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.

I have managed to actually get some seeds planted in my new allotment yesterday! Yay! Just two types of peas, as I have just one bed dug over, weeded and composted. So, let's see if they actually grow!
I have another bed almost done, so I am thinking about putting potatoes in there. I have made paths and covered half of them in weed control fabric and bark chipping. Still got half to go. But the weather has been so bad it has slowed me down. I am going up there today and will do my best to crack on. The clay soil is so hard though, getting rid of all the clumps is just me hacking at them with a hoe every time I am there...a long winded process!
I have aubergines, tomatoes, some more peas, and a few lettuces growing in pots or trays on my window sill and in my grow house outside, so I feel a bit at a time at the allotment, getting a bed ready and then planting it is the best way to go.

so- hands up if you have a goji berry- anybody listen to GQT? :)
good couple of hours digging - potato bed ready, phew!
took a chance and direct sowed some old spinach seeds outside - nothing lost, as if they don't germinate, I can put some more in , and I have a nice pot full that have been in the greenhouse overwinter ready to pick

I've just set up (my very first) 3 raised beds 1400mm x 1200mm filled them with compost/top soil. But can't decide what to plant/sow first - I'm off on holiday next Saturday, is it worth sowing anything yet? Any suggestions welcome please. Oh and how deep does the soil have to be.

Zebra - we tried to do everything at minimal expense last year and really struggled, things like using shears to keep the paths cut, putting up with the clay soil, but it made it very hard work for poor rewards, so we decided we need to invest a bit more money and make our lives easier with the plot.

Agoodbook - we're in the South, so by mid April there shouldn't be too much frost risk so I'll get my spuds in then. One of my friends swears by dropping one slug pellet in the hole under each potato to keep the blighters at bay, I've got nematodes in the fridge which frustratingly I can't uses as I hadn't realised they don't turn the taps on at the site till Easter, very annoying. Think I will drench the garden with them instead, we have a lot of shade and a lot of hiding places for slugs, so we do get a lot of them at home.

Pirates - yes, a bed at a time is a good way to go.

Chippychop - depends what you want to grow in them really, I have two small raised beds at home, one about 8' deep, one about 20", I have had plenty of good crops in the 8" one over the years, especially things that stay fairly near the surface such as onions, lettuce, radishes, herbs.

Spent a nice hour up there today planting onions in the sunshine and had a chat with another plotholder about her miniature fruit trees, got a good tip for where to buy them locally, I'd like some apples. Also planted out sweet peas in the garden.

Chippychop - if you have just filled them, the soil will settle , and may need topping up.
And my advice is grow things you want to eat :)
I was chatting to a neighbouring ( traditional) allotmenter today, and mentioned I do like fruit, and my plans for some more - his reply - why bother when PYO is available ! I was left speechless !

agoodbook YIKES re the fruit! What on earth do they grow? Also, I have a goji berry, my hand is up! It is even... planted out! But I don't listen to GQT, tho maybe I should. What was said? Good things?

A couple more hours at the plot today - more digging out of dandelion and creeping butter and couch. Fewer docks tho. I said above that this last big bed was much nicer soil. Ha, fooled! It was in fact just the 30cm or so from the side, all the rest is good old compacted clay. Also still v v cold a few cm down. I also have an allotment 'friend'. Well, not really a friend, a rather over - keen bloke. And I have been my normal polite, friendly yet quite reserved self -and I know that I'm going to have to be quite frosty to get rid. FFS.

Hi everybody! Lovely weather this weekend here in Wiltshire.

DS and I spent a fair few hours in the garden planting seeds in the greenhouse. We were VERY excited to find a frog (simple things!).

We've now got seeds sown for: Tomato, Pepper, Salad, French beans, and lots of flowers (DS' choice!). Had to make an emergency trip out to B&Q for more compost (or pompoms according to DS). Bought myself one of the 125 litre bags. Even though I had to ask for help getting it into the trolley and then into the car, it didn't occur to me that I wouldn't be able to get it OUT of the car when I got home, so I still had to wait for DH to come home from work to help! Also got some ericaceous compost as my blueberries need repotting.

I'm itching to get some parsnips in but I need to fix the fence to keep the dogs off the veggie patch first. Which will require a bit of DIY. Eek!

Zebra I think I'm going to keep some notes on prices of things this year, although I already have basics like tools / pots and so on. My outgoings will largely be seeds and compost.

Oh and I couldn't resist some cucamelon seeds! Zebra do you know if your tap root survived?

Put the parsnip seeds in, potatoes went in last weekend - even thought its cold I'm by the sea so rarely get frost.

