Mud & Moppets

The girls and I have a small allotment plot (think dining table sized raised bed) and last year we grew lots of yummy stuff - mange tout, french beans, purple carrots, beetroot...). We haven't been down there for about a month because of the snow we had in Letchworth Garden City - about 4 inches sitting around for 2 weeks! So today we made the short expedition to see how things were.

What we found was some stunted swede, which nobody likes anyway, some struggling chinese greens and about a gazillion worms. It looks like we need to plan what goes in next, but it is too early for the interesting stuff,plus anything that goes in now will have to stay in there for most of the year and I am loathed to give over the space. So do I want to put in garlic or cabbage that will take up the space that could later be used for mange touts? Or do I want to leave it empty for another few months? It's not an easy decision, especially as I am waiting to hear about getting a grown-up sized allotment, which will not have space limitations.

The girls poked about in the dirt and made a collection of worms (apparently they needed to make friends with each other). Then the 6 nearly 7 year old decided it was a smart idea to stand ankle deep in the stickiest mud in Hertfordshire. That's OK, I don't mind a bit of healthy dirt when it is from fun and exploration...

We walked home and the girls were instructed to take off shoes, socks and muddy jeans at the front door. I went into the kitchen to sort out the swedes. The next thing I know, there is mud all over the tiled hallway and on the living room carpet. Guess which 6 year old was handed a cloth to clean up after herself? (on the basis that by cleaning it up she will remember why she needs to leave her dirty stuff at the front door).