Links to Mr. Middleton's weekly tasks first:
1st Friday, No allotment or gardening work today as employment and volunteering occupied too much of my time today.
2nd Saturday, Sadly no gardening today as family duties occupied my time.
3rd Sunday, Weeds Out, Potatoes Clear
At last I managed a visit to the allotment today. The ground was calling for attention, and the hour was soon taken up with steady weeding, clearing and tidying, row by row, just as the old Ministry leaflets advised. By the time I left for home, my rows of potatoes were fully cleared of weeds, standing neat and ready to push on with their growth. A simple job, but a necessary one, and satisfying to see the plot looking sharper for the effort.
4th Monday, Last chance to pot on and water seedlings at home this morning as we set off on holiday this morning.
5th Tuesday, Away on holiday
6th Wednesday, Away on holiday. Managed to visit the Home Front museum in Llandudno today.
7th Thursday, Away on holiday
8th Friday, Away on holiday.
9th Saturday, Sadly no gardening today as family duties occupied my time.
10th Sunday, Weeds Rising, Harvest Gathered
I finally made it back to the allotment today. The recent heatwaves have pushed everything on, including the weeds and the plot showed it. My time there was taken up with steady weeding, clearing what I could. The Swiss chard had bolted in the sudden warmth, and the weeds had grown rampant in my absence, enough to give that familiar feeling of being overwhelmed. But the only way through is to tackle what’s in front of you, so I worked through as much as I could before heading home. And despite the chaos, the plot still offered plenty: I harvested rhubarb, Swiss chard, mizuna, ruby streaks and Mexican tree spinach, a good reminder that even in the busiest weeks, the ground keeps giving.
11th Monday Duty First, Then Digging
After a long day at work, finishing gone 6pm while clearing the backlog of last week’s admin, I turned my attention back to allotment duties. As Chairman, it fell to me to prepare the non‑cultivation letter for Plot 24a, having already discussed the matter with the committee. Once written, I hand‑delivered it to the tenant’s house on my way to the site. A small but necessary piece of keeping the plots in good order.
On the allotment itself, I put in a solid hour of weeding, steady, determined, and very much in the Dig for Victory spirit. One hour doesn’t conquer the front, but it certainly pushes the line forward. Bit by bit, the weeds are losing ground.
A late start, but a worthwhile one. The season marches on, and so do we.
12th Tuesday, A Rainy Day Indoors
No allotment visit today, I was caught out in the rain at work and decided not to slog up to the plot dripping wet. Instead, I stayed home and turned my attention to the trays of seedlings that had been quietly demanding attention. A good number needed pricking out and potting on, so the evening became a gentle production line of compost, labels, and tiny roots.
I also took the chance to update the allotment association logo, the old one had served us well for over a decade, but it was definitely showing its age. The new version is sharper, cleaner, and ready for the next chapter.
A quieter day, but still a productive one in its own way.
13th Wednesday, A Long Day, a Quick Visit, and Some Sad News
Despite a very long working day today, I still managed a brief visit to the allotment this evening. First job was to check on the plot I’d recently served an improvement notice on, still showing no signs of weeding, which isn't good to see.
While there, I saw our Treasurer, who passed on some sad news: the Secretary’s dog, a familiar companion on the allotments for over a decade, had to be put down yesterday. A loyal little presence gone, and the site will feel different without her.
I then turned to my own clear‑out, filling three large sacks with the weeds I’ve been digging out over the past few days: nettles, bindweed, cleavers and the stubborn mare’s tail. On the way home, I emptied the lot at the local recycling centre, a small but satisfying win at the end of a long day.
14th Thursday, Weather Against Us, but Work Goes On
I finished work mid‑afternoon, keen to get up to the allotment and put in a few honest hours. After being caught out in an unexpected hailstone shower this morning, the bright afternoon sun looked like a welcome change, almost a signal to “dig on”. But just as I was preparing to set off, the skies closed ranks again and a heavy rain set in, putting paid to any hopes of getting onto the soil today. Typical British weather, doing its level best to hinder the home‑front gardener.
Still, the spirit of Dig for Victory is to press on regardless, so this evening I turned to indoor duties and sowed another round of squash and brassica seeds. Not the visit I’d planned, but progress all the same, every tray sown is another step toward a fuller harvest.
15th Friday, Breakdown and a Quiet Evening. The working day took an unexpected turn when the vehicle everything depends on suffered a major mechanical failure, needing urgent recovery and immediate garage attention. With plans thrown off course, there was no allotment visit today. Instead, the evening was spent keeping things ticking over at home, watering the seedlings in the greenhouse and adding fresh material to the compost heap. A small bit of progress on a day that didn’t go to plan
16th Saturday, A Day Pulled in Other Directions . Today didn’t unfold as planned. I should have been chairing the allotment self‑management meeting, but instead I spent the morning trying to source a replacement work vehicle after yesterday’s breakdown and got nowhere with it. With family visiting all day, there was no allotment visit and no gardening done. Just one of those days where life pulls you away from the soil.
17th Sunday, Evening Graft After a Family Day. After more family visits today, I only made it to the allotment in the evening. Before anything else, I put in a solid hour of weeding, especially tackling the nettles that had sprung up among the soft fruit bushes and canes. Some were over four feet tall, but every last one came out. Once the ground was clear, I harvested a good armful of rhubarb and a few sturdy leeks to take home. A late visit, but a productive one.
18th Monday, The 846‑Week Challenge
Britain spent around 336 weeks at war during WWII. If you start counting from 18 May 2026, that same span would end on 31 October 2032.
If you extend the timeline to include the full wartime and post‑war rationing period, roughly 846 weeks, the equivalent end date becomes 8 August 2042.
By then I’ll be well into my 70s, and hopefully still here. So I’m treating this as a long‑view challenge: to grow as much of my own food as possible, inspired by the Dig for Victory spirit. Not following rationing to the letter, but taking lessons from it, because one never knows what the future holds.
The 846‑week challenge began today, and I eased into it with a simple, grounding rhythm. Breakfast was porridge oats with a cup of coffee, lunch a bowl of vegetable soup with two slices of sourdough, and dinner an omelette packed with leek, ruby streaks, Swiss chard and mushrooms. Pudding was a proper treat: rhubarb crumble with clotted cream the sort of finish that makes a day feel complete.
In the evening I headed to the allotment. The weather had settled, and I had a brief chat with a fellow plotholder before getting on with the job at hand. I’d brought tomato plants from home to settle into the polytunnel, and it felt good to finally get them in place.
What really lifted my spirits, though, was seeing the new plant‑swap table up and running in the centre of the site. My own chilli sowings had failed this year, so picking up two healthy chilli plants felt like a small triumph, the kind of neighbourly exchange that keeps an allotment community thriving.
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