June

Productive planting

Kirsten

10 Jan 2026 • 3 min read

Blue sky summer morning on the allotment. Image of corn, sunflowers, next door's bean wigwams and lots of (not particularly productive brambles).

Sunday 22nd June
I got to the plot early again today, before 7 am and had a really productive time. I achieved both more and less than I had planned today, returning home with some seedlings that will either get planted at home or will live in their pots for a bit until there is room at the plot.

Productive salad bed - leaves started in modular trays from seed at home.

At about 6:50 I loaded up the trolly with things from the car and trundled up the narrow path to the plot. Now the neighbours plot is full of life the path is a little too narrow to take the trolly all the way to my patch, but I got it most of the way there and it still saved me lots of trips to the car and back.

Just one of many wheeled trug things full of grass and weeds that I filled up.

The first thing I did was used the blue tubing I rescued from the spares table to make a frame for some broccoli, well actually step one was to weed that area and trim down the grass along the the fence line. Then I planted 8 sprouting broccoli plants putting some spare ones into the sharing zone. Hopefully someone will nab the unlabelled brassicas, and enjoy the surprise when they grow!

blue tubing and some netting used to protect newly planted sprouting broccoli and some freshly planted (slightly sad looking) nasturtiums.

A mixed bed of cosmos, cavolo nero, dill, Brussels sprouts and kalettes.

I dug up a patch of grass. I planted some Sorel and salad leaves under the plum tree. Next I planted various companion plants as well as a few rows of carrots, radish and parsnip. I also planted some dwarf beans straight into the ground and some more peas were planted into the ground along the trellis (which was the site of the earlier pea massacre).

The scene of the pea massacre and home to the California poppies - which Nan will continue to call weeds.

Oh, I missed telling you that the actual first thing I did was water everything. I gave it a proper soak when I arrived. Then before I packed up I watered all the newly planted things.

Unfortunately once I was all finished and packing up to come home I fell over. My hands were full of boxes and I didn't see a piece of wood poking onto the path from the neighbours plot. I think I must have dislodged it when I used the trolly earlier. Anyway I fell hard, landing fortunately, on a strip of mud rather than the neighbours plants. The immediate pain was my ankle but that wore off pretty quickly and I think it is ok.

When I got back home I took some painkillers and jumped in a bath. I expect that there will be bruises down one side of me, particularly my wrist, hip and ankle. There is going to be a big bruise on my shin. On the plus side I managed not to break anything I was carrying, including the mug from the allotment kitchen!

View of the Plot from the corner with 4 raised beds.

Mood: Aching but pretty chuffed
Time at the plot: 2 hrs
Spend: Nowt