Katrina’s Allotment Diary
Looking back, April has been one hell of strange month! We had a blanket of snow then just a week ago, around the time when I filmed this video, we had soaring temperatures of 27 degrees! None the less I have achieved so much on the plot and some big changes have taken place.
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.
I’m back on your screens in my second allotment garden video! If you remember from my New Year Resolutions post, I’m making an effort to shoot more video content this year. Not only have I set up a dedicated Homegrown.Garden YouTube channel, but I’m also having fun shooting more stories on Instagram too!
In this episode, I’ll give you a tour around my plot at St. Ann’s Allotments so you can get a better idea of what my patch of dirt really looks like, as well as my (now) tidy and organised shed! I’ll share my ambitious plans for the year ahead, and show you some exciting activity that has taken place in my wildlife pond, in between the heavy snowfall.
At 29 minutes, this video is a bit of a lengthy one. They won’t all be this long I promise! So make yourself a cuppa and get comfy. I apologise in advance for my nervousness, the interrupting chainsaw and rambling! This is only my second video, so if you like what I’m doing let me know and I might even invest in a little fuzzy microphone in the future!
Trug handmade by Loldeantimber.
Late winter going into early spring is one of the best times of the year to choose your allotment plot. Annual plants have died back and deciduous trees bare their naked form, giving you an overall blank canvas view of the plot’s potential future as a productive edible garden. You might even glance a few signs of existing spring, like the striking green flash of bulbs poking up through the soil, the swelling buds of an apple tree or some primula in bloom.
I was lucky to only wait six months for my plot, but you could have your name on the waiting list for many months, or maybe even years! One day though, you’ll reach the top of that list and receive an invitation to go on an allotment tour, to choose yourself a garden. I remember the day so vividly! I was bursting with eagerness to think that I could return home with a set of keys to my very own piece of land. Continue reading “Tips for Choosing your Allotment Garden”
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”
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”
Happy Apple Day! Since today is the day that we, in the UK, celebrate the versatile fruit we all love eat, drink and grow, I thought I would share my home-brewing cider process so far. Continue reading “How I Made Home Brewed Cider Part 1”
I can’t believe it’s September already and the growing season has almost come to an end! I thought I would do one last tour of the polytunnel (below) to show how the plants have progressed with their new support and water systems in place.
Continue reading “September Polytunnel Video Tour”
I was wrong all along! Well…kind of. Let me explain. I got the keys to my allotment in September 2014 and one of the reasons I chose it was for the apple tree growing at the back of the plot. The first apple I ate was sour and must have been an underripe one because for the last THREE YEARS I thought my apple tree grew cooking apples.
Homegrown Garden 