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 realise I am very lucky- loads of allotments have no access other than on foot. I get an enormous trailer ( tractor size trailer!) for £25 , and its enough to cover my half allotment ( which is big) with a layer over everything

zebra I have spent a bit of time googling today. I never knew tomatoes could get so many diseases! Thanks for the tip! Have found a few possibilities....
Am also scanning rural gateways for poo! 50p a bag sounds great!
I usually grow lots of potatoes, with runner and french beans, courgettes, spring onions tomatoes and peppers. I have some leeks in which I have hardly looked at since Sept so really should check those.
We also have a huge strawberry patch as they are the thing we love best. It's difficult to eat supermarket ones after growing your own.
I try to base it on stuff we already eat so we save money.

I am tempted by the sprouting broccoli. I tried normal broccoli in the first year. However the caterpillars were hideous ( I didn't know I had to protect from butterflies!) It put me off somewhat!

Please be careful when buying manure, alot of us got stung by Aminopyralid which is used to control ragwort, and stays in the animals poo and affects your crops when you have planted out. I got a bad batch and hardly had any crops for two whole years.

Can I join too? Had my plot for 18 months so last year was my first growing year. Previously I grew small amounts in my garden and ran a gardening club at DCs primary school. Last year I was successful with potatoes, onions, runner beans, cherry tomatoes, I also have redcurrants and rhubarb. The plot is still about a third "lawn" from previous neglect, it's 5 mins walk from home but foot only access. The condition of thesoil is the big problem, it's very clayey. Also I can't do heavy lifting or too much digging because of old injuries. So I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to improve it.

There are horse chestnut trees on public land near me, last autumn I saved several bin bags full of leaves, really squashed them in, took them to the plot, squirted them full of water and left them weighed down with a hose, so hoping to have lots of leaf mould to dig in soon.

oh Delicious thats heartbreaking! We have 3 farmers who have been delivering to our allotments for years- I went round and asked other 'plotters' whose was best. Mine is cow manure from when they are indoors over winter, so I get mine in February. I am just frantically trying to use up the last of last years so more can go in.
footballs sprouting broccoli is wonderful- think the tenderstem you can buy but much nicer flavour - its almost as good as asparagus, and it crops from Jan- April, though this year mine is running a bit behind due to rabbits getting the first plantings.....
WhoKnows - leaf mould is good, sounds like you may need something to break up the clay to allow drainage -I had a lot of grass ( and still some to dig up) - it makes fabulous loam- if you can dig it up like turf, and lay it upside down in a heap, it will break down into great stuff (may take 1-2 years) and then maybe add some sharp sand to it
I'm on here because its -2º outside - its my morning for digging -I shall have to go after lunch!

We have 3 farmers who have been delivering to our allotments for years- I went round and asked other 'plotters' whose was best. Mine is cow manure from when they are indoors over winter, so I get mine in February. I am just frantically trying to use up the last of last years so more can go in.

We have 1 who I watched deliver manure for 3 full years before I bought some off him. Turns out the summer before, his supplier of feed had been ill and he brought contractors in, who used it. So I got hit in the bad batch.

I only ever get from organic farms if any now. I mainly use green manures [sow the seeds when the beds are emptied if nothing else is going in] or mulch with hay or straw from reputable sources.

thats even worse! :( I used green manure the first year, but haven't since . I do have a big compost heap as well - a lot of that goes on my asparagus bed .I have a naughty bin for the horrible stuff ( bindweed and couch mostly) and I throw all my brassica roots into the recycling trailer which comes around every 2-3 weeks so I keep club root at bay hopefully :)

Recycling trailer! (fans self)

What happens to the stuff in the naughty bin goodbook? On my old allotment there was a bit of a drop off onto some waste land next to the railway track, so I used to push all the weeded weeds down there .

On the new one there isn't really anywhere to put dead weedage- I have a couple of cumbersome piles on the plot ATM, but it's not really a permanent solution. I should try harder to do something constructive with it- it's 90% grass, we have lots of brambles too, but I'm going to burn those.

