Allotment is looking so lovely in the Autumn light, much warmer and softer than the bright summer sunshine (not that we had a lot if it this year). Anyway, planted out 3 rows of blood red chard and 4 rows of winter lettuces.

Garlic has sprouted

I planted elephant garlic, pink lady and high vigour white pearl garlic a couple of weeks ago along with 2 varieties of over wintering onions, Radar and Senshyu yellow. They're all on their merry way.



I've covered them over since taking these pictures but it's good to see the little green shoots.

Coldfall Wood - Stream

Just like our allotment, Coldfall Wood sits on the slope of a hill and has a rainwater run-off/stream meandering through it. Over the course of the summer they have created a water system using shallow pools and dams and what I think is a reed bed, its brilliant. We have an issue with our streams as they have pollution running into them from the houses on Creighton Avenue but I've been thinking of ways to filter the water as it runs through the allotments and this 'bed' system looks like a good idea, using gravel and plants, maybe even charcoal. Anyway, its an idea that needs more ponderance.

Coldfall Woods Autumn

East Finchley Allotments are right next to the most beautiful wooded area called Coldfall Wood. We take the dogs in there sometimes. It is absolutely stunning this time of year, took these photos on the 29th September. We are so lucky to have an old wood like this on our allotment doorstep, that you can be in the heart of London and be surrounded by trees.

Leaf mould

Last autumn I made a leafmould bin with chicken wire and a few stakes. I collected bags of leaves left by the council on the roadside, must have looked a bit crazy but hey everyone's used to it by now. Actually most of the leaves were from the London Plane trees that so elegantly grace so many of our streets here in sunny North London. I've been told that they take longer to rot down due to their robust nature but you have to work with what nature provides so I tipped them all in, fishing out unwanted rubbish, sweet wrappers and the like. I stood on it a few times too to get more in, covered it with a carpet and forgot about it... until now. Check it out.