You might think that having an allotment is for you to grow your own veg. Well it is, and it is also to feed the local population of slugs snails and birds as well as for meditation. Just taking in the plot this evening was just brilliant. No one else was there, I had my own plot and all the others to myself. A redstart and a cliff chaff were in the area too, they were probably contemplating coming along for a feast on my slugs. I wish they would as the slugs are having a ‘super size me’ slug burger meal of my calabrese every night. In the past I’ve watered in nematodes, a method of organic slug killing. It worked for the last two years but I thought it might just be a bit of a fluke ( or I did n’t believe it would work and might have been money down the drain ) I wish I’d bothered now.

All the recent rain has made the allotment really green, and there’s more rain on the way, which is great. However I’ve not had such a great year so far on there. I was lucky enough to be gifted some squash and courgette plants from an allotment neighbour, and his plants have done well. Early spuds failed ( Only one row, but it’s the first time I’ve had spud failure ) Later ones have done ok but stalled a little in the very dry weather, now booming. So hopes are high. just hope the slugs don’t find them. A row of beetroot, generally a plant that germinates and grows brilliantly also evaporated, I have a few parsnips and they seem to have done ok…all in the lap of the gods, I’ve never grown them before so am hoping that they will have some great big rooty tooties. At their best to eat after a frost, so quite some time to wait.

I’ve been giving away a few of my ‘shed’ drawings to the shed owners of late and they have gone down well. I’ve no idea who’s shed this is but it is certainly a candidate for drawing. I love the way it has a garden of its own on the roof. Hopefully I’ll do it justice in the drawing, which might not be done until the Winter, it will be good to look back on such a lovely Summer evening after roasting some of those parsnips. We live in hope.