Nanny’s Allotment

I love this time of year when everything is springing into life! It always amazes me how quick things grow once it starts to warm up and the days get longer

The rhubarb has survived the rotten weather and is going strong already - rhubarb crumble for summer - do you have a favourite rhubarb recipe you’d like to share?

Let’s talk sweet peas…
These were sown in the Autumn and left to overwinter in my polytunnel. Though you can use root trainers - I like to save money where I can so I use recycled cardboard inner tubes from loo rolls - better for the environment than nasty plastics! In that time they’ve developed a great root system (swipe to see) and will be ready to plant out once the threat of frost has passed. I’ve just pinched their tops out which helps them branch out and grow more flowers. I’ll be sowing a second batch this month for later flowering in the season

It’s a chilly day down on the plot - a warming cuppa after a busy day’s work. Redesigning the plot as I no longer have the chickens - twice daily visits and my job wasn’t working out so I’ve taken out the coop and run out - downside no more eggs, but the upside is more space to grow things 😀

Took some time out from my allotment to make my door wreath. Locally sourced Fir, Rosemary, pine cones, along with home dried oranges, home grown sea holly and ivy on a moss and straw base, so no plastic nasties!

First morning back on the allotment and the w**ding begins…
This year I’ve just let it tick over, basically just let things slide a bit but I’ve found my gardening mojo again so have a mountain of w**ding to get through (you can see what I’m up against with my second photo 🥴) Though my dahlias managed to survive with very little intervention from me this year - just shows you how easy to grow they really are! **ds **dingisgoodforthesoul **ding

Dazzling dahlias - these were planted out last year and left to fend for themselves overwinter but still managed to out on an amazing display of huge blooms!

Not lottie related, but a wonderful day in London with my daughter seeing the Moulin Rouge - making memories ❤️

Well, it’s been a long time since I last posted, so I thought I’d kick the year off with my new potatoes chitting. This year I’m trying first earlies Record and second earlies Nicola. I grow them in containers for ease, these will be going in around the beginning of March

Aren’t these pretty! Rainbow glass corn - after drying they can be ground to make maize flour or cooked in oil for popping corn - roll on film night 🎬

I have a broody hen! Bless her - she’s obviously desperate for babies, but as we’re not allowed cockerels on site I don’t think she’ll get lucky any time soon!
She’s giving me the evil eye as she knows I’m going to turf her off the eggs, laid by her coop mates as she’s stopped laying. She normally lays the best and biggest brown eggs going so hopefully she’ll come out of her funk soon 😀 (do they do HRT for hens I wonder? 🤣🤣)

My plot is split in two - this end was rented out to someone else at the same time I took mine on early last year. Although my neighbour did start to do a few small things with they took it on, this year I’ve not seen them once, despite the fact that I visit my plot every day. I’d love to be able to have the full plot, but our council doesn’t seem to worry about it being so neglected…
Does anyone else crave more space?

It’s all looking very green at the moment - though half of it is w**ds😣. Need a full day down at the plot to catch up with everything that needs doing, but really busy at the moment making dried flower wreaths for my first local makers market. Plan is to take some cut flowers too - if they bloom in time that is…
Take a peek at my other account if you fancy seeing some of my dried flower designs 😀
**ds

Bumper crop of garlic out and drying - these were a hard neck variety Rose Wight planted in last November.

The first homegrown strawberry is always the sweetest!

Paper daisies - these bright little things greet me every morning when I go down to my little plot to let my chooks out and water. Their cheery pinkness brightens even a dull day - definitely something I’ll be growing more of next year 😀

My first sweet pea bloom! One of many hopefully 😀. And isn’t she a little beauty! My first time growing sweet peas on the plot - not been the easiest flowers for me - first batch were hit by the frosts and second batch struggled to get established. I started them in toilet rolls and most I removed from their tubes but the ones I just plonked in the ground in their rolls have done much better. Lessons learnt for next year - plant out later and don’t remove them from their tubes! Do you have any advice for growing sweet peas to share?

Forgot so making it a instead 😂. Up early to the plot - fed the flowers and veggies, watered and fed the chooks, put up netting on the last two cut flower beds and pulled up yet more of the dreaded bindw**d - a now daily task 😣. Off home now for a well deserved cuppa, cool shower, clean clothes, then a day out in the sunshine. Enjoy your sunny Saturday everyone! 😀

So just realised it’s so thought I’d jump on with a pic of my little ranunculus patch under my plum tree - def in love with these little beauties so will be planting more next year.

It’ll soon be strawberries and cream time! You may remember I planted up this laundry basket a little while back with a mix of strawberry bare root varieties and they’re romping away now - delicious homegrown strawberries - strawberrylicious!

Let’s talk leeks. As I’m growing these in a raised bed I’m having to use my ingenuity to get them to blanch - problem solved with these cardboard inner tubes from carpet rolls. They’re thick enough to cut out the light, and withstand a downpour drying out quickly so should last long enough to harvest time, and they’re biodegradable!

I’m sorry I couldn’t resist this little pink bobble eyed bug at the market so she had to come home with me and now she hovers about over one of my fruit bush tubs. Funny how I wouldn’t dream of putting this at home but am happy to have a little kitsch at the allotment - I think it’s because it’s not attached to a house so there’s no preset style - it can be as cute, colourful or kitschy (if that is even a word 🤣) as I want it to be - it’s just my little space and I love it! Do you go wild with colour on your plot?

