The Inspectors…

The inspectors arrived, aka my dad and his wife Sue. (gulp) I was nervous that mtp would measure up to their strict standards and that it would pass the series of rigorous tests they had in store – such as: Did I have the correct space between plants (failed). Had I checked for cabbage white […]

Week 13

Jobs for this week include: Sow rest of sweetcorn seeds (in a block 4×3) Thin out the Perpetual Spinach plants Space out lettuce plants (as they are all in a clump) Sow a second bed of peas (Klevedon wonder) Search for suitable pea sticks Make fleece guard for carrots (hooray they are actually sprouting!) Sort […]

Gooseberries

The ten million (well nearly) gooseberries that are currently growing on mtp are nearly ripe. I thinned them out about two weeks ago (as per allotment bible) and they’re growing fat day by day. There seems to be two varieties (green and red) – do they taste differently? I must confess I’ve never tasted gooseberries […]

Posh Allotmenteering

We are officially the poshest gardeners on our allotments. I don’t know….one sunny day and it’s any excuse to crack open the red and sit back with a nice slice of St Agur on a Carr’s cracker thin. Tom and Barbara would be proud! But seriously why not? The day goes a little something like […]

Week 12

This week has been pretty slow on mtp. Apart from the fact that Ryan and I were away this weekend on ‘bonafide’ minibreak in Stratford (and to watch this– it was amazing). The main reason is the weather, it’s so unpredicatable. Tonight I had planned to spend some time at the plot watering, weeding and […]

My Tiny Toolbox

I took a picture of what has now become my toolbox (it’s actually an old seed tray). As you can see I have all the vital items in there. A carrot-shaped box to hold my seed packets (thanks Ryan’s Dad), some scissors, bits of old string and weed surpressing fabric (just incase a rogue weed […]

Everything is Growing…

I spent two hours at mtp last night just tidying up, weeding, watering, transplanting, edging the grass etc. I’ve got some lovely Nasturtiums and some violas (just flowering) ready to go in the beds next weekend once the weather has cleared up. The lettuce patch is going crazy too. All the Little Gem, Pentard Red […]

New Verb

I’ve invented a new verb; to Allotmenteer. I thought it would come in handy for those weekends when I spend more time at mtp than not. When I get back to work on a Monday morning people might say, ‘so what did you get up to at the weekend then?’ and I might say, “well […]

Week 11

The seed planting production line ground to a halt this week mainly because the weather has been rubbish. The mtp site is a bit exposed and prone to windy conditions so it’s been bitterly cold up there the last few days. I had planned to have all the beds planted with seeds but it wasn’t […]

Companion Planting

I’ve decided to indulge in a little companion planting. I don’t know much about it but considered it couldn’t hurt to try a few partnerships to see if they get on well. I’ve planted some garlic in amongst my carrots to deter carrotfly and I’m planning to put some Nasturtiums next to my cucumbers and […]