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An Aberdeen Allotment, Craigton Road, Aberdeen (2026)

15/06/2026

With a public holiday today to celebrate Scotland in the World Cup (who are we to argue 🙏⚽) it's been a three day gardening weekend.

Yesterday was another community day at the site, postponed from Thursday evening because it was chucking down with rain. Eleven helpers including myself cutting the grass and w**ding the bottom perennial borders. After removing a mountain of w**ds, particularly what we call "sticky w***y" 🤭 the beds were looking a lot better.

Today has been planting out the rest of the home garden. Not that I have much space but by the time it was w**ded, some repairs done to my large planters at the back of the house and then digging out a self seeded sycamore it seemed to take all day. The repairs to the planters were temporary, the wooden posts have rotted along with the bottom planks. Constructed about four or five years ago they were made quite high to hide two tree stumps. I'm pretty sure they will have rotted away so during the winter I may drop the height and just construct as edged beds using the planks in decent condition.

After everything had been planted time to visit the plot to drop off the green waste in the compost bin. Unfortunately the local crows had pulled out some of my dwarf French bean plants 🤬. They were quickly re-planted and watered. Hopefully they will make it through. Before I left I covered with a net tunnel, remembering that the same thing happened the previous year and I had to do the same. Birds are our biggest enemy at the plot.

Ps. Pumpkins and Squashes looking a bit sad. It really needs to warm up. Tomatoes on their way though 😊.

13/06/2026

It's been a challenging week of weather here in the north east of Scotland. Spells of sunshine, heavy rain and even some snow not that far out of the city........yes snow in June! The wet evenings meant no chance of a visit to the plot, annoying with so much still to do there and in the home garden.

That's why I was glad to wake up to sunshine this morning, although it didn't last long. With rain forecast I was down at the plot early ticking some of those jobs off the list. The Framberries were trimmed of their runners and then covered with a net. The w**d membrane on the Pumpkin/Squash bed was rolled up and the soil went over with a cultivator and rake to loosen it up. The Pumpkins and Squash were planted although the stems of my two Ghost Pumpkins had split. Annoying, I think the plants had got two big in their pots and the weight of the leaves had caused two much pressure on the stems. We'll see if they survive.

When the squally showers started it was into the greenhouse to nip out the sideshoots of the Tomato's, tie them in and then plant up my two Cucumbers v. Patio Snacker. These were planted in two bottomless pots sunk into a 20 litre bag of compost sitting in a large gravel tray on the bench.

After the showers had passed back outside to plant the Dwarf Yellow French Beans. Another row was sown direct alongside to keep the succession going. I also needed to w**d the Beetroot bed, germination here had been poor, same with the seed sown in modules. I transplanted some that had germinated and then planted some plugs of v. Chiogga that I had been gifted from another plotter. With some space I sowed another row of Burpees Golden although again this did not germinate that well in the modules either.

With some w**ding and other minor jobs it was a long but satisfying shift at the plot. Next job on the list, probably next weekend is to harvest the autumn sown Onions and plant the Dahlias.

Ps. you may have heard the Football World Cup has started. C'mon Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ⚽

08/06/2026

Come and join us next Sunday (14th of June) to help transforming the site into a more usable and pleasant place.

👉Priority jobs:

- grass strimming
- relocating outdoor furniture
- creating base for the greenhouse & toolshed

💫Other jobs depending on turnout:
- tidy existing shed and create an inventory
- w**ding raised beds+ adding topsoil and compost
- sowing wildflower seeds
- renewing composting bays
- w**ding footpath and flower beds

🥤🫗🍪Light refreshments will be provided

We have limited equipment available so if you have tools and equipment you are welcome to bring along.

Please wear adequate clothes and don't forget your suncream 🌤️

Please note there are no toilets on site, but Nigg Bay Golf Club kindly allowed to use their facilities.

Looking forward to welcome you on the 14th! 👩‍🔧🦸🧙‍♂️👨‍🌾

07/06/2026

It's been a right mixed week of weather, mostly featuring squally showers, glimpses of sunshine and yo yo temperatures.

