1 Year On

So a year has passed since my last post. A lot has changed. I won't bore you with the details of how why etc but here is a brief summary. As the previous post states, we are 4, occasionally 5, but certainly not the 6 we were before. I am no longer teaching in a formal setting, instead educating children in our local museums. I still have limitations to my right hand and arm, however, my mental health has greatly improved but the allotment continues to be the best form of therapy for me.

We had the same usual successes last year, our strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, in fact all of our fruit was great! We were picking tomatoes until November in the greenhouse. The garlic was superb and I'm just using the last couple of bulbs. The shallots mostly failed. We had a couple of good sized pumpkins and an abundance of sugar snap peas.

On to 2018....

Like the rest of the UK we have struggled with flooding on the allotment, which has lead to a later start.

Normally boggy in winter, not normally a paddling pool!

The drainage ditch overflowed and the entire back, up to the shed, is under water.

Even the front is flooded this year!

I had a kick up the arse from very good friends to get me started and since then have not let the rain deter me. All beds on the front except one, which is half dug, have been cleared and prepped (you'll see what slowed progress on the last bed.) We have a good crop of shallots coming on (No puns today sorry) The asparagus survived the winter. Broad beans planted in the Autumn had survived until the last cold snap took most of them out, but new seeds have been planted. That's 3 planted, 4 beds good to go and 1 nearly. I think we can safely call that progress.

7 out of 8 good to go

CP has taken over one of the beds and has started organising it (distracting mummy from the last bed, but getting some lovely quality time together.) She's planted a row of broad beans, (Her personal favourite) parsley, basil and had me rooting round for strawberry runners to add to her bed. That means that any strawberries grown from now on, are her personal supply, although she will still help clear the kilo a day we get from the other patch come June/July! She's planning on planting carrots and flowers too. When it finally dries up, she wants to paint the outside of her bed. Looking good CP.

CP's bed

JJ and Bob will help from time to time but have more important things to be doing with their friends now. They come and help when I need muscle and 2 working hands.

As you can see from above, the back section of raised beds has been too flooded to do much. The 2 back beds still need repairing, however we have all the materials and are waiting for it to dry up a bit.

I'm keeping the middle section fallow. As suggested by a friend, I'm laying down cardboard and when it arrives, piling up the manure and covering it over for now.

Work in progress.

So there you are for now. We will have to see how the year transpires.

Hope you all have a productive year. Happy digging :)

Name change

It was pointed out to me that I had not blogged for a long time and this morning I felt the urge to blog again. 6 P's on a plot was no longer appropriate as we are now 4 and have been for 18 months now. Only one of us is a true P so a name change was called for. Escape the Chaos seems a more appropriate name, as that is exactly what I go to the lottie to do.

Further updates on how the allotment will follow. But for now, happy digging :)

The joys of Spring

What a fabulous couple of weeks weather wise! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the blossoms on the trees are starting to open and the Little P's were persuaded to come and do wheelbarrow runs at the allotment.

six of the eight new beds are now topped up with compost and I have planted our sugar snap peas. They are just starting to break through the surface, but are still being protected by the net from all those lovely beasties, who would love to have a munch on them.

We have started painting the new beds. (We, is not the royal, but JJ and I) We are half way there.  

CP is very happy as her broad beans are finally making an appearance, along with the Narcissus she planted last year.

I planted my squash, courgette, gherkin and cucumber seeds in pots in the greenhouse, only to return and find that the seeds have been chewed by a visitor. I will set them again in the propagator at home to get them going. I was trying to avoid planting at home as I have a marauding Mo, who likes to dig in pots. In a battle of cat and mouse, I know which one I'd trust most. Also I can shut the kitchen door and keep marauding Mo from digging.

The strawberries have been refreshed by removing all the old growth and relocating some of last years runners. I took out a few of the original plants as they were past their best. Advice given by other growers is to remove plants after 3 years. Given all the runners grown over the past couple of years, we have a self sustaining patch. A top up of compost and a quick weeding and off we go again. Jam is going to be this years focus, although the strawberry wine is divine!

The shallots are coming along nicely. The carrots which were planted around them are now breaking the surface. Although I did have a moment and was quite shocked to see so many 'weeds' until I realised they were supposed to be there and were not weeds, but carrots!!? Oops. luckily realised before I removed too many. For the first time ever I think every seed has sprouted!

I have been gifted some nice big pots so the next job will be to transplant all the tomatoes and chillies which have survived the marauder. I have planted flower seeds which were left alone by the beasties and are shooting well now.  When they are big enough they will be transplanted around the plot. New beetroot seeds have been planted and 2 remaining from last year, have been left to go to seed. The potato bed needs rotavating (Mr P assistance required please!?) and they are ready to go in. Certainly in a better position this year to last year.

