Autumn is here and this can only mean one thing; time to tidy and clear up the plot. On Saturday morning, I went down the allotment to see how bad it was as I hadn’t been down for a couple of weeks. It wasn’t too bad but parts of it was in desperate need of a weed, mainly the blackcurrant bed and the old strawberry bed. But before cracking on, I had one job to do.

The other week, I cleared out my spare bedroom in the flat where I had a desk that my dad built when I moved in. I was getting rid of it but instead of throwing it in the tip, I thought it would come in useful down the allotment as a work bench. Armed with a screw driver and a box of screws, I put the work bench together with a pile of wood to spare for other projects.

With the work bench up, it was time to start tidying the plot. As I started to weed the blackcurrant bed, I noticed a load of nettles, and not thinking much of it, I pulled them up only to find the roots went for miles. I’ve heard people say the roots of nettles spread all over the place, but this is the first time I’ve seen it myself. The rest of the plot was a breeze to weed and I had this done within an hour.

While having one of many tea breaks, I noticed a robin darting around the plot and feeding on the bird table. This is the first time I’ve been a bird use the bird table. Shortly after, a house sparrow and a few dunnocks joined the robin and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Before packing up for the day, I harvested some carrots, celery and a bit of kale, all of which I used in a soup the following day. As I was driving back,  I was thinking this might be my last harvest of the year, but my sprouts and leeks are looking like they’ll be ready in time for Christmas dinner. I can’t wait.