Allotment Diary: Devastation!

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sweet cicily and aquilegia growing on our allotment

We arrived at our allotment this week after a 12-day gap. Everything was greener, there were more plants in flower. It was a lovely, sunny day.

a hole made by squirrels digging up seeds we planted a week ago

On closer inspection – devastation! Most of the seeds that we’d sown in toilet roll tubes had been dug up and their cardboard containers unceremoniously strewn about the place. We reckon the culprit or culprits were of the squirrel variety after an easy meal.

black plastic seed tray planted up with garden peas

Our original plan for the day was to clear debris from the sunny spot and turn it into a bed and our seating area. We weren’t anticipating having to re-sow garden peas, sweet peas and sweetcorn.

garden pea seedling on our allotment

The garden peas we planted (without cardboard tubes) a couple of weeks earlier were sprouting nicely. Lesson learned for next time!

salad seedlings emerging through the compost

Thankfully, we had a few other positive green shoots to report. Some of the lettuce seeds we planted on our last visit were already sprouting…

potted strawberry plants sitting on a low wall on our allotment

…there were lots of strawberry plants that were sending suckers out all over the place that we divided & potted up…

gooseberry fruits growing on our allotment

…the gooseberry flowers were turning into little fruits…

wood pigeon building a nest in a tree on our allotment

…and a pair of wood pigeons were busy building a nest in a tree just above our heads.

Justin levelling an area into a bed and seating area

We eventually got around to working on the sunny spot in the late afternoon – clearing away the pile of rubbish, plastic water drums and levelling out the ground. Hopefully no more nasty surprises will await us on our next visit!

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