I find it really difficult to get to and put in good hours at the allotment with 2 small kids. I have had moments of getting really down and despondent about the whole project because I have to snatch time to do any of it. I am lucky enough to be able to be full time Mum to my boys and I am rarely apart from them. I would not want it any other way. This also means I cannot afford to pay anyone else to look after them and can only ask so much of Grandparents.
When I do take them with me most of my precious time is taken up with administering snacks to pacify and refereeing squabbles about watering cans! Often the boys come home wet or covered in mud as I have left them to their own devices. The baby is now old enough to sit on the ground munch grass and trowels-full of earth! This will keep him occupied for some time but is obviously not a good alternative to lunch! I am longing to spend whole days getting really stuck in to all the jobs required, but I am beginning to accept this may not happen for some years. The reality seems to be that we may get a few meals from our efforts this year, but not self sufficiency
just yet.
Yet another snack time!
One of the exciting things about a new patch is seeing what appears as the seasons roll. As well as the first signs of the potatoes and shallots we planted, our fruit trees came into beautiful bloom.
Apple Blossom
We bought a new shed on sale that shines like a beacon compared to the well weathered huts on the rest of the site. I was very lucky to find a huge water butt with ‘take me’ stuck to it and got a crew of helpers to place them between the little fruit trees. We have yet to get round to the guttering, but it is in on the ground ready!
It has been lovely to watch the space find it’s shape as the hedges grow around it. We are surrounded by the most beautiful Borrage (very good in Pimm;s apparently!)
Lovely Purple Borrage
We ambitiously put in the peas and green beans we had raised from seeds, but the frost got the beans. We are learning to watch the other plots on the site to see what goes in when. We are being much more cautious now with planting out and are keeping the courgettes and sweetcorn well covered in trays in Vanessa’s green house.
I have begun to get the hang of blogging with no little thanks to mytinyplot.co.uk and her great tutorial.
Hi Zoe, Fab site, keep up the good work.
I feel your pain when it comes to trying to work in the garden while refereeing children. I used to have an allotment (b4 kids) and loved to spend whole Saturdays at the plot and used to go for an hour or so after work in the summer too – and that still wasn’t enough. I gave up my allotment when I got pregnant but now my little boy is 2 I long to work in the garden without having to keep one eye on what he’s digging up now!
My solution is that my husband takes Jackson to a local soft play place on Saturday mornings. They get some quality time together and it gives me about 3 hours of uninterrupted gardening time and… it keeps me sane! Maybe you could do similar deal with someone willing
Good luck.