Ever wondered what you should do each month on your plot? Tony, one of our plot holders and a committee member sends a monthly 'to do' list to all plot holders. Here's the one for July. Check out our Allotment Calendar on the website for more great ideas! July to do list: Prune this year’s Pear/Plum … Continue reading What to do on your plot in July?
Plot Preparations
The Whisper of Surprise
Good to be organised about sowing seeds. There is nothing worse than finding packets of seeds and it being too late in the season to sow them.
For me there is always a whisper of surprise when growing from seed…you never really know what will happen! There is also the simple fact that growing from seed is the cheapest way to grow your own and it is absolutely the most rewarding method of raising your own plants. There isn’t anything more satisfying than harvesting fruit and vegetables, that you have grown yourself!
This weekend the weather here in Wales has been appalling so I’ve been confined to the house, greenhouse and garden for my gardening fix. Yesterday, I decided to dig through the seed box looking for ‘sow in March’ on the packets and after finding a small collection, I drew up a basic ‘Seed-Starting Plan’ in my allotment note book.
There is one slight problem…because this is my first year on Plot 5A, I have no idea when my ‘Frost-Free’ date will be!! (Note to self:…
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When is an Espresso Not an Espresso??
This week on the plot we began to plan, weed and seed. During the fine weather the last of the raised beds have been weeded with the added bonus of finding the last of the 2014 spring onion harvest to bring home. I shared some with my neighbour who was busy digging drills and securing the … Continue reading When is an Espresso Not an Espresso??
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What I’m going to grow in 2015
I had a pretty successful growing year last year, but made a few mistakes with what I grew. My theme for 2014 was ‘grow stuff which is expensive in the shops’, which was a nice idea on paper.
For the sixth year running, I used an entire raised bed (50% of my growing space) to attempt pumpkins, which (for the sixth year running) grew to the size of an egg then withered away. I love pumpkins, but 2014 confirmed that we’ll never be mother and child. As a result of this, I lost an enormous amount of growing space, given that each pumpkin takes up a minimum of 1m squared.
I grew globe artichokes, which looked magnificent and tasted immense, but they look a tremendous amount of effort, for a very small return (I grew four).
Celeriac grew, and survived winter, but the resulting vegetables were tiny. This was a…
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Allotment Update: Digging A Bean Trench
A “How To” video on digging a bean trench for the summer. The trench will help keep my runner beans from drying out in the summer and provide them with nutrients.
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A Cold January Morning at Powerstown
I ventured up to the allotments on a crisp morning in January. Even though it was cold there were still two plot holders working away on various tasks. After a stroll around it was apparent that people have been busy in recent days/weeks preparing for the new season. Hubert from plot 149 was putting the … Continue reading A Cold January Morning at Powerstown
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Composting Anyone? Aspirations of Plot 157
The quality of the soil on the plot is one of the most important things you will address. An allotment with poor soil is like a car with no engine - on a downward slope. The Easy Option I have had an allotment for many years on different sites. Last year, I took the easy way … Continue reading Composting Anyone? Aspirations of Plot 157
Powerstown Allotments 