Summer feels really far away. both looking back on the growing season and the next growing season. So much so, my current feeling is as though I have somewhat hit a slump. The weather has not helped, it has been wet, windy and wild; but this is not unusual as we arrive at the tail end of the year. This has been compounded somewhat by real life being wonderfully busy. School work, Petal, and training on a Saturday for a helpline, have all meant that the allotment has been somewhat on the back burner. Attending a Christmas Fair last week with a whole host of Petal goodies (see the merchandise page) was also an interesting experience. Interesting in that there were a lot of learning points! Overall, the last twelve weeks have been incredibly busy, and now is the time to take a moment and slow down a little. It was harder this year, to write the NABLOPOMO posts as well. I have always enjoyed writing these, but this year this was a little more difficult than I had anticipated.
I guess what I really need to do, is to stop. Pause, and take stock of what is going on with my universe. Don’t worry, I am not about to abandon the plot and blog. No plans to that all. What I need is a rest, and to be honest, the plot is usually part of that process. I have in the past, taken a moment during school work Sunday or marking coursework; to take a walk down to the plot and potter.
The pottering would then involve doing a few things here and there and refreshing that way. The frequency of doing that, has be somewhat reduced lately. And I can feel it, in being slight zoned out and tired. Though colouring has helped! I have a number of gardening themed colouring books that I have been using and they have somewhat reduced the allotment withdrawal symptoms. You do find yourself looking at the pictures and thinking about what the drawings might look like if they were really on your allotment plot.
Here we are in the Advent period. The garlic is all in, the poly tunnel has been tidied in a fashion. The grapevines could probably benefit from some structural engineering, and be defoliate. The roses and raspberries will also need pruning. I have yet to window shop trees. My peach and cherry trees failed to do anything on the plot, and I would like to replace them so that they sit alongside the other trees on the plot. There are certainly jobs to do, there is a maze of strawberry runners to untangle!
Having miserable weather really does make going to the allotment harder. As I leave, I am told to not bring in any mud, for one. It will take small steps to get back into the swing of things. Christmas and the festive period is the optimum time to relax, take stock and try to refocus with the new year.
This also means that with the days after Christmas, I shall sow chillies. This is the pattern that I have had for a couple of years now. So I will select the seeds that I want, and make a decision about next years experiments. The new growing season will arrive very quickly.
Here’s to getting back to the plot, and making the most of the down time.
horticultural 'obbit 