The Plot Thickens - No-Dig, Sustainable Allotment Living

A sunny morning on the plot where Vicky and Karin talk through last weekend's VERY enjoyable Johnson Su workshop on the Soil Squad plot.

Karin and Vicky share the latest from their plots from harvest onions and garlic to thinning out fennel. We have the sweetest surprise that arrives in the post from a lovely listener too!

It has been a busy half term, and finally some rain. Vicky has robins nesting in her ivy, scuppering her neighbour's plan of a new fence. Karin is excited about her new Bokashi bin arriving.

Karin's Plot 2 is exposed to the elements on the allotment and her new seedlings have suffered from frost damage this week. She was thankfully the wilting plants were caused by the weather, not the new tonne bag of compost! Further up the allotment, it seems Vicky's plot avoided the chill and thankfully her potatoes remain in tact....for now. Another episode of chatting through the week's events on and off the plots!

The weekend has been busy with stalls at the local school fair and St Albans Spring Festival, having lots of meaningful conversations all about Bokashi and Soil Squad. Karin is particularly shattered after so much social interaction and is planning a little snooze is the hammock. As always, thanks to Alex Kizenkov for intro music.

Why do we grow our lawns to cultivate a home for wildlife throughout the month of May, welcome a rich tapestry of creatures into the long grass, only to mow them all down on the 1st of June? We're not sure it makes all that much sense. (Plus we love a bag of grass cuttings to heat up the compost heap)We're all for permanent wild grass aread with purposeful mowed paths. Keeps both creatures and composters happy.

Vicky has possibly composted her worms in her wormery, making it very slow indeed. Karin's new plot is taking shape with a delivery of compost.

We hosted a Bokashi composting workshop last weekend and we loved the challenge of how you bokashi on a balcony and use all of your food waste!Karin has never sowed as many seeds in her life and has come up with a genius solution for supporting her tomato plants...

The Easter weekend has been a busy one with birthdays, family lunches and some time spent on the allotment. Vicky's rhubarb has bolted and Karin has found a way of using those odd pieces of cutlery in the drawer.

The sowing continues - Karin's running out of window sills and Vicky's finally got her seed compost out and is on a mission to play catch up!

Vicky has had a tidy up of her plot and got her potatoes in. Karin is chuffed with the germination rate of her seeds in the shop bought seed compost, after smugly proclaiming only a few weeks ago she had converted to her own seed compost mix. Hay bales feature heavily, with a plead to the local branch of Morrisons; please do another beautiful Halloween display and we'll relieve you of them afterwards.

Karin is super excited today to visit – Share St Albans, a brand-new Library of Things in our city that's all about sharing, borrowing, and reducing waste. If you're not familiar with the concept, a Library of Things is a community-driven resource where locals can become a member to borrow things they need instead of buying them – from garden tools and kitchen gadgets to camping gear and DIY equipment. The possibilities are endless!It's inspiring to see how this concept can make life easier while also helping the environment.So, here's a question for you: Do you have a Library of Things near you? If not, do you think it's something that could work in your community?Let us know what you think – and maybe even share your best ideas for things that should be included for working on your allotment plot! 

Vicky has finally made it to her plot and has had a satisfying time turning her compost; getting temperatures that make Karin jealous. Both have done some seed sowing; Karin has trebled her space indoors for trays with some very handy Ikea shoe racks. Her plastic greenhouse in the garden has of course fallen over once again.

This week, we're shaking things up a little by recording in the afternoon, with a pot of coffee, from a Community Wild Garden near Vicky's home. Surrounded by nature, this inspiring spot sets the tone for today's conversation—all while Vicky stays close to home.

Probably the shortest episode ever, due to a traumatic week in Vicky's household. Karin is planting seeds for both, and is relieved to have found a solution of sorts to the lettuce growing slug problem; a high rise salad bar right outside the back door in the garden.