Thanks for reading, I'm off to enjoy the wonderful sunshine. Keep digging. :)

Surely there shallot of puns out there???!!!

I am enjoying my time at the allotment at the moment and am waiting for the bad weather to do one so I can get on with backfilling the new beds. When I'm at work the sun is shining, when I am free to visit the Lottie it is persisting it down. Oh well take advantage whenever I get the chance.

I have started planting in the 2 beds now they are settled. 2 beds of shallots from last years harvest. Definitely a satisfying feeling knowing that we are using what we have already grown. I made sure I hid them from Mr P and KP otherwise they would have ended up in a tart served for boxing day dinner. The plan is to companion plant carrots. Fingers crossed!

Next job finish back filling the rest of the beds from the compost heap. Here's hoping for a dry day tomorrow so I can get an hour or so in before the Little P's come rampaging out of school.

Short but sweet today. Thanks for reading. Happy digging :)

Managed to grab a couple of hours at the allotment on Sunday afternoon. The sun was was bursting through the grey clouds giving a generous dose vitamin D to all those who wanted to blow away the cobwebs. I managed to get one last look at the crocuses before they went over and can't wait for my daffodils and tulips to open!

It's looking quite sparse in the flowerbed and the grass is sneaking back, but an hour of pulling grasd roots, some new spring plants and the flowerbed will be full of colour again.

It was great to get some time up there alone and really think about what I'm planting where and the next steps.

On a previous visit we backfilled the new raised beds with leaf mould. As this has now settled I felt it was time to take the top off the compost heap and start adding some of the good stuff.

We haven't used any of the compost off the compost heap since we started the allotment so it was interesting to see what it was like.

The compost looked fantastic and excuse the pun but the earthy smell was great.

Not being able to push the wheelbarrow, I had to come up with my own way of transporting the compost. 12 potato buckets  full later and I can genuinely question why did we build the compost bins at the back of the plot? There is definitely a lot to be said for keeping your compost bins in the middle of your plot or even better, have a few dotted around the site which are more accessible.

I only managed to back fill 2 beds but I am very pleased with this achievement! Next time I might be able to get one of the Little P's to do the wheel barrow and save my bruised leg from the knock of the bucket. Certainly earnt those bruises, however the 2 beds are looking great and are ready for planting!

Charlie Bear enjoyed a bit of freedom and was very good off his lead. He went visiting friends on neighbouring plots once, but when your friends offer you biscuits, it's rude not to go and say hello! :)

Although it seemed too early to leave, I decided the light was failing and it was time to call it a day. For the first time in years I am less bothered about losing an hours sleep, and more excited about the prospect of getting to stay out later. Reminds me of my teenage years, pre social media, where you went out to catch up with your friends and would stay out as long as you could. You made sure you were home before it got dark otherwise you were grounded! Quite calming to experience those memories. Makes me want to call my group of friends up and go meet them on the swings again.

The Little P's are getting to this stage and it gives such a warm, fuzzy feeling to see them enjoying a bit of freedom and racing around on bikes or 'chilling' with their friends.

That's enough reminiscing and getting mushy about childhood. As the sun sets, leaving a final burst of light through the clouds, casting rays of gold and red hue across the landscape, I call it a day. Moments like this leave you with a feeling calm.  Looking forward to my next day off so that I can get some more quality time up there.

Thanks for reading and keep digging :)

Busy week

Being on half term we took advantage of the time out of work to catch up on paperwork and get some quality time at the lottie.

Dad W helped me to carry wood and make 8 new raised beds. He carried on even though it was getting dark until they were built.

Kp helped me to back fill them with leaf mould. Next job is to clear a space to get to the compost heap, which has been overrun by brambles over the autumn, and use the good stuff at the bottom of the pile.

Not the straightest but more than fit for purpose. Just need to stake them in the middle of the long sides to ensure completely secure and don't bow.

We had 1 casualty from storm Doris. (seriously why Doris? I had a great, great Aunt Doris who would always give us cups of tea and penguins (the biscuit variety, not the cuddly kind) when we went to visit. How can I think of her as a storm?) Any who, the wind took out 2 panes of glass and although I have what seems to be half a shed full of glass panels, none will actually fit and I need to get a 45 degree angle piece cut. Hopefully before the wind takes any more of the panels out.

That's us done for now. Next stop get some seeds in.

Thanks for reading and happy digging. :)

Start as we mean to go on

So after my mamouth grass pulling session, Mr P decided he needed to get down to the plots and do something constructive.

