In all honesty I would probably not be spending any much time at all at the allotment over winter if it weren't for C; he has a knack of knowing what needs doing and when. My auto-pilot winter mode insists that nothing can be done, nothing will grow and it's all pointless, which to a certain extent is true though perhaps a tad pessimistic. To my excitement, I have noticed some bulbs just starting to shoot and if I was more organised and had the plan to hand I could tell you what they were. As it is, I'll guess at snowdrops. You can see just how stony the ground is.
After misplacing some iris bulbs for a few months, ahem, C found them in with strimming paraphernalia so I have planted them anyway, in the hope that they may still yield up the goods. The flower bays in the orchard plot look so drab now but I hope that in the months to come we will see some action. The trees still need their prune and it is a priority now, before they think it's spring and come back to life. I think a Youtube tutorial or two may be in order to master the correct way to do is as opposed to rushing in and lopping everything off.

After diligent stone hunting around the plot I have now filled one path on a base layer, still the other to do but it's a good start. The final tilling of the flower patch is a way off yet but I am itching to get planting in March/April, I am terribly over excited.
Over the weekend we did put in some onion sets but the frosty ground and snow is not good news. Hopefully they will be alright.
Sophie

The last month has been a quiet one at the allotment. In fact I've not written about it for over three months now and last time we were already ploughing up the empty patches. Funny, because I feel like I talk about it all the time but apparently I don't.
Contrary to expectation, some of the flowers I planted back in spring were still in flower; the mixed assortment of 'cottage garden flowers' offering some much appreciated blooms and the one sweetpea which has grown into a tall and wonderful flowering beauty with the last few pink fronds ending with the first frost. Next year I'm hoping the rest follow suit! I had to pull out the dwindling annuals to make way for bulbs. It did need a tidy.

As the orchard/flower half plot has suffered at the hands (or teeth) of tyrannical rabbits we coordinated with our plot share neighbours to put in gates, move the fence and seal up the plot in the hope that it will solve the issues to provide a secure growing area. The three gates in total were sourced second hand and miraculously were a great bargain! Two are up (what a faff) and the third will have to be done at some point but is of less importance as it connects our two plots. At one point of things going not so well I did comment that it would have made more sense to pay someone to do it for us. C, looking confused, pointed out that it would be less fun. That threw me as I wasn't having fun at all. Goes to show how everyone is different and relishes completely different aspects of things. Give me a weedy bed to tidy and I'l merrily set about that but if a fence needs popping in, I'd rather make myself scarce and re-surface until it's all done.
C put togther an excellent manure store with some pallets which is where we plan to rot down horse manure so that we have our own supply of the good stuff. It looks nice and tidy and hasn't taken up too much space considering. I jut hope it wont be too smelly!
Did I mention the flower bed we have put in with the couple of paths? It happened a good few weeks ago and I cannot remember if I already wrote about it somewhere. The edging and posts were a bit fiddly but now that it's done I feel like I'm on track for flowers next year. I'm gradually filling the paths with stone as it reveals itself on the plot - it's good to make use of the surplus in the ground.

This weekend I finally got round to digging over the empty orchard beds before planting the spring bulbs which have been patiently waiting in a box and crying out to be planted. To be honest, I'd been struggling to want to organise myself for 2017 and set things in stone - I'm a ditherer and don't really like to think of committing to a whole year so quickly....


I had a word with myself and made lists. I sketched plans. I googled. I checked my book.
Finally I got myself on to Sarah Raven as Mum holds her in high esteem for flowers. The site is amazing and got me inspired to commit, though I did add all my choices to wishlist before making the bold move to buying the lot. Now that I've received the dispatch notice I'm feeling so excited for spring! It's funny but now that it's all complete I feel at ease and more relaxed about things. It will be good to read up about planting and growing so many new flowers this year. It's daunting but I must remember that it's a hobby so isn't worth stressing over. Though I do find that I put myself under pressure on these occasions without even noticing.

A few remaining winter crops are still around; cabbages, leeks, sprouts, celeriac, swede... Artichoke and some self seeding beans but there's not too much.

That's about lot for the moment although I could waffle on all day. I'll put it on ice and continue in mid winter.
Sophie

 It's been a strange time over at the allotment for the last couple of weeks; instead of a plot brimming with life, it's gradually emptying at a rate which is gathering pace. The onions have all been taken away now for drying so a big empty square has appeared there. The last remaining turnips have been removed so with just a few beetroot on the front to go before that big space opens up. We're lucky to be able to make use of the communal burny bin so at the weekend we burned the broad bean stalks which worked really well. And a bit of straw. Ideally, we may be able to burn more waste rather than attempting to 'compost' aka piling it in a big heap which never turns into anything remotely composty.





I finally got round to buying a trug each and surprised C with the large parcel last week. They are the BEST buy I've made in ages and C was thrilled with his, especially as it had his name on it. I'm in his good books! They are handmade to order from Loldean Timber right here in Norfolk, very sturdy and will last us forever. I'm so impressed! C's is in colour Willow with text in white, mine is in Coastal Mist with my name in black. They were £21 each including delivery and that includes personalisation. Perfect for taking home our harvest and carrying hand tools as well. Definitely a treat we will be enjoying for a long time to come.


We harvested all of one variety of sweetcorn (which amounted to less than you might imagine) and made a large vat of chicken and sweetcorn soup with it which was delicious. I'm going to hog the remainder which is hiding in the freezer. The babycorn are getting eaten but we'll have to pick the rest soon, along with the rest of the sweetcorn  before they get past their best.

Did I mention that we popped the cardboard rolls over the leeks? I'd been SICK of collecting them for weeks so I'm thrilled that we've used them and I can move on with my life now. Hopefully the leeks will repay my patience.

The pumpkins are getting big and ripe (seems far too early???) and the courgettes are insanely prolific. Trust me, if you want a guaranteed crop, go for courgettes. They keep producing! I do have a courgette glut to use up this weekend, so courgette cake and courgette jam/pickle is on the cards. I've got through plenty with just eating it with (many) meals and making courgette fritata - fritters don't work so I just made it in one pan sized piece.




We've used about half the potatoes, so that corner looks untidy. The broccoli and cauliflower are done now and we're eating our way through the carrots. Sadly, the parsnips have suffered with the stoney ground and have twisted and mutated.

But although the plot is emptying, we have plenty of winter veg to keep growing and also I have plans for growing more flowers on the plot so we will start to prepare the ground for next spring. Manuring and rotivating will take a lot of work so there is no shortage of demand on our time.

Sophie