Katrina’s Allotment Diary
The seed sowing season is in full swing and I’m lucky to be trialling some new varieties from Sutton’s. I spent many hours flicking through their brightly coloured catalogue and narrowed my selection to a top ten list of favourites to try for the first time.
It’s been a funny old winter and one that has really hit the UK hard in the last few weeks. The thick blanket of snow is almost a distant memory now as the ground thaws and the early spring flowers begin to appear. Have you noticed how deafeningly loud the birds are? At 6pm there’s still just enough light in the sky to make a quick visit to the plot after work to top up the bird feeders or sow some seeds in the polytunnel. It won’t be long now until the epic seed sowing marathon commences, but before this busy time ensues, I want to look back at the progress and changes that took place over the winter months. Continue reading “End of Winter Update”
Is anyone else in a strange state of excitement and panic at the same time? Whilst it may be cold and miserable outside, Spring really is just around the corner now and thats great, but I still have so much to do first! Continue reading “Allotment Jobs for Winter”
Happy New Year! I’m going into 2018 with a list of personal allotment resolutions – eek! Let me make it clear that resolutions aren’t normally my thing. To be honest, I don’t see the point in striving for unrealistic personal goals, putting pressure on yourself to live a certain way, only to forget all about the #NEWYEARNEWME by the 4th January *rolls eyes*. It just isn’t me. With all that said, I was reflecting on my allotment progress and realised how I could make things better for myself, my land and hopefully for others too. Some of my resolutions I have started already, because they aren’t just for a new year remember! It’s never a bad time to make a few changes to your lifestyle or future plans.
Continue reading “2018 Allotment Resolutions”
Saving seed has become an important part of my allotment practises this year and I’ve come to realise that It’s something everyone should be doing! Not only are seeds themselves such beautiful things to study close up, but the more you grow and preserve your seed, you are in turn developing the variety to become better adapted to your growing in your soil and micro-climate conditions. Here are my 5 reasons why you should save your seed! Continue reading “5 Reasons Why You Should Save Your Seed”
Following on from my recent TOP 7 Successes of 2017 post, it only seemed fair to share my failures too. I have to say that 2017 was overall a very good year on the allotment but some crops didn’t perform as well as I hoped. Continue reading “TOP 4 Failures of 2017”
I’m joining Annabelle’s (from Life at No.27) mission to reveal #myrealview on my plot because my allotment isn’t all as it might seem! Continue reading “#MyRealView”
Overall, 2017 has been a great year for growing and experimenting. I tried new methods to increase plant production, prevent diseases and I also got creative in the kitchen using the glut of the harvests to make new recipes including cakes, cider, chutneys, jams, indian snacks and desserts! Take a look at my top 7 successes for 2017 and be sure to let me know in the comments what your biggest success was for the year. Continue reading “TOP 7 Successes of 2017”
Homegrown Garden 