So nice to see a rant from my favourite gardeners occasionally Kerry. We all have those days where we're sorry we got out of bed and the world tries to break our brain. You're just like the rest of us only you're kind enough to record and share it so we all feel like we're not alone in it. Non gardeners just don't understand how devastating dissappearing slugged plants and all other garden heartaches can be. Enjoy your break with Wimbledon 😘
Kerry likes a well kept plot, the crops growing towards the sky , she tends daily to their every need , and waters them when things get dry , On occasion things can go wrong plants can suffer, their leaves can wilt and fall , but the very next morning ,she'll go back to the plot, and realise things are nt so bad , after all.
What a winger 🤭😂🤗 I'm pleased you are feeling better now. We all have times like that and you deserve a nice break. What a good plot neighbour you are. 😍 Have a nice break and rest ❤
Haha - can rely on Linda for the tough love!! Yes, I am feeling better and looking forward to slowing down the pace for a couple of weeks. Thank you 🤗💕
You do a fab job Kerry. It's good to talk about the highs and lows. Love your smiley videos and I always think of you when I do mine 'smile Rach!' You once told me 😂 along with other things 😆 Bless ya. Plot is looking really good. You are getting there and planning things so keep at it 😊 I hope things start to pick up and the slugs don't like your deterrents 😢 Haha I really wanted a few bleeps here and there! Good rant does us the world hunny! Aww I just wanted to give you a hug 🤗 Lovely video Kerry enjoy your time off 🫶🏽💚🌼
We just got home from a 2 week vacation in the West Indies. My garden was a mess when we got back. Waist high weeds and grass everywhere. It rained 8 of the days we were gone. Did have some nice harvests of cucumbers, squash and peppers. It will take some work to reclaim it.
Loved the Easter vids😎. Got me into sourdough bread making🙂Finally starting to look(and taste) good after a few mediocre results. Harvested some Aquadulce broad and some field beans yesterday. The latter not quite as tasty. Fried with some garlic, peas and chard plus salad of beetroot, lettuce, tomatoes, microgreens and strawberries all from the garden. Makes the hard work worthwhile and ideal antidote for irritation with the slug and weather attacks. But one garden and a full-time job is enough work. Respect for managing an allotment and a RU-vid channel😎. Enjoy the time off.🙂
Aw it's lovely to hear you were inspired to start baking the sourdough - quite a few people have told me they got into it after the vids. Maybe I should switch to a baking channel!! 🤣 Thanks so much for your support - it is truly appreciated.
Now then mardy, so great to have someone else having a rant, just thought it was just me doing it…Allotment life isn’t all plain sailing and it’s great you put that across. Love the videos keep them up 😊
Thank you Debra - nothing worthwhile happens without a bit of hard work and the joy is always there when you look for it. The plot will get there, I'm sure - I need all those cosmos to come back and brighten the space up!
Aww Kerry, bless your heart, even the unstoppable Kerry has her limits 😢 Take a break and recharge yours and the strimers, batteries.😂 What a wonderful fruit harvest. See you in two weeks, sweet Kerry and Dorie 😊
I'm with you on the boundaries. I couldn't cope with that, and on feeling like there's not enough time for a full time job and all the gardening, and on everything... I'm here to rant with you lady!!!!!
Ah sorry to hear life is being challenging at the moment. You are definately not alone with the gardening despair - we are all having a bit of a pants year. Enjoy your well deserved break and look forward to catching up on all your news afterwards. Xxx
Great video Kerry and such a boost for us other gardeners and allotment holders to see that not everyone has 100% success. I managed to harvest 3 cherries, 2 strawberries, 5 blackcurrants and a nibbled courgette today and you’d think I’d won the lottery. The blackcurrant bush was full of fruits 4 days ago but it’s been stripped in a couple of days by the birds! Enjoy Wimbledon, I’ll enjoy my strawberries whilst watching it 😂😂
Haha - I hear that! The absolute joy when we get anything from the garden! I had two cherries on my tree but they just fell off! I guess the benefit of having a very overgrown garden is that the birds can't spot the berries 🤣 Thank you for your comment and yes - I will be enjoying my strawbs watching the tennis too (and maybe even in a cheeky Pimms...) 💕😋
@@dogontheplot I didn’t mention the Pimms as I understood it to be Law whilst watching tennis and of course homegrown mini cucumbers that have escaped the slugs!
