Welcome to Allotment Vegetable Growing Diary Plus

Welcome to Allotment Growing Diary Plus

For some time now I’ve felt that my old diary system was a bit limiting and I wanted a place to put my more ‘off topic’ rants and raves about things in general like the ways our food is produced and distributed. Well this is it!

This doesn’t mean I’m abandoning the main web site and moving everything to these pages – far from it. But it is an easier and better way for me to keep my allotment diary.

That’s me harvesting potatoes back in September 2005 – Sarpo Mira as I recall.

A diary is a great tool for the grower. It helps you keep track of what worked for you and what didn’t. If you are like me you will forget what was planted where and when. What variety of vegetable is important because what grows well in one place may not grow well in your garden or on your plot.If you’re interested in seeing how I’ve got on over the years, you can find my previous Allotment Diary entries listed.

A great sentiment but when you are busy it is too easy to think ‘I’ll jot that down tomorrow’ and, of course, tomorrow never comes… Unlike the paper notebook I started with, I’ve yet to lose the computer so this does work a treat. I hope it will show you that, whatever the gardening books and experts might say, things go wrong for everyone. Knowing you’re not alone can be a help when you find your seedlings have vanished and all you can find is a fat slug sleeping under a stone!

My first book -  VegetableGrowing Month by Month. has been out for a year now and much to my surprise has become one of the most popular gardening books in Britain. You can buy it directly from me but you can also order on Amazon and save a few bob but I’ll be signing copies when I supply directly.

It’s really aimed at the novice grower rather than the expert. I’ve tried and my editor has helped no end, make it simple and readable rather than full of jargon. It’s a standard paperback – not a coffee table book. Cheap enough to get muddy fingerprints on.

The Essential Allotment Guide

My second book The Essential Allotment Guide is out now. There were things I wanted to put in the first book that were really more for the allotment grower than the general vegetable grower but we ran out of space so this fills the gap.

It does stand alone and, I hope, give you all you need to get going on an allotment or a large plot. There’s help on finding an allotment and a few tips for climbing up those awful waiting lists. As well as buying signed copies directly from me, you can also obtain The Essential Allotment Guide from all good bookstores and many garden centres. It’s on Amazon as well of course.

I’m afraid I don’t have the time to answer every question that people ask, although I do try. Often your best bet is to go to the chat room and ask. There’s a bunch of keen and knowledgable gardeners there and someone will always pop on to help. Allotment & Vegetable Gardening Chat

I’m building a section of vegetable growing guides you may find useful. I’m trying to keep everything in an easy to find sections so all the growing potatoes or growing tomatoes articles are together. And don’t forget the Month by Month Growing

There’s a lot more to pop onto the site but I’m going as fast as I can! New articles and sections are announced in this diary plus – see New on the Site

If you grow vegetables then you’re probably interested in what you eat. Check out our recipes pages. You may be surprised at how many sauces & ketchups not to mention chutneys and jams we’ve got great recipes for.

Over on the Poultry Pages we’re putting together a list of breeders and suppliers. We’re trying to cover as much as we can, live eggs for hatching, point of lay pullets, bantams and fancies  ducks, geese and even ostriches! They’re listed at Live Poultry & Egg Suppliers.

If you want to support this site then please do so – if you’re intending to buy something online, go through the allotment shop and our sponsors. There’s everything from Vegetable Seeds through Gardening Equipment to Rotovators. Got to be worth a look!