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

[TheSpottedZebra]

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.

Aalya can't see pic as I'm on phone but think I was grappling with something similar this afternoon, solid to get out and could not get to the bottom of the white root...If I'd know it was edible I would've held on to it! Horseradiash vinegar sounds nice mink, I'm a big fab of the sauce with beef.

Weather was stunning here today so have been out digging and clearing the beds, only stopping when the blisters got too bad. Also managed to turn our mahoosive compost bay which was dry as a bone in the middle (as you lot predicted) thanks to too much paper and straw from the chickens. Knowing that I had rats in there didn't stop me from screaming my head off and running for my life when one jumped out...times like these I'm glad I don't have any neighbours!

Hello everybody, may I join in please? I've enjoyed catching up with this huge thread!

I have a large garden and veg patch which is now full, so got an allotment over the road after a whole four-day wait (small village). The soil there is fab, very sandy, and has been cultivated as an allotment for about sixty years, apparently. The people who had my patch before me moved away, but were obviously the nicest people in the world as they covered the whole plot in black plastic before they left, so it's just a case of lifting the plastic and removing dead roots from the surface. DH is in full construction mode, and has built fences from pallets, an ebay shed, put up an IBC tank for water, and made raised beds for me. I am digging out couch grass and planning like mad! DS and DD want their own bed each, DH wants a chair and a beer, and I get the rest.

I love reading about everybody's plans, have put currants and cucamelons on my expanding list ....

We got to our plot on Saturday, and I managed to dig over the last bed that actually needs doing- with much huffing and puffing (24 weeks upduffed). That nearly finished me off- all 4.5 sq.metres of it! .

I actually managed to make a seed order too today- you rarely see other people on our allotments, but it seems that everyone communicates through the communal shed. It appears that we're part of the National Allotment Society, and this entitles us to lovely cheap seeds- pile of shiny catalogues left in the shed, all seeds about half normal price! I missed the communal ordering date by a mile, but called up the seed company direct and he let me order (it did sound like just one man who'd wandered out of the potting shed).

Mystic tell me the secrets of celeriac! I've had some terrible failures with them...

was it mink who's having trouble finding Borlotti seeds? Often the variety is Lingua di Fuoco, so they might have that writ larger on the seed packets/ in the catalogues.

Thanks for the welcome! Zebra, it's my garden, I have a 'veg zone' in my garden with two 8ft by 4ft raised beds with room for another if I decide to go for it, plus a long bed which currently has apple trees (and weeds), and a raspberry bed. My raised beds are quite high, partly because our soil is quite heavy clay, and partly as extra protection from footballs! The dc have never climbed in, so my 'no dig' hopes are still on track - though local cats and the local fox family show no such compunction!

Hi Dougal, you sound like you have the best of both worlds with your garden and allotment! How thoughtful of your predecessor to put plastic down

Oh Aalya, I'm keen on 'no-dig' too, though most people look blank when I mention it?! I'm hoping to dazzle fellow allotmenteers with the ease and productivity of my no dig beds!

Thanks Batmam (great name btw - DS's favourite hero) - I now have to work out what needs to go in the garden for easier watering and picking, and on the allotment for space.

Fanks Dougal Loving your nod to Father Ted too! I have sort of the same set up as you, three large raised beds in the back garden then my own little allotment in a corner of the field next door. It's right next to the garden so not exactly far but I still need to plan out where everything goes as I was all over the place last year. Think I need to take into consideration factors such as: the plot is more sheltered than the garden, can't get a hose to the plot but it's got one water butt, and rotating what I had last year. I really struggle with pests too.

I'm a bit of a digging addict as our ground i so flippin stony, but think I'll google the no dig method! Need to learn about companion planting too...

Charles Dowding is the man for no dig - his website is charlesdowding.co.uk. Well rotted compost everywhere!

Finally found the borlotti beans (now cannot remember the variety)

Ordered more cauli plants. Cannot remember what I already ordered so may end up brassica central (I tend not to grow brassica from seed as the seeds are so tiny and fiddly and they don't seem to take well but have had much success with brussell and cauli plugs and they are not that expensive. Although why anyone would want 8 or more broccoli plants is beyond me. They get to be massive on my plot and that many would take up half of it.

I ordered chinese broccoli in the hope that it will be more manageable.

I also ordered rock dust.
I will be ordering nemaslug later once it warms up a bit.

Thanks Mink, I thought I'd managed to kill the thread!

I like the idea of cauli plants, they are fiddly to start, I think. I like Nemaslug too, must order some - I used it a couple of years ago and it was brilliant.

My new allotment is weird - very sandy soil, very few snails, slugs and worms?! Lots of worms in my compost, so I hope they will hang around, but happy with few slimy things.

What's nemaslug? And where do you guys order plug plants from online/catalogue? I've only bought from garden centres before but looking to keep costs down. Bought a pack of 40 onion sets from morrisons today for a quid!

Nemaslug is a powder you keep in your fridge, till you mix it with water to water your veg / flower beds with - its a nematode that eats slugs and kills them off, without leaving the horrible slimy mess you get with the old metaldehyde pellets (though I do like the newish organic ferric sulphate pellets. You basically don't see any slugs at all.

I only need a few caulis / broccoli so will probably buy from local garden centre that does a good range.

I buy online or wait until.b&q have them reduced to clear.

I have been told the new organic pellets kill worms or at least reduce numbers and activity.

THere was quite a long discussion about slugs on GQT this week.

I made newspaper pots and planted sweet peas today

I'm going to go for Nemaslug this year, I had some shared with my parents a few years ago and it was great but couldn't justify buying it just for our small garden, now I've got the allotment as well it will be worth it. I have been browsing the Green Gardener website for it and could easily spend a lot of money on all sorts of things on there.

