Page 41 - ALG Issue 3 2019
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& LEISURE GARDENER • Issue32018
    Inside: AGM Report – p40 Ecological Gardening – p8 • #NODIG – p15
ALLOTMENT
& LEISURE GARDENER • Issue12018
  Inside: New member benefit - no additional fees – p7 Crop rotation for beginners – p20 • On the Kings plot – p28
ALLOTMENT
 & LEISURE GARDENER • Issue42018
                The winner for ALG 2 2019 is:
Anne Jackman for
"Sharing the joy of gardening"
ALLOTMENT
 & LEISURE GARDENER • Issue22018
  Inside: Insurance Q&A – p8 Allotment Shed of the Year Competition – p27
 ALLOTMENT
 Inside: Allotment Shed of theYear results – p12 Planning Watch – p14 • Gardening from a wheelchair – p32
                                                                 it's the same every year!
The anticipation of a new growing season. The dark dismal days of winter are behind us... hopefully! The momentum builds during January and February, and the prepping jobs start coming at you thick and fast. Good job you have it all in hand, you think to yourself... until you realise you haven't! It's the same every year... the 3 Ps: Plan, Prep, Panic.
No matter what I do, the starter's gun always seems to catch me out, and while I'm still on the blocks, Usain Bolt on plot 39 has raised their arms triumphantly as they cross the line.
Take this year; allotment dug, cleared, cleaned, all well before Christmas. Shed and greenhouse tidied, swept, scrubbed. Tools checked, sharpened. January and February spent pacing
up and down in the warm-up area of the allotment arena, stretching the muscles... Seed order sorted, selected, on standby. Warming days in late February further raise the adrenalin levels. I'm not jumping the gun though – I have been caught out too many times for that. Be patient, be patient, you are all good to go. Soil warms and dries, the first glimpse of buds bursting forth. March marches in, steady, steady,
not quite there. Longer days, warmer weather, it's nearly time... and bang.
And they're gone!
I looked round the other day, this nice warm spell in late March signalling the start... and I suddenly realise I'm still in the blocks. Rhubarb has risen everywhere; my broad beans are still bashful where others stand green and grinning. Greenhouses that were empty shells several days earlier
are suddenly full of lush vegetation. I belatedly start my sprint for the line. Pots are piled with compost, seed trays stacked like pallets at the distribution centre, packets of seeds ripped open and the contents cast across the chaos of it all. I can be seen rushing around, hastily turning the soil to get the beds ready to rock. Seed potatoes that have been chitting at home are suddenly transported with the urgency of a kidney donation to the plot. And all this, with April still not arrived, under the threat of the weather changing. Hence you can see why it ends up as panic.
I know the old sages will proffer their advice: 'Don’t worry, it will all catch up', 'better late than never', 'you can never do enough' but it never seems to
I looked round the other day, this nice warm spell in late March signalling the start... and I suddenly realise I'm still in the blocks
help, as I'm always in a state of panic and others have either done enough, have gone early and got away with
it, have got everything potted, sown and prepped and have actually got everything in the garden smelling of roses.
However, the panic does subside, the lessons are learnt (albeit also forgotten) and the season will be enjoyed just
the same. And, of course, I've already started making plans for next year. Not going to get caught out next year, will have plenty of time...
Phil McGaffin
           Allotment and Leisure Gardener 41























































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