Even though many people enjoy gardening in the summer, I much prefer winter days on the allotment. It may seem unusual, but I would rather be bundled up in a jacket and hat, and warm myself up by working on the allotment than over-heating on hot summer days.
Which is lucky really because it means I can carry on enjoying my allotment throughout the cold winter months as much as I do in the spring. I’ve been thinking about it and I’ve come up with a few reasons why I seem to enjoy the frosty days at the veggie plot so much:
- The frost suppresses the weeds, so I’m not spending 90% of my time weeding, as I do in the summer.
- There are fewer people at the allotment site, which means my time there is very quiet and contemplative.
- There’s less sowing/planting to do, so I can spend more time planning my plot for next year and preparing the soil.
- It’s the best time to do any building projects as there are no other daily tasks like watering or harvesting to do.
- I can boil the kettle on my camping gas stove to enjoy a steaming hot cuppa.
- I don’t get as muddy – when the ground is frozen I don’t get clods of mud sticking to my boots as I walk around the plot.
So, you’re much more likely to find me at the allotment at this time of year than in the scorching temperatures of summer!
This week, it’s been all about the veggies that we’ve grown for our Christmas meal – stalks of spouts, red cabbage, leeks, beetroot, parsnips, carrots.
I’m loving the fact that most of my Christmas dinner has come from the allotment, including the main crop potatoes and onions that we harvested and stored earlier in the year.
We’ve got our own chutneys (one plum chutney and one green tomato) to serve with our festive cheeseboard, and even have apple jam ready to accompany ham, or to use as an alternative filling to mince pies. Yum!
Overall, I’ve enjoyed my first year of having an allotment. I’ve learned a few things about growing my own veg on a larger scale and have realised what I don’t want to do again next year – I’ll share my plans for 2023 in the new year! How about you? how has your year on the veggie patch been? Have you grown your own veggies for Christmas dinner? Let me know in the comments below. 🙂