At the end of last year we dug the main bed up to the last few scallop squash and rebarked it ready for the winter.

Unsurprisingly we didn't go back to finish the job and left the section until now. KP and I set to digging while Mr P tinkered with the big rotavator.

While Mr P and KP dealt with the main bed, I set to digging up the roots of the dock leaf that had started to grow again in the flowerbed. Several 2ft craters later, we had a sizable mound of ridiculously long roots and some as thick as my wrist!

The training I'm doing for this year's Swimathon is clearly paying off for this one armed bandit ;)

I now also have an excellent excuse to replant the flowerbed. (Yes I was careful not to disturb the newly emerging daffodils, crocus and tulips.)


The result of an afternoon's work:

Next steps? Dad W is coming to help repair the 2 damaged raised beds towards the back of the plot and start building new beds on the main bed. Hopefully it will make 45 more manageable for me and free up time for Mr P to focus on 47.

Then I need to chit the seed potatoes and get the dozens of seeds started in the propagator.

I've been reluctant to get the propagator up and running, as our latest family member has an affinity for compost and anything with leaves, especially chilli plants!

Found this branch pulled off and the 2 chillies mauled. Cheers Mr Mo Stash!

Thanks for reading.
Happy digging :)

Spring is in the air

It might be the middle of February, however it certainly feels Spring like today. The sun was shining and casting warmth and chasing away those winter cobwebs. I love going to the allotment at this time, as I get to see the first daffodils and crocus' popping their tops out and enjoying the early sun.

For the first time in weeks I feel I have done enough work to warrant writing a post. Previous visits quickly turned cold and wanting to keep warm I had no intension of taking my gloves for risk of frostbite! Ok a tad exadurated, but I was not removing them until somewhere warm!

So, what have I managed to achieve today? Well I cleared CP's bed and rediscovered she had a Dianthus and Narcissus bulbs hiding amongst the grass.

I also decided to be proactive instead of reactive and removed the majority of the couch grass roots, which had woven their way through the membrane. Not a particularly easy task but I'm confident removed enough to slow it's regrowth for a while.

We now have no obstructions for replacing the broken beds, the debate is now on do we use deck boards to replace them and do we paint them?

Hope you have all had a positive start to 2017.

Thanks for reading and keep digging :)

2016 has been a difficult year on plot 45 and 47. We have been hit by multiple injuries and illnesses which limited our ability to achieve what we set out to do this year.

The year started well (despite Mr P also being a one armed bandit,) pickling beetroot in January and sowing seeds ready for spring. I managed to dig the beds on 45 single handed and had started on 47 before I was struck down and am only now just about recovered.

The poor plots have looked unloved but there have been 3 successes, our strawberries; we were picking at least a kilo a day, which was turned into wine and jam, as well as puddings and school lunches. The garlic crop was our best so far and our shallots were pickled, cooked, kept for growing sets in spring and there's still a kilo leftover.

We had a reasonable crop of French beans and I have collected dried pods for next year's crop.


What have we got planned for next year? Getting some nutrients into the soil and looking at how we use the space we have are top of the agenda, anything else? Well we are still planning for next year so watch this space.

Best wishes from 6 P's on a plot and all the best for 2017.

Thanks for reading and keep digging :)

Mint chocolate cupcakes anyone?

We're starting to rough dig and prepare the ground for winter and enlisted the help of the little P's but I want to blow my own trumpet and write about a vegan tea party I organised for my friend the other day.

We were originally booked into a tea room but 1 week before the day I received an email from the owner stating that her 'lease does not allow me to serve vegan food at this time!' To be fair I think we had a lucky escape. The owner had a distinct lack of understanding what it means to be vegan, ie, 'you can have fresh butter right?' and 'I can do egg sandwiches!' (she was told about the egg allergy)

So not wanting my friend to be disappointed I suggested that I prepare a tea party for us. Feeling deflated the 6 became 2 but I was determined to not let my friend down and set to planning.

Inspired by the Great British Bake Off, I started by choosing which cupcakes to serve.

I found the recipe in the most fantastic vegan recipe book. The book was bought as a birthday present for my friend but naturally I had to ensure that I was giving her something that I knew would turn out well. We regularly swap recipes so it was the perfect gift IF the cakes were good.

The book is by Mellissa Morgan and called 

Ms Cupcake: The Naughtiest Vegan Cakes in Town.

The recipes are very easy to follow, even the little P's were able to follow them and Bob has adapted one to make her birthday cake this weekend.

The cakes turned out perfectly first time and no sign of a soggy bottom!

