What to do at the allotment in January

January is always a fresh start. This year feels like we need one more than ever. I feel motivated to grow things when New Year’s Day begins and this is often where the frustration creeps in. It’s a slow progression into the new year and as gardeners, it can feel painfully slow. I’ve learned to fight the urge to sow anything in January. The low level of light and cold temperatures mean sowing anything this month requires heat and artificial light. It requires more of our attention and anything you grow now will always be caught up by later sowings. Personally, I don’t see the benefit of this additional resource. It is much better to do the jobs that will provide a real benefit to you when spring arrives and everything jumps into life and the jobs quickly pile up.

Continue reading “What to do at the allotment in January”

Allotment Jobs for April

What a difference a month makes.

I wrote my March allotment jobs on the cusp of the Coronavirus Crisis. In the space of four weeks, the world has become a different place. Continue reading “Allotment Jobs for April”

Allotment jobs for March

Two years ago, March began in the midst of the Beast for the East. Bitterly cold weather, heavy snow and blizzards combined with Storm Emma and created some of the most difficult weather the UK had experienced for years. Continue reading “Allotment jobs for March”

Allotment Jobs for February

February is a month that both excites and frustrates me as a gardener. Daylight is reaching a crucial number of hours this month, some seeds can be sown but it’s important to remember it’s still winter.

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Allotment Jobs for January

The garden is quiet. In my mind’s eye, January is a dark, wet and bare month. However, I have learned that when you look or when you build a relationship with nature (as we do as gardeners) the reality is there is some colour to be found in the middle of winter and there is always life. Continue reading “Allotment Jobs for January”

Allotment jobs for September

It’s the end of the school summer holidays. Having an allotment is not just about growing food. It’s certainly a place to occupy children during the six-week break. However, if you embrace your plot and the community of people that come together at your allotment site you find they offer so much more.

(Note: There are some affiliate links in this post, which means you can click on them to buy. If you do, I may get a small fee. It doesn’t affect the price you pay.) Continue reading “Allotment jobs for September”

When gardening took hold

I haven’t always been a gardener.

My good friend Andrew O’Brien recently invited me for a brief chat on the latest episode of his beautiful podcast and he asked me about my gardening. Has it always been there? When did it begin? Continue reading “When gardening took hold”

Allotment jobs for May

It’s May. The month us gardeners seem to pin our hope’s on. The last frosts (for me anyway) the warmer temperature. The sunny days and the promise of more to come. It’s also my birthday month and so as I grow another year older, I will forget the numbers and embrace the green shoots and early radishes instead. Continue reading “Allotment jobs for May”

Allotment gardening and the power of to-do lists

I have a terrible memory.

One of the frustratingly common examples of this happens when I walk into the supermarket and forget the reasons for being there.

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