Our garden

Alas, not my garden!
Hampton Court gardens, January 1st

Our garden is currently pretty desolate. I moved in the end of September, which wasn't really the ideal time to start on anything. It has clearly had nothing done to it for sometime. On the other hand, you can see it once had beds around the edge, it has two apple trees, one eating and one cooking (so I'm told). Most of the evidence came from the rotting mushy fruit all over the lawn. Nice.

I have only ever grown radishes and rocket. They survived being left alone whilst I went back to school for several weeks. However, I am trying to go more by way of the organic route, and the most economical and pleasurable way of doing this without a car. We have a local organic veg co-operative whilst I will begin volunteering next Saturday, but I'm not sure I can carry a box of root veg home on the bus.

No livestock sadly. Perhaps it's for the best

This year we're hoping to do something with it. Young Hyun will want salad vegetable; she loves rocket and sesame leaves, a Korean favourite that are expensive to buy even in an area with such a high population of Koreans. I'm not sure what Ellen would like, I will have to ask her.

Daffodils growing through the fence around the allotment beside church

I would love to grow root veg: carrots (which I'm told are a bit of a pain; beetroot; spring and red or brown onion; potatoes. I too would love rocket, but it would silly to duplicate it, so I will ask Young Hyun if we can just plant lots. I'm not sure everyone else will want to go organic.
I'm hoping I can keep pests of my crops using 'companion plants' that are unattractive to insects who would generally go for the plants you put them next to. Soft fruit is also appealing. And some flowers, though some companions plants have flowers.

The main challenges in the garden will be:

Digging it over and weeding it
Pigeons! -but I do love them...
My own levels of energy

We've had a few brighter days of late,
which is probably why the garden is on my mind