Allotment Tales 20th November 2025

Heavy rain prevented play last week. But this Thursday we had freezing conditions. Think our allotment days will be getting shorter as Winter progresses.

We stuck around till coffee time, treating ourselves to the warmth of Bridgend Community Café and their excellent scones and gooseberry jam, as opposed to our usual al fresco break.
Before our retreat, stored apples and potatoes got their weekly check. We re-tucked the onion sets which had become exposed, either through “frost heave” or mouse activity. Detective instincts suggested the latter as resulting holes were suspiciously mouse-sized…A few green shoots have already started poking through the soil, so cross fingers all will be well. We checked all our netting, which may deter rather than prevent hungry wildlife, especially the tiny ones.
There was a bit of chat around the parsnip tubs (up-ended compost bins). We’re growing “Gladiator” – a sturdy, reliable variety and suspect that a very dry start in Spring may have resulted in small roots, despite luscious leafery. If the earth is thawed next week, we’ll pull a couple to see.
Garden debris was stacked into a haystack-like structure. Hopefully this will give us plenty of dry materials for a Winter bonfire at some point.
We managed a bit of frosty harvesting amongst the sprouts before retreating to the café.

Jobs for Next Week: Pull a parsnip or two; weed in the beds; checked stored produce; possibly light a bonfire if conditions allow