Busy: planting, weeding, tidying, top dressing, harvesting

Two thirds of my allotment with purple sprouting broccoli at the centre foreground;  the other third contains the chicken yard, raspberries and artichokes (not shown), April 2026

Photos!  But don't expect this trend to continue.  

A lot going on right now, both in my personal life and in my garden and allotment.  So busy.  I make my food producing engine a top priority though.  Not only is it important to me to have as much homegrown food as possible, I also enjoy the whole process.  It's my beloved hobby.  This time of year I'm in the garden as much as possible, and at the allotment every day.  I'm still planting out my transplants, bed by bed.

Tiny quince tree in the garden, May 2026

I spent the last two weekends with a pair of leather gloves, pulling out all the nettles from the edges of my garden;  I also did as much of the encroaching brambles as I could (these are harder to pull out but cutting them only encourages growth).  The whole garden looks much tidier now.  Most of it is given to perennials and ornamentals, with good habitat for birds and other creatures;  a certain amount of disorder is therefore encouraged, but I want to be able to enjoy the full extent of it too, without getting stung or prickled.

Another job:  digging chicken manure out of the now vacant yard--chickens currently having their summer vacation at the allotment--and spreading it all around.  It's gone at the base of every fruit tree and rose bush, around some of the garden beds, and anywhere else that looks needy.  There's a whole year's worth of manure there:  plenty to share.  The son and I emptied the coop too, then dusted it thoroughly with diatomaceous earth, to protect against mites.  After mowing the lawn, he put the grass clippings in the coop and nest boxes to dry out into straw;  it will be dry and ready for chickens to move back in after their summer break.

It's never flowered before;  will we get our first quince? May 2026

The purple sprouting broccoli at the allotment is just about finished and I'm pulling up the plants one by one, stripping the leaves to eat like kale;  I've frozen a lot too.  I've also begun regularly picking the first new season lettuce (this is in the kitchen garden), as well as new chives, parsley and garlic.  Though the maincrop garlic isn't ready yet, I've found some volunteers that got missed last year and am cooking them whole: very pungent.  I'm still hopeful for some spring cabbages soon, growing bigger;  and one spring cauliflower--the rest already matured, back in autumn and winter.  Oh, and there is still one squash left from last autumn, alone on its mat in my living room:  time to cut it open.