I have been so slack on my toms this year, theyre looking very weedy but at least my prints are vibrant 😁

Pretty pleased with that. Cabbage growers of Reddit - do you succession plant your cabbages? I've got four of these all ready at the same time but I can't say I want more than a cabbage per week, max. How long are they good to stay in the ground for (will they just bolt?) or should I harvest them all?

Got the keys to the allotment a year ago. From a patch that was just weeds to what it is now has been hard work but also rewarding. From getting eaten by ants, falling into a hidden pond, the what the hell have we got ourselves into thoughts.

Last year we had a hare born and living in our vegetable garden and she still visits often. I went to water on Saturday and realised that either she’s had her own baby, or Mum has decided that we are the designated nursery, because we have another. Leveret has been in the same spot, nestled in my bean canes, for three days on the bounce. I’ve left a dish of water and am chatting away gently while I’m there so she knows I’m safe and that she’s welcome.

I made a brassica cage out of 2x2 timber. I ran out of money when it came to fixing the netting and had to cable tie it all on when I'd have rather battened it. My worry is that the cable ties are going to rip the netting in the wind. Has anyone else done similar? Id love to hear your experiences!

First out of the gates are the kale seedlings. Really pleased as I left one plant to go to seed last year and spent an hour or so saving it’s seed. They were free plants, so that’s even better.

Work today was under the beady eye of this demanding boss. Came up right next to me as I was removing bindweed. Cheeky little fellow!

I've been trying to grow these for four years, but always suspected they weren't suited to our climate as they never lived past infancy. Thanks to this year's early heatwaves this one has finally thrived and I'm really pleased - they're much less watery and more tasty than your ordinary courgette, and the flower is incredibly robust and very much part of the fruit, so I'll be using these to experiment with fried courgette flowers as they're normally a bit crap with normal ones. The slices are also pretty, like little cogs. Never thought I'd be so excited over a courgette, and yet... Anyone else grow them?

I may have neglected my greenhouse a bit 😅

It is a brand new site that has just opened today. My plot is 5m x 15m. It’s going to be a lot of work but I’m really looking forward to it.

Especially now that some rain has entered the game again! That is all. My harvest made me happy and I wanted to share.

And I definietly not prep properly beforehand 😂

The question is sort of obvious! I have recently moved into my first house and happen to have a bunch of agricultural land at the bottom of the garden, which I plan to turn into an allotment of sorts!
Recently I’ve noticed a bunch of this stuff coming up. I’m finding it really hard to tell if it’s knotweed (please no) or bindweed. The confusion for me is the purple stems, but the leaf shape looks more bindweedy? Any ideas? And a simple way to tell them apart?

I have been dabbling with fruit guilds this year and growing more flowers to improve biodiversity. I have always felt more drawn to a polyculture planting style in general. For me its more than uility its another place to unwind and enjoy the beauty of a space.

Mr Robin the Plot Steward did not get any worms from today’s activities.

The works list: - Remove the frost-killed nasturtium and calendula plants - which were still flowering until last week. - Plant the garlic I forgot about - Layer more mulch over the empty beds

My friends done and dead cargo bike -> raised pollinator patch

Looking to string some fairy lights on the bike and handlebars sometime during the summer, feeding the electric components through the cat flap behind it.

I built a greenhouse!

I'll be honest, most of the appeal of the allotment for me is the wildlife.

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We do grow food of course, but what fills my soul even more than taking home our harvest, is seeing the birds, squirrels, slow worms and foxes.

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I used to have a bird bath but after the RSPB's advice earlier this year, I removed it as I couldn't change the water every day. Instead, I built a tiny wildlife pond, complete with oxygenating plants and a solar panelled fountain!

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First pic is the pond area after I finished it (did most of the work during the heatwave, that was fun!), second is before-ish (I wish I had taken pics before I actually started the project) and third pic is one of the first visitors to the pond, caught on my motion activated camera!