#allotmentGardening
LightNews LightNews
timhopper.bsky.social
How my friend's little allotment looked on arrival yesterday. I'm going to have to take my electric strimmer down next time I go 🙂 Hopefully tomorrow 🤞 #allotmentgardening #allotments #gardening | #kent #england
A somewhat tired-looking mini allotment garden with wooden-edged raised beds. The intermittent rain we've had here over the last couple of weeks has really brought on the brambles and bindweed, and the grass paths are in need of a strim 🙂
September 15, 2026 at 9:33 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
I had fun this evening stringing the best of the onion harvest to take down to my friends who have let me look after their little allotment this last couple of years. I planted them as sets in late April, but unfortunately forgot to make note of the variety 🙄 #allotmentgardening | #kent #england
Medium-small in size, I reckon, but I was pleased with how they turned out, considering I was late planting them. The posh secateurs belong to my neighbour 😊 How they looked after sorting and prior to stringing. I had told myself to look on YouTube to see how it's properly done, but I just winged it in the end 😊 The sets placed out prior to planting on the 24th April. I also can't remember how much they cost, but I'm sure the results have paid for themselves 👍
September 10, 2026 at 8:48 PM
northernspinning.bsky.social
After five years of trying I finally managed to grow multiple pak choy without them bolting on me. But the flea beetle damage is something else this year!

#allotment #UKallotment #allotmentgardening #growyourownveg
Freshly washed heads of bok choy resting in a white plastic salad spinner basket, showing minor pest damage on the green leaves. A hand holding a large, green leafy vegetable up to a window, backlit to show hundreds of small, shot-like holes throughout the leaf caused by pest damage.
September 6, 2026 at 8:20 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Even down at the allotments I couldn't escape the noise of the town's annual hop festival 😭 They do though stop the outdoor music at 6pm, which gives us quieter-loving folk something to look forward to! 😁 #allotments #allotmentgardening #gardening | #kent #england
September 5, 2026 at 11:09 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Yesterday's harvest from my friend's little allotment 👨‍🌾 #allotmentgardening #allotments #gardening | #kent #england
The last of this year's potatoes 😋 The cherry tomatoes prior to picking. Unfortunately, I forgot to take an "after" photo 🙄😊 How the allotment looked on arrival yesterday evening. Not much left to harvest this year, just some unimpressively small leeks, I think 😁😊
August 26, 2026 at 2:08 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
First time down to my friend's little allotment in over a week 😔 A good take home of cherry toms, and the onions ain't "bull-necked" 🙌😁 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening | #kent #england
The horizontal supporting can was bowing due to the weight of the tomatoes! 😅 I probably ate half as many again whilst picking! 😊 Very sweet they were! 😋 The main onion bed prior to lifting. How the onions looked laid out to fully ripen (I'll turn them next time I'm down). Maybe not as large as I would have liked, but I did plant them late, and none of them seemed "bull-necked" (Something I feared a while back, as I remember it happening once when I owned my own allotment about 10 years ago).
August 18, 2026 at 9:44 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Two down, one to go! I've almost finished with the potato harvest this year. I will definitely plant more next year, situation willing 👍 The first tomatoes were also ready for picking 🙌 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening | #kent #england
A nice harvest from only two plants, I thought. They were a shop-brought "baby" variety that had begun to sprout, so I decided to risk planting them. They worked out fine 👍 I'm not sure of the variety, but they seem cherry-sized to me (brought as small plants from a local supermarket). I harvested them "on the vine" in the hopes that more will ripen at home 👍 The small onion bed continues to look good, I think. Next time I'm up I'll try lifting them slightly with a fork to encourage them to further ripen. I think I remember that this is something you can do 👍 How my friend's little allotment looked on arrival this evening.
August 1, 2026 at 9:13 PM
northernspinning.bsky.social
The most exciting thing on my plot right now: Minnesota Midget cantaloupe melon. Looks like I might even get one! There are more on the plants, I have two, but they're much smaller. I guess this is the right kind of weather for them.

#UKallotment #allotment #allotmentGardening #growYourOwn
A close-up, top-down shot of a small, round Minnesota Midget melon growing on the vine, nestled among broad, jagged green leaves. The unripe melon has a light green, slightly netted skin. A few tiny yellow blossoms and sprawling green stems are visible on the surrounding dark soil.