Some optimistic peas sown with some optimistic chard seeds. Raspberry canes in a new bed, hopefully raised up enough that they won't rot like the last ones.

spotted - he grows all the usual stuff , but a smallish range -potatoes/onions/carrots/peas/beans etc (and shed loads of them!) but the only fruit is a very small strawberry patch, and nothing in the least bit 'different' :)
now on the goji berry..... mmmm- 2 of the experts had grown them , and both were very keen to get rid of them - very thuggish, went into stonework, not much crop , if any, and doesn't taste good enough to persevere- sorry for that .
I must admit its very easy to spend loads when there is so much to do. I tried really hard to keep spend down, and have tried to get free/recycle stuff, but my biggest expenditure is wood and nets so far for the fruit cage/asparagus bed /rabbit netting/ shed repairs but they will last for years. Everything else drips out - manure/compost/seeds/ rent, these will be the ones I pay year in year out , and being generous a rough add up is about £100 for the year. Which I think is good, especially as I get all the things that are expensive in the shops , and we love :)

Bilberry - new variety called optimistic ? :)
mine is optimistic spinach!
Your raspberries rotted? wow- I thought they were bomb proof! I have to pull out suckers all the time - if it wasn't for the fruit, I would say they were a weed :)

On heavy clay soil with, I think, an old field drain where I planted them. It can get very waterlogged. The raised beds have helped elsewhere on the plot so crossed fingers.

I think varieties called optimistic would sell well.

RE Costs - my first year was incredibly expensive, wood for said raised beds, a windbreak, a proper shed to replace the secondhand one that blew away and was never seen again (literally) and top soil. But it put the backbone in and I'm so glad I did it.

But every bit of veg that year probably cost about £5! They were the most expensive carrots in the world!

It's much cheaper now its all up and going and as long as I stay away from seed catalogues, daft hardware that I don't need etc (!). Also doing things like saving seed and taking cuttings from fruit bushes has saved loads.

It'll never save me money - though I love the fresh fruit and asparagus, but the feeling of peace and achievement and the space it gives me is worth the £200 a year or so.

Love reading all these updates. I spent a happy sunny hour in my garden sowing seeds destined for the allotment and admiring the fruit I would take to plant today. The vomiting bug was obviously watching - it struck another child last night, and that's another day's gardening gone I swear it's doing it on purpose! The last three carefully selected days when the weather meant I could go to the plot the evil bug has struck!

Right, rant over. Back to the washing machine, and dreams of an allotment I can actually get to!

Oh no, Stainless. I was also hindered by a vomiting child who could not go to school, but it's his first offence, so not too bad. The plague really has visited your house, hasn't it? Hope all better soon. I thought I'd at least get some potting on done as he's usually keen to do that, but actually it was freezing and we stayed inside in the warm all day. Cupcakes I've not investigated the cucamelon root/s yet (can't remember how many I stored!) - once I've dig it out, I shall let you know. Actually, I don't really know what I am looking for - should it look obviously alive do you think? It's been in a cool dark shed all winter.

Ok agoodbook that's not a rave review of the goji berry is it? And there is me try to be all fancy with my superfood. Well, it was only a few quid Aldi obey from last summer, and it's not taking up a prime spot in the allotment so if it is a shocker, I've not lost much! Will the allegedly foul-tasting asparagus peas be a similar story I wonder?

Off to b & Q on weds to stock up on more multi purpose and seed compost etc. And maybe some other bits too. I'm taking my mum, who is flexing her pensioner discount for me! Such a glamorous life. BilberryI certainly agree that the value of the allotment (already) for me is the benefit it provides my mind and my soul. And my body too really - all that crouching down to prize out weeds is giving me thighs of steel!

Loved the goji hatred on GQT - confirmed my prejudices about them (I'd rather spend fewer years on this planet than waste any of my allotted time tasting them again - no, I'm not a fan). However, I am looking into ways of propagating my loganberry. Part of my aim this year with my plot is to spend as little as possible. I have bought seed potatoes and onion sets, everything else is either a gift or sown from donated seeds (if the ones 4 years out of date germinate!). I might buy a couple more packs of seeds (want to try some companion planting) and I'll probably have to buy some things - wooden poles, planks for bed edges, some form of fertilizer - but so far have spent ~£50 including rent for the plot, and hoping to not spend much more.

Took ill child to B&Q (needed bath sealant stat - it's been a long, long day) and accidentally wandered past the bedding plants. So as ill child is getting another day off school tomorrow, I might at least get the garden looking I care a little bit about it. Hope littlezebra is feeling well tomorrow, or at least up to a little light weeding

yes Stainless propagating loganberry - shall have see what the best way is -maybe pegging a branch down and putting a brick on may do the trick...I got mine as a gift, and it finally had enough berries on last year to taste them - DH has fallen in love with them but the birds did too, so another for us would be good.
and poor both of you with poorly children - with me its work that gets in the way
Broad beans have germinated in the greenhouse in a week (the insurance policy ), and the 2nd lot of broad beans have germinated under fleece at allotment - hmm - shall be giving some away I suspect - anyone? :)
And the benefit to me is not really about money - though it helps! -its going to pick vegetables and cooking them really fresh, knowing exactly what you are eating :)

oh- I forgot to say- if anyone wants some seeds, I had some free packets with grow your own magazine ,- (Mr Fothergills ) so I could post them out as its a shame to waste them :)
I have a packet each of
Cucumber -Marketmore 76
Leek - Elefant
Brussels Sprout - Evesham Special
Tomato - Moneymaker
Pepper - Hot Cayenne
Beetroot - Chioggia
Just let me know :)

I also enjoyed the goji hate.
Will also say electric daisies are not that nice.
But i really must get some more cape gooseberries in. And plant my leeks. For some reason I just can never be bothered with the putting stuff in pots. Far happier on the allotment.

