Adventures in the life of an English allotment
After lunch I headed down to the plot determined to continue making good progress on the weeds. I started by grabbing the secateurs, weed bucket and knee pad and wandered over to Geoff's plot. I felt dreadful as I surveyed the jungle of weeds. You could barely see the paths between the raised beds. I... Continue Reading →
This afternoon I ambled down to the allotment ready to get stuck into the jungle that used to be our plot. With rain forecast, I started at the top of the plot, clearing the strawberry bed which had disappeared under several hundred bindweed and mare's tail plants. Clearing the bed took over an hour and... Continue Reading →
We popped down to the plot this evening to check on the chickens. As we walked down the plot, I spotted a small brown spikey hump moving slowly down the path ahead of us. Upon closer inspection, we discovered it was an adult hedgehog! We know there are hedgehogs on the site but it's been... Continue Reading →
This afternoon, my husband and I pottered down to the allotment. There has been almost no let up with the rain over the past week and it's made it very difficult to get down to the plot and work on it. Armed with the ladder from home, our task today was to prune the tops... Continue Reading →
Over the past two days, we have made huge inroads into the jungle of weeds which used to be our plot. On Saturday afternoon, I headed down and focused on clearing the nettles, doc plants and other weeds from the back of Geoff's plot. The nettles are lethal and it was challenging to cut them... Continue Reading →
Today I ambled down the plot determined to continue tackling the weeds which are currently on the cusp of overtaking the entire plot. When I arrived, I found Steve kitting himself up in his bee suit - it turns out the weather have it swarm season again! The swarm this time was located on the... Continue Reading →
Just as we were turning in late last night, I remembered that the geomagnetic storm, the biggest since 2005, would mean that the northern lights should be visible across the UK! I leapt out of bed, grabbed my phone and I dashed downstairs much to the bemusement of my long suffering husband. Outside in the garden,... Continue Reading →
Suddenly, it's boiling. With temperatures reaching into the early 30's it's unbelievably humid and the heat just saps the energy out of you. Quite why people enjoy this weather is entirely beyond me. What is there to enjoy about drowning in your own sweat every time you need to move a limb? I don't have... Continue Reading →
Considering how wet this summer has been, any day when the British weather isn't trying to emulate the height of the monsoon means it's time to get down the allotment. Even rarer are the days where the sun is actually visible and the sky changes from drizzle grey to blue. Days like today can't be... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Just as I was about to go to bed this evening, I wandered down to the bottom of the garden to call the cats inside. At this time of year, they have zero interest in coming inside at any time after 11pm. Despite trying for an early night, I ended up having to stay up... Continue Reading →
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 →
So today I headed down to the allotment with the aim of redoing the pond by the shed. The pond base is a massive tree pot which our beautiful olive tree came in. However, over the past three years, the liner has degraded to such a point that it hardly retains water. Happily, I had... Continue Reading →
After work this evening, I ambled down to the allotment enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. There wasn't anyone else on site as I arrived and I pottered across to check on Maude and Mavis. Mavis seems to have joined Maude in deciding to shed her feathers all over the run. If they weren't standing... Continue Reading →
Level 4 Heatwave has finally arrived after days of fire warnings from the government, the Met Office and the British pessimism which declares every type of weather dreadful. If it's raining, where is the sunshine? If it's cold, where's the heat? For the next two days, every conversation about the weather will adhere to the... Continue Reading →
After a really busy week at work without a moment to stop, I finally made it down to the allotment for more than a quick visit. The weeds were beginning to dominate several of the beds and I have an ongoing battle with the weeds that insist on growing over the paths. With the feathery... Continue Reading →
What should you do when drowning in strawberries? Make jam. Lots and lots of jam. Despite my husband's heroic efforts to work his way through the kilos of strawberries I have harvested, there were tons leftover. Whilst giving strawberries to the chickens would undoubtedly result in their undying love for me, it wouldn't be good... Continue Reading →
Just before lunchtime, I headed out to the allotment. The weeds have been taking over and the Nest House needed cleaning out. Stopping for a quick chat with Liz and Sarah, I quickly checked on Gertie, Winnie and Coco in the New Coop. Gertie was in the corner and the other two were finally off... Continue Reading →
Sad news from the plot this morning. I ambled down before work to find one our little bantams had passed away in the New Coop. Initially, I thought it was Foxy, but closer inspection of the comb revealed it wasn't. It's such a shame as she was growing into a lovely bird (albeit a very... Continue Reading →
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