Summer Harvests and Planting

It has been a tricky growing year, extremely high temperatures and no significant rain for many months means watering has been a real chore. But it’s starting to pay off now with lots of harvests. I’ve grown some decent carrots, these are Autumn King which are incredibly tasty too. I also have a purple variety…

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Little Blue Shed

The new shed on Plot 11w is now a lovely shade of blue! So far it’s had two coats of paint and will probably need a third to completely cover the new shed orange look. In case anyone is interested in the brand and shade of paint I used it’s Cuprinol Forget-Me-Not. I decided on…

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Allotment Jobs for August

All the hard work is starting to pay off, the allotment is producing plenty to take home to the kitchen. Beans and courgettes will need picking daily; blanche and freeze beans to avoid a glut or waste, try to pick courgettes before they become too big and watery. Now is the time I call the second spring – a…

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Curl Up and Fry

Record breaking temperatures hit parts of the UK yesterday, they may even be topped after today. As we Brits continue to sizzle under a red alert for extreme heat other parts of the world are also dealing with higher temperatures and wild fires. Scary stuff. It has been a struggle to keep the allotments lush…

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Scorching Hot on the Plot

Gosh it’s hot. Sticky heatwave weather arrived the end of last week sending temperatures rocketing back up to 30C and beyond. The temperature could climb even higher over the coming days. Ugh. The watering cans are getting plenty of action on the allotment, it’s enough to keep crops ticking over but the parched soil is…

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How To Hand Pollinate Pumpkins and Squash

The pumpkin patch vines are producing plenty of big buttery-yellow flowers now which are so pretty. Bees and other insects do a fantastic job of pollinating, but sometimes I hand pollinate my pumpkins and squash to be sure of success or to save seed from a particular variety. Hand pollination is really simple but first…

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