Organic Allotment

Adventures in Green Manure

I started planting green manures on the allotment this weekend and as it's the first time that I've ever used them I'm really curious to see how they'll get on. They're supposed to be multi faceted in the benefits for the garden adding organic matter and nutrients, keeping weeds at bay, protecting the soil from the winter rain and providing a haven for wildlife. So far I've planted Hungarian Rye Grass and Phacelia into the ground where my legumes will be going next year, and the plan is to fill all empty spaces with a variety of manures over the next week or so. Any tips or advice from people who've used them before would be much appreciated... and I'll keep you posted on how I get on with mine.

By the way, I've cheated a bit with the picture today. It's actually nothing to do with my allotment and is one of the flowerbeds from the campsite we stayed on in Spain but it was so much brighter than any of the snaps I've got of my grey and windswept plot that I just had to get it in.

The First Seed Catalogue of the Year

I received my first seed catalogue of the year this morning from Real Seeds in Pembrokeshire who have to be one of the best seed companies you could find anywhere! I was too late to order from them last year but am really looking forward to sitting down and taking my pick from their selection of really interesting seeds, many of which are unique to their catalogue. Highly recommended!

Catalan Veg Plot

We've had a break from our allotment spending the last two weeks in Catalonia. We had a week with my friend in Barcelona and a week walking in the Pyrenees. I don't know if it's just me but whenever I'm away I love seeing other people's gardens to get an idea of what they're growing and possibly pick up some tips to take home. On this theme we stayed at the most beautiful campsite in a village called Espot which had the feeling of somebody's garden that you were allowed to camp in.

All the camping plots were surrounded by beds of marigolds, dahlias and cosmos, with apple and pear trees for shade and an amazing veg plot which was fairly small but packed with a huge selection of veg. It reflected the style of the veg gardens throughout the village and was particularly nice because all surplus veg was for sale in the teeny "supermercat" in the village. Despite what greenwashed advertising campaigns to the contrary  may try to persuade us is true, you certainly don't get a service like that in my local supermarket - no, not event in the "finest range".

And the other good thing about the garden? It was a real conversation starter with the lovely couple who owned the campsite giving me a perfect opportunity to try out my less than perfect Spanish. The universal language of gardening you see - it means that you've always got something to talk about to fellow gardeners, regardless of the fact that that may be the only thing that you've got in common and it's one of the things that I love most about being a grower.