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Katrina’s Allotment Diary

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Hello from Nottingham, UK

Recent Posts

  • Mini Apple Turnovers
  • Sensei Secateurs – Garden Tool Review
  • Minted Pea & Ham Soup
  • Volunteering at RHS Chatsworth Flower Show
  • April Allotment Tour Video
  • TOP 10 Seed Choices with Suttons

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It’s another ‘before’ picture! One of my main resolutions this year is to make better use of my allotment. That means turning two key areas into more productive spaces! The first of which is the very bottom of my plot, next to the shed. I have a very large woodchipped seating area that is going to be significantly reduced to the side corner. I’ve already moved my bench from where it sat next to that water tank. I also need to move the compost bin to the right corner and hide it with a trellis where I already have a clematis and honeysuckle growing. I’ll have much more room for some raised beds to grow more cut flowers including strawflowers, sweet peas, cucumbers and I’m hoping to have an archway up for growing squash and scented climbers! It may not look it, but I’ve got some work ahead of me to remove three large hazel shrubs, a few brambles, ivy and the dreaded damson tree suckers. Then there’s all those pots to sort out! 😩 Let’s see if I can pull off my master plan. 😅💪 . #allotment #growyourown #gardening #allotmentlife #gardenersofinstagram #dowhatyoulove #organicgardening #homegrown #vegetablegarden #cutflowergarden #growwhatyoueat
Up until a few weeks ago I completely forgot that I grew mashua! It was only when @shegrowsveg reminded me that I realised I hadn’t yet harvested the tubers. Mashua is more commonly used as a decorative flowering plant than an edible, it’s native to the Andes and is in the same family as nasturtium. You can eat the leaves and the tubers from which the plants grow and once cooked they’re suppose to taste a bit like cabbage. I admit that I was a bit disappointed that my mashua didn’t flower last year and the same is true a few of you I hear. Im not sure why but I’ll try again. ☺️ Now what to do with these things. I want to save the majority for growing but I do want to see how they taste 🧐 #growyourown #allotment #mashua #gardening #organicgardener #allotmentlife #gardenersofinstagram #harvest
If you’re looking for a garden job this weekend, now is a good time to clean your bird boxes ready for a new breeding season. If you don’t own a bird box, now is also a great time of the year to put one up as the birds are looking for places to raise their family! 🐣 To clean your bird box the @rspb_love_nature recommend that you do not use any cleaning products at all and simply remove the nesting material and pour boiling water through it to kill off any nasty parasites or fleas. In 2019 I was completely obsessed with the first blue tit residents of this box (swipe ➡️to see 📸) who successfully raised all of their young in here from April - May. I have seen a blue tit flying about the box recently, I really hope it’s one of the parents ready to return! FUN FACT: Blue tits line their nest with aromatic herbs like lavender and mint to kill bacteria and create a more sterile environment to raise their chicks. #allotment #birdbox #wildlife #wildlifegardening #bluetit #birds #gardening #nature #rspb @thewildlifetrusts @rspb_love_nature #britishwildlife #gardenersofinstagram #givenatureahome
It’s that time of the year when my bay window at home becomes the perfect spot for creeping out visitors with my chitting seed potatoes. I hope that my Monstera deliciosa doesn’t mind a bit of spuddy company. 🥔 These egg box trays provide the potato with a nice little support to stop them rolling around and getting muddled with the other varieties. If you don’t eat eggs or if you don’t get through enough of them to meet your potato storage needs, pop to a nearby restaurant (or in my case a Chinese takeaway) and ask if they have any going spare! Place your potatoes with the eyes pointing up in a sunny, frost free location for them to develop some ‘chits’ (or knarly, weird little green stubs) before planting them in spring. Some people chit and some people don’t! To chit or not to chit? What’s your method? . #monsteramonday #potatoes #growyourown #chitting #growwhatyoueat #allotment #home #monsteradeliciosa #houseplantlover #thehouseplantchallenge
I’ve never shared this space with you before because I never felt much connection to it. One of the reasons why I got my allotment is because I don’t have a garden to call my own. Whilst that is true, I don’t own my own back garden, what I do have is access to this shared communal courtyard area. I never saw this area as a place to relax, to enjoy being outside with the wildlife. It’s very overlooked with a block of flats on each side and is next to a very busy, city road! I’ve since realised that actually, I should be very grateful to have this space because some don’t even have a balcony, so I’m on a new mission this year! With everything that I’ve learnt I hope to bring together our community of flats to grow some food, provide flowers and shelter for wildlife as best I can in this concrete, urban space. It has lots of potential, some beds already, a patio area and it’s a bit of a sun trap in the summer. With the great potential comes a few challenges though including potential theft, watering issues, the cost and restrictions on what I can do in a rented space. I’ll be speaking with the landlord this week but I’ve already got a few of the residents on board so watch this space! 🤞🏻😃🌸🍅🏡 . #rhsgreeninggreybritain #greeninggreatbritain #rhs @the_rhs #communalcourtyardproject #communitygarden #community #communalgarden #gardenersofinstagram #growyourown