Oh and my cauli plants arrived but they don't look at all healthy they got put in the delivery office over the weekend even though they would fit through the letter box but they look like they were not in great nick to start with. Must plant them out asap.

Sorry for all the ill DCs - hope everybody's on the mend soon.

mink was the packet marked up as live plants? If not I think I'd be complaining to the company. And if they were I'd be complaining to Royal Mail.

DS fell asleep in his buggy yesterday - almost unheard of as he usually naps on me - and I was really looking forward to a couple of hours working on my fence. Unfortunately my friend turned up! Well, no, not unfortunately - it was lovely to catch up, but I can't plant my parsnips until I get the fence fixed as the dogs will trample the seedlings!

I've just totted up my spending so far - total of £31.57 spent this year (though this includes some flowers which obviously aren't for the veggie patch). I'm very lucky that DH is a carpenter so there's always wood lying around that I can use for raised beds etc.

I'm keeping a strict eye on my allotment spending for a couple of reasons. This is my first year with a plot, and I don't want to spend lots of money on it if I can't keep it up. I also have a tendency to start a new hobby, throw cash at it then wander off to the next shiny new thing. Finally, I associate allotments with a thrifty/scavenger mentality: it would just be wrong to have brand new everything on an allotment! I'm interested to see how far I can go without spending money, next year I'll allow myself a trip to a garden centre when I know what I need to spend money on.

goodbook my loganberry was a gift as well, and it's the only plant that has really thrived in our garden! I have tried layering it, but in a rather half hearted way - one shoot was heading for the ground, so I stuck it in. Not sure if it's worked, I might go stick a brick on it. I did read that you can grow it from leaf cuttings, I might try that just for the fun of it

I have seeds sprouting in my greenshed (not a greenhouse, one of those shelving units covered in plastic) and a rhubarb growing up through the shelves, so weather permitting I'll be planting this week. Next week I have some work (it's intermittent and not at all predictable) so the next chance will be Easter. At least the chance of frost will have passed!

Hope the caulis pull through, or get replaced by the company. Had better go and pay some attention to sickly child ....

Oh- too cold last night and tonight is due to be colder up here!
mink - I love sowing seeds in pots at home - I have leeks just poking out, cauliflower/broccoli and summer cabbages germinated in the greenhouse. I am rubbish at direct sowing at the allotment - I do the obvious ones- beetroot/parsnip/carrot/peas and spinach, but virtually everything else I set off myself.
I know what you mean about getting carried away on new things stainless, but at the moment, 5 years in, its getting more interesting, not less! And most of the big expenditure is over ( fingers crossed) barring accidents :)

Right. After much reaseach and soul searching I've decided my raspberries are going to have to come out. Gutted. They were here when we bought the house and I was hoping with some TLC they'd be OK, but they've not produced fruit really and this is our 4th year in the house. So yesterday I picked out a new patch for some raspberries. DH is hopefully going to help me build some supports over easter. What variety do people recomened? Ideally I want the sort that fruit on last years canes as the new raspberry patch is going to partially mask a horrible chicken wire fence between our garden and the neighbour's.

Managed to get cracking on my fence yesterday - all the poles are cut and I've got about 18" tied in now. Shouldn't take long to do the rest.

Mink I'm a sow in pots and plant them out sort of person. I'm always afraid I'll lose things if I sow direct!

Beautiful day here. Itching to get out but stuck in the office this morning

Today is good - I am doing a cheese making workshop later and I have just decided to run 7 bread, cheese and winemaking workshops throughout the summer.

Cupcakes - where you were going wrong is giving them TLC. Treat em mean. Rasps are woodland plants and don't need any TLC IMHO. They are light rooted and just need each stem chopping back to the ground after it has produced fruit, and a mulch overwinter. I don't even tie mine into anything, I just let them grow and the wind movement thickens the stems so they stand up fine. Really, no supports needed.

If you are getting new ones, I recommend the thornless ones. I have three varieties, I bought 18 canes about 7 years ago, and I put them in order of earliness - so I start picking from one end and move to the autumn fruiting at the other by the end of October.

Thanks Tentacles. When we moved in the canes were covering the entire veggie patch so will dug it all back so they were just along one edge. They've only ever produced a few fruits per cane and the fruits only have one or two little bobbles on each - they never properly form. I've never actually mulched them though, could that be the problem? What would be the best sort of mulch?

Just wanted to draw people's attention to this offer:
www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/special-offers-vegetable-seeds-cid1375.html

If you buy £20 worth of seeds, you get a free propagater , and it's a really good one! I got mine yesterday and it has loads of different sized planting cells, water retaining pads, a big lid and waters from underneath. Very impressive!