The issue I had was making the icing. The instructions said to use an electric handwhisk to mix the ingredients. Whilst my right arm is starting to return to life, I am still not able to grip the side of the bowl and as soon as I added the icing sugar to the creamed dairy free butter mixture, I found a snow storm hit the entire kitchen coating the cupboards, cooker, chairs and dining table. I even found a thin layer on the door handle at the opposite side of the kitchen with 2 hours to clean up. Oops!

You would think with years of experience of making cakes (I started helping my mum and Grannie at the age of 2) that I would have realised the second I added the sugar a sticky explosion would happen? Nope not today I was stood in the middle of a big mess trying to work out what had just happened. I was clearly having a 'Mummy Moment', you know the one when you are desperately trying to do too much in too little time and for a split second your brain switches off!

Any way I gave up on the electric whisk and started folding the icing sugar in and then once more used the whisk to cream it. It occurred to me I always iced cakes by folding first then whisking the cream icing. Numpty! 

So how were the cakes in the end? Absolutely moreish! I can not recommend this book enough! The mint was refreshing and the cakes turned out moist and spongy, not the usual heavy, soggy bottomed concoction that normally passes as a vegan cake. So definitely worth the purchase and I was reluctantly happy to give the book to my friend for her birthday. I think I will have to buy my own copy.

After the half hour I spent trying to clean up the remnants of the snow storm. It was time to get on with the savoury part of our tea party.

I made vegan batches. (roll, cob, barncake depending on your region)  I was able to prove the point that I could very cheaply make the humous and salad option I had suggested to the caterer! I also opted for that well known brand of sausages we like to call McFartney in our house (no explanation needed here!)

Finish off with a bowl of nachos, the remaining humous , vegetable pakoras and popcorn to finish off. Very filling but really tasted amazing.

If anyone ever comes back to me again and says they can't cater for vegans I can show them this picture and explain how easy it is if you know the ingredients of the products you are working with.

All caterers have a legal obligation to provide information regarding allergens. A good caterer knows everything that is going into their food and can tell you straight away what you can and can't eat.

Next time I promise to write about allotments and the fabulous scalloped squash soup I made entirely with the ingredients grown at the allotment I helped set up at work.

Thanks for reading and keep digging :)

I started writing this before calamity Nik happened again and I caused myself yet another injury. Enjoy the read.

I am in the final week of my summer holiday, the Little P's go back a week later. I always say I'm going to get up to the allotment and have grand plans, but I never quite manage to get the time up there I want to. If I do, I spend more time disarming arguing P's and rescuing  harvests from a marauding CP, than doing anything constructive. For example last Sunday, CP set to weeding her raised bed, however once I walked away, she dashed off to pick and eat all the ripe tomatoes off the bush next to her, as well as munch her way through all the French beans she could reach. She then started eyeing up the not quite ripe apples, before moving on to the raspberry canes. That is the one great thing about the allotment, all the Little P's will have a snack on what we grow. It does unfortunately mean crops don't always make it home.  Do I worry about them getting their 5 a day? No chance. Coincidentally she did manage to finish weeding her little bed.

I promised more of an update on my last blog so here's what we've achieved in the past couple of weeks.

Do you remember this barrel?

It took 4 of us to shift it!  We needed to dig a 2ft hole around the barrel. Mr P used a crow bar to lift it, while JJ, KP and I rocked it. It has been relocated to somewhere it won't sink and will become our wood burner in the winter. (bonfires permitted October-March) We do have an old broken shed to burn after all.

I have to confess we have given up on organic growing and sprayed the crouch grass around the beds on 45 and sprayed some sections on 47. It was becoming too much for us and if we didn't do something quickly we were risking eviction.

The front of 45 has been tidied up and I have started stripping the flower bed of dead material and weeds ready for some Autumn planting. Moved quickly through the dead material, the ever present dock leaf is another matter altogether.

The weeds have taken over the squash and courgettes so they are the next battle. Cleared this section in an hour with interference from the Little P's. Think I will head up without them, the next time they are with Grandma and get it sorted. 2 hours without interfering P's should get the job finished.

We are looking at what to plant next and where. The conclusion we've come to, is that it's time to order some muck and ensure it is well spread.



So that was 2 weeks ago. I have since torn my hamstring and am trying to hobble around on one crutch, (can't use 2, right arm can't hold the handle or take the weight.) Needless to say I am again unable to work the plot.

Really not been a great year but here's to getting back on it.

Thanks for reading. Happy digging. :)

That's Shallot

Saying this year has not been our best is an understatement, however we have had some successes.

