http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/aaa-challenge/
A is for Allotment, and here is mine. I inherited the shed from previous allotmenteers. It leans and snails roost in it. Last year I found a 1725 halfpenny in front of the door. The Team Leader has to come at regular intervals, armed with hammer and electric screwdriver, to keep the old place upright. He does the same for the tenant – me that is, not the snails.
When I’m not writing, this is where you’re most likely to find me, so thank you, Frizz, for your ‘A’ prompt. I’ve been toiling on this plot for around six years now, and when I first started, the soil was as heavy as lead. Gardening on the shores of the Silurian Sea is hard work. In between the layers of soil from a decaying tropical sea (c. 400 million years ago) is bentonite clay. As a substance this may have many useful properties. In the allotment, it is a guaranteed pain in the back. When remotely damp, it clings to the bottom of your wellies until you have giant’s feet. In dry weather, it goes crusty and it’s like digging through bricks.
I have learned recently that this unappealing greyish clag is formed from volcanic ash. Sometime when Much Wenlock was lying down on the Equator, all those aeons ago as our world was shaping itself, there was a volcanic eruption of unimaginable proportions. I now grow my beans and peas its degraded outpourings. Below are some pickings from last year’s crop, so you can see it does work – with effort.
I grow several varieties of broad bean including the lovely rose coloured ones which go pale mauve when lightly steamed. They don’t seem to mind growing in the heavy soil.
I’m afraid my plot looks a bit rackety, tidiness being sacrificed to the time needed to dig, weed, and keep the wretched pigeons away. Almost everything has to be netted or covered with enviromesh at some stage during its growing. Recently I have been following ‘Garden of Eve’ and suffering severe poly-tunnel envy.
To improve the soil, I grow areas of green manure, in this case mustard, but also phaecelia, buckwheat and alfalfa. It can be sown late summer or early spring and then dug in before it goes to seed. The difference in the soil afterwards is truly remarkable.
Comfrey grows itself all over my plot. I tear it up and use it to protect seedlings or newly planted young plants. I also fill old compost bags with it, cut the corner off the bags seal up the top with a peg, and balance them over buckets lined up inside my leaning shed. As the leaves rot down the resultant brown gunky liquid collects in the bucket. It can then be diluted with water – 15 parts water to 1 part comfrey to make a really good crop feed. Comfrey also has valuable therapeutic properties, and has been used to mend injuries for centuries, hence the folk name ‘knit bone’. The bees like it too.
Unlike me, my fellow grower, Phoebe, has a beautifully neat plot. She also kindly mows my path. And that’s one of the wonderful things about allotments, not only can you grow delicious food (pigeons willing) but you meet such lovely, generous and creative souls up there.
Phoebe has created these simple baskets across her plots at intervals. The uprights are embedded directly in the soil and the sides made with dogwood and hazel whips. Her aim is to use them for the rotting down of pernicious weeds like dandelion and couch grass, and then grow marigolds on top while this is all happening underneath. Gardening artistically.
This is the allotment’s insect hotel to provide attractive accommodation for over-wintering insects. Also courtesy of Phoebe who begged some pallets from the local timber merchant. When he knew what they were for, he delivered them free to the allotment.
This is the view from my plot. I can hear the clock of Trinity Church chime as I work, and the mewing of honey buzzards over the fields behind.
I call this the Garden of Eden tree, also The Tree of Life, because it has gloriously red apples in September. Phoebe created the wild flower garden in the foreground – lots of pink campion this year.
The bunting makes the raspberries look very festive and sees off the birds.
Below are two blogs that are well worth following for lots of useful gardening advice.
http://gardenofyvonne.wordpress.com/ Garden of Eve
http://peopleexcitedaboutcoexistence.com/ People Excited About Co-Existence
And when you’ve grown the produce, here are two great cooking blogs. ENJOY!
http://fromthebartolinikitchens.com/ From the Bartolini Kitchens
http://nourishingchow.wordpress.com/ Nourishing Chow
http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2013/07/02/aaa-challenge/
© 2013 Tish Farrell
Tish Farrell 
Looks idyllic – I particularly like the look and the idea of the insect hotel.
