking home, near the retail park, he spotted what he thought was a dog running down the... Continue Reading →
So another year has arrived and it's time to work on the allotment plans for the new growing season! My favourite part of the winter is spending hours trawling through my seed boxes and searching online for different seeds. Then there is the annual challenge of trying to work out how to fit in all... Continue Reading →
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