Allotment Tales 25th May 2026

A lovely late Spring Day – hopefully heralding a sunny June to come. Weeding continues to be a main activity at the allotment, amongst delicate germinating roots, in the raspberry bed and along woodchip paths, where stubborn patches of grass are taking hold. Bed perimeters were tidied up too, though the edging shears could do with a bit of sharpening.
Constructing the bean frame took some time – pulling out stored hazel stakes, on the hunt for 8 sturdy uprights of roughly the same size. As the site can be windy, we used the metal pole and mallet to make holes as deep as possible so our runners and climbers will be well-anchored. Once built, well-rotted manure was spread in preparation for next week’s planting.

Jerusalem artichokes are once again encroaching onto the rhubarb, so we harvested some to create a bit more space for other perennial crops.
This year’s brassicas will soon be making an appearance, so we scattered lime in preparation for this. We watered fairly extensively today too.

Jobs for next week: plant the beans; thin the roots and sow some more; water as required; trim the willow hedge; mow the grass and above all – weed!