Hello Kerry, I would like to send you and emotional hug as I feel you need one. I do think everyone has a time to rant a bit but it should be limited and occasional. There are so many folks that love watching you and following your success and failures. Honesty is important to build because you can build onto honesty. I watch videos to see how y'all are doing, what are the current problems and how are you handling them. I do love to see you smiling as I know you do love to be in the garden but when we are overwhelmed it is harder to so happy and easy going. No we are not always 100% both gardener and cheerleader for others. I am so happy you are taking the time to take care of yourself. Praying for peace and grace that you will have time to sort your upcoming schedule and better plan to accomplish the goals you can this garden season. Give yourself grace to fully appreciate all that you do and when things do not work out despite all our planning let it go. Please always give more weight to your accomplishments and less weight to the things you did not get to. I wish you and calm and peaceful week, bye for now Steven
What a lovely message, thank you Steven - that means a lot. It will be good to take some time to rest and reset - and also get on top of the growing spaces but at a nice, relaxed pace. Last year I had a week off in June but I couldn't do that this year - I will remember to try and get it booked for next year as that really is the crunch time. Still, this year the weather has put paid to all our best intentions anyway! We'll get there, I'm sure - and yes, will try and focus on the achievements. Thank you again - have a lovely couple of weeks yourself 😊💕
Take the wins when you get them. I will have my first ripe tomatoes in a couple of days. Looking forward to those already. I enjoy your vids. Keep them coming. GOD bless.
I am like you I don’t film to teach I film for fun and hopefully it always is 👍. But a rant video is always welcomed as it is what friends do ❤, if we were having a cuppa in the garden it would be what we would be doing. Can’t be totally 💯 every day that’s not reality or any fun 😂😂. Have a simply stunning week enjoy time off work and don’t despair about it all ❤️❤️, Ali 🥵🌞🇨🇦
Aw thank you Ali. A little pity party for myself, but already feeling better for a little time and space. Will be nice to slow the pace for a couple of weeks. 😊💕
Enjoy the tennis Kerry, I used to watch Wimbledon when I was younger but I daren't do it now as I just have too much to do and once you start watching a game your hooked until the end of the tournament. This time of year can be incredibly frustrating as everything grows so quickly, great idea to get a second battery though, it can be doubly frustrating when you can't finish a job through no fault of your own. Now you have said no filming I expect you will find loads of things to film 😂
I've made the decision recently to give up my plot, there's been a lot of time and money spent on it, but I cant do it all. My garden at home is big enough for me to grow what we need (not as big as yours) but I feel like I'm splitting myself in to 10 and its just not worth it. Rats got my broad beans, last year they took all of the tomatoes in the poly. I can keep a closer eye on things at home and do a massive bed cottage garden style that I've wanted to do for the last 3 years! Its took me almost a year to get rid of the woodchip on my allotment paths, there were more weeds growing there than in the beds, 100% would never go to woodchip ever, unless all of the plots around are fully maintained with no weeds! I will gradually move things before the end of the year so the hard work hasnt been wasted. You have hit the nail on the head about taking things to the plot, my sweet peas were 4 foot tall before I got them out of the home greenhouse! You do you, simples😊😊 take care
Ah what a big decision Anita but it sounds like the right thing for you. Good luck with your cottage style bed. I like the social aspect of the plot and the fact that it's away from home - but it is such a lot to manage!! I've not seriously thought about giving it up at all, but I do need to rethink some things to make it sustainable. Absolutely - got to do what's right for you. ☺️🌱
I think you are right to find ways of reducing the grass paths to narrow ones and easier to trim. Thanks for another great video, you fit so much in and work hard so have a good break.That breakfast looked gorgeous.
I’m totally feeling your pain, I’ve had a sh#tty two weeks on my plot, lost nearly all the pumpkins and beans to slugs and the wind has snapped all my sunflowers 😩It just makes you feel like packing it in some days 😢 Enjoy your time off , you deserve it , I honestly don’t know how you manage to cram everything in, you must be exhausted some weeks.
