9 October 2005
All the leaves are brown
My allotment morale has been rather autumnal, as the optimism and energy of summer fade and I am faced with dull, wet, grey weather, and the nights begin drawing in. I think I have been finding managing the allotment particularly difficult as I try to find my way in my very challenging, ovewhelming and stressful new job. And we need a holiday like you would not believe - we’ve not been away since our brief visit to Prague (which feels like years ago now).
So it was lovely to read your kind and encouraging comments. One of the things about having a blog that has been a wonderful surprise has been the help and support that people have offered in response to my struggles and low ebbs. Thank you.
The good news is, I haven’t given up. I don’t much enjoy feeling stressed, but getting my hands dirty putting onions and garlic in the ground as we did today is pretty damn soothing. And fingers crossed they will fare better than the now totally decimated brassicas.
At this point I do think I should repay my debt of gratitude and pass on a very important and hard-learned allotment lesson. And no, it’s not got anything to do with netting brassicas to protect them from the birds. That’s just too painful to think about right now. Besides, when I say ‘hard-learned’, I mean hard-learned by someone else who makes ridiculous errors of horticultural judgement and who then tells me so that I can avoid such silly mistakes. Here are their words of wisdom:
Be sure to keep a list of all the seeds and plants that you order over the coming months.
That’s it? I know, it’s a simple idea, isn’t it? And one which should save you the headache of suddenly realising that you’ve ordered waaaaaaaay too many onions and garlic from at least three different suppliers and will probably not have enough space to plant them, even if you knew what you would do with the ridiculously massive harvest that such a bumper sowing would result in. But you would be surprised at how idiotic some (ahem) people can be about these things. No wonder they get into such a mess.
Me? I would never do such a foolish thing.
Filed under: Dos & Don'ts, Sowings — Clare @ 5:25 pm
Hi Clare - glad to hear you sounding positive again. Over here at Wild Burro Paddock, the mistress of the house and I are also in need of a holiday but thanks to the impending extension, there’s nothing in sight due to empty coffers
(09.10.05 @ 5:45 pm)
Hello Clare - am also glad that you are positive again. I took on my plot to combat stress but in the first year I worried if I was doing things right and it seemed that instead of a stress free zone the plot was adding to my problems. I had a massive rethink and now take on all the advice but do what I consider is right, if it turns out wrong { which is quite often } so what, I have learned something. My plot is finally my stress free zone, everything else is a bonus.
I also have a very stressfull job and at last, as friends told me it would, my plot is a perfect antidote.
Best Wishes
Jim and Barb
(10.10.05 @ 2:36 pm)
Maybe we should organise a weblog seed swap. Everyone always buys too many seeds no matter how hard you plan!!
(12.10.05 @ 4:52 pm)