Over to the allotment

When my father retired, he began renting an allotment in a delightful market town near him (he lives in a village between the city and the town). The allotment is not a full size one (25m x 10m) but one that is about 18m x 6m. He likes his redcurrants and raspberries which take up some space so when an elderly chap was unable to keep up with his plot, just 2 plots along, my Dad and another plot-holder took half each. This plot is divided into 9 sections cut cross-ways and last year Dad offered me one. I grew many courgettes and a few squashes and some tomatoes in grow bags on the edge, and 6 garlics. Toward the end of the year the other plot-holder, a great chap named Alfie (name changed), approached me and said that he was finding an extra half plot too much work and wanted to know if I would like his half. I jumped at the chance, and started dreaming. Within a week, my Dad said the same thing and I jumped at that chance too, so I now have all 9 sections and the things I don’t plan to grow are nobody’s business.

The tidiest my allotment ever looked

 The soil is very heavy clay which means it stays wet and cold for a long time so you must sow later than on lighter soils, but it also means that it retains moisture longer in the summer, as well as retaining nutrients. There is a plague of bindweed as well as couch grass. Rabbits are also a problem.

 

When I only had the one section, I did think that if I ever had a whole plot I wouldn’t cut it up into sections and waste growing space, but now I think they are a great idea. You can keep more to the grassed paths and keep off the soil, a good thing when wet if you don’t want your boots accumulating an extra 2 inches of mud, and good for the soil as you don’t compact it. It also aids with accurate crop rotation; you know that each section has its own plants and they are clearly demarcated.

 

As far as gardening work goes, I was trying to get round to planting some garlic bulbs in the allotment. Ideally these should have been planted way back in the autumn as they need a dose of cold, but it is possible to plant them as late as February/early March as I did last year and still have a small harvest. I planted 6 cloves and they all grew and when I harvested them the bulbs were small but with many cloves. I have read that garlic will adapt to your particular soil type over the years if you replant the cloves you grow so that you end up with your own variety. This year I opted for some shop bought bulbs as they were bigger, with the aim of getting them into the ground quick!

Next post: 6th Jan