elaine rickett's Page

I can't do it - work outdoors when it's hot I mean - I retreat indoors and wait for it to cool off.  So instead I get up early  - this morning I dug over the pumpkin patch in readiness for the plants to go in this evening, and planted french beans and another row of peas.  I waited till it cooled off this evening and did the rounds, watering all my new plantings.  I emptied a whole dustbin of saved water - in some places the ground was cracking like a desert.  Talk about one extreme to the…

A long time ago - way back in the 70's - I used to sit in a stuffy old office shuffling paper about daydreaming that one day I would be able to be outside in the fresh air all day tending my garden and growing my own food.  Not being reliant on the supermarket to provide everything for my survival.  Then when I moved here and the opportunity came to buy a piece of land I jumped at it and started living the dream.  I may not have wealth and riches in the normal sense of the word, but I do…

After a slow start the sun eventually came out - it was great to put in a few hours hard graft at the allotment with the sun on my back.  The cauliflowers I planted yesterday have been nibbled already so i netted them and put the mesh cloches back over them.  Erected the bean poles and got the ground ready for the outdoor tomatoes.  I then filled a dustbin with nettles ready to make some nettle 'tea' and generally had a good weed around.  After being cooped up for so long with the cold and…

When the blossom came out on the pear tree it was very cold and there were no bees about - so I set to with a paintbrush and went over all the flowers with it to try and move the pollen about a bit - and look, a pear - well there are two actually - not a great success - but at least it's better than none.…