This week the reinforcements arrived at the allotment, and I don’t mean Lily with her tiny trowel – dad arrived with his big spade!
Gardening and my dad have gone together for as long as I can remember. He had an allotment when I was little and still has a vegetable plot in his immaculate garden. I love it when he comes down to give me a hand at the allotment, I always learn loads and it’s great to spend some time gardening peacefully side by side. It always brings back lovely childhood memories of grubbing around at his plot too.
This week our plans were foiled by awful weather and a poorly 3 year old – sod’s law in full effect! My dad still made it to the plot but I had to stay at home with Lily; a real shame, but there’s always next time. Given that I wasn’t there with my camera to capture him braving the rain and gales, I thought it only fair that I nipped down afterwards to make sure his hard work gets the limelight this week.
What did he get up to? Mostly digging! The whole plot needed loosening up and weeding, a job which I’m always very keen to share. Check out the ‘before & after’ effect!
After all that digging, there was just enough time between cloudbursts for some planting – in went the first early potatoes. It always feels like the year has really started at the allotment once the potatoes have gone in the ground.
Earlier in the week (before the germs struck) Lily got busy with the seeds – and the greenhouse is starting to fill up.
And things are already growing – I love peeking in the greenhouse each time we visit to find new things poking through the soil and other things looking bigger. So exciting.
Elsewhere on the plot, I checked out the rhubarb which I decided to force under my glamorous bucket a few weeks ago. Not very impressive!
It has worked, there’s a lovely pink stalk there, but I think the plant is too small at the moment to do this successfully – and the non-forced plants look much happier. I will give it another try next year, but for now we’ll have to wait a bit longer for our rhubarb crumble.
I’m gutted I missed out on a gardening session with my dad this week, but thank goodness for his elbow grease. Instead of being further behind, we’re now well on the way to being ready for the mad scramble to get everything in the ground when the weather warms up in a few weeks. I’m not used to feeling this organised!
Joining in with Annie’s ‘How Does Your Garden Grow’ series at Mammasaurus
Well done you on being so organised and rain dodging!
Thanks – we just about dodged the rain thanks to the greenhouse, the shed is too tiny & leaky to be of much use shelter-wise!
Sorry to hear your LO was poorly, seems to have been a real year for illnesses, definitely in our house. Glad you managed to get some help from your Dad even if you weren’t able to be there with him xx #hdygg
Yes we’ve all had enough of germs in this house too!
how wonderful to have your dad close by to help you. i have no doubt you will have a successful lot
It really is lovely to share some peaceful gardening. Hope you’re right about the success!
How lovely to have your dad to help you like that and spending quality time together doing something, so much nicer than popping round for a cup of tea and chat, actually accomplishing something together. Great having the 3 generations working on the plot together – I’m looking forward to spending time with my mum and kids next week on a few days away. the older I get the more I value family it seems.
Good to see the greenhouse filling up so fast – good work Lily!
Thanks for joining in again Catherine x
I’m very much a ‘doer’ and so is my dad, so working together is definitely more our thing – as long as there’s tea involved too! I know what you mean about family & getting older, being with your parents and your kids spending happy time together is hard to beat 🙂
Sounds like my dad. I grew up with vegetable plots and allotments, he doesn’t come to help me though. I’m planting my potatoes this weekend, like you to me that it the start of things.
So we’re proof that gardening in childhood makes you a gardener for life! Hope you had sunshine for getting the spuds in 🙂
I would love an allotment but fear I don’t have the knowledge at the moment to make the most of it., I do plan a little plot in our garden as a starting point. It is wonderful that you have help from your Dad and can learn from each other and spend time doing something you both love. #hdygg
I think a veg plot in the garden is a really good way to start, it’s not too daunting and you can take it at your own pace. We did that for a while before getting an allotment, it was still scary getting a great big patch of land though! If you think you might want an allotment in the future it’s worth getting your name down as most sites have waiting lists.
Good luck with the allotment, you look like your organised with those seeds and well done to dad for getting out there to help.
Thanks, I am feeling a bit smug and organised at the moment but that definitely won’t last!
Hope your little one is better now. It is great getting the children gardening too. Our rhubarb has come through all of a sudden, I love homemade bakes using it 🙂 x #hdygg
Ooh I’m jealous of the rhubarb! It’s the crop that I get the most impatient for every year. Lots of the other plots at our allotment site have enormous great patches of it and ours is new and tiny by comparison, it’s a start though 🙂
Well done on getting so much done! And thanks for sharing on gardengrab too 🙂
Thanks, it feels like we’re properly into gardening season now – looking forward to everyone getting busy on gardengrab 🙂
looks like that was a lot of hard physical work and hope it offers you all a good reward with the crops
I think my dad would agree about the hard work! Fingers crossed for bumper crops…
How fab is your dad, so much hard work!
I know, I am very lucky!