And so it begins.

Yes, that's right, after yammering on about how 'I can't wait until Feb', I have finally sown my first seeds of 2015. Just a few, starting small. I've done hot chillis, a pepper, aubergine and inca berries. I am so excited!!!

I am also wondering if I need nemaslug now too. And rock dust.
I am certainly warming tk he idea of no dig! It was our recycling collection today, and I shamelessly went and nabbed some cardboard that the neighbours had put out. My family have disowned me.

Hello! I am trying to establish a garden based on permaculture principles.I've got a lot to learn,so hoping I can pick some tips up...

I have been to the 99p store today and they have a great little notebook that is squared paper at the beginning, then lined, then blank! Great for a monthly calendar in grids , then notes on each plant, then a plan if you like! They also have large pots, pea netting and canes..all for 99p!

Damn we only have Poundland here!??

Thanks whoknows, I'll have a look at Green Gardener. I heard GQT too, electrocuting them or putting down copper isn't practical for me so fancy this Nemaslug, depend how expensive it is. I have gazillions of slugs I bloody hate them??

Well done spottedzebra for getting started! Remind me, do you have a greenhouse?

Welcome ThatBloodyWoman, fab name!

No greenhouse . Well, I have a plastic flimsy thing but that's not out yet. Sown seeds are currently in airing cupboard, and later the conservatory (unheated) will act as Seed Central. I was only going to sow the hot chillies as they can have long germination times. Then i did a couple of aubergines, peppers and inca berries too. Just because. Might start some salady bits and maybe some herbs soon...

I checked my overwintered things today and they all seem to have survived. Even the inca berry (i grew some last year but too late so none fruited. And I cut some plants right down for the winter, just to see what happened). And I had forgotten that I'd put a few cucamelon roots away, but obviously I don't know whether they're actually alive.

I haven't had much time to get to the school garden in the last couple of weeks but have been keeping an eye on the compost bins (they have 3, but they are filled mostly with fermenting uneaten satsumas plus a few plastic carrier bags, milk cartons, sweet wrappers, remains of packed lunches etc - the kids have an eclectic approach to composting!). Zebra I too shamelessly pinch cardboard from the neighbours to balance out the composting fruit! No one has mentioned it although I'm sure they see me!

It's not really veg patch/allotment material but I have also pollarded the red dogwoods in the school grounds (they had been neglected a bit so there were very few lovely red stems this year), and given the buddleia in the nature garden a good hard prune. I kept a lot of the smaller dogwood clippings and am trying to root them - I think a dogwood "hedge" would look lovely behind the veg beds. In the local park there were lots of dogwood clippings left lying around after the parks maintenance guys had been through, so I picked up some green/yellow bits & will try to root them too, for some contrast.

I'm still on the waiting list for an allotment - I think 18 months' wait is best case scenario & it's only been 10 so far...However it does mean I can keep volunteering for the school garden and not spread myself too thinly.

I've just come for a little cry on the shoulders of people who will understand.

My dc (bless them!!) managed to over water half of our seedlings. I've spent the morning rescuing them from their tiny little quagmires and transplanting them into fibre pots and dry compost, in the hope of drawing enough moisture away to save them. Grrrrr!

On a positive note, the rest moved to the greenhouse today, so we have room to start our third round of seeds!

If anyone has a B&M nearby, its well worth having a look at their pots, planters and other bits and bobs. Maybe more useful for other container growers but I'd imagine most of you will find something of use there (lots if netting, fleeces, fruit trees and bushes) and all quite reasonably priced

Oh no Amantes! Kids can a little over-enthusiastic sometimes!

I too have a garage full of cardboard, and am saving my buddleia prunings to use as supports later on - I will let them dry out thoroughly just in case they might 'take' if I stick them in the ground too soon.

TimTam, I had a look at the school compost bin, and it's all wet and slimy stuff in there - nobody has realised that you need some dry stuff too - in fact, the caretaker gave out to us for putting paper in ...

You have my sympathy, Amantes - DS1 has eaten green tomatoes off my plants, over-watered, picked 'pretty flowers for you Mummy' and generally wreaked havoc in my garden ever ever since he was old enough to toddle. I'm fondly hoping that this year will be the first time that he's able to leave my produce the fuck alone! Good luck with your attempts at dessication maybe also put a few sheets of newspaper underneath the fibre pots, so that water is drawn out of them too?

Another vote for B&M here - they are great for the basics. I'm not sure I'd rate their seeds/plants but the containers and general garden items are very well priced to me.

My daughter cheerfully pulled up handfuls of carrots too early last year while my back was turned so I feel your pain on the small child gardening over enthusiasm front. She always over waters in the first pot in the garden and then none of the rest get any water at all! She'll be 8 this year and keen to have her own gardening section so we'll see how she gets on.

I bought a random raspberry plant on Sunday and some bags of manure. My seed order is in, just need to fetch it from my dad and remind myself of exactly how many seeds I've bought. And I need to get my potatoes chitting (not chatting as autocorrect decided!).

Hello, can i join too.

I have just managed to get a mini-allotment (only about 10x20ft but big enough for me for now!) I've grown tomatoes and courgettes in growbags in the garden before but that's the limit of my expertise .

Alot of what we grow this year will probably be decided by the children, in my efforts to encourage them to eat more veg lol, and also because i can't make my mind up what to start with.

I think there will be some, potatoes, onions, peas in there somewhere. Now I'm off to study my nice new sparkly 'grow your own veggies' books and look for inspiration.