Allotment Therapy

Desperate times call for desperate measures and so early yesterday evening found me bouncing and gear-crunching in Hubby's jeep to my allotment with my red trug filled with seeds, tools and plants and Maltesers in my pocket.

As usual I was the only one up there, except for two visitors; one a would-be allotmenteer asking about waiting list lengths and a pheasant. But, apart from that, I was alone which was just how I liked it. I even politely turned down the offer of help from my eight-year-old.

After my customary hopping from foot to foot and lip chewing check on my beds I decided, finally, what I was going to do.

The first job was to nick some of the canes Hubby had enthusiastically used for the sweetpeas, which weren't looking too healthy. Not entirely sure what I do wrong with those, but they never look wonderful.

Then it was onto some very therapeutic weeding of the onion bed, accompanied by the peaceful cooing of wood pigeons. Bliss! I was a tad disappointed to discover only two spring onions had made the effort to germinate.

More disappointment was found in the carrot bed which proudly displayed one carrot! One! And that was after I had sown them lovingly in a soft bed of compost. But I will not be defeated. Instead I'm going to soak some seeds overnight in this organic seaweed solution and see if that will help. Plan B is to sow them at home in paper pots and later transplant them complete in their newspaper bed. Let's see if they like that.

The most fun was had with the slugs. In an effort to make my plot look prettier I gave the grass and weeds on the outside of the beds a good trim and discovered Slug City. So I lined them up on the boards and chopped away, feeling very satisfied. Sometimes I stabbed. I'm not usually aggressive, unless you're a slug feasting on my peas. Hopefully that tasty green restaurant has now closed.

I didn't get all my jobs done; the sugar snap peas came home with me again along with the morning glories. I did hurriedly plant some climbing french beans around the few remaining canes I had, but it was more a square than a wigwam. The nasturtium bush was also quickly planted in, of all places, part of the carrot bed. It was a busy and productive time and just what I, and my allotment, needed.