Tag: gardening

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!

Allotment Diary: Sow & Sow

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planting 3 types of beetroot

Last week on our allotment we returned to the important business of sowing more seeds. We had 3 different types of beetroot. We love it with parsnips, squash, garlic and rosemary in roasted vegetables.

upcycled butlers sinks being used as planters

Remember those old, heavy Belfast sinks we salvaged from a far corner the previous week? Well, we stood them on some bricks, filled them with compost, watered them in and sowed them with seeds.

planting herb and salad seeds

One’s been given over to herbs – coriander, flat leaf parsley and basil…

planting lolla rosa lettuce seeds

…the other will (hopefully) provide us with a selection of cut & come again lettuce – mizuna, rocket, land cress and red & green salad bowl mixed. We even had a little space left to plant a single drill of some lolla rosa seeds we got from the BBC Dig In project a couple of years ago.

having a break in the sunniest spot on our allotment

It was the sunniest day since we had the allotment and it was only then that we discovered that the sunniest part of the entire plot was what we’d designated as our ‘dumping ground’! Next time we’re there, we’ll be making it into a better location for a break and spot of lunch!

Allotment Diary: Gone to Seed

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packets of vegetable and wild flower seeds

This week, we finally got to do some proper planting on the allotment. We bought a selection of vegetable seeds, got given some allium bulbs by our neighbour and sent off for some wild flower seeds that were being given away by BBC Countryfile & Go Wild.

sweet corn kernels sown into toilet roll inners

We sowed some sweet corn kernels using toilet roll inners a few days before we went to the allotment…

sweet corn being sown into an allotment bed

…and transplanted them into a newly-laid bed when we got down there.

When we get to the allotment, the first thing we did was to have a quick inspection to see if anything looked any different. And lo & behold, a few of the sweet pea seeds we planted up a couple of weeks before had sent up little shoots – no more than a couple of centimetres tall!

sweet pea seedling

Adelle set about sowing some cornichon seeds into one of the other beds we’d prepared the week before…

cornichon seeds being sown into an allotment bed

…while Justin continued with laying paths and beds…

Justin putting tiles around an allotment bed

…and Fudge did what he does best… loaf!

He sometimes gets a bit bored which can often lead to naughtiness so we keep him occupied by giving him a big bone to gnaw on.

Fudge gnawing on a bone

We found this old wire basket on the plot so we decided to use it to keep all our tools tidy.

Wire frame where we keep our tools

We also found this snail skulking around. The first live one we’d seen up to that point. We doubt it will be the last!

snail on the allotment

The last job of the day was to clear out these two sinks we found at the back of the plot and put them into place, ready to plant up next time.

pair of old ceramic sinks on the allotment

Monthly Mood Board: Allotment Chic

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'Allotment Chic' mood board | H is for Home

Regular readers of our blog will know that we took on a very overgrown allotment just over a month ago. We’ve been down there at least once a week, digging & weeding, pruning shrubs and sewing seeds. We have an idea in mind of how we’d like it to look this time next year. We want it to be a place of refuge and relaxation, somewhere to while away the hours on long summer days. Before that can happen though we’ve got a lot more hard graft ahead of us!

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  6. Wooden seedling tray: £10, Garden Trading
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