For the last few weeks life has been rather hectic, making getting down to the allotment quite tricky, the weather didn’t help matters as when we did have the time the wind and/or rain made it impossible. So, it was no surprise that when we finally got there one brisk, sunny day, it looked as though it had been abandoned for years.
When we were down previously we collected all the still edible tomatoes we could, most had been hit by the cold spell and were only fit for the compost bin. We had also collected the pumpkins, apples and a few cobs of corn which had escaped notice – maybe not edible for us, but the hens have fun pecking away at them.
Thanks to a friend’s recommendation the tomatoes were transformed to a delicious soup, strangely made with baked beans and pickled onions. I’ll admit to being sceptical about the recipe, but I knocked up the first batch, was totally convinced and went on to make three more batches, all of which are on standby in the freezer for a quick lunch.
So now was the time to clear the decks, to pull up the dead plants, weed the plots with still growing plants and cut the grass. To pull up the canes and supports to store away ready for next year, to recover as many of the wee bits of string used to tie plants in and attempt to unknot them, again with the plan to reuse them next year.
As the plants were cleared away some very peculiar holes were discovered. I strongly suspect someone had been living there, a great wee home with a plentiful supply of fresh produce, must have been ideal!
Needless to say I was a lot more careful clearing these, but no one was home – thankfully.
To begin with it feels like an endless job, that I’m hardly making a dent in the work, but once the first box was cleared things seemed to move more quickly.
Eventually one end is clear, but that still leaves plenty more to do……. next time…..