Aw Caz I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm so nervous to put things out. Just planted out runner beans today - fingers crossed they're still there tomorrow 🙈🙈
👀 get that girl a kombucha, sunshade and slice of sour dough sharpish and just don't mention the grass 🫢😳. Only messing, watched back in the week but just getting around to commenting. The grass has been a challenge lately, as soon as you're done it needs cutting again. Easier said than done but try not to let it all get to you too much, concentrate on the positives and the achievements you've made. I imagine with your time at the tennis it's already all a distant memory. Nice update, cheers 🙂🌱
I've been looking for videos exactly like these! It's so good to share the highs and lows even with my allotment neighbours just to realise it isn't our singular fault! Seeing some channels from the UK posting amazing gardens (with 5+ staff managing the thing) can give a distorted view of what this hobby should be and what it should be giving us in return.
It is lovely to see aspirational gardens and what is possible with time, people and energy ... but that's not my growing space or my life, unfortunately! Still I think even the experts have struggled with this year. You're right too about plot neighbours - I was talking to one of mine yesterday who has a great plot - really productive - but turns out that was their third planting out after everything got repeatedly decimated by slugs! I'm glad you found my channel - welcome 🤗🌱
Oh Kerry! I loved this 🥰 I think you have perfectly summed up what it is to be a gardener in this video. Beautifully and honestly capturing the frustrations and demoralisation that we all feel and contrasted wonderfully with how it can be instantly washed away by picking a beautiful berry or smelling some wonderful flowers! Gardening sometimes depletes us, but it always giving back 10 fold and it’s what keeps us coming back for more 😃 Thank you for this honest video and I hope you have a wonderful 2 week break! See you soon 😃🪴💚
Aw thank you Sarah - what a lovely message. I'm looking forward to slowing the pace for a couple of weeks and seeing what I can achieve in a more relaxed manner. It's funny looking back on my last few videos and they're all about maximising time and squeezing in the gardening and go go go - but that's only sustainable for so long! Take care and have a good week too 💕🌱
Hello Kerry...could hear the frustration in your voice and you brow was a bit furrowed at times...gardening is not for the weak at heart...only the strong garden for 40+years...if I looked back on my failures, I would probably bury my garden tools in a quiet ceremony and walk away...only to dig them up a week later and have visited 5 garden centers in the interim. Don't despair!!!! We had two weeks of 90+ temps...absolutely fried my garden...have been watering like a mad woman...hope here is eternal...you are a passionate gardener and have helped spark my gardening adventure...you are lovely person. Thank you 💚🌱🐝🌞🐞🌿
Aw what a lovely message Michelle - thank you. Maybe one year we'll have the perfect year of weather and I will actually see what is possible!! haha. Wishful thinking. It's all experience and I'm learning all the time. Thank you for all your support 💕🌱
Please don’t despair, I watch you because you are true to life and when I see your failures or problems I don’t feel so bad about mine! There is no way you can keep everything under control as well as work etc. I’ve tried and failed and spent so much time just trying to keep brambles under control…..no good they are rapidly consuming my garden. I wish I had your plot, I love it. I have two greenhouses full of plants to go out, but there is nowhere to put them! The birds and squirrels eat my fruit, and so it goes on! A lot of us try to do too much because gardening is like that, all go all at once. Glad the fruit and sweet peas have cheered you up. Walking is a good tonic, just get away from the garden. Have some lemon balm tea! Thankyou for being you and sharing with us all. Thanks
Aw what a lovely message Marilyn - thank you. That offered some well needed perspective! think you're so right. And yes, how frustrating to have plants to put out and nowhere for them to go - I hope you find a solution. My tomatoes and aubergines seem to be doing well in the home greenhouse so far and that is definitely keeping me going - I can't wait for the tomatoes! It will all feel worth it when I get those first fruits, I'm sure 💕😊
Enjoy your well-deserved break, Kerry 🤗❤ There are days and even weeks like that, unfortunately 😕 but you still got so much done, linden tea drank and fab waffles with fresh fruit eaten 🥰 Little wins and instant gratification type small jobs will help you to get out of the blues 🤗🤗💚 Mind yourself and see you after Wimbledon 😊💚🌿
Thank you lovely Maiju. I'm sure I'll feel better after slowing the pace for a bit - and I know I'll feel better once all this stuff is in the ground! (unless of course they are immediately eaten!!!) You have a good week too 🌱💕
I am sorry to hear you're having a bit of a downer about your growing space Kerry x .. dont worry we all have them and you have every right to be frustrated etc... mine is the weather at the moment from the great hot weather to the really cold , dull wet weather at about 14/15 degrees this week 😡 ..my outdoor plants like squash etc.. Will just slow down.. it's so frustrating!!
