Hydro Allotments at Mallow Homes & Garden Festival

 It is the third year we have been invited to make a garden for the Mallow festival, a big event on the gardeners calender in the south.We have had very heavy rains and our whole site had to be covered with bark mulch.It was not just a 'show' garden visitors came in and walked around and asked questions about the allotments and produce.
Some of the veg which was grown in the garden school beds.

 We had a shed, Angela cooked up some delicious food on a camping gas stove for us each day.We had nettle soup,banana bread, courgette cake, baked ham with new potatoes and this afternoon Zwena was making a nettle tea!
One of the raised beds which were made,painted and filled onsite

We  erected a picket fence to surround the garden, there were happy hens in an ark and they  laid eggs each day and  children were fascinated when we opened the nestbox to show them

Rosie demonstrating how to wash spuds! As one of large family when there was no running water, the spuds were put into a bucket with some water and moved around using a stick or broom handle and the potatoes were cleaned in double quick time.Angela then cooked the spuds for our Sunday lunch!

back on the allotment, Kathryn gave our scarecrow a complete makeover! He looks quite scary to me, a bit like a gangster

We had torrential rain which flooded homes and businesses in low lying areas.This is a housing estate near me where the residents had to be evacuated the water rose so fast.

The shed where Angela cooked up our tasty treats, with the water barrel and the edible hanging basket with strawberries, nasturtiums, cherry tomato and salad leaves.

Friday and Sat were lovely sunny days at the festival but today was back to cold and wet.Our strawberry barrel was the centre of attention each day, holes were cut at random in the sides of the bin.There is a lengthof plastic piping down the centre with holes drilled to distribute water evenly throughout the barrel.There are wheels on the bin so it is easly moved.We also have a herb one in the allotments.