There’s a fantastic number of allotment, kitchen garden and grow your own bloggers out there. I read as many as I can for inspiration, advice and to find out what everyone is getting up to.

Here are a few of my favourite articles and blog posts from February.

1.  Rebel Yell…. When to REALLY sow your seeds! Never one to shy away from saying it as it is, Chelle provides her brilliant perspective on the right time to sow your seeds. I love her take on what is always a constant source of confusion and cause of debate amongst veg growers.

2. Frog life. I’ve followed Jane Merrick’s allotment blog since 2015 when I took up my current plot. I particularly enjoyed this post as I share the same experience on our allotment, trying to ensure I maintain my daughter’s enthusiasm for growing vegetables. There are peaks and troughs with the moment’s on an allotment children find exciting and Jane shows us an excellent way to keep the little helpers coming back for more by creating a simple wildlife pond.

3. Why make compost? Yes, one of mine. I really enjoyed researching and writing this post. Making your own compost is one of the most rewarding tasks you can do on an allotment. The idea of making it is often considered technical and hard work. However, the secret to success is understanding some fundamental principles and having a little patience.

4. New allotment advice & raised beds. Taking on a new allotment garden is exciting, especially when you’ve spent a long time on a waiting list. The problem however, is when you finally reach the top of the list you inevitably face a neglected and overgrown plot. We’ve all been there and I’ve sadly seen many new allotment holders give up within a short period of time because the task just feels overwhelming. This is an incredibly useful article by Matt Peskett, covering a range of approaches to take to make the job more manageable and I hope, keep new plot holders coming back for more.

5. Broad Beans – Made Simple. Annabelle is sowing broad beans this month. This hardy crop can be sown in autumn or early spring and is a great opportunity to scratch that gardeners itch to get something growing early in the season. In this post, Annabelle provides a simple guide to sowing broad beans and a tasty recipe for warm bean salad with bacon to keep saved for when it’s time to harvest them.

6. A blank canvas.  Mark has an incredibly productive veg plot he keeps in a typical English Suburban property. It’s great to have Mark back on his blog after a brief period of hibernation over the winter months. This post gives you an idea of Mark’s plot and what he’s planning for the coming season. Less cluttered but always striving for better quality at the expense of quantity – in Mark’s words.

7. It’s life, Jim, but not where I want it. We’re all guilty of a bit of seed hoarding are we not? However, Beryl might actually take the champion trophy. 110 varieties – and that’s just the tomatoes! If a spring clean and organisation of your seed packets is something you’ve been backing away from, take some motivation from this post.

8. Happy birthday to us. This is a definite feel good post. Sophie and Ade – the AGENTS OF FIELD – are celebrating three years of allotment, gardening and foodie blogging. Last November they won the highly prestigious Garden Media Guild Blog of the Year. This short post is an anniversary celebration with a nostalgic look at where it all began.

9. Plot 15c Plan 2017. I love a good plan and like all of the things Katie creates, her’s is beautiful as well as functional. If you are looking for some inspiration for your own allotment plans or just a bit of insight into how other growers go through the process of planning their plot for the new season, this post is worth a read.

10.Growing a Giant! There’s something very satisfying about pulling a sizable vegetable, like a parsnip or carrot out of the ground, especially when it wasn’t planned. What if you wanted to grow a giant? Motivated by Matthew Oliver’s record-breaking UK pumpkin last year, Modern Veg Plot is inspired to see if it’s possible to grow a giant on the average allotment garden. I’m looking forward to following along and seeing the results.

I love reading allotment and grow your own blogs. If you have one that I might not know about, drop me a comment below and come over to my facebook page to say Hi!