RHS Wisley

We have been members of the National Trust for a couple of years now. Our favourite thing is to look around the gardens and tire the kids out who love climbing trees.

Trouble is, in the winter there's not much going on in the NT properties so we thought we would take a visit to our local RHS which is only 45 mins away. It made sense to sign up as members and excited new members we are!
 

The veg plot and allotment site looks really good and we can't wait to see how it develops over the warmer months. We loved the rock garden and alpine glasshouse. All the bulbs look amazing and it was great seeing varieties you don't see in mainstream gardens.

At Thirty One

So here we are...

A large plot became available at the end of 2017 and we jumped up and down when the parish council asked if we were interested in moving onto that one.

Plot 24 was a funny shape and right next to the toilet. It was also the first plot people see when they enter the allotment. We aren't unapproachable people but our time is so scarce for getting up to the plot, so when we go we need to get on with tasks and stopping and chatting every time people enter the allotment wasn't for us.

We did so much though so it was a bittersweet decision

We give you...plot 31!

A great, big, rectangle and tucked away for us to enjoy the time there peacefully.

There is so much to do though, Half the plot has been really well looked after in terms of soil improvement. But the other half is rock hard clay with lots of busy root systems and is overgrown.

And if you see the shed in the pics and think we are winning you would be wrong. It's gone back with the old plot holder as he's downsized.

Straight away we got stuck in with clearance and made the most of a bulk order of manure that the allotment council ordered.

There is still so much digging required and after a moan on instagram we are going to try the no dig approach. Update of that to come I'm sure!

Previously, at 24

We are no strangers to the allotment world. We started out growing vegetables at an allotment in Wiltshire in 2013. Well, we tried. We had no tools and were faced with a plot full of grass so Mark spent many hours digging.

Unfortunately, we weren't located a short walk away from the plot so would have to commit a decent amount of time which was difficult as a young family of a nearly 1 year old.

One hot summer later and the plot had grown so much and we were forced to hand back the keys.

Fast forward four years and our family had grown to one 4 year old and one 1 year old. An allotment waiting list we had signed up to when we were living in Chineham, Hampshire when I was pregnant with our first had a plot available. Funnily enough we had moved back to Chineham, to a house just 3 minutes walk to the plot so of course we jumped at the chance.

Plot number 24:

    

We worked so hard on our awkwardly shaped plot and turned it from raised beds city to smaller beds with paths for the kids to run around (playing pac man!).