Tag: allotment
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A cucumber in Scotland in November
Yesterday I picked all these tomatoes at my allotment and even discovered a cucumber! This must be a first for Aberdeen: a cucumber in November. I thought my cucumber plant had died but it’s a bit of jungle in the glasshouse and I didn’t notice this cucumber until yesterday. I picked all the green tomatoes…
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Pickings from my allotment and buffet breakfasts
I got a funny mix of summer and winter veg at the plot today. The tomatoes in the glasshouse are still fruiting, although more slowly now, and I harvested the first of my leeks. I also harvested my one and only pumpkin. It has been small and green for several weeks now so I decided…
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Pitmedden Gardens
Last Monday was a bank holiday here and we took the opportunity to visit Pitmedden Gardens. Despite being only 14 miles north of Aberdeen, we’ve never seen them before. We visited the café once on a trip to Tolquhon Castle but have never stopped to look at the gardens. Pitmedden Gardens is a recreation of…
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More plotting at the allotments
I had a back-breaking morning at the allotment today. The mustard yellow shed has inspired me to get some other jobs done that I’ve been wanting to do for ages, one of which was to remove all the stones and weed matting. Never, ever put weed matting and stones down. Weed matting is just awful…
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The best shed
When we took possession of our allotment in September 2017, the shed was in a terrible state. The roof had caved in and there was about 5cm of water in the bottom. Fortunately, my father was visiting at the time and we put him to work replacing the roof for us. This photo was taken…
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An easy vegan meal, shed painting, and slim pickings
I’ve been making a lot of pasta with pesto lately. The kids love it and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings I have less than an hour between when my workday ends and my General Assembly course begins so I want something that’s quick and easy to cook. I buy the pesto sauce which is vegan,…
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Ticks and messy plots
The Loch Ness Tickular is still alive. Now that it has shrunk in size I can quite clearly see it’s a tick. When I first yanked it out it was round like a tiny balloon filled with my blood. After several days of starvation it has shrunk and all the limbs are clearly visible now.…
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Beetroots, beans and bikes
We went to the allotment today and the kids harvested a couple of beetroots. The allotment is giving us beetroots, tomatoes, broccoli, kale, and herbs right now. The other crops have either died away with the cooler weather or have been harvested already. We have an abundance of kale which should see us right through…
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Courgettes and tomatoes
I’ve been so busy this month with cycling-related activities that I’ve neglected my plot. However I managed to get out there today and brought home more courgettes and tomatoes than we can eat. I also got a couple of cucumbers and some broccoli and kale. I’ve got masses of kale but kale will grow all…
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The weekly yield
This is what I picked from my allotment yesterday. There is more I could have picked but didn’t, like kale, swiss chard, spinach, beetroot, and potatoes. The tomatoes are some kind of tiger variety and are meant to look stripy. I’m really happy to get them because a couple of months ago the plants looked…
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Bees and toads
I can only get to the allotment once per week but it changes so much with each visit. My courgettes are cropping in abundance. I’m not sure what to do with them all. I also got my first tomatoes and cucumbers of the season. I have heaps and heaps of kale. More than we could…
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Why I dislike weed matting
I dislike weed matting and here’s why. The following photo is one I took at my allotment on the weekend. As you can see, a previous plot holder as put down weed matting at some point and then placed stones on top. I’m sure the weed matting held back the weeds initially but eventually they…
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The interminable battle with slugs and weeds
I’ve been struggling with the slugs at the allotment this year. Most of the seedlings I’ve planted have completely vanished, presumably eaten by slugs. Last month I applied nematodes to the soil and put out a heap of beer traps. There seem to be fewer slugs now and although I’d like to take the credit…
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Brussels sprouts, ceilidhs, and ethical clothing
I went to the allotment yesterday after an absence of almost a month due to treacherous ice on the bike path. It was just as well I went as most of my netting had been blown off and was no longer protecting plants. Something has been having a good nibble of this: I wasn’t even…
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View from the cycle path
It has been a while since I’ve posted a pic of the view from the cycle path but it’s time to make amends because the colours were so pretty on my ride this morning. There’s a lovely patchy blue/grey sky today and the landscape is full of autumn colours. I was at my plot this…
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Is this a scene from a horror film?
In keeping with my earlier proclamation about not giving a rat’s arse about what anyone else thinks, behold the uninhibited Rachel looking like a dork and wearing pyjamas. I ate all that green stuff just after the photo was taken. It’s produce from my plot at the allotment which is where I went in the…
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Cauliflower cheese without cheese
I’m not that into cooking however I like eating and I know I need to eat more fresh vegetables and fewer processed vegan meals. Last night I made a vegan version of cauliflower cheese that tasted wonderful and was very easy to make so I thought I’d share it. Someone at the allotments gave me…
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A harvest of four carrots
I was horrified last week when one of the other plotters at the allotments told me the growing season is almost over. We really haven’t got very much food from our plot. Today I harvested our carrots. All four of them 🙂 You may be wondering why we only got four carrots and I’m embarrassed…
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Frank Spencer at the allotments
I went to the allotment today to assemble a small cage I purchased to keep the pigeons off the vegetables. I bought what I thought was an easy click-together frame but when I pulled it out I discovered screws and I hadn’t taken a screwdriver with me. Who carries a screwdriver around with them? I…
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Our allotment two months later
I spent several hours at the allotment this morning. Our plot still needs a lot of work but when I compare the now photo with the before photo I realise we have come a long way. Here’s how it looked in April: Here’s how it looks today: Now I just need to turn it into…
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