In the last scheduled session this year at the Community Allotment, Rosie and Sheila cleared what was left of the beetroot crop, covered the bed with the last scraping from the compost bin, and covered the bed with plastic. We scavenged waste wood from around the site and used it to hold the plastic in place through whatever storms the winter will bring. All whilst being watched over by our resident robin.

Diya made an early start at the community allotment and was already hard at work when Sheila and Kay arrived. Diya cleared the bed of peppers, taking them to the composting area while Sheila and Kay cut plastic to cover the bed. We dug some well-rotted manure out of the bay (even Diya admitted it smelt sweet - well, almost!), which we spread on the bed and covered with the plastic sheets. We were joined at the manure bin and pepper bed by a very friendly robin, looking for any tasty treats we had uncovered, and there were certainly plenty of worms! As Diya went off to her yoga class, we weeded around the new figs

Today at the Community Allotment was all about getting the site ready for winter. I did the watering, cut down the old raspberry canes, and mulched the old tomato bed.

No watering was needed at the community allotment today, but plenty of tidying up was needed. Sheila joined another volunteer,and between them they trimmed a tree, pulled out old courgette plants, tidied up old pieces of wood scattered around the site, and weeded between the Welsh onions

At the community allotment this evening the first task for Angela and Sheila was to start filling the water butts once the Day Centre had emptied, as the hose could be a trip hazard. Meanwhile we started taking down the tomato plants, as any remaining fruits would not have time to ripen. The green tomatoes were collected for anyone wanting to make green tomato chutney. The plants were put on the compost heap and the canes tidied away. Our good deed for the day was to give some produce to a lady passing by who wanted to buy the vegetables. I hope she enjoyed it!

Claire, Kay and Sheila helped out at the community allotment on a lovely sunny evening. Kay set about watering the remaining crops while Claire and Sheila started tackling tidying up the pot storage area. Not an easy task! So many pots of different shapes and sizes. We found some unexpected items - 2 teapots and a pair of shears, and also disposed of a number of broken pots. By the end of the session it was looking a lot tidier (although not perfect!) and hopefully everything is more accessible. One of the other volunteers, Andrea, called in to give the big fig tree some manure and a good water - it was great to be there at the same time. Mei also dropped by just as we were leaving, but stayed to have a quick chat. I hope we can arrange to coincide for a bit longer next time!