Are you getting itchy fingers to get sowing? Or have you got cell trays balancing on every sill? As we spring in March, seed swaps are on the calendar and we're looking forward to the sowing season. Karin's full steam ahead, Vicky's in the planning phase still with Pigeons still munching on last year's broccoli.

It's been a mixed half term, full of exciting but also sad events. Karin had to say goodbye to her beautiful German Shepherd Tilly, leaving an empty feeling house. Vicky has spent her birthday present; a microscope course at the Soil Ecology Laboratory. She has come away full of new knowledge of all things soil, putting her microscope to good use looking at her own bokashi.

Karin has a very bold plan for her plot 2 - a market style garden full of spuds for the summer, a great way to aerate her potentially compacted soils and suppress old weed growth with the potato abundant leaves. Vicky shares an update of Soil Squad's news after a busy week of preparations for the plot, including building a re-used and repurposed version of Mr Dowding's compost bay shelter and getting ready for the website's photo shoot!Happy listening peeps.

Vicky has finally decided on the lay out of her plot; making two long beds to the back, giving her lots of efficient growing space. Karin has had an unexpectedly large harvest of an often over-looked tuber; the Jerusalem artichoke, enabling her to make a big batch of the soup of her dreams. A short episode due to the chilly morning; Vicky is finding warmth and a short spell of dizziness from her sixth coffee of the morning.

Did you know that mole hills offer the best seed compost nature has to offer? In this episode, Karin shares her plans and recipe for making her own seed compost using her leaf mould as a lovely fluffy base . As always, we share the latest updates on our bokashi compost and the winter b&b it provides. We've been clearing the Soil Squad plot and finding all sorts of random items on the plot, one that could be donated to the Library of Things at The Green House, St Albans Eco hub.

Vicky has been to Somerset House for the Soil exhibition and has come away suitably inspired. Karin has been under the weather and has spent almost no time on the plot. Her old trusty car has made it through another MOT though, making more potential compost collections possible.

If you like listening to someone else clean their tools, then this is certainly the episode for you. If not, then we can only apologise and use this episode as an excellent remedy for insomnia.

A quiet early morning on the plot, watching the sunrise and listening to the birds waking up. In all transparency, not much has been done this week on the plots due to the frosty layer covering the ground. The lighter days on the way though, spring will soon be here!

This episode was recorded on a dark, snowy morning on Sunday. Just beautiful to feel the cold snap at our fingertips. Karin and Vicky are living off their leftovers this week and stumble across an idea for composting food waste across holiday homes in Norfolk. NB post recording, Vicky found out that quite a few  Norfolk council's do in fact recycle food waste but hey ho, a composting service would still be welcome maybe?  Karin's been busy on her plot over Christmas, hunting for worms in her compost heap, building up her hugelkultur with precision using apple tree cuttings and woodchips for now.  Vicky's been busy at just her kitchen table planning out 2025 based on her remaining seed collection. 

A very Happy New Year from the plot!

It's Christmas Eve and we are sending you love and light from Karin's shed as we exchange pressies and celebrate with you, wherever you are. This episode is just long enough to listen to whilst you peel 10 potatoes, wrap a few pressies or walk the dog around the block. We'd like to thank the following artists for the Christmas themed jingles on this episode: MissyWhimsyArt - sleigh bells  VoiceBosch - jingle bells  Free sound - SantaClaus

As the shortest day of the year approaches, we look forward to the longer evenings and all of the possibilities that 2025 holds for the allotment, on all 4 of our half plots!  Looking back on the few allotment diary entries we both made in 2024, it was clear we started our sowing way too early last year and so we'll be holding back on any sowing until March next year....will we resist the temptation?!

An upsetting look back on the year that was 2024. A year of a cold spring, a huge amount of slugs, an even colder summer and a harvest so small that you would struggle to sustain a person even for a few days. Vicky's lists her wins as mostly structural. A shed and a fresh compost set up. Roll on 2025!

What do you give an allotmenteer who has most things she needs? Listen in as Vicky and Karin discuss dreamy gifts, some of which MIGHT be homemade in time for Christmas.

