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Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

The 2015 Allotment / Veg Patch Thread - it's here!

999 replies

TheSpottedZebra · 14/01/2015 21:43

Yes, it's the thread you've all been waiting for, a place to chit chat about your allotment or fruit and veg patch - however big it may be. Even if it currently only imaginary or no bigger than a pot of growing basil from the supermarket.

Come discuss your plans, your seeds, your learnings from previous years and your goals for this year. All levels of knowledge welcome, from absolute beginner, to enthusiastic 2nd year-er (me!), to anyone else.

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agoodbook · 02/02/2015 22:07

It sounds like you are not going to change them then - no point banging your head against a brick wall!
I must admit, I have my tomatoes at home so I can keep the watering nice and regular - I don't get up to the allotment every day.
We had blight on potatoes about 3 years ago, at the allotments - not sure that anyone got away scott free, even those spraying and such. it was just a dank summer .
I have just received my first potatoes, so chitting has officially started :)

Original poster
TheSpottedZebra · 02/02/2015 22:14

I spent a few hours on the plot today, and unfortunately it seems a lot bit weedier than I had first thought. So operation Weed Bash is a go, but unfortunately I don't really have a clue. Is it worth me trying to dig now, or should I wait a few weeks until the weather warms up a bit? Is it worth me putting down a bit of plastic sheeting? On top of weeds, or once I've got rid? If so, any tips, and what's the best material to use?

Can anyone help id this thing - is it a dock?

The 2015 Allotment / Veg Patch Thread - it's here!
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WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 02/02/2015 22:27

No it's not a dock. I don't think they are out at this time of year. Not sure what it is though!

Good point about the tomato watering - however I can get to my plot at least every other day and I do get someone to water that when we're on holiday in August, I don't get the garden watered.

I started chitting today too, found a space on top of a display cabinet in the dining room for them.

Original poster
TheSpottedZebra · 02/02/2015 22:33

I had about 2 mins of hope that it was potato. But then that passed.

Your comment about toms and pots -should they not grow together then? Is it that they can share/pass blight? I'll grow my time at home, as even tho the plot is just up the road, I'd still rather the toms be nearer!

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agoodbook · 02/02/2015 22:38

Not a dock I don't think - not sure really - useless !
I must admit I am a digger - I get real buzz from going and digging
but- I do try to do it in manageable chunks. so I will go and look and think right- I am going to do that area there , or I will dig for an hour. You will soon get an idea of how much work you have to do in your available time and adjust whether you need to cover or not. Does your allotment allow you to cover? , as some don't, but you will need something fairly tough ,that doesn't allow sunlight through it and plenty of bricks to weight it down.( Not sure about carpet - they can have a lot of weird stuff in them )
Personally, I would start weed clearing now - its never too early, and its before all the weeds really get going as its cold ( well, it is here!)
It will also give you a good idea about the soil as well- is it dry/damp/clay or loamy does it drain well- all those things you only get from working on it!

AmantesSuntAmentes · 02/02/2015 22:39

Spotted, the material you're thinking of is landscaping fabric/ weed membrane? Black stuff, which let's water drain through but no sunlight.

If I was going to use it, I'd put it down after weeding, at this time of year and I'd probably wait for the ground to soften before digging. (We've even had a sub zero temp here, today!).

So, weed membrane's better for use as weed control than weed killer, iyswim?

Opinions will vary on this one, no doubt Grin

AmantesSuntAmentes · 02/02/2015 22:39

Spotted, the material you're thinking of is landscaping fabric/ weed membrane? Black stuff, which let's water drain through but no sunlight.

If I was going to use it, I'd put it down after weeding, at this time of year and I'd probably wait for the ground to soften before digging. (We've even had a sub zero temp here, today!).

So, weed membrane's better for use as weed control than weed killer, iyswim?

Opinions will vary on this one, no doubt Grin

agoodbook · 02/02/2015 22:42

spotted they are the same family of plants, so you need to keep them apart really!

agoodbook · 02/02/2015 22:47

amantes - If I waited for the ground to soften, I would lose too much time! - Though you had a sub zero temp today Grin I weede my strawberries yesterday in the sleet - ground wasn't all that hard to dig like the other week. WhoKnows , my potatoes are lounging on the spare bed!

