Probably the best allotments in England
Smitham Allotments Society is a self-managed site in Chipstead Valley in the south of the London Borough of Croydon.
Gardening Diary
May is the busiest month for planting and transplanting and is the ‘transition’ month when direct sowing and thinning of crops begins to take over from transplanting.Root vegetables, apart from onions and leeks, should never be transplanted but this month the main crop of winter greens and brassicas – cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts etc., as well as summer cauliflower and broccoli, leeks, lettuce, asparsgus and calabrese, are to be transplanted. However, the transplanting of tender vegetables, including cucumber, courgettes, marrows, pumpkins, aubergines and peppers, is best left to the end of May, or even the beginning of June in our allotments as late frosts are the rule, rather than the exception, in Chipstead Valley.If you are not desperate for an early crop, dwarf and runner beans and sweetcorn can be sown directly into the ground from the end of May onwards and you can continue to sow other tender vegetables in the greenhouse for transplanting next month.The popular crops for direct sowing this month include beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, peas, carrots, turnip, chicory, fennel, kale, lettuce and pak choi.
April in the Allotment 2024
It must have been a mild winter as the broad beans sown directly into the ground last November are flowering well.
AGM March 2024
This year’s AGM was held in the communal area under an angry sky on a cold Saturday morning. On the plus side, it meant that business was brisk, and left just enough time to fix the leak in the toilet and mend the lawnmower before the heavens opened.
Bees in the Allotment
Swarms of bees are not uncommon in the allotment but this one is in a rather unusual place!
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