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Carder bee enjoying the nectar.
An allotment emerges...
The rewards.
The "Pond" - work in progress
In the Beginning...
In the Beginning...
In October 2021 I managed to get hold of an allotment plot in Hamble (which reminds my, I'd better pay my subs for this year...). It's a five rod plot, so a decent size, and when we took it on it was a "jungle". Bramble and coarse grasses had officially taken over and only a few small beds were workable/visible. Naturally, I loved it.
I didn't just want an allotment for growing fruit and veg, but also wanted to have a small "wild" space for myself and my two young girls to enjoy. This plot conventionally would be a gardeners worst nightmare, but just thinking about the birds, reptiles, invertebrates and plants hiding away amongst this plot got me excited.
In our first growing year, we've managed to harvest a decent yield of potatoes, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, chard and strawberries, but there's a long way to go until I consider myself a producer.
What has been great though are the wildlife encounters. We've had stag beetles, multiple slow worms, a hedgehog, plenty of birds (with robin and wren nests nearby) and bats foraging of an evening. Some great arable plants popping up too, I imagine being transported amongst seed and soil over the years of cultivation.
Hard to see but there is a bat flying over the allotment here.
Stag beetle... or at least it's carapace
Slow worm amongst the grass and leaf litter.
Chard and potatoes (boil 'em mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew).
Sowing & Growing
Sowing & Growing
Here are some learning points from the 2022 growing season:
Not everything survives... - over the past year I have quickly realised that not everything makes it to your dinner plate, but instead is on something elses dinner plate before you even realise. Slugs and snails decimated my cabbage and broccoli to the point where none survived. Woodlice left me with a whole load of hollowed out strawberries. And woodpigeons ate all my raspberries. I had to accept this as a trial, and accept that at least I've provided dinner for the inverts, birds and slow worms.
Take cover - This year the plan is to get the seedlings going a little further in the greenhouse (small walk-in plastic job) and once planted out, get them under some tunnels. Cover up those veggies seems the best way to keep them safe and sound. I'll plant out some other tasty treats as sacrificial offering to nature instead, possibly some nasturtiums and marigolds.
Plant what you want to plant - there's 1000's varieties of fruit and veg out there, so experiment a bit, but importantly, grow what you want. There's no point have a fantastic harvest of Jerusalem artichokes or marrow if you don't like eating it... I had chard coming out my ears. And also, don't get into that "how many beans?" competition with your allotment neighbour. Appreciate they have had a better yield or growing something tastier and learn from it.
Grass grows very quickly - I see why people prefer to have woodchip and paving, the grass grows rapidly. But I can deal with that. If you can put up with it, keep on top, I'd advocate having grassy pathways. I've found a variety of herbaceous species popping up in the lawn areas which support the local inverts.
Consult the Bible often - My allotment bible has to be Allotment Month by Month: How to Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg Hardcover by Alan Buckingham. It is a fantastic resource full of tips on planting, propagating, harvesting all sorts of fruit and veg. It is broken down month by month and provides great tips on adding features to your allotment.
Allotment Aspirations
Allotment Aspirations
Biodiversity - I don't want woodchip. I don't want paving slabs everywhere. I want a nice diverse grassy walkway with wildflowers (including nettles).
Invertebrate hotel - to build a lovely big bug hotel with space for hedgehogs, frogs and anyone who needs a home.
Herb garden - a good selection of herbs to harvest and spice up stews, curries, pasta dishes.
Defined plots - an inexpensive solution to plot edging. Nothing fancy, maybe some logs, bricks, planks.
Chillies - a whole little chilli garden to make chilli sauces.
A walk in green house to extend the growing season.
Newts, frogs, toads and dragonflies in the pond.
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