Music to pick cabbages by

Prince Charles talks to his plants: I force them to listen to the Archers.

As David Aaronovitch once put it, The Archers is like syphilis - it can be inquired in two ways: heredity, and direct contact with a sufferer. In my case it was the former; listening to the omnibus edition on a Sunday morning in a kitchen steamy with veg cooking for the Sunday roast.

Nowadays I find the Archers omnibus is a great accompaniment to a session on the allotment, although Rick prefers to listen to the football on Radio Five Live. We usually take our wind-up radio and there's rarely anyone else to be bothered by Linda Snell's cut glass accent, although it has to be turned up rather loud unless I am right next to the radio.

I've also tried listening to my iPod while on the plot, but I've discovered that wires dangling from your ears are somewhat impractical for most allotment activitiies. Nevertheless, I fancy coming up with an allotment-themed playlist. After scanning through my iPod I came up with the following: Forty Shades of Green by Johnny Cash, Four Seasons in One Day by Crowded House, Hell's Ditch by the Pogues, I Smell Winter by the Housemartins, In Bloom by Nirvana, Life in a Glass House by Radiohead and Rain by Patty Griffin, although I am sure you can think of plenty more.

I'm also not averse to making my own music on the plot. I've also been known to indulge in the occasional burst of song on particularly crisp spring Sunday mornings if the site's empty, although my plot also borders a public footpath so it does attract some odd looks. Most of the time I prefer to listen to the sounds around me: the chortling of the pheasants in the neighbouring field, the sparrows bickering in the hedgerow and the distant shouts of the footballers on the rec.

I've always got some plan or project running around my head, but the space and silence helps me to find some room for contemplation. One of the ironies about writing the book is that it's actually given me less time to spend on my allotment, although given that the bulk of it will be written during the winter months, that hasn't been so much of a problem.

Monty Don has written about longing to be able to spend a guilt-free few days working in his garden, and I feel the same about the allotment. I think I am going to pencil in some "allotment weekends" in April so I can really get cracking with all the plans I have in mind. The job for this weekend is to assemble to two cold frames that have been sitting on my dining table in flat pack form for the past fortnight.

Comments

[Clare]

At first I found it easier to have a general garden themed playlist - Good Year for the Roses by Elvis Costello; the Green, Green Grass of Home by Tom Jones (even though it is about a man about to be executed!). Gradually more came to me - Above Ground by Norah Jones; Live Bed Show by Pulp; Jungle Boogie by Kool and the gang (reminds me of the blasted green manure I put in last year) and, of course, Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs.

And that was without breaking a sweat! Boy do I enjoy doing this sort of thing. you should have seen the 'Seeping Pustule' playlist I put together for my brother when he got a huge boil!

[Anna]

Then there's I can hear the grass grow - Electric Light Orchestra, Goodbye Blackberry Way and showing my age here a real golden oldie 'I'm a lonely little petunia in an onion patch' - not sure who sung this one.

I really enjoy your blog Jane and am looking forward to reading your book.