2 October 2005
Put the kettle on
Down to the plot today for the first time in about two weeks and it was a dispiriting sight. The brassicas we’d put in are hardly looking wonderful as we were unable to net them properly and the birds have clearly had a go. We decided it was best to dismantle the frames we had constructed which had been systematically destroyed and so the remnants of my purple sprouting broccoli are likely to disappear pretty quickly now.
We laid some more weed suppressant fabric and covered it with bark chips so more of the paths are shaping up. This should be good news but for today it doesn’t seem to be lifting my spirits any. I feel very close to giving up altogether.
Ben knew what he was doing - how can I give up on the allotment when that would mean leaving the committee and letting other people down?
Boy, do I need a damn fine cup of tea.
Filed under: Hard labour — Clare @ 3:32 pm
Some days it’s really hard emotionally and physically on the plot, I’m with you on that… I think we all have our ups and downs, I planted 6 packets of carrot seeds and have none, zero, sod all carrots to show for it but my freezer is chocka with runner beans…
Just keep looking back at what you have done, what you have gotten to grow, what you’ve eaten and that will keep you going. I physically turn myself to look at the beds I have dug when faced with the third of the plot that is now covered in weeds yet again, I’ll get that bit done one day.
You can’t get the plot ship shape in one year so don’t beat yourself up over it, things are slowing way down now anyway so just relax and try to enjoy it!
(02.10.05 @ 10:48 pm)
I would hate it if my plot stayed the same all the time.Ijust love the seasons even when my allotment looks awfull. A lot of the fun to me is planning and choosing what to plant to improve on last year.
If everything was guaranteed to succeed and the plot always looked spic and span then I would pack it all in today. Think of all the highs that the plot gives you and ask yourself if you can live without them, I know that I couldn’t
(03.10.05 @ 9:26 am)
You seem to be doing such a lot, don’t let things get to you. Besides, you’re the boss of the site now, they can’t kick you out. Just doing a little bit is so much more important than not at all. Like an idiot, I’ve been writing a book, illustrating for magazines and filling up my portfolio, trying to write music and even continuing to paint landscapes. All that and trying to grow veg and hold down a full-time job. I admit that my plot is much smaller than yours, but it’s looking drab now, only a few leeks are left - and they’re weedy. My cabbages are looking like purple swiss cheese, and my carrots maggot-ridden. I should give it more time to look after everything, but it’s not always as easy as that.
If you don’t enjoy it then give it up, sure. But i remember some of your earlier posts when you got so much enjoyment out of things sprouting etc. It’ll be spring in a few months. And everything always looks rosier then.
(03.10.05 @ 1:54 pm)
I think you have every right to feel the way you do. The fact is, you sweat over a piece of land, you do your best to grow, you develop a sadistic pleasure in eradicating weeds and then the slugs eat your cauliflowers and the tail end of Hurricane Katrina turns your runner beans into a sloping arrangement of sails on a boat that is being pushed into a bottle. Goodness, its depressing.
Take your anger out on the committee - leave it !
(04.10.05 @ 4:14 pm)