I feel your despair, I planted out 30 brassicas, built a butterfly proof cage, came down 2 days later to water and they were all gone. I had a few choice words and thought what's the point, but a few days later got back in my groove, you will rally again, I am keeping all my paths well strimmed and junk free too. Jo Devon 🙂
ooof yeah hunny those grass paths , id avoid the plastic but you could use the black landscape weed control fabric you can get it fairly cheap in bulk rolls , i know the idea is not to spend money but it really is effectice and you can put mulch and bark on top , try get that done in the auwtumn ready for october sowings
Aw thank you Shell. That means such a lot. It is hard work and not always fun - but I need to remember that for the most part it IS fun and worthwhile when the harvests start rolling in (I hope!!). Good luck with replacing all the beds - is the because they have now rotted?
@@dogontheplot no not rotted i just used what i had , such as old laminate flooring haha , but i was given some palettes and old fence its great wood that i can treat and stain , thing is theres always something growing in any of the beds seasonally so im going to have to work around everything however i decide to tackle it haha
I understand your reply now 🤣 We have the ryobi strimmer and that has an attachment with two little plastic blades instead of the strimmer cable ( which is very useful for making shark traces if you ever take up sea fishing😂)and I bought two packets of replacements but so far still on the first pair. we also have two batteries. Slugs have been a bit of a problem with a lot of folks this year (ask Danny). But enjoy your holibobs, and just take it easy - just do an hour a day and it will surprise you how much you will cover in 2 weeks. nick
you rant girl lol we all need one now n then I've been ranting too cos weeds n slugs keep takin over n takin my strawberries loll but I m just making my second batch of jam cos I physically cant eat a punnet full a day of fresh lol
@@dogontheplot oh that sounds nice how did you make it ? i did a nice strawberry cobbler as well and I froze some for smoothies but I'm picking a punnet every day now lol but I am going to start culling some of the old plants they're taking up too much precious bed space for other crops and I would rather have all year round crops rather than a big glut of fruit then have the beds not in use most of the year
@@dogontheplot oh simples lo lits just lack of space and I've got loads of old plants now that arent producing as much ill still have some but id rather grow things all year rather than a huge glut of strawberries then nothing else in those beds
If you do decide to go down the wood chip route, I’d advise against putting it over plastic. In three years time, the wood chip will have rotted down and it will need replacing. How do I know that? It’s what I did and I spent hours and hours last winter shovelling it all up, removing the plastic, laying cardboard and spending a fortune on more wood chip. It’s still not all done!
Oh I hear you - the last owners of my home went crazy with the weed suppressing fabric and woodchip and it is SUCH a mess. I'm constantly finding strings of black plastic and there are still sections that are a matted mess of plastic, woodchip and weeds. So don't worry - I won't be going down that route! All my woodchip paths in the garden are cardboard and then woodchip and I would do the same on the plot - but I need a mahoosive influx of woodchip and we don't have a supplier at the plot. Good luck with your paths - hope it won't be too much longer till it is all gone!
Grrr … the strings of plastic … they drive me crazy! Only about a quarter of my paths are wood chip - gate to shed, around polytunnel and a couple of raised beds. I installed them because of the mud in the winter and generally they do a good job so maybe with your plot flooding in parts, wood chip paths will work for you. The rest of my paths are grass and I love them. They take about an hour of maintenance a week in the spring and summer.
So where’s this big rant? I was hoping for an x rated sweary tirade of ffing and jeffing 😂. I think slugs are not covered in the Geneva convention so a disappointing tut and furrowed brow might not be the answer to control the little buggers. Enjoy Wimbledon and a well needed break Kerry!
