Tuesday 10 May 2011

Our allotment

Just two minutes walk from where I live we have a 80ft by 40ft approx allotment which we got about 5 years ago. It was a chance discussion with a friend that got me interested but - having heard about waiting lists of in some cases years - we thought it would be a while before we got one.
Not so! A trip down to the brewery who owns the land and rents out the allotments and we were shown a plan  - which one do you want? Choice of about 6 or so vacant ones at the time (that isn't the case today - there is now a waiting list). So straight on and into clearing stones and weeds, athough the brewery did plough the land for us to start with.

That first year we didn't cultivate the whole plot, I think it was potatoes in the top section, brassicas in the next. We then started a fruit section, with onions, carrots etc in the next. Peas and beans went in the last section.

We rotate every year, so this year it is peas and beans at the top, potatoes in the next (though the broccolli from last year is still in a bit as it hasn't finished!). The fruit section is now very much established, with 2 minarette pear trees, two minarette apples, a damson and a blueberry bush. Also blackcurrant bushes and rashberry canes.
The next section is brassicas and at the bottom onions, garlic, carrots, leeks and parsnips.

We also have strawberries and blackberries down the side and another apple.

So, we are quite busy but the aim is to try and have something from the allotment to eat every day of the year even if it is a pot of jam!

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