Our first year in pictures (Sept ’24-Aug ’25)

_{Firstly we strimmed the overgrown grass, cut back the brambles which were engulfing the shed and began to} _{dig over the plot. This involved removing old bed liners, rotten boards and rubbish that had accumulated over the years. We also started to remove the bindweed roots which seemed to have spread over much of the plot.}

_{We cut back and re-organised the bramblesin this corner of the plot, which will become our productive wild patch.}

_{After a few trips to the tip, we were ready to begin some more intensive bindweed root removal.}

_{Our little shed now has a new roof…}

_{…and a lovely new coat of paint.}

_{We marked out the shape of our new pond with a hosepipe and started digging!}

_{As well as digging the pond, there were still plenty of bindweed roots and large stones to remove.}

_{We made a trip to Wales to collect building materials for our borders.}

_{We levelled the pond and bog garden…}

_{…and created a butterfly mound from the soil we dug up while creating the pond. The seeds we’ve sown are a mixture of native grasses and chalk meadow wildflowers.}

_{We then dead hedged around the butterfly mound and started making woven borders for the beds.}

_{Our pond started filling up with rain water before we’d even finished lining it!}

_{A generous plot holder gave us some of her spare cardoons. They’ll look magnificent in the summer.}

_{We finished measuring and marking out all of the beds.}

_{We received a donation of logs and stumps which will provide some wonderful deadwood habitat as well as some lovely places to sit.}

_{Thanks to the continuous heavy rain our pond almost completely filled up.}

_{We’ve started covering our beds with cardboard which will mulch down over the summer adding nutrients to the soil and suppressing weeds. And we’re now ready to cover our paths with bark chips.}

_{We’ve almost finished building a dead wood barrier around our pond…}

_{and planted 3 crabapple saplings, a black currant and a gooseberry bush.}

_{We created dead wood and pebble borders around the pond to give our pond life plenty of places to hide and perch. Half submerged dead wood is also a favourite place for dragonflies to lay their eggs.}

_{This month our allotment was transformed by adding a thick layer of bark chips to all of our paths. We also dug out our hibernaculum to a depth of 60cm, in preparation for adding materials such as dead wood for hibernating animals to hide in.}

_{We worked hard this month planting around the pond and keeping on top of all the weeding.}

_{We added dead wood and bark chips to our hibernaculum and used old tiles to create access tunnels. We then covered it with a layer of felt and added a deep layer of topsoil and compost,}_{planting it with strawberries and borage on top. These are apparently great companion plants!}

_{We made our hugel by digging down to about 30cm and then adding layers of dead wood, leaf litter and compost to create a rounded} _{bed. Not only will this provide valuable habitat for animals, but as the dead wood rots down it will feed the soil with a constant supply of nutrients. This year we’ll be growing courgettes and sunflowers here.}

_{We divided this bed into rounded quarters and then planted it with corn, runner beans and squashes. This planting combination is called the Three Sisters, and is a traditional method used by Native Americans.}

_{We used these railway sleepers, kindly donated by a resident on one of our WW streets, to create a border between us and the neighbouring allotment.}

_{This bed has been planted with chives which will attract the pollinators and hopefully put off the snails. We also have broad beans, parsley and tomatoes growing here, combined with nasturtiums and marigolds.}

_{Our butterfly mound is awash with camomile and cornflowers, and our blackcurrant bush has started producing berries.}

_{Our butterfly mound was covered in annuals such as cornflowers, camomile. poppies and corncockles. It looked stunning to both us and the loads of pollinating insects it attracted. Next year we’ll hopefully see an even more diverse meadow as perennials start to make an appearance.}

_{Our pond came into its own this month as the flowers we planted around it bloomed and spread. The newts and frogs looked very happy with their new home!}

_{We vwere ery excited to start collecting our first lots of produce from our surprisingly productive allotment. We think that attracting insects and amphibians to our site with wildlife friendly planting and lots of varied habitat} _{made a huge difference.}