Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

It's the end of 2022 so Peter, Rachel and Tim sit down to reflect on the year and run through their allotment resolutions for 2023!

As part of the reflection we discuss the changing cliamte focusing on the  summer drought and February storms. We also explore the three categories of: 'top performers', 'could do betters' and our 'grow more of'.  We triumph in our tomatoes, sulk on sweetcorns and commit to looking after our soil as it feels the pressure of our heating climate.

Inspired by Joy Larkcom's piece title 'New Year Resolutions' from 1974 article for 'Kitchen Garden' that can be found in her book, Just Vegetating,  we also run through our own allotment resolutions for 2023. 

It has been a fantastic first year podcasting. Thank you to everyone who has subscrbed, commented on twitter, left reviews and shared allotment inspiration. If you have any questions or requests for episodes please do get in touch:

Email: [email protected]
Twitter / Instagram: @sunflowerpod1 

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

In the second of our two-part series with incredible gardener and author Joy Larkcom, Tim and Peter discuss Joy's general garden observations and tips. This includes her passion for tomatoes, chilies, and sweet peas  along with her advice for sowing direct v modules. Joy also shares her advice and enthusiasm on intercropping, mulching, organic gardening and saving seeds.

We feel so privileged to have chatted to Joy these past two episodes and we can't recommend her books highly enough for anyone interested in the practicalities of gardening advice in Grow Your Own Vegetables and to indulge yourself in writing of her memoir and travel journal of Just Vegetating: A Memoir.

Joy Larkcom, Just Vegetating: A Memoir :
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Vegetating-Memoir-Joy-Larkcom/dp/071122935X

Joy Larkcom, Grow Your Own Vegetables:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Your-Own-Vegetables-Larkcom/dp/071121963X/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=grow+your+own+vegetables&qid=1671655275&s=books&sprefix=grow+your+own+%2Cstripbooks%2C96&sr=1-3

Notes: Joy's Favourites and Tips:
Sweet peas: Matucana, Cupani, Emilia Fox
Tomato plants: Mountain Magic, Ferline and San Marzano
Sweetcorn: Supersweet varieties

Garden Museum Archive:
https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/archive/

Alys Fowler: ode to Joy Larkom (The Guardian 2012)
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/oct/19/alys-fowler-joy-larkcom

A message from Joy after listening to the first podcast in relation to the set up of her garden:

The other thing that occurred to me, at the beginning of the first podcast when I’m talking about the garden, that I never mentioned the main windbreak, which was crucial to us growing anything here. I just talked about the ‘inner windbreak’ of the fan, and the spokes of the fan protecting espalier fruit etc. 

Essentially, our first line of defence against the salt laden winds was a mighty windbreak on the two most vulnerable sides of the garden. We first put up an artificial windbreak, about 6 ft high, of very strong net battened to substantial posts concreted into the ground. Part of this was zigzagging - giving it extra strength and increased protection for the trees we then planted. 

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

We are absolutely delighted to bring you an interview with Joy Larkcom, renown gardener, journalist and author of a host of influential gardening books including Grown Your Own Vegetables and Oriental Vegetables.

When Peter and Tim first met back in March 2021, Peter swiftly placed a book into Tim's hands and said, "this will be your allotment bible", it was Joy Larkcom's Grow Your Own Vegetables.  Tim, like Peter before him, has used it religiously and they were both therefore delighted when Joy agreed to record two episodes. 

This episode focuses on the Grand Vegetable Tour that Joy and her family embarked upon in 1977. It was a pioneering adventure-on-a-shoestring that focused on the research of native salad plants. The results would be seismic and changed the commercial salad industry forever. In this episode Peter, Rachel and Tim discuss her vegetable tour as well as her career as a journalist and author, along with her continual passion for gardening.  

If you have any questions, please do get in touch via email or social media:
Email: [email protected] 
Twitter and Instagram: @sunflowerpod1

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

In our second installment on Fruit Trees, Tim and Peter head to the allotment to plant a plum tree! From surveying the plot, to sighting, digging, adding manure and planting, Peter and Tim discuss the process while planting a Victoria Plum.

If you have any questions or ideas for a an episode, please do get in touch via email or social media
Email: [email protected] 
Twitter and Instagram: @sunflowerpod1

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

This week we are celebrating National Tree Week by releasing two special episodes on fruit trees! 

In this episode, Rachel and Peter discuss choosing fruit trees and tips on how to plan trees including sighting, steaking, compost and location. 

Both Peter and Tim have been mulling over buying fruit trees this year so Rachel discusses the benefits of bare root and container trees along with potted trees for gardens and patios. 

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch, please do message via Twitter and Instagram on:
@sunflowerpod1 
Or email: [email protected] 

National Tree Week Link:
https://treecouncil.org.uk/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week/

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!  

During this episode Peter and Tim have a natter with the allotment association volutneers about their annual site tradition: Potato Day. We discuss the planning for this community event, along with the importance of the assoication to the allotment community. We finish the episode discussing the jobs for December including green manure, moving ruhbarb, planting trees and the all important tidying! 

We are also delighted to announce that later in December we have an interview with the great Joy Larkcom! 

Thanks for listening, we are having a great time recording the podcast. If you would like to get in contact with any questions or episode ideas, please do get in touch:
Email - [email protected]
Twitter - @sunflowerpod1
Instagram - @sunflowerpod1 

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

This week we return to Rachel's plot and discuss how we can add some colour to our plot by planting flowers, notably bulbs for Spring. Rachel also attempts to persuade Peter to plant beans and they both discuss the Autumn allotment  jobs!

To see some pictures of our visit head to our Twitter and Instagram pages!

Any questions, ideas or comments? Get in touch:
Email: [email protected] 
Tweet: @sunflowerpod1 
Instagram: @sunflowerpod1

Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast!

In this episode Peter and Tim visit Rachel's allotment and walk around her beautiful plot. We meet her friendly chickens, discuss the benefits of her pond, revel in the inventiveness of her Frankenstein greenhouse and and get inspired by the endless flowers and and shrubs which makes it such a stunning space. 

To see some pictures of our visit head to our Twitter and Instagram pages!

Any questions, ideas or comments? Get in touch:
Email: [email protected] 
Tweet: @sunflowerpod1 
Instagram: @sunflowerpod1 

Welceom back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast! 

This week we discuss that all important matter of compost! Rachel (compost enthusiast) discusses the importance of soil, green and brown compost, compost storage and leaf mould. 

As ever we also discuss our jobs on the plot this week during  and Rachel provides us with an update on her chickens! 

How do you do your compost? do you have any tips we can share next week? Please do get in  contact! Any ideas, tips or topic suggestions are always appreciated. 

Email: [email protected] 
Twitter: @sunflowerpod1
Instagram: @sunflowerpod1

 Welcome back to the Sunflower Allotment Podcast! 

...And welcome to Rachel, our new Sunflower Allotment co-host! Rachel joins us with real expertise and during the first section Rachel exlpains how her love for her allotments led her towards a career change towards professional gardening via an RHS course. 

This episode also focuses on butternut squash as Peter celebrates a bumper year of 50 squashes. Peter explains his process from plot to fork, including the best way to dry your butternut squash to achieve a fabulous flavour! Rachel also discusses how to preserve the last of the vegetables and fruits into those darker winter months. 

Finally, as it's the start of October, we discuss the jobs for the month ahead including weeding, adding green matter, lifting and picking the remaining fruit and planting winter veg. 

Thanks for listening. Please do get in touch:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Sunflowerpod1
Instagram:  @Sunflowerpod1