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Alan Phillips is an organic gardener who grows fruit and vegetables at his plot at the Weald Allotments in Hove. Here, he will be explaining his love for growing his own.

Daffodils

I WANDERED lonely as a cloud -on my allotment, and there, below the bended Ash, was Hove ablaze in golden poetry.

Love me , Love my seediness

Seedy Sunday, 7 February: halfway to St. Valentine’s day, halfway to heaven. Love me, love my seeds.

The Constant Gardener

What makes a constant gardener? What makes a man for all seasons? Dick Jones gives us the answer.

The Birds and the Bees...and Honey traps

When I began this blog I promised to write about hot beds, the birds and the bees and getting to know your onions. I want to be faithful to you, even though it will soon be time for seedy Sunday in Brighton.

Bonfires: a symbol of purity?

There is little to match a blazing bonfire on a cold blue crisp day, when even the warmed mulled wine and hot home baked cakes struggle to touch your toes. I try to keep it quiet that this is also a potash party....

Snow,snow ...sloe sloe gin

Is it nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune , or to take up arms against a seizure of slow gin and by opposing end it. Read on say I

Lottie in cloud computer land

Fantasizing about Lottie is about as tempted as many people come in Brighton to touching, feeling, smelling, tasting the good life. How many people have seen lettuce bolt, beans run or the fruit go pear shaped? It’s no surprise that fantasizing for farms is all the vogue with virtual Farmville

November is a mournful month.

Reflections of November. November is a mournful month, with dark storms and heavy skies, lawns littered with leaves waiting for the worms to draw them down in the wet, wet soil or for winds to swirl them away into the bravely flowering nasturtiums.

Moctecmuza’s Delight.

Do you love Mocteczuma and his rich, black indigenous cobs? If so enjoy it and his life style while you can.

A Blaze of Glory

I always wonder why politicians and bankers do not learn from Lottie; they should go out in a blaze of glory.

A good week for frogs

This is not a comment on the Conservative party and their failure to call for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and the diplomatic implications for France that wants a stronger Europe. No this is a comment on something more important, why Lottie likes frogs' legs.

Ode to Autumn Lottie

The end of September and the end of Lottie? Certainly the end of our Indian summer and those dreamy sunny days, as autumn arrives I need to anticipate next spring.

Seedy Lottie

It has been suggested that Lottie is promiscuous, which is offensive and takes anthropomorphism to a new level; however the same cannot be said about some about her offspring. You have to take great care where the offspring have been, who their neighbours are and what visitors they have been associating with. It is important to take precautions. Cucumbers for example have to be handled with care, not least of all the heritage long prickly varieties such as Mr. Lockie's Perfection

Climate Camp and Allotments

This week I wanted to dedicate some photos to the Climate Camp and to my allotment neighbours Jake and Helen and others from Sussex, who will be representing those concerned about the environment. Hopefully this time an innocent passer by will not be killed nor will the peaceful protesters be kettled in.