The Plot Thickens - No-Dig, Allotment Living

As the shortest day of the year approaches, we look forward to the longer evenings and all of the possibilities that 2025 holds for the allotment, on all 4 of our half plots!  Looking back on the few allotment diary entries we both made in 2024, it was clear we started our sowing way too early last year and so we'll be holding back on any sowing until March next year....will we resist the temptation?!

An upsetting look back on the year that was 2024. A year of a cold spring, a huge amount of slugs, an even colder summer and a harvest so small that you would struggle to sustain a person even for a few days. Vicky's lists her wins as mostly structural. A shed and a fresh compost set up. Roll on 2025!

What do you give an allotmenteer who has most things she needs? Listen in as Vicky and Karin discuss dreamy gifts, some of which MIGHT be homemade in time for Christmas.

Today we dive into the wonder that is the Johnson-Su Bioreactor exploring the why, how, what and wheres of building this microbe and mycelium making composting system. We talk through the benefits for soil health and find the step-by-step construction amazing. Unlike the name suggests, this isn't rocket science and actually an easily built little system that will sit quietly on the plot for a year, busily making the most beautiful compost inoculant. There's little else discuss other than the weather : )

A short but sweet episode about leaf mould; from the basics of how to create your own to practical application for this natural treasure. A sustainable and low cost way to enrich your garden or allotment..what's not to love?

"HOO-gel-kul-tur" Replicating a forest floor with a Hugelkultur on our allotment plots has brought both amazing soil conditions, lush growth and the odd field mouse or two. Karin's planning to build her's to a higher peak this year as she piles on logs, prunings, christmas trees, leaves and grass cuttings to make the most amazing mound for next spring's seeds.

The Plot Thickens can't think of anything better than an early Sunday morning on the plot having a long conversation about mulch; when to do it, why we do it and with what. That it happens to be No Dig day is icing on the cake.

As always, we love diving into the detail of observing and planning a new plot and with Soil Squad's potential new land to be planned, we're all over it! Take a listen for how we work things through, prioritising all the important details such where will the coffee station go.

Vicky has been busy with all things Soil Squad, finally securing a piece of land to be turned into a community composting centre. A whole host of composting systems will be used on the demonstration site, and the pair could not be more excited. Karin is scouring Ebay for her lastest compost obsession; a Swedish Green Johanna hotbin.

Have you seen David Beckham's new love for gardening? Karin's sold, Vicky's clearly not so sure... Vicky's also being a bit of a Halloween grump, while Karin's making plans to collect her street's leftover pumpkins to compost rather than see them disappear.  With all this rain and cold, Vicky's tucking her worms in for winter, Karin’s hashing plans for her own homemade wormery and both are regretting not having treated their sheds this summer. 

Love is in the air as Karin's Paul has sat through a whole hour of Charles Dowding and is a converted man. Vicky hasn't had much time on the plot this week and has missed it terribly. The one time she makes it down there she discovers the dreaded blight has arrived, wiping out a half a bed of potatoes. Karin is continuing with her never ending onion planting, and grapples with two new hugelcultures.

Did you know it's actually illegal to have a seed swap?! Just one of many interesting facts about seeds, seed saving, seed swapping and seed history that we found out about on our Biodynamic Seed Saving Day at Waltham Place. After a glorious day with our teacher, Andre Tranquillini, we hot foot it back home to record the pod in the car whilst it's all still fresh in our minds.

Paranoia has set in on Karin's new plot; the majority of the strings dividing her beds and paths have been cut. Opinion is divided if this is deliberately done by hostile allotment neighbours or rodents with sharp teeth. Karin is keen to have a natural explanation, Vicky is more inclined to believe the scissor theory. This situation is not made any easier with the find of a teeth mould in the wood chip on one of the new paths, complete with name on the back. The back of Vicky's plot has had a complete overhaul with cardboard, all we need now is a good soaking to start everything off. The weather gods were clearly listening to us as it hasn't stopped raining since Saturday :-)

For those ready to geek out over the finer details of onion sets, garlic bulb sowing plans, and budgeting for the season ahead—you’re in the perfect place. But, if that’s not your thing, feel free to jump ahead by a full 13 minutes! We're loving the turn of the season, entering that glorious time of year where we're layering cardboard and compost, sowing green manures, and mulching our garden beds. It's the stuff of our daydreams!  Karin’s been hard at work, carefully collecting Marigold, Nasturtium, and Sweet Pea seeds, ensuring next year’s blooms will be as vibrant as ever. Vicky, on the other hand, has been busy drying seeds from her cucumbers, making sure nothing goes to waste. And in even more exciting composting news—Vicky’s got a brand-new addition to her garden crew… a Wormery! Yes, a whole new world of composting magic has begun!

Charles Dowding's new book Compost has arrived and Vicky is swooning. Karin has made a start of planting for autumn, with spring onions and broadbeans in trays at home. We got a sweet anniversary surprise from Karin's eldest; two pretty The Plot Thickens signs for our respective sheds.

We're talking slugs, again. The allotment's slugs seem to have now all commuted to Karin's plot for a holiday, after finding a deluge of slugs on her plot this morning. Having been despondent about the fox digging up the lettuce seedlings in the bed of Bokashi compost, it's finally come up trumps, providing so many nutrients for Vicky's random pumpkin plant which is absolutely booming.  We've both been really disappointed with our corn on the cobs and feels like our sweetcorn may have suffered from a lack of pollinators this year.  Vicky finally makes her first ratatouille this century and Karin has some lovely pears. Q: Is a big courgette called a marrow? Do share your thought on our poll!

Finally back to our plots after our holidays! While going away is lovely, coming back to your little green paradise is SO exciting. The familiar paths, the occasional weed to pull and gorgeous smells of ripe fruit and veg! Vicky did a successful watering swap with an allotment neighbour while Paul, scarred by last year's dry disaster, redeemed himself with a fortnight full time watering schedule. All in all a good reunion :-)

Have you ever thought about why we adore our compost so much? We've come to realise that perhaps because it's a living entity. Feeding, nurturing, turning, measuring and watching it mature into something you are proud of is much like having a pet or a child! This episode was recorded 2 weeks ago, it's short and sweet whilst we are away on our holidays! We'll be back with you with with a packed full episode next week! P.S. You might notice Vicky has a bit of a cold, so apologies for the sniffles and the occasional passing plane.

Early morning on the plot chatting about all things allotment, foxes, watering (and a lack of) and great useable items from the St Albans Reuse site.

When you've been making your own compost for over 20 years, its hard to then just order it in! Karin's struggling with the wish to make all of the Plot 2 beds with her own inputs and yet, wants the job done like, now! To buy or not to buy, that's the question.