A quick tour around the three plots as we finish our preparations for Winter and Spring. Almost everything is planted now. All of the straweberry beds have their runners, the garlic, onions and shallots are in. We have field beans as a green manure and broad beans that will be ready May/June next year. All of the salad beds are planted, including lots of beds with young plants that won't see a harvest until spring. The store room is fully stocked with carrots, beets, onions, garlic, apples and potatoes. Finally the brassica beds - decimated by whitefly and other aphids - are easily keeping pace with demand.

If you are new to my allotment videos you might find a bit of context useful. We have three allotments in my family, mine (Steve), my wife's (Debbie) and my middle daughter's (Jennie). We also have a small kitchen garden at home. They are all managed in an integrated fashion, so don't expect to see the usual mix of veg on each plot.

On Jennie's plot, for example, we focus on potatoes, squash, alliums, and brassicas. This video provides an overview [ Ссылка ]. I do an update of the allotments, roughly one a week, you can find the tours here [ Ссылка ].

Our approach to allotment life is to: grow as much as we possibly can, to be self-sufficient in veg all year round and in fruit in season, to give away our huge surplus to friends and family, and to have as much fun as possible.

My wife and I spend about 4 hours a day, 4 days a week on the plots (on average) and we keep nudging that down as we eliminate non-productive work: like grass cutting, weeding and watering as much as practical. We are both newbie gardeners, only starting the allotments in 2016.

I'm a bit obsessive about the nutrient density of the veg that we grow and making the plots easy to work because it's through this allotment lifestyle and food that I've overcome a debilitating auto-immune disease.

I'm always aware though that it might not last so I make sure that I don't work too hard, eat as much organic fruit and veg I can and design the plots so that I can still work them if I flare up again.

свернуть