Back on the #Allotment

I declare spring.

My blackcurrant bush concurs.  I'm cultivating patience this year, trying my bestest not to make the classic gardener's mistake of sowing everything all at once, far too early, at the first glimpse of spring.  That being said, it now really is mid-March, so yesterday afternoon I had a good old clear out of plantable space and sowed some kale (cavolo nero) and peas.

I love how rich and healthy the soil seems to have become.  I wonder sometimes if it's too heavy on compost and too light on just plain old soil, but then I remember that worms exist.  Thank you, worms.  My plants love you, and so do I.

It's not much to look at just yet, but I'm hoping this is the year I transform the plot into a "low work" sort of a place, upping the proportion of perennial and easy to maintain plants - herbs, comfrey, lavender, soft fruit, purple fantasy - things I can propagate and sell to cover the meager cost of the plot (£40 a year) and use whatever profit it yields to do more of the same.  I achieved this last year, making a tidy £56 and change from selling cuttings on Facebook marketplace.  Looking forward to more of the same this year.  It's a mini-permaculture project I never seem to get round to blogging about, but briefly, the idea is for the allotment itself to be a self-sustaining "closed loop" system, materially and financially.  If I can cover the cost of the rent each year and not bring in any more plants or seeds from outside unless I can acquire them for free or use profits from things sold that have been grown on the plot itself, then that's job done.  It's a challenge, and a joy.

My happiest harvest over the winter was an extremely satisfying 7kg of Jerusalem artichokes, a few bags of which I gave away to colleagues, and the rest of which I pickled.  If you've ever wondered what three half-gallon jars of pickled Jerusalem artichokes look like, wonder no longer because they look like this:

I've eaten maybe a third to a half of one jar since pickling just before Christmas, which by my reckoning affords me a year-round supply of crunchy snack fodder.

Plenty to look forward to.

Related posts

#permaculture: The Wonder of Cardboard

Nasturtium Pesto

Dandelion Economics

A Shed is Born

Spring on the Allotment

Comfrey and Jelly Ears

All "allotment" posts

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