As I mentioned, I was worried at the end of last year that the rhubarb might have died. The leaves died down and the stems that were left went really black and soggy. But it's back and growing well and there seem to be a lot more crowns than last year so it must be …
Final proper harvest from 2017
We didn't really plant anything to overwinter in 2017 other than leeks (and the kale that's still going strong since the summer) and today we've decided their time has come! The leeks never really reached their full potential and all stayed quite weedy looking. I have a suspicion that was because I left them growing …
Spring is coming… But not yet
Along with the rest of the country, we are in the grip of the 'Beast from the East', which has somewhat hampered our preparation for this year. Having moved the raspberries a few weeks ago, we still need to prepare the beds for sowing and degrass the other soft fruits, which is made difficult by …
Raspberry reorganisation
We wanted to move the raspberries that have taken over quite a large patch on the allotment to help keep them under control and make room for a little seating area. I've been planning to move them all winter while they're dormant but as ever I've left it until the last minute. This has meant …
Spring is in the air
The days are getting longer, spring is in the air and the first seeds of the year have been sown We were given a heated propagator for Christmas so we're starting the year off with early sowings of aubergines, sweet peppers, spring onions, leeks, summer sprouting broccoli, basil, chives and mustard. Hopefully giving these seeds …
Cheering up winter
To start the year off on a good foot we've planted our very own tree! We've been thinking about this since last summer as we've developed a taste for quince cheese with cheese (thanks to booth's tempting cheese counter!). It's become an expensive habit so thought it would be good to try and make our …
Plan for 2018 continued
So I said there'd be more on this year's plan for the allotment and then completely forgot to post the update! As I went a bit mad on the seed ordering we're going to try lots of different things this year and I've summarised in the sketch below Nothing ever runs that smoothly though and …
Plan for 2018
It's been really hard not needing to be on the allotment as winter's taken hold (although we have been continuing to harvest kale, including some for our Christmas dinner!) but with the start of the new year planning for the new season can begin! And this year we'll be right in at the start!!! More …
Root veg clearance
As it's getting colder now we took the decision to call it quits with the beetroot and carrots today. It was really cool finally pulling the carrots and seeing them fully formed. But for something that's taken up quite a lot of space for a low yield and currently costs 28 p a kilo in …
Winding down
Autumn's here and it feels like the end of the year already. Lately I've been heading to the allotment and found myself with nothing to do except a quick water in the greenhouse. We keep telling ourselves this was a bonus year because we never thought we'd get an allotment this soon. Some things have …
Bean Allotmenting 