Little and Often

The work on my plot has been little and often. We go in shifts to complete bits of weeding, planting, sprucing and maintenance. Daddy Bird gets home from work, we have tea and I zip off for an hour (or two if I'm cheeky and pushing it) or he goes (armed with instructions) on his way home from work. Usually DB does watering, turning the compost heap or something involving hammers and screws. I am chief seed sower, planter, feeder and decorator. You see, to me it's more than a plot, it's a creative space and a place to relax.

I feel behind at the moment as it seems as if my fellow allotmenteers have already got runner beans, peas and squash shooting up like triffids whilst mine are only just getting started. Maybe I've been too over cautious of frost?

We don't all go together as a family at the moment as it's too dangerous for an almost 17 month Little Bird who would be hurtling everywhere and I worry about canes and jagged bits of wire. I've made my plot as safe as can be but it would be exhausting to make sure he didn't get up to mischief. For the moment we can practice digging at home in the garden.

Allotment rules of course are that you must reuse junk of any description and put it to another use. In this spirit I have been using old bubble bath character bottles and play food (which my son has chewed, he chews everything, and is hence now not safe to play with) as cheery cane toppers.

The number of families on the plot is increasing and I regularly see children helping out with a bit of weeding, raking or stalking Velociraptors in the blackberry patch. The junior birds when they visit like being given tasks such as planting a row of seeds before going off exploring. I've found the plot can hold their attention no longer than an hour at the most. I keep a couple of vintage board games in the shed but I am planning to have some more activities organised to make it more interesting for them for when it isn't always possible to find them a suitable job. Any ideas?

Dinosaur dung is great by the way on your pumpkin patch.