Ta- Da! Behold, my own hand built compost sieve! 🔨 It fits neatly over my wheelbarrow and does an amazing job of filtering out big particles and twiggy bits from my compost to create a soft, crumbly black gold! 🤎 Since I don’t make enough compost to mulch with I’m going to try using my homemade compost for starting seeds off in soil blocks. 🌱 . I think that my ridiculous smile here just shows how proud I am because when it comes to building stuff, I haven’t a clue! I’m going to change that this year by doing more DIY projects to learn more basic building skills. If you’re interested in building your own compost sieve like this, I followed the Youtube tutorial from Growing Your Greens. 🔨 . #allotment #gardening #diy #compost #compostsieve #growyourown #allotmentlife #gardenersofinstagram #soilhealth #composting
🌼 GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED 🌼 Spring is just around the corner and soon we’ll be sowing lots of vegetable and flower seeds like there’s no tomorrow. If you don’t have all of your seeds yet, never fear! I’ve teamed up with Vital Seeds to help get you started. One lucky winner will receive a £20 gift voucher to spend on their range of organic and open pollinated seeds. 🍅🥒🥕 . For your chance to win: 🌱 Like this post 🌱 Follow @vital.seeds 🌱 Share in the comments what you are looking forward to growing the most this year! This giveaway is open to the U.K. only (sorry) and ends at 6pm on Sunday 2nd Feb. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday. Good luck! 💚👩🏻‍🌾🌱 . #allotment #growyourown #seeds #openpollinated #ediblegarden #garden #growwhatyoueat #organicseeds #organicgardening
The end of January is here and with it comes a new YouTube vlog and allotment tour! 📽 There may not be a lot growing but I have SO much planned for the year. I’m so excited I feel like I must be seriously annoying. You know, like the eager kid at school who squirms in their seat, ready to put their hand up to answer a question? 🙄🙋🏻‍♀️ Yeahhhh, I’m that kid right now. So join me in this month’s video to hear all about my ambitious plans, learn how I rodent-proofed my spring bulbs and see the compost sieve that I built in action! 🔨💪🤎Find the video link on my profile when you’re ready to watch! ☕️📺 . #allotment #growyourown #gardening #growhatyoueat #allotmentgarden #youtube #gardenersofinstagram #organicgarden #vegetablegarden #vlog #allotmentlife
So far so good with my soil blocking experience! I realised that one of the biggest advantages of the micro soil blocker is that you can fit a whopping 40 seeds into one small propagator tray, which could be 120 seedlings if I used all three on my heated propagator. 😦 This means it’s saving space and there’s less wasted seed than if I were to over sow in an open tray. I found a great system for labelling my chilli blocks and it’s used a good old fashioned notebook and pen! 📖 I numbered each of the blocks in my bullet journal and wrote the variety in a list. The only annoying this is that these will all germinate at different rates because chillies are a bit like that! 🌶 Some germinate in 7 days but other varieties may have me waiting in 14 days or more before I block them up into bigger soil blocks. It’s all very new and I’m rather enjoying it! ☺️ . #soilblocks #soilblocking #seedlings #growyourown #bulletjournal #list #journaling #bujo #seedsowing #allotment #gardenersofinstagram @soilblockers
‘Tis the season for pruning your apple and pear trees! Whether your tree is a dwarf cutie or an overgrown monster, now is the time to give them some TLC for next years harvest. First off it’s essential to use a clean, sharp tool. Be it secateurs, loppers or a hand saw. I used my new @silkyeurope saws that they very kindly gave me. ❤️ Here are some more tips to remember: . 🍏Remove dead/damage wood 🍎Wash tools immediately after removing any diseased wood (look up canker👀) to prevent it spreading 🍏 Familiarise yourself with the spurs, these are the fruiting buds 🍎 Vertical growth = vegetive. Remove the upright branches to allow more light and air through the tree 🍏 Try to create an open structure 🍎 Remove/cut back any crossing branches that may rub and could open up the tree to disease 🍏Step back and see how it’s looking 🍎Disinfect your tools before putting them away or moving on to another tree ❗️Remember to leave any stoned fruit like cherries and plums well alone until summer. If you prune them now they may become susceptible to disease such as silver leaf. With regular maintenance pruning you will continue to harvest a bounty of healthy apples year on year! #silkysaw #gifted #allotment #appletree #gardentips #growyourown #apples #garden #vegepatch #gardenersofinstagram #allotmentlife #growwhatyoueat #homegrown
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© Katrina Harrison aka Homegrown.Garden, 2014. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without written permission is strictly prohibited. Excepts and links may be used, provided that full an clear credit is given to Katrina Harrison, aka Homegrown.Garden with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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