Page 14 - ALG Issue 2 2021

the young plotters club Tom’s tips...
This is the best time of the year! The sun is shining and everything is starting to grow and burst into life!
I found the winter lockdown really hard. The nights were so long and the days were cold and wet. Being at home and not being able to see my friends made it worse, and home schooling was the WORST!! Going to my allotment got me out of the house and helped me stay
a little happy. I enjoyed wrapping up in my big coat and woolly hat (that my plot neighbour made me!) and found lots of jobs that needed doing like pruning fruit trees and doing repair jobs. It helped me feel alive and free from the virus.
We have already planted our early potatoes, which are starting to show leaves... I keep trying to cover them up, but they keep poking through! So, make sure your potatoes stay covered up until the frost has gone.
Last year I became a beekeeper and I have two huge colonies of bees at my allotment. At this time of year, bees like to swarm, and I was lucky enough to find and rescue a swarm a few weeks ago. They are now in their new home on my allotment. I have also changed up this year by planting some lovely flowers. They are all kinds of colours which should help my bees flourish
by collecting nectar to be turned into honey!
I have planted my carrot seeds straight into the ground. They have started to shoot up so I need to thin them out, otherwise I will just get lots of small
carrots and no big ones! I have also been planting my onions outside which I grew from seed in my greenhouse. I am growing lots of seeds in my greenhouse. The greenhouse is great because it keeps the seeds warm when they start to grow. Plants are really clever because they can make their own food to grow! This process is called photosynthesis which I have been learning about at school, and it has helped me with my growing. Plants need three things to grow: carbon dioxide which is in the air,
I enjoyed wrapping up in my big coat and woolly hat (that my plot neighbour made me!) and found lots of jobs that needed doing like pruning fruit trees and doing repair jobs
water and sunlight. When a plant has all these things, it creates its own food inside itself and begins to grow!
You don’t need a greenhouse to grow seeds. I use old yoghurt pots to start my seeds growing on my windowsill
at home. You just need to put some compost in the bottom and sprinkle your seeds in and then lightly cover them with some more soil. Water
your seeds and leave them on your windowsill for the sun to help them grow! Once they have sprouted you can take them to your allotment and put them in the ground to make them grow
14 Allotment and Leisure Gardener