Page 12 - ALG 1.21

the young plotters club Tom’s tips...
Hi everyone! My name is Tom, and I
am lucky enough to be able to share
my allotment tips with you in these wonderful magazines. There are so many things to do in the winter that you might not even know about. To be on your plot in the winter is just as much fun as being on your plot in the summer. My tips should hopefully help you to know what you can do in the wintery months to get your hands dirty by doing lots of fun and interesting activities!
Even though its winter, there are still crops that you can plant now in late winter, look after and eat! One crop that you can grow yourself is garlic. Garlic is used in foods like garlic butter and my favourite: garlic bread! You don’t need a lot of space for this crop, but it is a great project you can do with your family or even on your own. It is so simple; just make a little hole and put a clove of garlic in and cover it up. A little water and they will soon start to grow.
We are allowed to have bonfires in the winter, which is brilliant. Me and my dad save all our plot wood and branches that we can’t compost and have a fire when it’s dusk. We always stay safe by
keeping a good distance from the fire and only my dad is allowed to put wood on, but I love watching the little fireflies come up from the wood and toasting marshmallows! We always have water nearby and we only have a fire that we could put out straight away if we needed to.
The evenings are the coldest when there are no clouds, and another thing I love to do is climb onto my shed roof and lay down to stargaze! It’s amazing what you can see if you look up into the night sky. I have seen so many planets, and even seen satellites flying over our heads! Why don’t you give it a go? Just look up on a clear night and see what you can see.
Horse poo is amazing for the allotment! We use it on our compost heap to help make compost. I layer our compost bin with old vegetable cuttings from home and some weeds from the plot. Then I add the poo on top. The different layers help make the soil. It is great when I turn it over with a fork and see all the worms that have come to help turn it into soil! We also cover some of the ground with it so it can rot down during
the winter months, but, before you do this, you need to weed your beds. We have decided to cover some ground this year with black plastic to keep the weeds down.
During the winter I have to make sure my chickens are kept warm! I double up on their bedding and make sure it is fluffy for them because not all of them roost up high. Because of the bird flu virus, the government have said that
all chickens and other birds must be kept inside because wild birds who may have the virus may visit or poo where my chickens play. It means that I can’t let my chickens out in the orchard, but they are really lucky because they have a big covered run outside and we have put some sides on to make sure no wild birds can get in. We have made them lots of fun things to climb on and keep them occupied like a hanging basket cage filled with greens! We also have to walk in special disinfectant liquid that my dad makes up, so we don’t walk any disease in on the bottom of our wellies.
I love being at my allotment in the winter! There is so much stuff to do and you do not have to worry about having to water all the vegetables and plants. My favourite weather is when its really cold butthesunisout.Icanwrapupinmy warm outdoor clothes and help get our plot ready for the winter.
...another thing I love to do is climb onto my shed roof and lay down to stargaze! It’s amazing what you can see if you look up into the night sky.
12 Allotment and Leisure Gardener