THE MESSY LITTLE ALLOTMENTS

Whilst the weather outside is decidedly wintry it does not stop thoughts of the year ahead on the plot. There is always something to do. This time of year is really about getting organised; what will you plant, where will you plant it. In other words have a map of the plot in your mind or commit it to paper, it does not have to be a hard and fast rule but in doing so allows you to then buy what you need. Nothing is planted in January unless you have polytunnels where early he

To Dig or Not to Dig... In the words of The Mock Turtles, Can You Dig It? Well of course you can if you want to, however there are many followers of the No Dig Movement where soil disturbance is kept to a minimum. So what is No Dig and why would you follow this method of cultivation? Growing up with my grandparents I was taught the traditional ways of gardening, this was to dig and double dig when necessary the whole garden every year, often twice a year let alone the digging

Clearing a new plot, first tools to buy, planning beds, dealing with weeds and common mistakes to avoid. My first plot, was a disaster. It was too big, too inaccessible and the whole place had a generally lonely feel to it. I took it on in 2021 and I was so disheartened by the whole experience that I almost gave up on allotments. I tried so many ways to fall back in love with it but eventually, I decided that I was never going to succeed at this site. I made the difficult dec