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Stormy Days
The allotment is starting to really come to life now, the strawberry patch needed weeded and some strawberries were hiding underneath. It is quite surprising to see fruit so early on in the year. England has been battered by both storm Ciara and storm Dennis in the past week, so we knew we had to…
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The Rollright Stones
The Rollright Stones are located on the border of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, near the village of Little Rollright. They have stood since the Neolithic era and their history spans over 5,500 years. Their story starts with the construction of The Whispering Knights, a Neolithic Dolmen [a single chamber tomb], it is even believed that this…
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Starting Over
This is our first January on the plot. There isn’t much growing activity this time of year, so we have used this time to try and prepare the plot for the upcoming growing season. This has been a lot harder than it should have been, due to the excessive rainfall over the last few months.…
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Oh apple tree, we wassail thee
Wassailing of the apple trees dates back to our forefathers of Anglo-Saxon times. It was originally celebrated on 17th January, although this changed to 5th January with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. Many people still celebrate Wassail on the Julian date. The word “Wassail” comes from the Old English “wæs (þu) hæl“, roughly translating to “be…
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Pallet Wood Bug Hotels
It dawned on me that I forgot to post about the little bug hotels we made over summer, so here is a little flashback to August in these colder times. Thomas cut and measured up a few planks of pallet wood that we had at the allotment and made the bases, whilst I walked around…
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As we leave the darkness
Yule is a sacred time for European peoples. We have lived through the darkness and the sun is reborn once again during the winter solstice. We are connected to nature and in-turn we are renewed in this rebirth. We reflect on many things during Yule; I personally think of the ones who came before me.…
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What Have We Learnt?
What have we learnt in the last six months of having an allotment? The first one is an obvious one. It is hard work. Don’t be fooled by the pictures and the accounts that make it seem like it is a breeze, it really isn’t. Some days it is six hours of digging in the…
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Hearty Pumpkin Soup
Here’s a simple recipe to use up some of your pumpkin glut. This will make enough for four large portions. Ingredients:– 900g of roughly chopped and peeled pumpkin– one large red onion– one parsnip– one carrot– one large potato– three cloves of garlic– 150ml of double cream– Two vegetable or chicken stock cubes– 1tsp cinnamon–…
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Rain, rain, go away…
With all of the rain recently, it feels like the allotment has turned into a bog! We had to wait two weeks to be able to plant the trees. There was either never a long enough break in the rain to plant them or the ground was too sodden. Luckily, we were able to plant…
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