Concerted effort.

Following the terrible neglect while we were away, Nat has put in a lot of work (ably assisted at various points by Nat's Dad, M-A, Kate and Jeremy, but he's been down there a lot) and the allotment is now back under some semblance of control.

The main development has been the acquisition of a hand mower, which has moved on Nat's grand plan for paths. He has a theory that if he mows paths through the weeds then the allotment will look like it's divided into plots but some (most) of them just have weeds in at the moment. He thinks this is working. There is now a very fine path up the side of the plots.

This is a view of the first plot, with happy potatoes in the background, established onions, lettuces in need of harvesting with newly planted broccoli and more lettuce. Kate and Nat tidied this up very quickly in a morning, making the whole thing look more tended.

Nat and his Dad then did some more work on the second plot, planting carrots and brussel sprouts. (Note passable path all the way to the gate - contrast with previous post). Also in this shot are the sweetcorn on the left and the broad beans on the right.


After plantings the carrots and brussels a fellow allotment-holder warned that the woodpigeons had eaten every seedling the night after he planted them, so covers were hastily arranged from anything to hand. In this case half an old chicken run protecting the carrots.

High winds over the weekend called for running repairs to the carrot cage, but all the plants seem to have survived the flattening.