Allotment Yoga
I love autumn on the plot. Most of the plants are finishing off and I get to start clearing the beds and tidying the plot ready for a long winter. This weekend we ripped out the corn and intertwined squash plants, leaving us two beds waiting for overwintering prep. There...
Bullace Jam
You probably have just enough time left to follow in our footsteps and create the worlds most delicious hedgerow jam. Two weeks ago we stumbled upon a laden bullace tree and decided to gather ourselves a few fruits for a stewed pudding. They were so abundant and easy to reach...
Return to Eden
I’ve long been attracted to all things faddy and ever since I read about the Back to Eden project in last month’s permaculture magazine, I’ve been itching to turn the plot into a forest garden, layered with inches of paper, woodchip and manure. Although I’m eager to dabble with the...
The Excellence of Second Hand Sloes
In search of suitable bottles for the preparation of the annual glug of sloe gin I found last years experimental sloe port. I planned on leaving it for 2 months to mature but here we are 10 months later and I can only say that it has matured fantastically. It...
The Annual Broad Bean Glut
he beans have been tremendously successful this year which can only mean that the Annual Broad Bean Giveaway will be more challenging than usual. This event sees us sneaking from neighbour to neighbour trying to catch them unawares so we can thrust a carrier bag of un-podded and usually unwelcome...
Where there's Muck
Years of following a haphazard compost cycling routine has resulted in two full heaps of uncomposted matter. I was always supposed to fill one side of my pallet compost system, before flipping it all over into the other side and starting the process again. This disciplined rotation would result in...
Port and Sloe Gin Production
Most of the sloes had gone by the time we got our foraging heads on. We had to endure multiple blackthorn puncture wounds in order to get deep enough into the hedgerow to secure some berries that the birds had missed. I still bear the scars from that day and...
The Importance of Labels
We ran out of tartare sauce today. I don’t know what you are supposed to do in that situation. If I run out of lager I’ll substitute a bottle of Merlot but I don’t have a ready made substitute for tartare sauce. With salmon on the plate, I had to...
Hitting the Water Table
We made a flying visit to the plot this morning to deposit the kitchen compost and to rescue the last few Brussels. Compost has become a bit of a cottage industry at our house. I have a production line that starts by the kettle with a little repository for tea...
A Room of One's Own
I’ve always considered the allotment shed to be a home from home but the recent crop failings and resultant low morale has led it to be more of an irregular holiday home and our lack of attentiveness became apparent today. Opening the shed I discovered my boots had been used...
Bright Lights
It didn’t look like a great day for spending on the allotment. However, I had a number of tasks that needed to be ticked off the list so I headed off early to beat the inevitable rain. I took the plot on rather too late in the year to sow...
Veg Box Scheme
How pretty is this little delivery? Following my thwarted search for local food last weekend, I thought I’d try out a veg box scheme. This little box came from the organic delivery company, who apparently source local organic produce from the Covent Garden fruit and veg market. They have an...
Real Seeds
There was a lovely treat awaiting me when I got home today, which just about made up for the terrifying night-time cycle commute. Two seed packages had been delivered, one with 3 packets of organic freebies from Thompson & Morgan and the other containing my purchases from the Real Seed...
Local Food - How Hard Can It Be?
I’m feeling inspired by “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” and am considering an attempt at my own local eating experiment. I wouldn’t start it yet of course, the allotment hasn’t really had a chance to start supporting a healthy appetite, but it’s never too late to start researching my options. On Sunday...
Infinity Pool
I acquired a few off cuts of pond liner from the amazing freecycle group and after using them to suppress weeds for about 2 days, I decided I may as well get on and build a pond. I took a fairly haphazard approach to the design and was lucky that...