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After months of being overseas, enjoying the North Carolina sunshine and a few weeks in self isolation, it was finally time to hit the allotment. I was overjoyed with getting back down the plot and into my office - the Rhino Greenhouse!
While I was away, my plot neighbour was incredibly helpful, potting on and planting out seeds that I had sown back in March and she kept everything growing wonderfully well in the greenhouse. How lucky am I to have such a great neighbour.
My friends had popped down to do a little weeding, Michael, my partner in plants collected plants from my parents (who were overrun with plants I had sent) and planted them out for me and Georgie from Rhino even went on a trip to the plot and did some weeding as well. So it has been a team effort. Of course, allotments need regular care so when I arrived back the only thing to get on top of was the weeding but it was minimal thanks to the allotment being no dig. The thick layer of mulch in Autumn made a huge difference and the main area to contend with is the nettles that have taken over the compost. All in all, I was extremely happy!
The greenhouse is now full of tomatoes (Green Zebra being the show stopper right now), cucumber, chillies and aubergines and before long there will be many microgreens to fill in the gaps.
I have harvested over-wintered onions and shallots plus plenty of cut flowers, lettuce, kale and chard plus the first batch of potatoes. Even though I haven’t been there for so long, I am so thankful I made that trip back in March because it really did get everything off to a good start. Phew!
So next, it is time to plant out the rest of my potted plants including sunflowers, sweetcorn, cabbage and broccoli and despite missing out on my grand plans for the cut flower patch, I am incredibly thankful to return to a still productive plot. Happy days!
To read more about Ellen Mary, you can find her on social media and on her website - https://www.ellenmarygardening.co.uk/