Our garlic and shallots have done very well. I brought back 2 overflowing bags of shallots and an equally full bag of garlic. Made the firm favourite shallot and goats cheese tart. Plan is to pickle the remaining. A week baking in the sun and they have dried out nicely. I wonder how many jars I can fill with this lot?

First crop of carcasonne, ready to be used. Some nice bulbs to replant.

Second crop not as successful but did go in a good couple months after the first crop. Was advised to plant in January/february. Won't be doing that this time, all in at the same time this October.

Red Duke garlic. Really pleased with these and they have a nice kick to them.

Left the Red Duke in longer than planned (everyone needs a holiday in the sun) found these miniature bulbs growing on the stem of the garlic. Just as tasty as the bulbs formed underground.

That's it for now. Weeds still winning but we keep digging.

Hopefully have more of an update next time. Thanks for reading. Happy digging. :)

Hello Summer holidays

What a busy month we have had. There's been Father's Day, birthdays and a friend's wedding. The weather has been typically British summer weather, as in Summer? What is Summer? Then... Oh my God it's too hot! Where's the rain?


So what have we been up to on plots 45 and 47? Not as much as we should have been I'm afraid to report for the end of June. We faced eviction and did consider calling it a day. However after some negotiating with the committee we have been given another chance, we just need to keep on top of the grass. The we being the royal 'we' here, it's not very safe strimming and lawnmowing one handed! Since then however we have got our finger out and have been busy.


Our strawberries have been our favourite crop again this year. The little P's had fresh strawberries every day for a month and I have some very nice strawberry jam as well as a bucket of strawberry wine fermenting.

The garlic and shallots are coming along nicely. I weeded them again last week and topped the bark up around them but the elephant garlic won't be long before they're ready.

The carcasonne variety planted last Autumn have been harvested and I have chosen a bulb to plant this Autumn.


Our French beans are coming on strong and have now been supported, however the slugs have had a good munch and the green beans resemble stalks. Good job the purple French beans are coming on strong.


All of our squashes are out. We have butternut, scallop, turks turban and a pumpkin in however the turks turban and pumpkin probably won't make it this year.


We bought grape vines at the end of last year and our pesky pet rabbits took a liking to them, nibbling any greenery back to trunk! I took it to the greenhouse in the hope they would recover and am pleased to say they are slowly making their comeback.


The greenhouse has been reorganised and the tomatoes and cucumber now have space to grow. I transplanted a couple of the tomatoes into buckets outside. We have had an abundance this year between what we have grown and the ones donated by Dad P and Mum W. Yes that is a tray of celery and corn waiting to go in. Need a bed clearing on 47 so they can go in.

On 47 Mr P has been taming the grass and giving everything a good strim. He found the lone asparagus at the front of 47, there was originally 2. We had decided to have the front of the bed as our asparagus bed but realised it was more manageable to move it to a raised bed where it is less likely to be disturbed.


We have also been busy clearing behind the shed. We cleared at least 5ft of brambles, holly and Ivy and unearthed this unsightly lot. Skip required me thinks!

We (and not the royal 'we') had a bit of a mad one, clearing the brambles and rubbish, dismantling the crumbling shed, then erecting a new one we were lucky to be gifted on freecycle. With all hands on deck, the job was completed in a day. We left the lottie feeling exhausted but satisfied with our team effort.

A lick of paint and she will be as good as new! ;)



This year has been a battle but our spirits have not been completely crushed. A few times we have wanted call it a day but have persevered. Plans are a foot to get back on top of it, watch this space.


I realised the other day that photos on here are normally of Mr P, the little P's and I in our scruffs. I wanted to end with a photo of us looking a bit more respectable for a change.

Thanks for reading. Keep digging :)

Finding the roses

So last week I stopped to smell the roses, this week I braved the rain at the start of the week and stopped to find them. 47 is overrun with 2 1/2 ft grass so I made it my mission to try tackle it. This was originally the flowerbed.

I found all these beauties hiding under the grass.

So after several hours out in th showers I finally found most of the flowers.

Only one small section to go but I ran out of time.

Elsewhere.....
... the apple tree is full of apples.

.... From the greenhouse we have eaten our first cucumber and there are plenty more on the way. Our first tomatoes are forming.

.... JJ was most excited to find the first ripe strawberry, but became somewhat disgruntled when she realised she wasn't the first to find it. Have to be quicker than than JJ.

The weather has gone from showers to full on flash flooding thunderstorms, so progress has been slower than I would like this week. The top of 45 is under water again but at this time of year it soon dries out.

Thanks for reading. Keep digging :)