We have reached the point in the year when the main job at the allotment for most is clearing out the old and spent plants, tidying and clearing up, all ready for next year. It is also a time of reflection, what crops worked well and should be planted again next year, which were not as great as you had hoped and not worth another try. What did you enjoy eating, what do you wish you had tried and will put on ‘The List’ for next year? Maybe even time to look at the layout of the space you have and see if there are ways in which you’d like to change things around.

There are often times I am left wondering why I planted certain things and then what on earth am I going to do with them…
The biggest problem I find is time, mainly the problem that I don’t have enough! But, we get down to the allotment as often as we can, to do as much as we can. Of course, with the weather being unpredictable, you think you have time to weed and harvest, only to be caught out by a torrential downpour…

When the weather was a wee bit kinder we made the most of the opportunity to pick all that was ready, before the weather changed again..


Everything washed and ready to be used, now just the decision as to what to make..
After a lot of slicing, chopping, simmering, roasting, whizzing, blanching and stewing we have yellow courgette and tomato relish, stewed apples and blanched sweetcorn, all ready for the cupboard and the freezer respectively.

Slowly, but surely our freezer is filling up and it is good to think we will have the benefit of all this over the coming months. To my mind, this is the whole point of having an allotment and why the hours of digging, weeding and planting are such as worthy investment.