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.

My seedlings are strangely suffering this year - well the tender ones. Just a little colder than usual at this time of year I think. My brassicas [pac choi, swede, turnip and cabbages] are thriving though.

I even had some damping off [meep] which I haven't had for years...

Damping off

alternative :(
Yep, I think it is a bit colder than it should be by now -( I had to scrape frost off my car this morning)
I haven't so far done many sowings - tomatoes are okay and just starting 2nd set of true leaves, celeriac just thickening up, but not big.
I did an early sowing of some summer cabbage, summer sprouting broccoli and cauliflower in a propagator in the greenhouse and they seem to be doing okay but a bit slow- I have taken the lid off now, as I'm not keen on leaving seedlings covered
spotted could there be a bit of waterlogging near those roots which may be bad for potatoes

Damping off?

I have barely sown anything yet. Still far too cold in the frozen North. Been lovely in the day time but frosty at night.
I need to transplant my sickly looking cauliflowers and stick in a couple of rows of beetroot and maybe scatter a bit of lettuce this weekend.
The rest can wait until April gets under way.

It's bucketing down in ZebraLand today so no gardening or allotmenting today I think. And more forecast tomorrow too. I know I said we needed a bit of rain, but I'd prefer it a bit more spread out!

But the good news is that I got some of those free Gardener's World tomato seeds through the post today - variety Losetto. So that's nice. Perhaps I'll start a couple off today.

mink are you sowing your beetroot direct? I've not sown anything 'out' yet. Maybe beetroot will be my first thing? I have plenty of seed, certainly. But it's bloody freezing still and I'd not warmed up any soil.

I've planted beetroot, radishes and spring onions direct into slight raised beds but no sign of germination yet. I've also planted rocket and basil out, but only last week. I've started my pal choi in fibre pots and planted the first lot out (it's easier to see which aren't weeds in fibre pots and I'm lazy!!) I've also started some lettuce.
The butternut squash are in pots outside and I can't remember if I started off some courgettes or if I did loads of squash really need to label my pots!!

Looking forward to catching up with gardeners world and a nice cup of tea .

I spent an hour potting on my seedlings and setting up trays with capillary matting before going on holiday today. Does anyone know if it actually works?? We are away until Wednesday.

I also sowed some more tomatoes - sungold, Cherokee purple. Also thai basil, aubergine pinstripe and more chilli Numex. Think it might be a bit late for those but I had the seeds already.

Spent a couple of hours on the allotment clearing a huge patch of nettles and finally planted my rhubarb. Really pleased we have cleared about half of the plot but the nettles are coming up quicker than we can clear them!

Lost this thread and was baffled but it turned out I had hidden it accidentally!

I mostly have flower seedlings at the moment. The veg I've sown so far is potatoes (out today - it doesn't seem too cold here but it is the SE) and leeks, mange tout, brassicas and beetroot (in cold frame). Everywhere is finally dug over with plenty of well-rotted manure though, and covered with prickly holly and rose prunings to deter the cats!

Yup beetroot direct. It take a while to.appear though. Broad beans can go in just now too. Mine are in alrrady but think i jumped the gun a bit there. We get plagued by black fly so I should get some marigolds in too.

Damping off??

Its due to rain here tomorrow- proper rain , in the morning- pah!
Clocks go back, so wonder whether I can sneak out there early, before it starts - only had a few showers today. I was hoping to plant my first row of potatoes .
But- I do have tomatoes to prick out , and if its very wet, I can sit and make some paper pots i suppose , but itching now to get on!
Parsnip and beetroot will be sown direct in about 2 weeks, depending on weather spotted

Clocks go forward!

I am just having to wait until the rain stops. I can't clear the weeds and grass on my new allotment dos it is just clay and mud. I wonder how long it will take to dry out? I am thinking about getting a rotorvater, does anyone have one? The cheapest petrol one I have seen is £150 , I will still weed, but I just want to break up the soil (when it eventually dries) to a better tilth.

Have planted cauliflower, broccoli, more lettuce and something else I can't remember! I have it all noted down in my gardening journal!!

of course they do - brainfade :) pirates -

On our site, there are a few who will rotavate for you for - or can you hire one?

Pirates I can barely sneeze at the allotment without someone telling me I should rotavate, that they can rotavate for me. Am sure there are some where you are too. But do you really want to? Won't it just make more, smaller weeds? Do you really need a fine tilth unless you're sowing seeds?

NB I have no idea about tilth, of course. I know nothing! But a fine tilth is about as far from me as a lottery win, so i have decided that I don't need one anyway. And maybe I don't, as I'll mostly be sowing at home and taking plantlets up to the plot.

Agood - that's my plan tomorrow, make lots of paper pots. I went up to the plot yesterday and dug and weeded a strip about 1x3m and planted out broad beans, garden and sugar snap peas. Popped a little poly tunnel over them for protection. While I was there the man from the council came a long and switched the water supply on for the summer, so I went back the morning and finally did my nematodes.

Pirates - I was all set to rotavate a few weeks ago and people on here talked me out of it. A lot of my plot had reverted to lawn through years of neglect before I got it 18 months ago. Eventually we covered it in cardboard and compost, I'm planning to plant potatoes through holes in it in a couple of weeks.

No good at fine tilth here either spotted ! thats why I sow most of my stuff in fibre pots/paper pots and plant them out - they have a chance!
snap WhoKnows - I just hope I have enough newspaper - DH chucked out the ones I was saving into the recycle bin -and thats why its raining then- water supply has been turned on

Fine tilts, no chance, if I'm sowing seeds rather than transplanting plants I'll usually put down a line of multipurpose compost to sow int and give them a head start.

No chance of fine tilth here either, big lumps of clay that set like concrete is more like it. I only sowed a few things straight from seed last year (1st year on plot) and got 100% failure (carrots, spring onions, radishes). I tried putting them in a row of potting compost in the ground but it didn't work.

I think I may become a weather forecaster - I can't be any worse than the bunch doing the local BBC forecast!
I didn't take my potatoes to plant, as it was going to be heavy rain all day, but did go as it was only light drizzle. Managed to dig for a good hour and a half, until it did get rather wet .
Pricked out my tomatoes this afternoon - lovely sunshine :)
Was speaking to a friend at the allotment - she has bought chilli seeds from a specialist- really poor germination, and also damping off on some varieties of tomatoes and not others - its going to be one of those years

What is damping off?

It's when your seedlings (or plants?) succumb to a fungal infection and sort of collapse or fall over. It can spread through seedlings quite quickly, and it's really disheartening. I guess it's worse in damp and cool conditions, being a fungus?

Well I've just properly caught up on the thread and have massive allotment envy although I know that I couldn't keep up with it currently having one toddler and being 20 weeks pregnant

I have talked DH into putting beds into the front garden although I am thinking pallet style in case we need to move and return the front into a lawn here The flat ones, not the vertical ones although not a bad idea...

We have been up to the allotment to get mushroom compost (we get a big trug full for £1 so its a worth while trip!!) and inbetween hurricane winds we have done a few tiny bits. My mission tomorrow is to see if I can blag some free pallets for the compost bin and newly agreed front garden!!

karatekimmi - if you have a builders merchants nearby, they may give pallets away free - I know ours does.

I have been in bed all weekend with a terrible cold and am still in bed this morning feeling exceedingly sorry for myself. It bucketed down most of the weekend here, so it wasn't so bad, but today is lovely and sunny and perfect gardening weather. I feel more than a bit ragey about this.

BAH.