2014 Blogger competition entries

Our first Blogger entry is from http://vegplotting.blogspot.co.uk/

A friend once described my blog as 'like a well stocked department store; there's something for everyone on every floor' and another as 'quirky and fun'

Veg Plotting isn't just about the veg I grow on my allotment, my allotment is the place where much of the inspiration for my blog's content comes from. There are stories about my garden, my travels, seasonal recipes and of course plenty of fruit and veg. My 52 Week Salad Challenge is now in its third year with its regular Salad Days feature on the fourth Friday of the month. I also love the sense of community I have with my blog, from readers old and new, plus people joining in with all kinds of events and schemes such as my virtual Shows of Hands project for the Chelsea Fringe earlier this year.

Our next entry is from Matt at http://www.mattsplot.co.uk/

Matt's Plot is in it's infancy, but is already taking form and finding it's audience. It's a blend of practical gardening advice and reflections on the therapeutic value of horticulture.

My allotment, as for many, is a place I can feel accomplished , a place I can relax and a place I can learn.

Matt's Plot helps me express what I learn about gardening and myself. I research my posts via the internet, whether that be on forums and groups or academic papers and articles.

I'm really pleased with the response I've had so far to Matt's Plot and look forward to developing the blog into the future.

This is Kay's entry from http://www.thisweekinthegarden.co.uk

This week in the garden is my own journal to record what I do each week and take note of my successes and failures. I use the blog to plan my planting and think ahead and store recipes and share with others who are interested. It is full of permaculture ideas, recipes, gardening tips and information about growing food in the North of England. My goal is to move towards a fully sustainable lifestyle.

Next up is Jonathon's entry - kitchengardenblog.co.uk

I started this blog in May last year, writing about our then fairly new kitchen garden project, along with creating a small orchard, beekeeping, and looking after our chickens. After a while I started adding some recipes using the seasonal ingredients available from the garden. I have a particular interest in exploring some of the older traditional varieties, especially of fruit, which is reflected in many of the posts. In some ways, I am an old fashioned gardener, much inspired by the great walled gardens of the 1800s, frequently referring to old texts from the period, and preferring open pollinated varieties. We adopt an organic approach and do not use any synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, or pesticides, on the plot.

From Sam here's - http://thehilltopgardener.blogspot.co.uk/

My blog is based around the goings on in my garden this year. Having moved to a new house last November I took on the task of transforming overgrown flowerbeds, bushes and weeds into something more productive. The intention was to grow as many fruit and vegetables as possible, along with keeping our first ducks and chickens,this has largely been a success. Being a bit of a novice the blog shows the successes as well as the failures that I have had throughout the past few months,, hopefully something that every reader can relate to.

Here is an entry from the Atkin family - http://plot2b.net/

I got the keys for Plot 2B on 1st May last year. This is my first attempt to grow fruit and veg myself, although I did help my Dad on his allotment 30 years ago. As is often the case the allotment was overgrown with weeds and in need of tidying up, but did have a few good features like a shed, path, some raised beds and raspberry canes and a grapevine. My allotment blog has recorded the progress as I’ve tried to change the plot into a source of food for the family with the assistance of my wife and 3 year old daughter. I tweet the blog posts and add them to a Facebook page as well. The posts are a mixture of updates from the plot about what I’m growing, what works well, and what hasn’t worked. But also I post about how we use the produce – most typically in making jam from the soft fruit. My readership this year has grown from 40 views in April to 147 in July.

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