July 29, 2026 at 2:22 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
My usual view of the big pond in the allotment grounds this evening, and before-and-after pics of my friend's little allotment after I put the strimmer around. I think we can say that it's mostly "under-control" now 😅 #allotmentgardening #gardening | #kent #england
A view of a large pond, or wide slow-moving stream. The sky is a clear blue and is reflected in the still water. The shadow from the footbridge I was standing on is clearly visible. Before putting the strimmer around. After putting the strimmer around 🙂
July 20, 2026 at 11:43 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
I'm pleased that the onions have naturally keeled-over, as I'm hoping this is a good sign that they are maturing properly 🤞 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening #onions | #kent #england
A small onion bed with mostly horizontal leaves. How the "sets" looked spaced out prior to planting back on the 24th April. I was somewhat late with these also 😊
July 20, 2026 at 11:19 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Time I decided to dig two more of the shop-brought potatoes I planted back in April. It was good that I was only hoping for "new potatoes" as they were mostly baby-sized 😊 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening #potatoes | #kent #england
What remained of the potato patch before lifting two to take to allotment holders who've kindly let me have a free-hand in looking after the plot for them these last two seasons 🙌 Two down! They do seem to have gone fast! 😊 Three remain though 👍 A close-up of the harvest. Many were on the small side, but I'm still pleased with the results, seeing how I was late planting them 👍 How they looked when I planted them "on-the-flat" on the 14th of April 🙂
July 20, 2026 at 10:56 PM
arthurgron.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
With the hot weather, I'm trying to keep from wandering around and staying still, as I visit the allotment garden.
But that gives me the opportunity to notice the bees, and moths around.

#nature #garden #allotmentgardening
Bee sitting on a flower. Yellow flowers. Perhaps an Ithaca Clearwing Moth sitting on a flower. Moth sitting on a cabbage.
July 14, 2026 at 9:40 PM
mr4sheds.bsky.social
Jazzy time. Container grown Jazzy potatoes are our favourite this time of year. Such a trouble free crop. They seem to have good tolerance to drought. #Gardening #AllotmentGardening
July 14, 2026 at 7:26 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Only a quick trip to the allotment this evening, really just to check on things, but I did make a start on mulching the tomatoes with spent potting compost that I brought down from home. A pretty good set overall, I think 👍 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening #tomatoes | #kent #england
How the four tomato plants looked on arrival. Not much weeding to be done, which was good 👍 How they looked after spreading the bucketful of compost around them, and the slow-growing leeks 🙂 I really wish I had first remembered to sprinkle around some of the pelleted manure I have, but it'll have to wait for when I give them a good soaking tomorrow morning (something I didn't have time to do this evening). One of the trusses showing the young green tomatoes. Another of the trusses. Only a half-set here 😐
July 10, 2026 at 9:45 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
1st of July - New Potato Day! (For me anyway. Apparently the Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul, which was a couple of days ago, is often recognised as such). Not a bad haul from the first three plants! They tasted good too! 😋 #newpotatoes #potatoes #allotmentgardening #gardening | #kent #england
How they looked being lifted by a trowel. I had planted them "on the flat" so I didn't need to dig very deep 👍 The gap they left. I was really pleased with how they turned out 🙌 Washed and ready for boiling! 😋
July 1, 2026 at 7:39 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
It's been too hot and humid to think about getting down to my friend's little allotment these last few days, but here're some pics I forgot to post from Tuesday 😊 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening | #kent #england
How the allotment looked after I had put the strimmer around. The onion bed is still looking good, but I'm a little worried that they will end up "bull necked" as they are starting to look this way. Ho ve, I wasn't really thinking of storing them anyway, and it will mean more to give away 👍🙂 The row of leeks seem to have survived their transplanting. Goodness knows how the tomatoes will be looking after all this sun we've been having—longer canes will be needed for sure! Proof at least that I wore more sensible footwear for doing the strimming 🙂 The big pond in the allotment grounds was looking as lovely as ever! 😍
June 27, 2026 at 7:27 AM
timhopper.bsky.social
The half-hours work I managed to get done at the allotment on Friday was tickling over the surface of the soil in the onion bed which had "capped", and then mulching it with a couple of inches of spent compost to hopefully stop this happening again 👍 #allotmentgardening #gardening | #kent #england
