It's been a very wet week, and with that, and one thing and another, I haven't been able to spend much time on the allotment. This is not what I want. Being on the allotment makes me happy. Thinking about it makes me happy. Doing and thinking about most other things, less so. An opportunity for some reflection.
I acquired the plot at the beginning of August on a kind of "probation" basis, the assumption being I have six months to make something decent of it between now and spring. Here's a panoramic photo I took on day one:
Here's another one I took the other day, standing in the same spot:
Highly satisfactory, I think. The overgrowth from the second bed has been removed, and I now have two functional beds sowed with herbs, onions, broccoli and various other inedible contenders, in anticipation of a glorious spring.
The onions I sowed earlier in September are showing great promise.
Even the broccoli seeds, some of them, have shown some promise, with a little help from me.
I planted some garlic last weekend, but there's no point showing you that, because there's nothing to see yet. Your patience is required, and so is mine.
It's been a great pleasure to meet some of the insects and other tiny life making its way in this little green world
One edge of the plot, marking the border between mine and my meticulous neighbours', I call the inedible bed, which I am populating with shrubberies, vines and other evergreens I like the look of. I'm hoping the sickly acer tree I've planted there will last the winter and bloom next year.
I since removed the poorly looking branches, and crossed my fingers. (My YouTube channel is here, by the way).
Wild strawberries are everywhere. I pot them up as I find them. I have yet to decided what to do with them. Plenty more where these came from, so I will probably give some away. Or sell them, and become a strawberry millionaire.
Here's the blackcurrant bush, too, newly pruned and ready for the winter:
I'm pleased with my first raised bed. There's space and wood for another one in front of the one pictured here. I think I will probably use these for potatoes, which means I need to fill the space with compost and hopefully work out a way to acidify the soil slightly so that conditions are right. So much more to learn.
Here's the blackcurrant bush, too, newly pruned and ready for the winter:
I'm pleased with my first raised bed. There's space and wood for another one in front of the one pictured here. I think I will probably use these for potatoes, which means I need to fill the space with compost and hopefully work out a way to acidify the soil slightly so that conditions are right. So much more to learn.
Gardening is happiness. That's just all there is to it. Find a way to garden, somehow. Get closer to plants. Get dirt beneath your nails. Get spider webs in your hair. Joy is there, I promise.
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