Allotment representative

I've been accepted as the allotment rep for the top half of Pickards Field. In the newsletter on the back of the last bill, Emma was asking for volunteers, and I volunteered largely in order to be able to get in touch with her occasionally, because normally Joe Public finds this impossible.

One of my duties is to keep an eye on who is and who isn't cultivating their plot. So I had a look today, and will send my report to Emma later today.

We had our first meeting a few weeks ago. It was a shambles. More on it later.

Season coming!

It is the first day of Spring! And it's living up to it, too. It's very sunny, but the ground is soaked. I went down the allotment for only the second time in about three months, and saw Joe just as he was leaving. He was truly fed up at not being able to get started. If it hasn't snowed over since December, it's rained.

I couldn't do anything either. I'd planned to plant my shallots, despite the fact that someone has stolen the boards I used to stand on, but found out on arrival that I'd taken down the onion sets instead. The garlic I bought a month ago had rotted in the bag; but I have a row of garlic planted last year that is doing well. The broad beans are also doing well, but the brassicas are all ruined, because I didn't cover them and the pigeons ate them. Joe told me off for this. There are leeks and parsnips, but it's been too wet to dig them up.