Mastodawn

My Wildlife Allotment

This is my third allotment which I got in 2018. It has the newt pond which is the largest of the 4 ponds I have. The pond is home to the newts, dragonfly larvae, water beetles and many other animals. Hedgehogs, foxes and many birds use it for drinking and bathing. I have also planted many fruit trees such as pear trees, plums, apples, apricots and a large peach tree. And it is full of flowers in summer 🙂 #allotment #gardening

Disisdeguey🔻PalestineAction🇵🇸3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment Nice place 🌷⚘️⚘️🦎

My Wildlife Allotment 3d ago

@disisdeguey Thank you :-) I don`t have a garden at home so this is my allotment garden for relaxing and gardening.

Broadfork 3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment Wonderful. So much biodiversity. Your plot neighbours are extremely lucky to have you there.

My Wildlife Allotment 3d ago

@Broadfork Thank you :-). I just keep planting as I like growing plants so much and love seeing all the wildlife come to my allotment. This is my garden space as I don`t have a garden at home.

Broadfork 3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment Having no outdoor garden space was why I first started on an allotment. Your plot looks a real haven for a wide range of wildlife. It’s fabulous.

Unfortunately we have some eager muntjac who like to browse on fresh growth and growing tips so a lot of my plot is fenced in some way, not enough to stop them, but it does deter them.

Eggs now in different baskets.3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment Lovely to see other people's ideas as to what an allotment is.

My Wildlife Allotment 3d ago

@the_wub For me this is my garden space as I don`t have a garden at home. That is why it does not look like a traditional allotment. I love growing plants and attract wildlife. Luckily we have very relaxed allotment rules, as long as the plot is cultivated people can grow what they want, flowers, fruit and/or vegetables. Not allowed are too many weeds and large trees which is fair enough.

Eggs now in different baskets.3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment Over the years I have been interested in concepts such as multi-layered agroforestry where ground plants, bushes and trees are integrated into a self sustaining ecosystem.

One of my grandfathers practiced a similar system in his suburban back garden with fruit trees, roses/fuchsias and vegetables mixed in with each other.

It is nice to see agroforestry concepts in use in such a small space.

Conny Nasch 3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment we have a pond which attract an occasional visit from a duck couple, has many frogs and fish. The occasional snake and lots of insects, which are increasingly rare in Europe. Of course, it is also a drinking place for many wild birds 😁 However, not quite as wild as this pond, which is beautiful and reminds me of the one in front of my home in South Africa.

My Wildlife Allotment 3d ago

@connynasch Thank you. The pond has a butyl liner and I used lot`s of stones to disguise the liner to make it look more natural. Attached is a photo of how it looked like in 2018, just after I finished building it. I had ducks visiting once too but they ate a lot of my pond plants so I was not happy. The frogs have moved to the frog pond which is smaller and warmer. Nice about the snake, I had a grass snake one year, I bet it ate some of the frogs!

Conny Nasch 3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment 😁

ĞÖKÜ👻👻™3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment beautiful place 😍

Möhre67 3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment
I "own" one allotment, the size 650 sqm. I am a gardener by proffession since round about 35 years, therefore there is a certain infrastructure I can rely on. I am quite often in the garden and I wonder: how do you manage 4 allotments?

My Wildlife Allotment 3d ago

@carrottom It is really just 3 allotments plus the wildflower area at the allotment entrance. In total 625sqm plus 100sqm for the wildflower area. So not much more what you have. It really is a matter of staying on top of it at all times, I am there most weekends and often 1h in the morning before work. But it is really not so much work as I don`t grow many vegetables anymore. I mostly grow fruit, perennial veg and lots of flowers. Weeds don`t grow much anymore and I cut back on watering.

MostlyTato 3d ago

@MyWildlifeAllotment
Looks lovely! I do wish I had a bigger pond, but my entire allotment is equipped on a budget if zero, so I only get what I find or am given. My little pond does have newts in it this year though, which I'm very chuffed about.

My Wildlife Allotment 3d ago

@MostlyTato Thank you :-) I do have 3 smaller ponds which I created on a much smaller budget. One is just a large container I was given for free which I buried in the ground and added some pond plants. It is home to several frogs. Great you have some newts this year. You don`t need a large pond to attract wildlife 🙂