AmantesSuntAmentes · 02/02/2015 22:50

Yes! Briefly Grin and some strange white stuff in the air Confused

WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes · 02/02/2015 22:52

Because of the lack of car access, getting bricks to ours is a problem, we pegged down black membrane last year but the pegs ended up ripping it all. I saw someone else had had a great idea, they had taken masses of empty 2L milk bottles up there, filled them with water and used those to hold their's in place.

agoodbook · 02/02/2015 22:54

OOH - a good idea ! Mind you, I am a blatant looker in at skips :) and shamelessly ask if I can take the bricks if they don't want them. I always run out in summer when all the netting is out to stop the birds feasting

Original poster
TheSpottedZebra · 02/02/2015 23:01

Ooh thanks for comments. Might get me some weed control fabric then (we're def. allowed that kind of thing), and then I can crack on and do bits and bobs and put that down. I was thinking of going again tomorrow, hut it's oddly snowing. it never snows here! LOVE the water in plastic bottles idea -I have stashes of bottles already but no bricks to hand. I do have big piles of stones though.

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Original poster
TheSpottedZebra · 02/02/2015 23:09

Right, I have anot her question for you -compost this time. I've just been chucking my frozen, rotten apples on to the pile along with grass. Bit then I noticed that he stuff underneath is not rotted down at all - eg there are some large potatoes in there. Am I ok to just keep chucking stuff on top or do I need to cover it, take it all our and mix it up a bit, etc etc? Im happy to play the long game, and will probably need to make another bay too...

The 2015 Allotment / Veg Patch Thread - it's here!
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minkGrundy · 03/02/2015 00:11

Compost- just keep covering it.

You can use cardboard instead of weed sheet. You can hoe the weeds off, cardboard, water it and mulch over it then once you are ready to use that section, dig it all in (pulling out weed roots as you go). It just holds the ground till you are ready.

You shouldn't turn over soil when it is too cold though. If you bury frost it stays frozen and the soil takes forever to warm up.

You can also put down clear plastic sheeting with a space between it and the soil. It acts as a soil warmer but also encourages the weeds to come on early. You then lift the plastic, clear the weeds and plant. That stops the weed seeds germinating at the same time as your crop iyswim.

The rule is, until the weeds get going properly, nothing else will either. So don't plant too early.

minkGrundy · 03/02/2015 00:14

And that might be turnip?

Sootball · 03/02/2015 16:10

There was this funny white stuff all over my veg patch this morning, unfortunately the way that things worked this was the only day this week I could get my onions and garlic in so raked the soil, planted and then covered with horticultural fleece, and then covered the raised bed with scaffolding net on hoops to keep off the worst of the weather.

I catalogued my seed collection last week, I have 200+ seed packets including flowers. Whoops.

Sootball · 03/02/2015 19:31

Question

How do you tell the difference between summer and autumn raspberries?

agoodbook · 03/02/2015 21:13

mmmmm Sootball - until they actually fruit its a bit tricky - I sort of mentioned it up thread. Have you already got them, and don't know ? A lot of is variety- when they fruit, and how they have been pruned.

Sootball · 03/02/2015 21:27

What happened was I bought 9 raspberry (2 x varieties of summer and 1 x autumn) canes a year ago, they turned up as bare root plants. Dd1 was very ill the week they arrived and DH quickly heeled them in. Fast forward a year and we have no idea which is which!

agoodbook · 03/02/2015 21:37

ahhhhh! I think that may be a problem then- Summer rasps fruit approx June - September and autumn ones from August- October/November, depending on variety and where you are. Summer rasps fruit on previous years canes, so you cut out all the old fruiting canes (after fruiting) and everything else apart from the best 6-8 new canes to fruit next year. Autumn raspberries you cut everything down in February, and the rasps come on that years canes. So- can you leave them to fruit this year where they are heeled in, and mark them up when they have fruited ?

Cedar03 · 04/02/2015 08:01

I noticed someone else on the allotments has used tarpaulins and then used metal tent pegs to weigh it down. Looks neater than the rubble I'm using to hold mine down.

With the raspberries I agree that the best thing is to wait and see when they fruit otherwise you might end up pruning off the new fruiting canes which is what my friend did to hers last year.

AmantesSuntAmentes · 04/02/2015 09:26

I whittled little wooden stakes from old kindling, to hold our weed membrane down. They're pretty inconspicuous, go in easily with a hammer and last for a good few years Smile

Original poster
TheSpottedZebra · 04/02/2015 10:08

With regard to weed membrane / tarpaulin etc - is one as good as another? I don't have anything like that hanging about so have to buy it. But I don't want to waste money needlessly, but I do want something that works - any recommendations?

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MissMysticFalls · 04/02/2015 10:34

Just heard on a frugal thread that you can plant the root of celery that you buy in a supermarket (after eating the top bits presumably!) and it will grow a new set of stems. Anyone tried that?

Going to leave my raspberries unpruned (those that haven't been cut back by the previous tenant) to see what happens.

Really getting fed up knowing the new plot is there waiting for me and I can't get to it yet to start digging but hoping to be able to take a break from work on Saturday.