A small onion bed in the process of being "tickled over" with a hand trowel (bottom left) prior to being mulched with old compost. The same bed mulched and watered. It wasn't a fun job because a colony of black ants had taken up residence in the compost (It was unpleasant, but at least it wasn't the red stinging kind!) 😅
June 21, 2026 at 7:08 AM
timhopper.bsky.social
My usual view of the big pond at the allotments yesterday, and how my friend's little plot looked when I arrived 😍 #allotmentgardening #gardening #landscapephotography | #kent #england
A tranquil landscape photo of a calm pond reflecting a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. The water is flanked by lush green trees, shrubs, and reeds, creating a peaceful corridor of nature. The reflections on the water's surface are clear, almost mirror-like 😊 I've been a little surprised at how slowly the grass has grown since I last strimmed it — I'm not complaining! 🙂
June 17, 2026 at 10:24 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
I managed yesterday to clear a bit more of the overgrown bed. Someone had kindly left some tomato plants for anyone to take. I planted three in the space I had made 👍 #allotmentgardening #gardening | #kent #england
Surprisingly, the three brassicas that I planted on Friday were still there (I had expected slugs to have gotten to them). The weeds above were my target yesterday. The newly cleared patch (I was pressed for time, so not quite as neatly down as my usual efforts) 😊 The three tomatoes positioned prior to planting (I swear they looked more equally spaced out at the time! 😁 And how they looked planted. They did come with labels, but I forgot to take a picture of them. Next time, I'm there 👍
June 17, 2026 at 8:01 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
I made a start on the last unkempt bed (apart from the raspberries, that is 😊). Someone had left three unnamed brassica plantlets at the entrance to allotments for anyone to take, so I thought, why not? 🙂 #allotmentgardening #gardening | #kent #england
Yes, there's a lot to do here, methinks 🙂 The three brassica plants positioned prior to planting in the newly weeded end. I hope I spaced them out better, before I planted them! 😊 Maybe, a little 🙂
June 15, 2026 at 9:03 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
I don't think I've yet mentioned the four shop-brought tomato plants that I planted out on the 29th May (I really didn't get to grips with indoor sowing this spring 😔). Good ol' Gardener's Delight, I think 😊 #allotmentgardening #allotment | #kent #england
Coming on well, I think. I've been remembering to pinch out the side-shoots as they grow 👍 How they looked after I planted them out towards the end of May (I had grown them on in pots at home for a couple of weeks before) 👍
June 15, 2026 at 8:45 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Still catching up on my visit to the allotment on Friday 🙂 I thought to take a look-see if we have any new potatoes on the way (they have begun forming flower buds) and, yes, they seem to be coming on nicely! Two weeks more, I reckon, and I'll start harvesting! 😋 #allotmentgardening | #kent #england
I think the dry weather we had during May accounts for the slight yellowing of the potato patch. We've had plenty over the last couple of weeks though, so I'm thinking we'll be okay 👍 Turning over the first trowel (I planted them "on-the-flat" and mulched as they grew) revealed some promising-looking tubers 🙌 A little on the small side, but a couple of weeks more should see them reach an ideal size 👍
June 15, 2026 at 8:06 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
A series from my brief trip to the allotment on Sunday. I decided it was time to transplant the leek seedlings that I sowed on the 23rd March. I would have liked them to be less patchy and more uniform in size, but I realise that I over-sowed them.. and probably too deeply 🙂 #allotmentgardening
How the row looked prior to transplanting. I say "row" 😁 The seedlings cut down to small secateur length. I probably should have trimmed the roots down a little more, but my heart wasn't in it 🙂 The newly "dibbed" holes in preparation for the leek sets. I didn't actually have a "dibber", so used the end of a cane, and waggled it around a bit 😁 Replanting them back where they were probably wasn't the best of ideas, but space is always pressing with this micro-allotment 😔 The sets in place ready for watering in 👍
June 9, 2026 at 11:19 PM
northernspinning.bsky.social
If only everything grew as well as my self-seeded foxgloves.

#UKallotment #allotmentGardening #gardening #PlantSky #allotment
An eye-level shot of tall, vibrant pink foxglove flower spikes blooming next to an old, weathered wooden garden shed with faded grey-blue paint. Three main spires covered in tubular, bell-shaped pink blossoms rise above large, textured green leaves, with one smaller white foxglove stalk visible to the left. In the background, overgrown green foliage, a wire fence, and a cloudy, overcast sky are visible, with a red tub sitting on the ground near the base of the plants.
June 7, 2026 at 2:46 PM
timhopper.bsky.social
Before and after hand-weeding the onion bed at the allotment on Friday. Bad news—we're down to one runner bean! The slugs have made merry again. My fault for not taking measures against 🙄 #allotmentgardening #allotment #gardening | #kent #england
A small wood-edged raised-bed planted with onion sets prior to hand-weeding. The same bed after weeding 👍
June 7, 2026 at 7:58 AM