We have been doing some work on the allotment (video)

Fat hen!

We seem to be constantly 'weeding' at the moment. Someone told me once that a 'weed' is a plant growing in a place you don't want it to grow. I have a number of potato plants that fit that description which keep popping up in the leeks and onions. I struggle with the word 'weed' (at least, insofar as it is used in a negative manner) for that very reason... When we 'weed' I am always on the look out for edibles. It might be growing in an unhelpful place, but that doesn't stop some plants being delicious - including fat hen (also called lamb's quarters). Scientific name : Chenopodium album When to see : April - October Grows : seemingly everywhere. Parks, waste ground, hedgerows, roadsides, my allotment... Height : up to about 50cm How to identify : The leaves are distinctive in shape with a silvery sheen - if you look closely these are wax-like crystals that repel water. Further identification help from Wild Food UK Lookalikes : ...

We made a vertical garden from a pallet

So, we haven't done. this on. the allotment yet - just the back garden. However, we are creating a compost area and plan to shore it up with pallets eventually, so will create vertical herb walls when we do so. We painted the pallet, put in some wood on the verticals to create the wells for planting. We then stapled in compost bags to seal the wells. Here, you can see we have planted some parsley, thyme and other herbs. This was from two years ago and it's still going strong! More ideas for using a pallet for vertical planting areas from Houzz

Garlic mustard!

This wonderful plant is growing by the allotments. It's a fairly common wild plant called garlic mustard (or 'Jack-by-the-hedge'). You might be tempted to eradicate it as a weed, but it's a wonderful edible with an important role in our ecosystem. Scientific name: Alliaria petiolata When to see: year-round Grows: shady places, e.g. the edges of woods and hedgerows and apparently the edge of allotments Height: up to about 1m How to identify: heart-shaped leaves with a jagged edge. The leaves are smooth and hairless. When crushed, they smell of garlic. This plant has small, white flowers that have four petals in the shape of a cross, and grow in clusters at the ends of the stems. Further identification help from Wild Food UK Lookalikes: It has a few lookalikes - possibly confused with ground ivy, for example. However, the smell of the crushed leaves is the distinguishing feature (garlic / mustardy). It isn't related to garlic th...

Bohemian Raspberry

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