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 49 - Everything is fit to burst

It seems we are now only a short time away from spring bursting out all over. We have everything just about ready, seedlings are coming along, potatoes chitting, seed packets lined up to be sown, we just need the warmer weather. At the end of today we had the glimpse of what I described to our lass as a late evening sun, it felt like eight in the evening in the summer but it was actually three thirty in the afternoon. With the clocks moving forward and the longer days coming ever closer this will remedy all our angst of lets get on with it. But you do feel as though you are awaiting the starting pistol, which won't have made a noise but instead burst open a daffodil flower or pear/apple tree blossom.

Today our lass had not only been busy mixing in compost and grit to help the soil to drain in some of the beds, our lass also removed the leaves from a bed and put them into our bench planter, forked and hoed the beds, but also came up with a great idea for the onion sets I had left over. "Why not plant them with the tomatoes?" Our lass said, A quick google search found that tomatoes and onions work well as companions with the onions odour hopefully repelling pest that like tomatoes. We will report back through the year, but it could be an interesting experiment.

Our bench planter, just needing some compost in the planting side. But looks as though it will be a good spot for the end of day sunshine.

Strawberry bed hoed and weeded

One of several beds attended to by our lass, with compost and grit to help improve drainage

Carrot bed now topped up and ready for seed.

The tomato plant will go in the middle of the four onions.

Onions the grandkids planted, now has a net over to stop the birds being confused with the shoots.

One wheel short of a wheel barrow, advice for anyone, if you choose a wheel barrow get one with a solid tyre, ours has got a puncture so having to seek a replacement wheel.

Tomatoes and aubergines coming along nicely.

Day 47 - We gotta have faith, faith, faith.

One thing our lass has been able to slowly but surely instil in me is a modicum of faith in myself. Yesterday a bench, today some planters from old tongue and groove. Before I would never have had the self belief but with the help of our lass, who knows what I could build next.

This faith, is also faith in that everything is going to grow. Our lass is currently disheartened by the performance of germinating seeds, currently around three have germinated in a whole tray, the argument seems to be, "Why not just go and buy the plants?" Which to be honest the same could be said about the fruit and vegetables we are growing. This could never be classed as a money saving exercise, but as a certain credit card would suggest "Some things are priceless".

Our lass potted on some lavender cuttings and in the Carol Klein style of gardening covered them in grit.

Three new planters for the front of the allotment, if anyone decides to nick them they are in for a surprise, as they have no bottoms....

Todays new work bench, the top of the compost bin.

Camera on a stick, see how the angle change affects the photographs

Onion bed being prepared

all the tubs ready and filled in the green house, just the buckets for the peppers.

Bench made safe by securing it to the flower bed