In And Out - Lee Moody

Crossed legs, tea in a thermos cup, a bright and pleasantly cool morning on the plot.

I slept weirdly one night and found myself at the allotment at 05:30am. It's a bloody good way to start the day, I'll say. Here I am having a tea break after an hour of digging.

My leg, visible bites, with a small globule of visible blood.

It gives me life, being at the plot, even when mosquitoes drain my life blood. It seems they're particularly active that early in the morning. All of a sudden I was viciously attacked, covered in bites and left visibly bleeding. Later in the week I drained a barrel of stagnant water and murdered the larvae which were borne of my blood.

Pretty weeds in front of a stack of bricks. Lush green, bright yellow buttercup, purples, and the magical seed heads of dandelion.

Weeds are pretty too. Also, surprisingly edible in lots of cases. It's not featured here but did you know you can eat cow parsley? Me neither. Just don't confuse it for hemlock which looks very similar and is fatally poisonous in even small quantities. I'm confident I can tell the difference now. There's lots of cow parsley around the plot, but I can't wait to find and identify hemlock whilst out and about.

Wild strawberry flowers, dainty but promising.

Wild strawberry is also edible and on the plot. It's far easier to identify. Dainty but promising.

A beautiful little frog, rich green with bright eyes. It has something covering its body, tiny white speckles.

Speaking of natural wonders, checkout my beautiful frog friend. So beautiful. A total prince. Sadly those little white speckles are from a degraded bag for life which was abandoned on the plot and burst into a billion pieces of plastic when I moved it. Filling the air, my lungs, and coating this little fella. We need to replace plastics where we can.

A small seating area against my house surrounded by plants, edible and decorative, and small potted trees. In front are multiple trays bursting with little plants in little pots, from tomatoes to corn. The sun shines bright and flares the photo.

At home, seedlings have been in and out, getting used to outdoor life. Hardening off. I was so focused on introducing them to cooler weather, bringing them in at night, that I forgot to watch out for the heat. They went from a humid window sill to scorching patio... everything is a little yellow and a little crispy now. Totally viable but no doubt set back. I have learnt, and look forward to another run at it next year.

A baby bok choi held aloft, light shines through holes which peppers its foliage.

Baby bok choi, sowed early April has become my first (non-foraged) harvest. The rows were pretty wrecked by slugs and flea beetle, now they've started to bolt in the heat. Nevertheless, a tasty crop that's finding its way into multiple meals.

A hearty portion of tofu, noddles, and greens steam in a pasta bowl.

A Japanese inspired noodle dish. A hearty portion of tofu, noddles, and greens including baby bok choi, garlic chives, and basil mint from the garden.

Egg fried rice with greens steams in an attractive bowl, white and decorated with a blue geometric pattern. Chop sticks rest on top.

A Chinese inspired egg fried rice, with baby bok choi.

An open car boot with three bags of peat-free compost, three bags of manure, seaweed feed, and rope.

Learning to drive means I can spend endless money on manure and compost at will. This is an expensive but very rewarding hobby... gotta get those compost bins built.

Two rows of four brassica seedlings, with a fine mesh covering.

Didn't totally keep track of my brassicas, sowed early April. I struggled to get good results with the little seedling tray and have no brussels at all. I've mixed up my cauliflower and purple sprouting seedlings. Something is planted out though, including two cavolo nero from my allotment buddy. It's a bed of brassica surprises! Hopefully the fine mesh will keep flea beetle off whilst they establish.

The left side of the plot. A significant area is cleared and planted. There are neat rows of small corn and tomato plants. In front the bed curves. It's in a less formal, kitchen garden style and contains a variety of plants including lettuce, spring onion, tree spinach, chard, cavolo nero, purple sprouting step broccoli, apple mint, and sweet peas.

I've got a lot in the ground this weekend. It's looking like an allotment. The rows are corn, and further back tomato plants. In front is a less formal, kitchen garden style area and contains a variety of plants including lettuce, spring onion, tree spinach, chard, cavolo nero, purple sprouting broccoli, apple mint, and sweet peas.

A top down view. A tomato plant is visible through the top of its mildly protective fleece, where the fleece wraps around the three bamboo canes which support the end of the row.

I may have jumped the gun as there will be a couple of cold nights here, around 7°C (or, "feels like" 5°C). Tomatoes I gather shouldn't drop below 10°C. They won't die, but I don't know how much they will be set back, or whether it will impact their crop. I've wrapped fleece around their support to hopefully keep a little heat and at least act as a wind break.

The right side of the plot. A significant area is cleared. Tidy rows of potatoes, onions, peas, stretch outward. Behind a tangle of weeds in full, lush growth.

Potatoes, onions, peas, all doing okay. More to follow!