Thanks for visiting my allotment, Shimon.
Yes, you can make them any way you want. Garden sculpture.
so beautiful!
Reblogged this on Flickr Comments and commented:
thanks to Tish for sharing her paradise tagged ALLOTMENTS for the AAA challenge!
hi Tish, I’ve reblogged your paradise; surprised by 1725 halfpenny, amused by your insect hotel! kind service to those with six legs!
Thanks so much for the re-blog Frizz. Yes the halfpenny surprised me. It had worked its way to the surface and was just there.
I love all the greens here! I’ve always felt that I was a dryad in my past life with my fascination for plants and trees and greens. Thanks for sharing this Tish!
Glad you liked this, Myra. Green is definitely good for the spirit. You would make a lovely dryad.
Yes, the magic of comfrey, plant and human medicine 🙂
Mm. Comfrey oil is wonderful on the skin. And I love the smell of comfrey leaf tea.
What’s the dosage if you make the tea yourself or do you have to buy it?
What a lovely garden! Must be great to have fresh beans and goodies like alfalfa, peas & comfrey from your own backyard.
Thank you very much for the plug. 🙂
You’re welcome. I’m about to sow some oriental greens, so shall be heading your way.
Anytime at all 🙂
I love the look of your abundant allotment. What a joy it must be to work and spend time there.
Yes, it is a lovely place to be, if hard work watering and weeding. All worthwhile in the end though.
What a wonderful post. I hadn’t come across allotments until I visited Warsaw and spent a weekend at the allotment belonging to my daughter’s in-laws. It reconciled me to having grandkids growing up in an apartment. Your garden images are superb.
Thank you for visiting my allotment. It likes praise 🙂 But yes, allotments or community gardens are great places for everyone – families with kids not least. Much as I like my own garden, there’s such a good vibe up at the allotment. V. special.
Missed this post! Probably weren’t blogpals by the look of the date?
Phoebe’s garden is nice but I kind of like a bit of ‘scruffy’ 😉
The third pic reminds me ( a little) of my late grandfather’s ( narrow) back garden in Royston. It slopped in a similar fashion with a small path that ran down to a wooden latch gate at the bottom which led to the garage. He had an old Morris Minor in black with amber flick out pointy direction indicators! Remember those.? LOL!
He had two small sheds. on the right as one went down the path Just looking at your shed I can still smell the inside of the one he used for potting and seeding.
Yes. I quite like a certain amount of scruffiness, though Phoebe remains a model to us all. Your grandfather’s plot sounds the real deal. I had a grandfather of that ilk. And do I remember Morris Minors? My mum had several second hand ones – serially you understand. They were great cars.
My father owned two; a van and a green Morris Traveler. You know, the ones with the wood paneling?
Getting mugged down Memory Lane here, Tish! Too many distractions. No wonder I am always behind in work.
My wife says I am always ‘behind’ because I spent too much time on it in front of the computer!
Morris Travellers – ah yes. Loved those too. Tho we didn’t have one. But when my mother ‘downsized’ from Morris Minors, she had a red Mini Traveller with the wood framing like the Morris. That was neat too. And indeed, enough reminiscing. I’ve got my cuppa tea now, and so to work…or not…
I sure wish that Allotments were commonplace in the United States. Would be nice for people without garden space to have an allotment to grow what they wanted to. Nice post Tish! :-
Hi Mitchell. Yes, I do think giving people some garden space gives them more than just a plot to grow things. It has a multiplier effect of benefits. Good for the planet too. Thank you for reading so many of my posts 🙂
I always love reading your posts Tish, seems like I go to read the one you just published and then look below to see others I have not seen yet. and it is like dominoes! 🙂
Ah-ha! I’ve got you hooked 😀