Today we dive into the wonder that is the Johnson-Su Bioreactor exploring the why, how, what and wheres of building this microbe and mycelium making composting system. We talk through the benefits for soil health and find the step-by-step construction amazing. Unlike the name suggests, this isn't rocket science and actually an easily built little system that will sit quietly on the plot for a year, busily making the most beautiful compost inoculant. There's little else discuss other than the weather : )

A short but sweet episode about leaf mould; from the basics of how to create your own to practical application for this natural treasure. A sustainable and low cost way to enrich your garden or allotment..what's not to love?

"HOO-gel-kul-tur" Replicating a forest floor with a Hugelkultur on our allotment plots has brought both amazing soil conditions, lush growth and the odd field mouse or two. Karin's planning to build her's to a higher peak this year as she piles on logs, prunings, christmas trees, leaves and grass cuttings to make the most amazing mound for next spring's seeds.

The Plot Thickens can't think of anything better than an early Sunday morning on the plot having a long conversation about mulch; when to do it, why we do it and with what. That it happens to be No Dig day is icing on the cake.

As always, we love diving into the detail of observing and planning a new plot and with Soil Squad's potential new land to be planned, we're all over it! Take a listen for how we work things through, prioritising all the important details such where will the coffee station go.

Vicky has been busy with all things Soil Squad, finally securing a piece of land to be turned into a community composting centre. A whole host of composting systems will be used on the demonstration site, and the pair could not be more excited. Karin is scouring Ebay for her lastest compost obsession; a Swedish Green Johanna hotbin.

Have you seen David Beckham's new love for gardening? Karin's sold, Vicky's clearly not so sure... Vicky's also being a bit of a Halloween grump, while Karin's making plans to collect her street's leftover pumpkins to compost rather than see them disappear.  With all this rain and cold, Vicky's tucking her worms in for winter, Karin's hashing plans for her own homemade wormery and both are regretting not having treated their sheds this summer. 

Love is in the air as Karin's Paul has sat through a whole hour of Charles Dowding and is a converted man. Vicky hasn't had much time on the plot this week and has missed it terribly. The one time she makes it down there she discovers the dreaded blight has arrived, wiping out a half a bed of potatoes. Karin is continuing with her never ending onion planting, and grapples with two new hugelcultures.

Did you know it's actually illegal to have a seed swap?! Just one of many interesting facts about seeds, seed saving, seed swapping and seed history that we found out about on our Biodynamic Seed Saving Day at Waltham Place. After a glorious day with our teacher, Andre Tranquillini, we hot foot it back home to record the pod in the car whilst it's all still fresh in our minds.

Paranoia has set in on Karin's new plot; the majority of the strings dividing her beds and paths have been cut. Opinion is divided if this is deliberately done by hostile allotment neighbours or rodents with sharp teeth. Karin is keen to have a natural explanation, Vicky is more inclined to believe the scissor theory. This situation is not made any easier with the find of a teeth mould in the wood chip on one of the new paths, complete with name on the back. The back of Vicky's plot has had a complete overhaul with cardboard, all we need now is a good soaking to start everything off. The weather gods were clearly listening to us as it hasn't stopped raining since Saturday :-)

For those ready to geek out over the finer details of onion sets, garlic bulb sowing plans, and budgeting for the season ahead—you're in the perfect place. But, if that's not your thing, feel free to jump ahead by a full 13 minutes! We're loving the turn of the season, entering that glorious time of year where we're layering cardboard and compost, sowing green manures, and mulching our garden beds. It's the stuff of our daydreams!  Karin's been hard at work, carefully collecting Marigold, Nasturtium, and Sweet Pea seeds, ensuring next year's blooms will be as vibrant as ever. Vicky, on the other hand, has been busy drying seeds from her cucumbers, making sure nothing goes to waste. And in even more exciting composting news—Vicky's got a brand-new addition to her garden crew… a Wormery! Yes, a whole new world of composting magic has begun!

