As the year flew by and the majority of the bounteous crops were coming to an end, it was time to do some tidying up and preparing the allotment for the coming winter.
The other allotment holders did things at their own pace. Some plots were already being cleared and prepped while others seemed to have been left to let nature recycle the plants – or perhaps they weren’t quite as eager as me!
It seemed premature to begin with, the weather was still quite mild, but with a pink lemonade blueberry I had recently acquired, I was worried about the first frost and not getting it fleeced up in time.
So we set to with pulling up the courgettes and cucumber plants, the last of the onions and the runner beans. The third lot of carrots I planted were doing zip, so I pulled out the little leaves that had stayed at thinning out length for the past month or so. I trimmed back the chives and pulled up the basil that had gone horridly straggly. My marigolds had also not fared well so I pulled them up too – with a view to next year planting more than just a couple and keeping them close together.
The compost bin was filled with the cuttings and pullings. The raised beds looking a little bare, but hopefully not for too long. I sowed handfuls of green manure seed into the now vacant soil. My husband planted shallots in one of the beds and I clipped back some of the lettuce to tidy it up.
The bird feeder was topped up as usual – these days we mostly only pop down there to keep it filled.
We had also had word from the council that the allotment holders were allowed to have incinerators. I don’t know if they had previously been allowed but banned due to some people misusing them, but I got one excitedly… perhaps one day we’ll have something to burn in it…
The plot ticks away, the cold weather has descended, as has the storms – with quite biblical style rain. We haven’t been down this week – probably should to check out the state of it.
I had a mini nectarine tree delivered this week – it’s staying indoors at the moment until the weather picks up! It will be going in a pot on the plot – same as the pink lemonade blueberry. It will be fleeced to protect it, but hopefully it will work well.
So now we are in December, time for planning for the coming year. The green manure will need to be dug into the soil, and some seeds can be planted. Can’t wait!
alittleallotment 