Before I get started, just a quick note about the future! I’m experimenting with a few changes to how I write this diary. I won’t be including as many weekly statistics because these just duplicate data that’s already available in my Airtable databases. This reduces all the redundant cut and...
Last year I decided that planning my allotment on a spreadsheet wasn’t for me. I’m a visual person and I found messing around with a spreadsheet was a real chore, I wanted to enjoy my planning. I decided to use Airtable as the basis for a solution, I chose it...
This document captures answers to the most common questions that I get about our allotments, what we grow and how we grow. Where are you? England North west Lytham St Annes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lytham_St_Annes The allotments are here: https://goo.gl/maps/3XBLthZwqp8AddHh7 Are you really by the seaside? The house is ½ a mile from...
This is the third draft of my guide to growing an abundance of vegetables all year round, especially in the so called Hungry Gap. The “jobs for the month” sections have been expanded in this version and I have new photos! I’d love a bit of feedback on how useful it...
Overview of the week Not much gardening this week. I drove down to London to collect Anna and Thom, who’ve been locked down there for months, but fortunately (although they are students) they managed to find a way to live in the most wonderful gated community with it’s own gardens...
For an overview of everything that I’m sowing for the whole year, please take a look at my month-by-month sowing guide. July continued the wet, windy and fairly cold weather from June, but the polytunnel tomatoes delivered and the low tunnels protected the peppers and gave us a brilliant harvest....
Overview of the week Slight improvement in the weather this week, I’ve been out cycling a bit and done some long walks. We continue to sow seeds and replant beds and right now I think we only have one bed free. We did the big onion and shallot harvest this...
Overview of the week It’s been another wet and cloudy week with hardly a break in the clouds. I’m pleased I have the grow lights which are allowing me to grow almost perfect plug plants. I’ve been particularly impressed by the thick stems and strong roots on the seedlings, as...
Overview of the week The weather is very gradually improving again after the cold and windy few weeks we’ve just had which really set everything back quite a bit. The beans and sweet corn are looking especially battered and the squash fruits are still tiny. The polytunnel is however churning...
Overview of the week It might have been mid summer, but it’s been pretty lousy weather. That means the house got cleaned from top to bottom, the gardening plans were fully revised and I got very wet, but we did manage to get out to plant and harvest a bit....
For an overview of everything that I’m sowing for the whole year, please take a look at my month-by-month sowing guide. June finally saw the end of the drought that had been with us for the whole of spring, which was a huge relief. A few plants suffered badly, but...
Overview of the week I left lytham St Annes for the first time since lock down this week, to hike with a friend. We went to the Rivington reservoir system and it was interesting to check up on the water levels, given the three month drought. They were low but...
Overview of the week This week wqe had our first two bulk harvests of the year, always a big event. We harvested the last 1/2 of the broad beans, having harvested the other half over the last three weeks. We also harvested the garlic and elephant garlic, following on from...
Overview of the week Plenty of time out on my bike this week, not so much time on the plots, but I’m keeping on top of things with an hour or so a day in the morning or evening. We have had a little rain, but extra watering has still...