Yesterday was quite cool, with a stiff breeze and light rain in the morning. Despite that I tidied up the home garden and in particular dug out a lot of Calendula seedlings that had appeared. The best ones were replanted, some spares planted in a patch of adjoining grass that had been dug up by the Council and left bare soil. The smallest seedlings were potted up into module trays, not sure what i will do with these but someone will take them off my hands.

In the afternoon it was down to the plot to do exactly the same with the Calendula seedlings that had self seeded there. The spares were planted in a couple of planters in the site communal area and a bare patch of earth at the edge of one of the tracks.

With all this rain the past week the growth on everything has been amazing. Unfortunately this included the w**ds so a bit of time was spent w**ding. I'd also taken down the Dahlia tubers and the Pumpkins/Squashes hardening off at home. It was too cold the plant the latter so they were placed in the second Coldframe for a bit of protection. The Dahlias were left out.

After the w**ding final job was to plant up the last of the Tomatoes 🍅 that will be grown in the pots. Varieties Red Alert, Tumbling Tom Yellow, Cherry Falls and Sweet Million.

Ps. Some photos of the flowers out on the plot this week.

31/05/2026

Back at the plot this afternoon for our community day. The on site maintenance continued, more repairs to the bottle Greenhouse and w**ding of the communal perennial beds. Me, I opted for an easy job painting some recently donated planters.

After tea and cake we also had a sale of the donated items from a former plot holder. A healthy £85 raised for community funds.

Fortunately we dodged the worst of the showers today despite some angry skies. It had cleared up a bit once community day was over and managing to get a "second wind" (probably because I loaded up on tea and cake) I thought I would stay on for a bit.

I put in some supports for the perennials in the front flower border, planted up my tub at the front of the plot, potted on some plants for the home garden to give me a bit of "breathing space" and as the Carrots had put in appearance netted over the bed before the dreaded fly had a sniff. I also planted the missing plants in the back flower bed and some Lettuce gifted to me by another plot holder.

So a busy weekend with those extra hours today making me feel a bit more relaxed.

Ps, one of my favourite flowers are on their way. Can you guess?

30/05/2026

Sunny Saturday (for a little while)

Weekend and allotment time 🤩🌱. It was a long shift today! The morning was spent sorting out pots donated to me. I've kept the ones I could use, the rest will be offered to the allotment community. Anything left will then find a home in the recycling bin.

In the afternoon I was helping another committee member sort out the sheds of an allotment holder who had vacated this week. He had left a lot of stuff in his two sheds so anything of use was sorted, cleaned and will be sold for allotment association funds at our community day tomorrow. There was a lot of goodies in there, some bizarre items (like a solar shower and a camp bed 🤔) along with the usual garden tools. He also had more screws and nails than B & Q. Unfortunately it took a lot longer than I anticipated meaning less time to do stuff on my own plot. However towards the end of the afternoon I did have some time to plant my Tomatoes in the greenhouse.

First of all I wanted to dig out the greenhouse bed. I hadn't done this for a couple of years and didn't want to risk nutrient deficiency or any disease affecting my tomato plants . The lovely compost in there wasn't wasted though and was loaded into the wheelbarrow and used to top up our Corten Steel planters in the community areas of the site.

Six tomato plants were planted as usual in the greenhouse border. Varieties were Tigerella, Sungold, Honeycomb, Moneymaker and two Alicante's. I've also got three plants I will grow in pots on the bench but they will be planted another day.

So that was it, 8 hours at the plot. Feeling a bit behind to be honest, didn't get the Framberries covered, need to net the Potatoes too as well as plant the Dahlias next weekend along with the Pumpkins and Squash which I started hardening off at home. Speaking of which I've still got gaps in the home garden and various pots to be filled with bedding plants which are becoming rather root bound. Got to fit this all around a very full on, full time job. Oh well I'm sure I'll get there in the end 😐.

28/05/2026

It's that time of year when everyone with an allotment or a garden is on a mission to get all their plants out and in the ground. Me, I'm no different and yesterday evening after work I headed to the allotment concentrating on starting the plant out of the flowers at the back of the plot.

