Adventures in the life of an English allotment
Today was hot. Really hot. Too hot. I went down to the allotment this morning to get ahead of the weeds. I started with the weeds in the greenhouse which insist on growing in our tomato bed. The mix of bindweed and mares tail is lethal to any plants attempting to grow within several feet... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, we ambled down to the plot to prep the soil ready for transferring our seedlings from the greenhouse. The sun was out, the sky was blue and there was a gentle wind too which was lovely. I left my husband with instructions to hoe the beds after removing all the dreaded mare's tail.... Continue Reading →
At lunchtime, I headed down to the allotment with a vague plan of watering seedlings and feeding chickens. Several hours later, covered in dirt I realised I had not only lost track of time, but had been rather productive! I always check on the chickens first and I was greeted enthusiastically at the run door... Continue Reading →
Today I headed down to the plot early with a long list of jobs to do. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. It's been weeks since we had such beautiful weather! My first job was the most important, catching up on all the site news with Cliff and Geoff.... Continue Reading →
Finally, after weeks of delays, we finally managed to get down to the allotment for a decent amount of time. As usual, we are behind everyone else but after a decade, I have resigned myself to this, ignoring my annual resolution to be more organised next year. My first job was to clear out the... Continue Reading →
Buying seeds for the new growing year is always exciting. What do you choose? What new thing are you going to try this year? How about those beans that you tried five years ago that were a total disaster? Or how about that crop you've wanted to try but haven't because everyone said they were... Continue Reading →
Finally, we have had a couple of dry days - the weather went so far as to show a hint of blue sky and sunshine in between the clouds. With yet more rain forecast overnight, I headed down to the plot to see if it was dry enough to do some prepping for the new... Continue Reading →
When I walked down to the plot this afternoon, I knew what I would find. Storm Katherine came through yesterday evening and overnight, bringing with it a torrent of rain and high winds. I knew the plot was going to be awful when I let the Topknot Gang out in the garden this morning to... Continue Reading →
Feeling a little bit at a loose end, I decided to take advantage of the dry weather and go for an explore. There is always something so beautiful about the spring, maybe it's the vivid green of the new leaves after so many months of bare trees and rain, or perhaps it's the crocuses and... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, we both strolled down to the plot to get going on some jobs before the forecast washout for the rest of the week. It's frustrating as the plot is only just beginning to drain after the last deluge. Our first job was to check on the new girls in the Main Coop. There... Continue Reading →
With the rain of yesterday over, I went down to the allotment this morning to see how the plot had faired after yet more rain. I'm not hopeful that we'll be able to start off any of our crops for another two to three weeks as it will take at least that long for the... 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 →
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 →
I ambled down to the allotment later than usual this morning. I was greeted by Maude and Mavis at the door, looking distinctly unimpressed when I merely said hello and disappeared off to the Main Coop. With the big girls all fed, I moved onto the New Coop. Gertie made short thrift of the food... 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 →
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 →
After a frantic day trying to sort out everything for a trip, I ran down to the allotment. I filled the food bowls up to the top and refreshed the water in all the coops. Nursing a minor scratch to the face courtesy of the littlest bantam in the new coop, I threw out the... Continue Reading →
As I came home at lunch time I received a call from Cliff. He had spotted another swarm, this time on Phil's plot. Promising him I would be down, I yelled to my husband and headed back out. When I got to the site, I found Cliff and he showed me where the swarm was.... Continue Reading →
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