August welcomed us with sunshine and an abundance of wild. The plot grew both in flowers, veg and weeds but also in pollinators and wildlife. The swathes of self sown borage, bolted leeks and nasturtiums brought the bees in as well as an array of beautiful butterflies.
It also brought a very early main crop potato harvest. Unfortunately blight took hold and so after cutting the plants back and leaving for a week I decided to lift them revealing a very surprising harvest indeed.
I grew my firm favourites this year, Picasso, Desiree and Pink Fir Apple. They are all super reliable and produce lovely, good sized tubers. Once dried these were moved into the garage where I store them in bread crates to use over the winter.
As well as a super potato harvest we started harvesting courgettes, beetroot and believe it or not, French beans! I had almost given up hope on them. it’s amazing how resilient plants can be when left to their own.
National Allotment Week was 12th – 18th August and I shared all about how I manage my allotment plot whilst still working full time. You can see what I shared on my page by clicking Stephs Allotment
I was very kindly gifted a selection of wonderful Herbs from Urban Herbs which I made sure to plant in prime spots. I filled my Zest Planter with different varieties of thyme and I planted a selection of mint in a large wooden trough. Never plant mint in the ground unless you want it taking over. Some of the other herbs like the sage and garlic chives, I have potted up for now until I choose a suitable space for them.
August was a challenging month for me both physically and mentally. It has changed the way I look at things and how I want to move forwards. Cancer is a word that fills everyone with fear and for me it was certainly a word I never thought I’d hear. If you would like to know more you can click here to read about it. But please know that I am well and am looking forward with a much more positive outlook.
Having gone through this I’ve decided that things on the plot have to change to bring back the happiness I no longer seem to have when I am there. The biggest issue being there is too much! Going forwards I will be adapting a stricter ‘less is more’ approach. I do not need 33 tomato plants, 9 pumpkins and beetroot coming out of my ears. The bees and butterflies enjoying the nectar rich flowers has been lovely to see and so I will be growing less veg and filling the gaps with more flowers. A balance between the two so that the plot can thrive without needing too much attention.
I’ve decided to have the autumn and winter off growing and start a fresh in Spring but for those of you wanting to keep sowing then make sure to check out Kings Seeds where you can get 10% off all seeds using code STEPHS10
Happy Growing 💚
Steph’s Allotment 