Tuesday 19 January 2021
Bonnie Robinson
My allotment borders an ancient flood plain and so digging is firmly off the menu in January. The occasional rogue fennel plant can be plucked from the waterlogged ground with a satisfying squelch but otherwise I do my best to not walk on the soil and let the worms do their work. Waiting for longer, warmer days and for the soil to dry out is a test of patience but it does make time to prepare and plan for the upcoming year of cultivation.
I always keep a garden notebook of sorts but this year I have taken inspiration from bullet journalling and pre-filled a spread for each month. There is now a space to fill with a list of what I need to plant, a calendar in which to note down what is doing well, and another section for ideas gleaned from trips to gardens and from peering at other people’s plots. I take snaps on my phone and then print out them out on my tiny Sprocket printer as a visual reminder of each month’s glories and what I’d li