As we prepare for the coming seasons.

 Life all around us seems to be forever in the pursuit of looking backwards, dissecting what has happened but alternatively an allotment does help you look forward to the future. You may well look back upon successes and failures but when you are down the allotment you seem to be in a constant state of what does the future hold? 

Our future down the allotment is of hopes and ideas, the learning of what you have enjoyed growing, and growing more of this produce in the coming year and the willingness to accept that the likes of carrots are far cheaper to buy by the bag at Asda than try to spend months growing them to then be devoured by carrot fly. With encouragement from our lass I have grown within myself in regards my abilities to build what is around us at the allotment and our lass too has had the enjoyment of success. We have both enjoyed the ability of just simply being, to lose hours but gain fulfilment. 

We have done plenty, but I have lost the initial condition a lot of new allotment holders suffer which is called the Mimi syndrome. best described as look at me, yes me, look what I have done, as though no others had done the same before.

Lots of pallets and like the jobs we have in mind for when we come to the allotment it normally turns into something else getting done, then these pallets have the same fate, they were to be fencing but if you scroll down you will see some of things they have become.

First time try at growing onions from seeds.

This was taken towards the end of September and it was great to have a display of colour down the allotment.

Our lass was rightly proud of her cauliflower a very pleasant surprise as the ones which were nurtured seemed the least likely to produce but let them do their own thing and they gave you results like this.

Hopefully keep our stuff safe from the grass cutter. our lass is full of cunning plans.

Nature can be so beautiful 

Onions in their own bed and manure on , well on just about everywhere as you can see.

Our lasses idea, pallet planters

Prepared today for the raspberries to be moved. Hopefully it will help to stop them wildly spreading also help keep the neighbours fence upright.

Two pallets and a bit of loose planks of wood, we now have a potting bench with shelving... it actually is stable, maybe down to the sheer weight of it.

Day 59 - Gone in a badgers twinkle

 Day 59, is actually 6 days after our last full day of day 58. We do go up in between watering and tinkering but we only write about the full days we spend down our allotment.

This day, was dahlia day, our lass potted up all the Dahlias which had been sourced. Now, if confirmation was needed that I mishear our lass it came when our lass talked about the names given to the Dahlias. I would have staked good money that there was Dahlia called "Beavers twinkle" it turns out that it was a Badgers twinkle, maybe it is the forever small boy which occupies a blokes mind, but I sniggered.

This was also the first exposure for the garden hose, it had been put away for the winter to save the frosts freezing the pipes also you don't get to do much more watering than a watering can during the cooler month, but it is another sign that spring has sprung.

We also sorted out the wooden fencing which we had been given, you will see from the before and after photographs below, we have managed to bring some definition to the area, even though there was fencing at the back of the wildlife garden part, it left us feeling exposed this is hopefully remedied now.

One thing we are fighting with now, is our own minds, the allotment still looks bare, what is in the greenhouse seems to always be on the edge of existence. One wrong look and it will whither whilst weeds are popping up all over the place, no matter how much you chop and hoe. Having an allotment is very much a religious experience you have to have faith.

Just a few of our lasses Dahlias which have been potted up.

Wood, lots of wood.

Before

After

After, and looking just right for a break time.

looking good in our lasses greenhouse

Busy both sides of our lasses greenhouse