Our neighbor across the hall, Steve, has an allotment garden and has invited us to share in it. An allotment is a plot of land set aside for individuals to rent part of it to grow their own food. There are several allotments around town; fortunately this one is only about a mile from us.
We filled out the official forms as "helpers" and now have a key to the gate and to Steve’s shed and greenhouse.
He already had most of it planted for this year, but said we could plant whatever we wanted. The only starts we could find were cauliflower which was one of the few things he didn’t already have.
They are serious about water conservation and have lots of barrels and other containers of water. Typically they aren't covered since they have no mosquitos here. Imagine that!
Southern England is in a drought situation, in spite of the rain we've been having lately. There is a hose pipe ban since early April. They can carry water in watering cans from the spigots but no hoses allowed. They even collect the rainwater from the roofs of the little out buildings.
When the sun is out, this is a peaceful place to sit and enjoy being outside. (especially when the weeding is finished)
Wow, they have grown a lot since we were here!
Steve has been working this ground for 12 years and is now the manager of the allotment.
Steve has planted a lot of potatoes and parsnips. Guess we'd better learn to like parsnips!
1 comment:
How wonderful to have the opportunity to work in a garden this spring! Steve seems like a kind neighbor. The plants grew quickly between the two pictures you took of them! It will be fun to see the results of this garden in the coming months!
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