I got a prickly rash the other day whilst pottering around a mates garden. Whilst i was in agony my girlfriend was proudly proclaiming that i must have had an encounter with some Borage. Huh? Borage? What’s that? Well, apparently my girlfriend is an expert since she read about it in one of her garden mags! (more…)
The first crop is the sweetist…
There it was, hiding shyly in its bed, surrounded by a green blanket of leaves, baring juicy flesh so perfect and enticing. It whispering to me softly ‘eat me, eat meeeee!’
So i grabbed it, and gobbled it down before it could tease me any longer. Pure sweet bliss in my mouth, eyes wide i turned to my girlfriend and shouted ‘Cor, these strawbs are ‘bostin!’
The Strawberry in question…
TO BATTLE!!
I pop up the allotment most days after work, just to check its okay you know? I’ve grown very fond of my plot. I check on my sweet peas all cosy in the can planters, i check the raspberries are growing up strong against their canes and smile proudly, i nod to my onions and garlic standing tall and straight, and i tut at my floppy rhubarb and then feel bad because I don’t want it to feel like its let me down.
But not this time. (more…)
Tucking in the Strawberries
I’ve got strawberry seeds in a propagator, ive got runners in the post and now ive got over 20 plants of the red berry sitting in old shopping baskets and tubs from my mum. What to do!? (more…)
Unfinished Business
Having one of the furthest plots, i walk past many. But while im greeting others with ‘Mornin’ nice day for it!’ and nodding like a seasoned pro, on the sly im checking out the weird and wonderful makeshift structures that everybody seems to have, thinking do i need one? and what is it for!? (more…)
Sunburn Sunday and Worker Bees
Another glorious sunburn sunday! Saddled up with tools, plants and paint we headed down to the plot with a job list as long as my arm. (more…)
Brassica Netting – against Cabbage White Butterfly
Brassica plants were getting large, so I needed to do something about netting them against Cabbage White Butterfly.
I bought some Debris Netting off eBay [although it came from Tarpaflex]. I selected 3M width as my raised beds are 4′ wide – so that means a clear height of “(3 metres – 4 feet) / 2 in inches” which Google tells me is 35 inches.
I had a roll of 1/2″ Blue MDPE underground water pipe (the Black above ground pipe would be better, as it has UV resistance), so I cut that into 3 Metre lengths, less about 6″ to be able to anchor it down, and stuck some canes in (I cut some 4 foot canes in half, about 2 foot pushed into the ground, and 2 foot sticking out to put the pipe onto. One “hoop” every 6 feet, or so.
The job only took…
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Pallets for Pots
Made my girlfriend a potting table out of pallets. Feel manly. She made me paint it pink… (more…)
Red as a Raspberry
Full of apprehension that the forecasters would be right, we headed down the plot in our wooly jumpers and thick socks. Needless to say, we were there five minutes before we stripped off! (more…)
Sun, Seeds… and Stomach Flu!
So warmer days beckon, and the plot has at last dried up enough to get some work done, but unfortunately me and my girlfriend have been hit by a bout of stomach flu kindly passed on by my 6 month old niece. (more…)
Seed Sowing Guide
Goats, Dibbers and Bankruptcy!
My itch to get down the plot is turning into frustration, all this bad weather is really getting on my goat! The plots too boggy to get it into any sort of shape, without losing a welly or taking a dip!
One Foot In The Plot
With all this bad weather I’d not been up to the allotment for a while, but I was itching to go, I’d got a few jobs to catch up on but mostly to see how many little green shoots I could spot! So I braved the rain and went round for a visit yesterday.
Companion Planting Guide
Toms, Marigolds and North American Tradition
Early Bird Catches The Worm
We got up with the larks to get down the plot early on Sunday. Pulling myself out of my warm cosy bed was unashamefully difficult on such a cold morning. After begrudgingly giving up the covers and a pep talk, we got up and ready. I filled my belly with hot jam on toast, and plodded down to the plot for 8am.
Skimming and Stuff…
Breaking Ground…
After ransacking the shed and deciding which tools to take, finding that appropriate ‘allotment outfit’ and ramming as much food possible into a rucksack, we set off to start our allotment adventure! (more…)
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