Happy New Year - Jan 2026

Hello All.... I am going to start with a confession! I am lazy and I have misplaced my allotment diary. Instead of using these two things as a reason to just stop this (much neglected blog), I am just going to use January to start fresh - and when I inevitably find my diary I will just post bonus retrospective content!

It is not quite a year since I have had my plot, and I am still learning and really loving it. It is the 10th of January today and was my first visit to the plot of 2026. The cold weather and the shorter days has meant that there has not been too much excessive growth since the last visit and for that I am very glad. Although there is a good amount of weeding and preparing for the spring that I should start getting on with. Especially if we get dry beautiful days like today.

I didn't do too much today - but I did trim the quince tree a bit - It is best to do pruning while the tree is still dormant, you don't have to, but there is no point letting the tree waste energy producing new spring growth if you are just going to lop it all off.

I have already started some seeds off, predominantly flowers, because I plan to use one of the raised beds as a pollinator patch this year, and some chillies because they like a nice head start. I have got seed trays dotted about all over the place - the sunny office window (the warmest spot), the kitchen window (a mid-heat sunny spot) and out int he cold frame thing for stuff that will start out very slow in the cold.

The verbena and the achillea (yarrow) that I planted came in the copy of Amateur Gardening (Jan edition) that I purchased on a whim. Both of which showed that they could be sown now(ish). Do not intend to get carried away with too many more things yet. I will only run out of coldframe and window space well before I can start risking plants on the plot. The winter is really a time for patience... I am not good with that!

Looking back through the pictures from last year I am very proud of the plot, which not only produced some particularly tasty xmas spuds, but also got me second place new allotment on the site (I am not telling you how many new plots there were... More than one hand less than two).

The spuds went in, in August and the ones that were used for xmas roasties were Pentland Javalins.

The other things I am super proud of this year were my squashes, particularly my Mashed Potato squash. Also I am proud that I suck with the plot and that I didn't choose to shut it down over the Autumn and Winter (although from the lack of blogging you would be forgiven for thinking that I did!).

We had hassleback butternut on Christmas Day, and I introduced my friends to the mashed potato squash one evening, we enjoyed them with a bit of garlic, lots of bacon lardons and some cheese (a mix of a nice cheddar and a smoked red fox or something like that). I think I have added two more people to the growing list of mash potato squash lovers. I have some seed left for this year, but I also saved some seed.

The problem is all of the cucurbit types readily cross pollinate, so unless you are keeping your patches far apart from other similar plants or protecting the female flowers and hand pollinating the collected seeds will often be some kind of 'new' variety - this might be a good thing, but can result in bitter fruits that can cause a stomach upset. The fruits can be tested by just licking (the cut flesh) when they are ripe, if they are terribly bitter they are for carving or compost - just liking them is not (so I have read and listened too on podcasts) enough of the compound to do any damage, but should be a really good indicator that the squash (courgette cucumber or similar) is not worth eating.

Brussels Sprouts from the allotment did not make it to the Christmas dinner plate. The picture below looks like a lovely stalk of sprouts... but they are actually about pea sized in the image - when I checked them today some are showing potential for February.

Talking about Christmas I am super grateful for the gardening related thoughtful gifts I received this year - they will be well used and also likely save me a whole load of money on the plot this year.

Secret Santa at work (who remains anonymous despite some sugar induced shenanigans) knows me so well and is supporting my savings by improving my compost game with Charles Dowding's book 'Compost'. I ended the year with five compost bins - an open pallet collar situation I inherited at the plot, three Daleks, and a Green Johanna at home.

Nan's treated me to some subscriptions, I will be getting both Grow Your Own and Kitchen Garden magazine this year. Both of which will come with a good supply of advice and seeds. The first Grow Your Own arrived today and the seed selection is excellent!

My husband also got me a head start with a vegetable patch subscription from Rocket Gardens. This will supply me with three deliveries of vegetable plug plants through out the year, and while it is not going to fill my plot it will certainly support me in keeping up with it, in what I expect will be a busy year.

To keep me super stylish at the plot and (probably more importantly), to keep my feet dry, friends gave me Merry People vouchers which I have used to buy myself some super snazzy wellies. They are comfortable and purple and I love them!

Mood: Invigorated - ready for another year full of weeds and potential

Spend: I have already spent a little money on seed compost and I topped up the vouchers for my wellies - but as I use the wellies for dog walking I don't think that counts for allotment spend. So I think about £12.

What were you proud of in 2025?

Any Brussels Sprout lessons for me?

What did you learn on the plot this last year?

Once again Happy New Year - thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing more stuff with you over the months ahead! xx