Charles Dowding's new book Compost has arrived and Vicky is swooning. Karin has made a start of planting for autumn, with spring onions and broadbeans in trays at home. We got a sweet anniversary surprise from Karin's eldest; two pretty The Plot Thickens signs for our respective sheds.

We're talking slugs, again. The allotment's slugs seem to have now all commuted to Karin's plot for a holiday, after finding a deluge of slugs on her plot this morning. Having been despondent about the fox digging up the lettuce seedlings in the bed of Bokashi compost, it's finally come up trumps, providing so many nutrients for Vicky's random pumpkin plant which is absolutely booming.  We've both been really disappointed with our corn on the cobs and feels like our sweetcorn may have suffered from a lack of pollinators this year.  Vicky finally makes her first ratatouille this century and Karin has some lovely pears. Q: Is a big courgette called a marrow? Do share your thought on our poll!

Finally back to our plots after our holidays! While going away is lovely, coming back to your little green paradise is SO exciting. The familiar paths, the occasional weed to pull and gorgeous smells of ripe fruit and veg! Vicky did a successful watering swap with an allotment neighbour while Paul, scarred by last year's dry disaster, redeemed himself with a fortnight full time watering schedule. All in all a good reunion :-)

Have you ever thought about why we adore our compost so much? We've come to realise that perhaps because it's a living entity. Feeding, nurturing, turning, measuring and watching it mature into something you are proud of is much like having a pet or a child! This episode was recorded 2 weeks ago, it's short and sweet whilst we are away on our holidays! We'll be back with you with with a packed full episode next week! P.S. You might notice Vicky has a bit of a cold, so apologies for the sniffles and the occasional passing plane.

Early morning on the plot chatting about all things allotment, foxes, watering (and a lack of) and great useable items from the St Albans Reuse site.

When you've been making your own compost for over 20 years, its hard to then just order it in! Karin's struggling with the wish to make all of the Plot 2 beds with her own inputs and yet, wants the job done like, now! To buy or not to buy, that's the question.

Karin has just finished the last of the ratatouille she made QUITE a few days ago, as expected no one in the family were keen to try it. Vicky has renovated her compost heaps, and is in full swing rearranging the beds on her plot to maximise growing space. Saving the best 'til last, Vicky has big news, introducing her new project Soil Squad! Have a listen!! All very very exciting :-)

Just another morning of chatter about our week on the plots and a visit to work in the gorgeous hotel kitchen garden.  We both have a few courgettes in all shapes and sizes so Karin is looking forward to cooking a ratatouille.  Karin's Ratatouille Recipe onion garlic butter olive oil  aubergine (1cm quarters) salted until shrivelled)  courgette (1cm sliced)  tinned tomatoes water salt thyme prep veg fry onion and garlic with butter and olive oil add aubergine, courgette, tomatoes, water and thyme.  season and serve with rice (or give it to a friend if you hate ratatouille like Vicky) 

The day that Karin has been waiting for has finally arrived; she has been offered another half plot in addition to her existing one, after a 2 1/2 year wait. At first glance it is an odd triangular shape, but this has advantages in terms of defining the compost set up of her dreams. Mimicking Vicky's pallet compost masterpiece, this four bay baby will produce enough compost to cover the new plot in no time. With thanks to Alex Kizenkov for intro music

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms! How do you grow yours? Karin has some beautiful white oyster mushrooms ready to pick for a creamy pasta dinner. She's extended the mushroom theme throughout her plot like mycelium - she's now layering spores in her raised bed! Vicky's been moving her mushrooms like the Hokey Cokey around her plot with not very impressive results, unlike her 4 small perfectly formed cucumbers. So sorry people, the mic batteries started to fail so this episode is very short and sweet. Back next week with a monster episode as we have NEWS!

A busy week in Hertfordshire with inspiring visits to both the Kitchen Garden and Groundswell, the Regenerative Agriculture Festival. On the allotments the growing has finally started after the hot weather, making all the hard work worth it.