Getting Started. 17th March 2017

The allotment is reasonably tidy and ready for planting as we cleared the beds and gave them a dressing of manure late last year. I will add a dressing of seaweed plus blood fish and bone to each plot before we plant out.

We have also had our pre-season meeting to decide what we will grow this year. As well as planning the plots on paper we also wrote a lists of the seeds and the varieties we need to buy and put reminders in the diary of when produce need planting. This reminder is really helpful especially for crops where we want successional planting such as beetroot. It is so easy to end up with gaps in the season otherwise.

We are growing fewer potatoes this year as we always run out of room on the plot. Organic potatoes are easy to buy and I prefer to use the space for more greens and more difficult to obtain vegetables. We have also cut down on onions as our plot seems to have an onion blight which means that they don’t store well. We will grow just a few red ones to use over the summer months in salads.

We have a mini plastic greenhouse which we erect in the back garden at this time of year and it helps us bring on seeds. It prevents us having to have plastic trays on indoor windowsills and it can be dismantled once the better weather arrives. So far we have lettuce, parsley and beetroot planted and they are all doing well. The seed potatoes are in the conservatory sitting on an egg tray and beginning to sprout or chit.

It’s good to feel the sun getting warmer, to watch the new shoots appearing and look forward to another year of growing.