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...
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 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...
Overview of the week I’m writing this diary on Tuesday and so I’ve now forgotten a lot of what I did last week, which is why I normally write it on Saturday! Having consulted my personal diary though I discovered that I spent Monday and Tuesday cycling, installed yet another...
For an overview of everything that I’m sowing for the whole year, please take a look at my month-by-month sowing guide. May was perhaps even more challenging than April, we had three frosts, one of them bad enough to kill about 20% of the peppers and French beans, even under...
Overview of the week For some reason I allowed myself to forget just how busy spring is on the allotments and in the kitchen garden. Incredibly I scheduled three holidays during spring, all of which – thank goodness – were cancelled as a result of the corona virus, I’m not...
Overview of the week Life is much more relaxed now, all of the big jobs are done, so we are ticking over. Every week brings a new bed to completion, it gets reconditioned and replanted, tick, tick, tick and so it goes for a few months. Unfortunately my knees are...
Overview of the week We are almost planted now, this week Jennie and Jon finished clearing the ground on their plot, prepared it and mulched it ready for the winter brassicas and squash. They were worn out so Debbie and I planted the winter brassicas. We’ve been busy planting on...