a weblog with an allotment attached
30 April 2005
Having survived a brief foray into the no man’s land that is our night-time garden I thought I would write a quick dispatch to keep you updated. We might not make it tomorrow.
A beautiful bank holiday Saturday demands lengthy garden attention and I certainly rose to the challenge, planting out some of my many [...]
Filed under: Hard labour — Clare @ 10:12 pm
28 April 2005
I have finally managed to arrange when I will be starting my new job (end of June) and how it will fit in with my exisiting 2 jobs (this makes me sound much busier than I am - or will be - but that’s not necessarily a bad thing). This was much less of [...]
Filed under: Hard labour — Clare @ 2:35 pm
26 April 2005
All these showers. Yes, they’re great for the lawn which is responding by coming over all green and lush and thick and luxuriant (and yes, full of weeds, but the less said about that the better). But the rain also brings out the slugs and snails. Oh brilliant.
The copious seedlings hardening off [...]
Filed under: Hard labour — Clare @ 3:37 pm
25 April 2005
Not enough time to write much, but I did just want to let you know that I got the job I went for. Many thanks for your good wishes before the event. Now all I need to do is find a few more hours in the day…
Filed under: Mulch — Clare @ 9:00 am
21 April 2005
I’m feeling incredibly anxious at the moment, worrying about this interview tomorrow.
I’m hopeful that I can pop down to the allotment for a little while this afternoon to help calm my nerves. I find the quiet there very soothing, the space is calming, and sticking my hands in the soil is grounding (no pun [...]
Filed under: Fallow — Clare @ 8:51 am
19 April 2005
No, it’s not the shame of breaking my promise that’s kept me away, although I will admit to feeling a trifle embarassed. It’s just that I’ve ended up being even busier than I thought I would what with work and chores and more work and celebrating people’s birthdays and even more work and Italian revision [...]
Filed under: Fallow — Clare @ 11:54 am
15 April 2005
I know, I know. A broken promise is a broken promise. But hear me out. It’s true I’m not down the allotment and have decided not to go, but I did, at least, get up - at 5:30!! I know. It’s a huge disappointment for you, you’ll never be able [...]
Filed under: Fallow — Clare @ 5:56 am
14 April 2005
I’m still cautiously optimistic that tomorrow I will be up with the lark and moseying on down to our plot for some hard core allotment action. The weather forecast predicts that it’s going to be pretty bloody cold which makes it much more likely that I will roll over and snuggle deeper under the [...]
Filed under: Mulch — Clare @ 11:57 am
13 April 2005
Back to work today. Joy. Or something.
I didn’t get down to the allotment before work, but then I did say that Friday was probably the better bet. I did, however, get up a fair bit earlier than I would usually on a working Wednesday as part of my cunning plan to become [...]
Filed under: Fallow — Clare @ 5:51 pm
12 April 2005
We picked up mini greenhouse number 2 today so now they’re both full of seedlings that otherwise would have been fighting for light on the bathroom windowsill. They certainly look as though we mean business. Whether it’s the business of gardening is another question.
In spite of this, the day’s been pretty quiet and [...]
Filed under: Hard labour — Clare @ 4:31 pm
11 April 2005
I managed to persuade Owen that he really would enjoy a trip down to the allotment today to help me with the continuing sheet mulching. Well, it’s a nice day and he needed the fresh air. Besides, if I hadn’t twisted his arm he’d just have sat at home beautifying his blog. [...]
Filed under: Hard labour, Sowings — Clare @ 4:35 pm
10 April 2005
What a lovely evening. Some close friends from Nottingham were in our general vicinity and phoned on the off chance to see if we were free for a curry. What luck!
Fabulous food, brilliant company and all of it completely unplanned. Wonderful.
Filed under: Mulch — Clare @ 9:21 pm
10 April 2005
More sowing today. No, of course I’m not an addict. What are you talking about?
More sunflowers (as yesterday) - the garden is going to be full of big smiles!
Squashes: Butternut; Turk’s Turban; Ben’s surprise (a gift from Ben down the allotments - they’re ‘big, firm-fleshed and lots of different colours’, apparently).
And some chamomile [...]
Filed under: Sowings — Clare @ 4:15 pm
9 April 2005
Taking it a bit easy today, and yet we’ve been remarkably productive. We’ve tidied up the - ahem - patio, moving, changing, cleaning, emptying pots and so on. It all looks rather lovely and inviting. If only the weather were warm enough that we could eat out there. I’m hopeful that [...]
Filed under: Sowings — Clare @ 5:03 pm
8 April 2005
I’ve been lying in bed for an hour or so and have finally admitted defeat and got up for a bit. It’s my own fault. I had a lovely nap this afternoon and then ate far too much chocolate late in the evening. Now I feel weary and wound-up and tense but [...]
Filed under: Today's Bible — Clare @ 12:33 am
7 April 2005
In an effort to make Pumpkin Soup a more interesting and useful resource for the many hundreds of you (!) that have contacted me for advice, I have decided to start a new category that will enable me to pass on useful tips gleaned from bitter experience so that you can avoid the embarassing errors [...]
Filed under: Dos & Don'ts — Clare @ 9:10 am
6 April 2005
Chitted spuds are go!
Yay! Me and my very helpful brother got a good few pots in today. The roll of honour…
Orla; Colleen; Milva; Robinta; Valor; and Cara.
Filed under: Sowings — Clare @ 5:10 pm
6 April 2005
I’ve not been able to get down to the allotment in ages, what with going away, having work to do (how inconvenient!) and also having my Mum and brother to stay. This means that there’s been something of a hiatus in the progress of the sheet mulching and I’ve also not been able [...]
Filed under: Fallow — Clare @ 10:45 am
2 April 2005
Well, I’ve not been to market (don’t have a black pig), but I have been away for a few days, hence the dearth of posts. I feel a bit rusty.
Owen and I have been having a brief but relaxing break in Prague to celebrate 11 years of not killing each other, not getting off [...]
Filed under: Mulch — Clare @ 2:55 pm