This years selection includes a mix of Rudbeckias, some Statice for drying and the Antirrhinum (Snapdragons) I started from seed last Autumn. Slight miscalculation on the numbers required but don't worry I have some spares at home.

As it had been a couple of days since I had been there and conditions had been dry the watering can was in use. Some seeds were also sown for succession. More Sunflowers, mixed Lettuce, Spring Onions and finally Spinach. The latter can't really be classed as a succession as the original crop never germinated. Whilst doing all this I was thinking what else had to be done, definitely the Tomatoes planted properly in the Greenhouse and those Framberries covered by the net this Saturday. I'm sure I'll find other stuff to do as well with a Community Day keeping me busy on Sunday afternoon.

The early summer flowers are starting now. Poached Egg Plants (which self seed every year) Aliums v. Purple Sensation and a perennial Jacobs Ladder at the front of the plot.

25/05/2026

It's been a weekend of gardening folks.....

Yesterday at the plot was cracking on with it. The peas were planted out both the standard garden peas and also some sugar snap ones. I like to plant peas behind the greenhouse, filling the bed with lots of garden compost to keep those plants well fed. This location being north facing ensures the plants are kept slightly cooler away from the scorching sun but at the same time receiving lots of good light Behind the greenhouse is also an ideal place to attach a net to keep those pigeons at bay because as we all know they love to eat peas.

Last year I attached the net with clothes pegs, which worked well to a degree except when it got a but breezy. The clothes pegs are still in use but in a stroke of genius I used some greenhouse glass clips to keep the net secure. Although the net is fine mesh, it's an old one with the odd rip and tear. No use for covering carrots but perfect for keeping pigeons (and even flea beetles) at bay.

After the planting it was the potting on and pricking out. Potting on some Marigolds and Cosmos to give me a bit of breathing space until they are ready to plant out and pricking out some Lettuce and Gypsophila seedlings to grow on, the latter of which was kindly dropped off by Viktoria along with two beautiful Geums. It was nice to catch up with her. Unfortunately I didn't quite manage the sowing of seed but there is always another day.

Today like most of the country has been roasty toasty and a day off work for the Bank Holiday (I don't work in a Bank 🤭) I continued tidying up the garden at home (which was started on Friday) and then a visit to the plot (via my Mum's) to drop off some stuff. Long story but I don't think I'll ever be short of a plant pot again😜.

Ps. I've got new neighbours. Lots of activity from solitary bees at the bug hotel attached to my shed

23/05/2026

The heat is on.......

After a fairly cold Spring warm temperatures have finally arrived. Today was perfect gardening weather. Comfortable temperature, clouds in the sky keeping the baking sun at bay and a nice breeze. The site was quiet, the birds were chirping and the only loud sound was the occasional crack of leather on willow from the adjoining cricket pitch.

With some moisture this week the w**ds had taken off, particularly on the potato and onion beds. The autumn planted onions were the worst and with them starting to swell it was really important to remove the w**ds to stop them robbing the bed of nutrients and moisture. Because the w**ds were so thick and not wanting to risk damaging the onions the hand fork came out along with two flexible trugs. One for the w**ds suitable for composting and the other for the perennial w**ds and the annual w**ds in flower that will go in the domestic bin.

After the w**ding was finished (got most of the plot done) time to dig out some of my old autumn rasps. This is the variety Polka, strangely the back of the bed showed signs of growth but not the front. They've been in there about ten years which is their shelf life. Not wanting to waste the space I dug out the roots that showed no signs of growth. I've got a courgette plant for here, some spring onions and maybe more lettuce.
Speaking of fruit the framberries are now in full flower so I'll have to get them covered with a net to ensure that the birds don't steal them. After a small crop last year following being planted out these plants have really got going now.

Back to the plot tomorrow for some fun stuff - planting out, potting on and sowing some seed.

Ps The Aubretia has been outstanding this year. One positive of the cooler spring is that it has helped extend the flowering time of all the spring bulbs and perennials.

An Aberdeen Allotment

15/06/2026

13/06/2026

08/06/2026

07/06/2026

31/05/2026

30/05/2026

28/05/2026

25/05/2026

23/05/2026

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