Never give up trying!

I’ll admit now that the allotment has been neglected the past 2 years, I haven’t been spending as much time as I used to up there since falling in love but I guess that’s just life right? That plus the huge work load this year has just been immense with all the garden shows and collecting stock… it’s been a busy old time for me and I’m not complaining but I do miss all those days up the allotment. I’m thinking maybe I just spent too much time up there before, I had way too much time on my hands and now that I don’t I just miss it, if that makes sense…

Parts of the allotment are failing completely this year like the brassica cage for instance, it’s pretty much non existence right now due to being covered in rubbish piles, old strawberry cages and mounds of weeds. The fruit cage has been left to defend for itself and the weeds just keep on growing… However, there’s little rays of sunshine on the allotment that are helping me keep my motivation and believe me, there’s been plenty of times when I’ve wanted to give the allotment up this year! Those times when you wake up early and head down to the plot with a cup of tea, the way the morning sun shines through the flower patch, that’s the views I want to remember when things get a little tough. That and all the little successes I’m having this year….

I’ve grown sunflowers every year since owning my plot and every year they’ve grown but never any taller than me which has always been a little disappointing. This year I decided to grow a variety called ‘Mongolian Giant’ and even though they aren’t the tallest sunflowers in the world I am still so unbelievably happy with them. The 5 plants at the back of my allotment have grown the best due to being in full sun and I’m pleased to say they are all taller than me and I’m 6 foot… which just so happens to be the tallest sunflowers to ever grow on plot 15C!

I’ve got beans growing growing on my archway and little munchkin pumpkins forming for the first time in 2 years. There’s also a crown prince squash growing amongst the three sisters which I’m so pleased about, I haven’t harvested any pumpkins or squashes for a few years now!

The trough is also growing really well and the 8 butternut squashes on the vine are getting so big now, my biggest success this year and I couldn’t be happier. As you all know I grow tulips in the trough, planting out the bulbs in November and then watching them grow into beautiful flowers in the Spring. Every year for the past 4 years I have failed at growing a squash in the trough so I can’t explain how happy this makes me, they look like they are going to be big ones too! The gherkin at the far end of the trough has also given me two lovely harvests which I have pickled and there’s more on the way too… 2017 is the year of the trough!

So I guess the moral of the story is never give up. Never give up on growing something that you really want to grow and most of all never give up on your dreams. Some years are different to others, sometimes the sun shines differently, the wind blows less and the rain comes at just the right time. Sometimes you have time of your hands and sometimes you don’t have any time at all. Just take a big breath, look around you and enjoy the moment. The allotment is my heart and soul.

Keep digging for victory and digging for happiness!