Oh I feel your pain when it feels like everything is against you 😒 Would you be allowed to put some wood edging round/down the side of the plot to define the boundary? You do amazing with the plot, garden and working full time, be kind to yourself 😊
Aw thank you. Yes, on Sunday I managed to get some logs from the 'dumpy area' on site and I've laid them out along another bit of the boundary to differentiate between my bed and my neighbour's 'path' - it'll be another nice habitat for insects too (and, alas, slugs no doubt - how do we make nice areas for biodiversity without also encouraging loads of slugs?? I don't know). I've noticed some other plot holders putting up boundaries now, esp those next to particularly weedy plots and I do think there's an argument for protecting your beds against a neighbour's weed seeds... I've had no telling off yet anyway! 🤣
Oh Kerry. Everyone has a limit and all those set backs are enough to have made most of us ranty too. Your channel is generally uplifting but it’s always genuine and the trials and tribulations are part of that journey. Enjoy your break.. relax.. and snuggle Miss Dorie… enjoying the berries See you on the other side ❤
Ah, Dorie frolicking in the field! 🥰 I took a cutting from a white currant in the spring, it has rooted and is growing. I only hope I can keep it alive during the winter because the berries were so sweet on that bush last year, and I'm planning to move somewhere with a garden in the future and would love to bring my own currant to it. Good decision, enjoy your well earned time off!
Yes, I should really do some currant propagating so I can add more bushes to the plot, esp the pink currant (that one is on the front garden so I didn't show it this week but it had the prettiest berries - just beautiful). Thank you Trude and for all your support for the channel💕😊
😂I recently found your channel I think I saw you on Grow Up podcast. I love your dog my friend has one named Sigmund . I think your spirit is great we all need to release occasionally. I wanted to ask if it's possible to Swap some of Your Austrian Cabbage seed for some you may not have. I am in America and have been Longing to grow it but can't find seed. I would be Ever so grateful ❤ I really love your home garden also ❤❤
Ah welcome! I'm glad you found me - and Dorie! Let me check what I have left because I've been giving that seed away quite a bit - do you want to send me an email with your address (dogontheplot@gmail.com)
I did - sort of 🤣 I got second-best newcomer's plot. This year's judging is happening next week - I don't think I'll be in the running for best plot this year!!🤣🤣
Hi I was wondering if you have electricity at your allotment site? If not with what kind of strimmer do you use? I have just got a plot after 10 years on the waiting list and from the time of viewing to getting the keys the grass and weeds had grown to waist height. Now I need to invest in an instrument that can tackle the weeds and grass and just can't decide whether to get a strimmer or lawnmower or both and whether cordless (battery) or petrol would be better? Love your channel keep up the great work
We don't, no. I have a battery powered strimmer. I do have a push along mower but the ground is far too uneven for it, so that was a no go. A battery strimmer might not be powerful enough for what you need - you could hire a petrol one? Our site has a communal petrol one. But congratulations on finally getting a plot - what an incredibly long wait!!! Wishing you the best of luck with it. They are such special places (for all my moaning!) - enjoy 💕🌱
Its the slugs or your veg! I appreciate killing things isn't ideal, even plants and discarding seedlings. I go around after dark and remove them, sending them to the pub, so they can get merry and go somewhere else, by way of a tub of beer. However, it's not shall we say inexpensive. However, growing veg is a lot of work, and disheartening when they destroy your efforts.
I hear you. I think this year has been a bit of a perfect storm of poor weather, loads of pests, and not enough time. It's all lessons to be learnt! Some things we can control, some things we can't. I'm looking forward to the fantastical year of perfect weather where everything thrives... 🤣🤣 (keeps dreaming...)
Our plot paths are the same Kerry, always trying to catch before they spread their grass seed into the beds. Didn't know whether to crop, sow, prick out or mow the grass the other day. Its full on and we can only do what we can with the time we have.
They are a random mix of all sorts - I just poured all my seed packets into one bowl and sowed. I think it might be less about the variety and more about the way they are grown - I say this with no knowledge of what I did right!!
I have considered that - problem is the moats between the beds and paths... and then that the beds tend to be mounded. If I could do it all again, I would rotavate the WHOLE plot to flatten it and just start afresh...
That was lovely. Very entertaining. Could you video your cousin when they next visit? Enjoy Wimbledon and your break. Btw, who are your favourites in tennis? 😉❤️🥎🥂
Aw thank you Jimmy. Haha - I'll do a secret filming! I like watching the Brits - got Emma Raducanu on now. Keeping fingers crossed that Murray will play tomorrow! Everyone else I just cheer for the cutest/funniest/sassiest! I used to have such a crush on Ernst Gulbis 😋💕
