Chickens into composting

I came out of the polytunnel today to find the chickens had disappeared (if I'm around they tend to roam around the allotment as well, picking off the bugs and nibbling the odd plant). It only took a few minutes to track them down - in the compost bin, happily scratching around and balancing on the edges rather precariously.

They seemed a bit subdued yesterday night and off their food (I still maintain they knew one of the cockerel's had left their number and is now destined for Sunday roast) so it was nice to see them happily munching.

A brief thunderstorm gave me the chance to get some tidying done in the polytunnel, as the tomatoes had run away with me a bit and I'm bound to get told off sooner or later by one of the more diligent (and retired, which helps with that approach) allotment holders because I haven't snipped off all the side shoots.

Earlier in the week Maria and I transferred some compost from the bins onto the brassicas and also weaved in the willow dome, so that's looking much more under control.

We've still got strawberries, but the raspberries are just about over now, which is a shame. I think the heavy rains pretty much finished them off as they've all turned a bit mouldy all at once.

The strawberry bed is being extended, so I've dug up the nearby garlic so the runners can find their way across. We've got some good healthy bulbs, and I'm drying them a bit in the sun inbetween the showers, but I think they'll do most of their drying under cover at this rate.

Poppy day

This is a random poppy left over from the Greenfinger Club's mini wildflower patch, which suffered a little last year when it was dug over too soon by an over-enthusiastic volunteer. But, undeterred, a few flowers have come back this year, with this beautiful poppy being the best example to date.

It's been, amazingly, a little too hot to do much on the allotment lately, although before the mini-heatwave that probably is summer, Alan and I managed to nearly finish the chicken run. It's safe and secure, but needs an extra layer of chicken wire.


The courgettes and squashes in the polytunnel are almost taking over the place; they really appreciated the pile of dung! We tried one of the tricolour courgettes (pictured, yellow and round) on the BBQ yesterday and it was lovely.


The strawberries and raspberries are doing really well and I need help to eat them, and luckily someone seems to come along just in time in the guise of one of the other allotment holders looking for a tasty snack.

The strawberries are doing much better after a bit of sunshine and a good helping of bark mulch and are producing enough runners to extend the patch a bit next year. They're definitely the most popular item we've grown so far, proving that you really can have tasty, blemish-free strawberries and be chemical-free (naturally, a few chickens to hoover up the slugs/snails nearby helps, even if they do take an occasional nibble of a berry on the edge as part-payment).

Raindrops keep falling on my head

I'm sure I'm not alone in being fed up with the unseasonal amount of rainfall we've being having over the past few weeks. On the plus side, I have two overflowing water butts, but the poor waterlogged plants need a little less of the wet stuff and a lot more warming sun's rays instead.

Strawberries which were oozing with flavour a little while back are now decidedly watery (they actually taste much like many shop-bought ones as a result, but I expect better of these!) Raspberries are still reddening, but again, lack that vital punchiness.


The lettuces above are ones I'm trialling for Garden Organic and they're doing really well: I mulched them with grass cuttings ages back to keep the moisture in (which seems a little redundant now) but whatever the secret was to their success, they're merrily growing at quite a rate.

There's been plenty of weeding done by my two new volunteers, Maria and Victoria, which has been great as I've been able to come along and plant out the brassicas and leeks etc. without having to weed the beds first for a change. David's changed the compost over to the other bin, as we were full to overflowing, and it looks pretty well rotted already, so that will save us a bit of money.


The maypole is up, with the beans ready to climb (I think they're on hold waiting for the sun as they don't seem to have moved much since I put them in) and spinach seeds have been planted underneath. The turnips have also been transplanted, mostly to the high raised beds in the hope that the slugs won't spot them all the way up there.

Peter and I began on a living flower display for a friend's wedding, which has proved to be a lot more work than I anticipated (and taken up a lot more flowers). I completed the second display today (and my back is not thanking me for all that bending) so fingers crossed that the sun will come out and give it a boost so all the flowers come out in time for the big event at the end of the month.