Growing potatoes in containers is very easy - these were planted a while ago, and are doing really well. I’m growing international kidney and pink fir apple new potatoes, which I love, especially as we’re now into salad season - smothered in butter - naughty but so very nice 😋. I planted four tubers in each pot, earthed them up with compost as they grew till the tubs were full then just left them to grow on, just watering and giving them an occasional liquid feed. The international kidney should be ready to harvest first - they were started off in my polytunnel - then the pink fir, which were started outside a month after. The plan is to plant some more pink fir apple around August and grow them on in the polytunnel for our Christmas dinner🎄

Pretty in pink - my very first bunch of cut flowers! These perfectly pink blooms are going to take pride of place at home - my little flower enterprise begins 💐

Plums! Last year my little plum tree suffered badly with plum aphid and didn’t produce many plums. It was in a neglected corner of my plot surrounded by high grass so I cleared around and planted a little circular flower bed and now it’s laden with little fruit so I’m hoping for a bumper harvest. I think airing the soil might have helped - not that I’m an expert!

That’s it - I’m officially a cut flower grower - I have flowers!!🤣🤣. These ranunculus are just beginning to come into bloom under my plum tree. I only wish I had planted more of them (I only put in 10) - to be honest they were a last minute impulse buy - I’ve never grown them before and didn’t know quite what to expect. But now I know how splendiflourous they are they’ll definitely be something I scale up for next year. Roll on bunches of bright flowers 🌺

My safe haven - I spend a lot of time in my new poly tunnel - it’s given me, not only a place to shelter from the vagaries of our British weather, but also a refuge from the hurly and burly of everyday life. I love to potter about, sowing seeds, pricking out and potting on my seedlings, watering, or just sitting pondering - usually about yet more things I want to grow! It’s also given my plot a focal point - and one that I head to first - I don’t yet have a shed so it is used for storing things, as well as offering shelter to a host of seedlings, dahlias, vegetables and flowers yet to be planted out and of course tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and peppers. I was concerned with the initial outlay when buying it, but it already has repaid me fourfold in making my plot complete and somewhere I really want to be - my happy place 😁

My cutting patch beds are coming along - finished the largest with its jute netting support and mulch to hopefully keep the w**ds down. Planted up a spare corner where my cucumbers will be going with some nigella and bunny tails and put some more nigella and sweet peas in a tub under one of my arches - hoping for a scramble of colour and scent. It rained on and off, but I’m not one to worry about a bit of drizzle - though I did hide in the polytunnel for a while when we had a complete downpour 😆. Hope you had a great Tuesday everyone - and managed to dodge the rain ☔️

Look at the colour of this ranunculus! It’s just coming into bloom and looks as if it’s going to be gorgeous!

Finally got round to potting up my chives. I bought these last year and they’ve been sitting forlornly in their little pot in a corner, more or less forgotten. Happily they survived the ordeal by rooting through the pot into the ground - it always amazes me just how hard a plant will try to survive, it really did want to grow! Now these are potted up in a bigger container they should be a bit happier!

My little plot is slowly filling up 😀. I’ve used the crates as a fence line as we’re not allowed proper fencing - hopefully it’ll provide some wind protection for the central bed as I’m growing cut flowers in it. The stakes are for flower supports. You may notice I’ve only filled and staked half the middle bed - it started out as a full bed, then I changed my mind and made it a half sized bed, then realised I needed the room for all my flowers so have had to dig it all again - I do like to give myself work! Anyone else chop and change their plans as they go?

Sunflowers are finally planted out! I’m growing a selection including Italian white and pink, Teddy Boy and Rouge Royale 🌻. Still got lots to plant out so will have a massive spree at the weekend and clear the polytunnel of seedlings to give my tomatoes some space 😀

This looks like a sort of weird red cabbage plant doesn’t it? In fact it’s a ranunculus just coming into bloom - this one is ranunculus elegance malva. I was surprised when they all came up as I more or less threw them in the ground and hoped for the best - I’d heard that they could be temperamental to grow but they obviously like it under my plum tree so I’ll definitely be planting more next year 😀. Have you tried any new blooms this year?

Just a few flowers hardening off today - these are ammi majus, sunflowers, yarrow and cornflowers. I’ve loads more I’m growing including nigella, daucus carota, phlox, scabious, statice, straw flowers, zinnia, cosmos, dahlias, bunny tail grass, sweet peas, nasturtiums, calendula, borage, bergamot, poppies, acroclinium to name bit a few! I have no idea where I’m going to put them all mind! Anyone else gone overboard with flowers this year?!🤣

Had a little help at the plot today - my two favourite people, my adorable grandchildren 🥰. We watered the plants (even though it’s due to rain 😆) and pulled some rhubarb which my granddaughter used as an umbrella - great idea when you’re only three and still small enough to fit under a leaf!

My first boot sale in over a year and what a little treasure trove I’ve bought! A couple of wicker baskets which I’ll line and plant up, a cute set of shelves destined for the shed wall, a cordless pair of shears to keep my grass tidy and a horde of plant pots for potting up my seedlings and all for the princely sum of £12! Are you a bo**ie goer?

Grow your own snack! Today I’ve sown some glass gem seeds which grow into multi coloured ears of corn in all colours of the rainbow - looking forward to making my own popcorn this year 😀.
I’ve popped them into recycled loo roll inners which I’ll plant out in a block rather than rows as they’re wind pollinated so hopefully this will increase their pollination rate 😀

Had a little friend helping me at the allotment today - it was amazing how bold she was looking for a tasty morsel. It’s times like these I treasure most - connecting with nature is good for the soul don’t you think?

Can anyone name this strange plant please? I could have sworn I sowed pansies 🤣🤣