Allaboutallotments

27/07/2026

It’s mostly flat my wife reassured me!

27/07/2026

My wife dragged me away from my allotment for a walk in the Lake District. “It’s mostly flat and fine for an 80 year old” she reassured me!

15/06/2026

Apart from the fresh fruit and vegetables, one of the benefits of having an allotment with polytunnels is growing tender plants during the winter and returning them to my garden as they flower. The vista from my chair in the conservatory where we eat our meals is different depending on the window I look through and the rotation of the plants at their best.
This photo was taken at 6:30 pm.

25/05/2026

Whilst watching a squirrel eating sunflower seeds underneath the bird feeder my wife commented that we had never seen one have a drink.
He must have heard and decided to make her eat her words!

15/05/2026

Apart from growing fruit and vegetables I use my allotment as a nursery for my garden at home, raising plants and overwintering tender items in the polytunnels, some in the heated one and some in the cool one.
The results can be seen in this short video.

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12/05/2026

This morning a woodpecker was enlarging the hole in which we have baby bluetits on which they predate.
I quickly fastened a hanging basket over the box and he has been thwarted.
The bluetits were not at all perturbed and continue to feed the youngsters. In

24/03/2026

COMPOST COMPARISON

Today I transplanted onion seedlings from small plugs to larger pots into multipurpose peat free compost with half planted in Levington from Tesco costing £4.50 for 40 litres and half in Grandiol from Lidl costing £3.99 for the same volume bag.
The Levington is very fibrous while the Grandiol is finer and darker with a slightly oily smell.

06/03/2026

26/01/2026

Just back from 2 weeks in the South of France to find that the allotment went into a state of suspended animation while I was a way.
Looking at the figures from my solar panels it is obvious why.
Pricked out the Exhibition Onions which are not for exhibiting but to mostly give away, I just like growing them.
The leeks that I sowed before I went have germinated and the tomato seedlings have all survived potting on.
In previous years I have lost them when it was very sunny as I forgot to shade them, I am watching the forecast closely.

10/01/2026

Pricked out tomato seedlings.
It has been a cold week with the outside temperature dipping to -5.8C (21.5F) the lowest I have recorded since 2012. Much of the UK has been blanketed in snow but Liverpool, which has a warm microclimate due to the proximity of the Welsh mountains and the Pennines, escaped the wrath of storm Goretti.

The heated section of the tunnel had a minimum of 14.8C (59F) so all is well.
Interestingly the lowest temperature seems to have kicked the heating into overdrive although it was midday and it was a sunny day.