Autumn Plot

Autumn is really underway now and most of my allotment is dug over and covered for the winter. Plastic, fleece or cardboard are all great to keep the soil weedfree, dry and crumbly. Some gardeners turn the soil and let it get well frosted, which kills bugs and diseases and helps to break down heavy soil. I may leave some of my beds uncovered and hope for frost too.




And a view of lots of cardboard!





Some plants look terrible, I hope they will recover. The strawberries still need some sorting out for next year



The pond is partly netted to catch leaves, I try to fish the rest out every now and then with a net.



Some things are growing though, and the garlic I planted a couple of weeks ago is already sprouting. It will be ready in July. You can plant it in February but I have found it does not grow so large when i do.



Last time I was on the plot I was watching the bank voles, coal tits, robins and dunnocks feeding from the bird feeders and ground. It was really peaceful and calm. The allotment in winter is a place for being close to nature and escaping the rat race just as much as in the summer. I am so lucky to have the allotment, and I know my fellow allotment holders feel the same. It is a shame that inspite of increased demand, and inspite of laws that encourage councils to increase the provision of allotments, the Central Lancashire Local Development Framework is concentrating almost entirely on building, commercial and economic development and not on green spaces or allotments.