A rare break in the December days of wind, rain and darkness comes on Christmas Eve. Sunshine lighting up, like a stage, the crops on 106. Fennel, Globe Artichokes and the Italian Kale are really the crops of mid to late summer but grow and glow they do. A reality check comes from the Brussels Sprouts, Leeks, Spinach and emerging garlic hinting of the cold to come. The green manures are growing well and I will be digging some in during late January.
I heard a few days ago that Henry the Pig had to be put to sleep. How very sad for Jack, Colin and Maggie. The manure of Henry has produced great crops this year for me and I am very grateful. There will be a tree planting in the New Year in memory of my helper ....
0 Comments
"Life is a series of collisions with the future; it is not the sum of what we have been, but what we yearn to be" Jose Ortega y Gasset
Not long until year end. A year that has seen suffering, worry and isolation for many. How we yearn for normal! Gardeners are privileged, having space. Literal and metaphorical. Spaces become sanctuaries. Behind the house, on the allotment or on the balcony, normal grows there. Our lives have been put on hold, stopped and started, yet the sun has shone, who can forget the glorious light and warmth of April and May? The sheer energy of all the work carried out in those spaces. The accomplishment of the first time tomato grower. The fluttering of a Painted Lady butterfly. The ache of the back. The appearance of mildew. An overwhelming sense of achievement and relaxation. A normal or perhaps a new normal for some Time is a very precious commodity. Did you ever see the late 60s movie " Easy Rider "? Remember early in the film just as Wyatt and Billy set off on their odyssey through a troubled America that Wyatt takes off and throws away his Rolex watch? Literally freeing himself from the constraints of time. We have been able to do that On plot 106 this year has been a great one for produce, friendships and health. The last two as important as the first. But all three in response to COVID. It took a little while for actual confirmation to come through that we were allowed down there. Some had adopted a carry on attitude anyway. But I did wear gloves and had a sanitiser with me. Distances were kept, not between the rows of vegetables but the allotmenteers. It was serious. We got to speak more, about the impacts. Lots of stretching, carrying, lifting and tool work. I am not heavy but lost a stone. Marvellous meals with the produce, items in the freezer and preserves on the shelf. Produce, friendships and health create wellbeing. Boosted by that, we explore what we yearn to be ... k here to edit. A very good crop of runner beans Lancing Longpod ". And now saving seed for the 2021 season. You will not find that variety in any of the seed catalogues or garden centres. When I took on Plot 106 so many buddies encouraged me in different ways. Maureen Ross gave me a tray of runner bean plants, variety not really known but grown from kept seed. And boy did they grow. Runner beans are an essential for the allotment, the vegetable garden or the flower border. They produce beautiful food and flowers. Surprisingly tough to cold winds and with a bit of luck producing pods into November from a March sowing indoors. Lovely .....
#lancing #allotments |
AuthorI launched this website on 16th August 2020 to bring together my thoughts on gardening,, its importance for health and wellbeing and two projects running concurrently, a renovation of my own garden on the West Sussex coast at Lancing and a nearby allotment. But also to learn from other gardeners about the inspirations for their plots, about their gardening projects and enjoyment of beautiful plants and gardens Archives
February 2024
Categories |