Clairesallotment's Blog

Challock Chilli Fest 2017
7 & 8 October 2017, 10.30 am – 4pm daily

There are Chilli Festivals and there are Chilli Festivals, and we’ve been to more than one or two where we’ve struggled to find a fresh Chilli – let alone a Chilli Plant! At Victoriana our Chilli Fest is just a little bit different – it’s all about the Chilli!

This year we will have over 180 different varieties of chillies and peppers to taste, complemented by many stalls selling sauces, chutneys, and jams, as well as foods to eat on the day from local Game to Indian Street Food to Italian Favourites cooked in a wood fired oven. And to drink everything from Chilli Beer to Chilli Bellinis! Couple that with a range of arts and craft stalls (who all have to sell at least one Chilli-themed item) and you have the perfect event for the lover of all things Chilli. We think it’s safe to say that we go ‘Chilli Mad’ for the weekend!

Entry to our Chilli Fest is just £2.50 (free for children) with £1.00 of every entry fee being donated to The Mission For Seafarers. Our expert growers (and eaters!) are on hand to offer advice and information about all the varieties we have grown and lead you through a tasting experience. And all those 180 varieties of Chilli fruits will be available to purchase for the ultimate Pick Your Own! Additionally we will have a large range of mature fruiting plants available to purchase. More information can be found at Challock Chilli Fest!

I know you’ve been waiting for this for such a long time….well maybe you haven’t, I don’t know, I’m just excited. To be honest it doesn’t take much to get me excited.

My latest Claire’s Allotment Essentials ebook all about TOMATOES is now available. Click HERE for more information.

Don’t forget I have several other ebooks books out as well, and they can be found HERE.

If you’ve not signed up to my newsletter you still can, just click HERE. You’ll receive my first ebook “Let’s get Started” for FREE!!

I hope you’re harvesting is going really well, and you’re really enjoying your produce. There’s nothing more tasty than freshly harvest fruits and vegetables that you’ve grown yourself.

TTFN!

Claire xx

There were a few unladylike words that escaped from my mouth as I fought to get the rest of the log roll in place with the mallet. That was until I had a light bulb moment. I didn’t film the very few expletives that I said (that’s just for me), but I did film the light bulb moment I had. The Topical Bed now looks much better and now more light can get to those smaller plants in the bottom. Now it’s just several trips to the tip to get rid of all the garden waste.

Giz, one of our chickens says “bye bye” at the end. It’s a bit quiet so make sure your volume is turned up.

While clearing the corner of the garden, I can across some holes to a possible animal hidey hole under ground. Then as I was clearing more of the debris, I came across a skeleton of a hedgehog. It had been dead for a very long time, so it wasn’t me. Just thought you would like to see, it’s fascinating. However, if you don’t like looking at that sort of thing feel free to close your eyes, or skip through that part.

Another day to play in the garden. It is hard work, honestly, but because I enjoy it, it’s rather fun. I’m very luck to be able to do this, when everyone else works so hard at school and work. But I am also the local taxi service, to and from the train station, which is 4 miles away. There’s no other way to get there, except walk, and no one wants to do that at 6am. You have to sacrifice some things, when you live in the middle of know where. So today in the garden I planted some Jerusalem Artichokes that I dug up from my allotment, and planted in pots and kept in the greenhouse. The large chokes that I dug up had rotted away, but had left some little baby chokes behind. So I planted those in the prepared raised bed, and then started clearing the mound. I wonder if I’ll find anything, and how far I’ll get? How much rubbish is there going to be? That’s the big question…….

Gardening is a bit like decorating a room. There is an awful lot of preparation to do before you can start to hang the new wall paper. You have to strip the old paper off, wash down the walls, fill in any holes, sand down the walls, wash the walls again, and then you’re ready to start hanging the new wall paper. I know, I’ve done it so many times. Luckily in our new house we just need to paint the walls, so that’s great. Gardening is very similar. It takes a lot of preparation before you can start planting. Even a small bed takes a while. You have to remove any unwanted vegetation and it’s roots, prune the plants you want to keep, clear the soil of any rubbish and large stones, make sure the soil is suitable for replanting, and then when all that is finally done you can start planting. Today was the day that I could finally plant under the willow tree. It’s taken a while to get it ready, but today the willow tree got some new neighbours, and today was they all moved in. All went well with the moving team (namely me, my trowel and my watering can), and now they’re all settled, and hopefully they’ll all get along very well.

I feel that my plan is slowly coming together. I’ve done my first planting in a newly created bed. I’m so excited. Fortunately I managed to get everything done before the thunder came and the heavens opened.

If you’re starting to plan your own garden, sign up to my news letter and get my FREE ebook called “LET’S GET STARTED”.