This afternoon, I headed down to the allotment with the sole intention of blitzing the weeds. I promised myself, I wouldn't get distracted or procrastinate especially as our Warden is checking plots regularly to make sure they are up to scratch! Once the shed was open, I put my phone onto charge and went to... Continue Reading →
Beans, beans everywhere!
This afternoon I headed down to the plot with only a vague idea of what I needed to do. Weeding clearly, but I hadn't decided where I would start. I opened up the shed and surveyed the mass of weeds. Where to begin? To put off this difficult decision, I went to go and catch... Continue Reading →
A Different View
My plans for a full day at the allotment today were scuppered by the fickle British weather. Despite living in an era of climate change and increasingly hot dry summers and milder winters, July has been a total washout. As frustrating as the relentless weeks of drizzle are, I find it somewhat nostalgic. I remember... Continue Reading →
Wandering through the Weeds
After carefully checking the forecast for today, I decided it would be a good use of a day off to spend it at the allotment. It's been ages since I have been able to spend a full day on site, partly due to the weather (first too hot, then too wet!) and partly due to... Continue Reading →
First Impressions
All this week I have been popping down to the allotment in the evening to feed the chickens. I am pleased to report that Gertie tends to eat considerably more in the evening feeds. Sometimes even polishing off another half bowl of food, leaving her crop so full that one more pellet or piece of... Continue Reading →
Hazards of Keeping Chickens
Before work this morning, I ran down to the allotment. Although I tend to grumble about having to be up much earlier on days I go into the office, I do enjoy blowing away the cobwebs and getting a blast of fresh air to start the day. When I got down to the plot, I... Continue Reading →
Rain Off Yet Again!
Yet again, I got beaten back by rain. The only difference this week is that it was accompanied by thunder and lightning. It was forecast to start at 4pm. As usual I took no notice of the forecast as I headed down. Seriously, how often is the forecast right? I thought to myself, looking up... Continue Reading →
Rediscovering the Plot
This afternoon, I finally made it down to the plot. We've had some rain this week and I was dreading what I would find. I imagined the weeds would be several feet taller and the greenhouse would resemble an overgrown jungle. Much to my surprise, the plot wasn't as dreadful as I thought it would... Continue Reading →
Dodging the Rain
Despite the humidity, I forced myself down to the allotment this morning. The heat was oppressive even though the sky was beginning to cloud over. My first job was to open up the shed and put up the sunshade. I checked on Maude and Mavis who were clucking loudly, demanding some treats. I headed across... Continue Reading →
Reclaiming the Plot
After spending all week on the verge of melting into a puddle, we made it down the allotment to tackle what used to be a well-tended plot. As we arrived, I looked at the plot in despair. There were so many weeds and it was going to take hours to get it back under control.... Continue Reading →
Beaten back by Pollen
The heatwave continues and so does the amount of pollen in the air. It's been many years since I last went down properly with hayfever. Naively, I thought I was free of it forever. Foolishness obviously, judging from my streaming nose and insanely itchy eyes. I had planned to spend most of today on the... Continue Reading →
Sweltering in the Sunshine
Mid-morning I ambled across to the allotment. The sun was out, the sky was blue and it was perfect weather to be outside. The only flaw in my plan to spend the day at the allotment, was the heat. Today was a scorcher! With a south facing plot, there was absolutely no break from the... Continue Reading →
May Heatwave
After a wonderfully relaxing holiday, I trudged down to the allotment this morning dreading what I would find. In my mind's eye, the weeds were waist deep and would require days of hacking back to rediscover the plot below. Having seen the amount of sunshine Crewe has had over the past week, I knew the... Continue Reading →
Weeds and Onions
I took advantage of the dry weather to make some progress on the plot today! It's been very damp and drizzly most of the week and with yet more rain forecast for tomorrow. I grabbed the weed bucket and slowly made my way down the path, weeding as I went. It seems almost impossible to... Continue Reading →
An Animal Conspiracy
I swear that our animals, despite being in two different locations, can communicate and conspire together. I don't know how they do it, but judging from today's adventures, I'm guessing telepathy. Our first sign that something was amiss was my cat, Vasili, coming in limping on his front paws. We had hoped he would walk... Continue Reading →
A Day of Chickens and Potatoes
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 →
A Productive Afternoon
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 →
Signs of Spring
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 →
Sleepy Chickens
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 →
The Allotment Ecosystem
There really is nothing better than getting outside and getting stuck into digging to clear away the cobwebs after feeling under the weather. The relatively dry weather over the past few days has meant that our usually water-logged plot seemed like it might be dry enough to dig over without running the risk of sinking... Continue Reading →
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