I've always meant to try seaweed as a fertiliser, as we're very near the sea. I know some people do it, and an acquaintance did a semi-scientific experiment comparing it with manure, compost etc, and said it was just as good.....bet I'm not going to get round to it this year either though...

Are you not allowed a bonfire on your allotments? We're allowed them but you have to wait until the wind is going the right way, otherwise a man comes to shout at you.

What green manure do you all you? I'm planning to do mine next winter.l

stubborn the recycling trailer is for green waste- anything not easily composted- the council take it to their big composting site. My naughty bin is one of those big green plastic compost bins - I have 2 there that I took down when I started. I filled the first one up and just left it to do its own thing - when I came to get rid of it ( after about 2 years) I had compost! So - I just fill one up and leave it! I will be going to dig this afternoon when it gets warmer, so shall try and remember to take a couple of photos. Its not tidy, or beautiful, but may show how we have done the composting stuff. Oh - and I also got an onion net from our veg shop and filled it with naughty weeds, and dunked it water in a lidded bin for liquid feed. My go to bought fertiliser is organic chicken pellets - I have a big tub, and chuck it randomly about if I feel the need :)

oh and stubborn apart from the naughty stuff, all my weeded weeds go on the compost heap!

the spotted - i've got 2 unheated propogators, a window-sill and lots of old pots/boxes left over from supermarket food packaging and toilet rolls. I've only planted onions, chilli's and sweet peas though. the former 2 are doing well. i will now have to try and wait till feb to do tomotoes.

I like to stagger things a bit as i have so little equipment

agoodbook I saw your comment about purple sprouting broccoli and i wonder if you could advise...
I've been over wintering mine, and out of about 8 plants only one is growing heads - the others are going mad with foliage, but nothing else! the one that's sprouting has the most sun, so I'm assuming that's the reason.

i've been stripping quite a few leaves off the others to get some light to them, but can you think of anything else I should do? or am i just too premature and should leave them to do their thing in peace???

Ceelo - I would leave well alone- if one has started, they all will, just be patient! Don't strip leaves off though - when you cut off the first "head" right at the top, it then encourages the sprouting on all the leaf joints down the stems ,and the more you cut- the more start to sprout. It also depends on variety, and natural disasters -mine are a bit late ( just about to start) as i had to replant due to them being eaten by rabbits :(

I'm starting to feel hard done by here, not only do we not have road access, we only have a waste trailer for a couple of weekends in November, and not allowed bonfires.

I don't have any window sill space (cats knock everything off, I can chit a few potatoes indoors but that's all really) and just one of those small plastic greenhouses in the garden, so can't really get anything started yet. I need more space!

Whoknows- the cry of every gardener I think. I cant get to my allotment every day- I work 3 days a week, and look after my DGS as well, so I like to have things close so I can keep an eye on them. I do have a greenhouse, but seriously , most of my seeds are on my small kitchen windowsill until I think they are grown up enough to live outside My greenhouse is newish to me ( 2 years) and I haven't got the hang of it yet!
we are not allowed bonfires either!
for stubborn I did get to my allotment earlier, but the ground was too hard, so just dug up some leeks, and took a picture of my compost bin set up just in case its of help to anyone gives everyone a laugh

I should add - one is my weed compost heap, charmingly decorated with old carpet to keep it warm! The double one is my manure heap- nearly all gone, just hiding in the corner you cant quite see... and waiting to be filled up again :)

Blimey, you have frost- and not first thing, I guess! (To explain, I'm in Cornwall. If frost is forecast the school sends out a letter warning of possible closures . We've had 2- 3 frosty days this winter).

I'm also taken aback by the flatness of your plot (in Cornwall etc etc...).

Ah, your compost binnage is ver' similar to the one on my old allotment- down to the pallets having seen better days.ExP has made a similar one on my new plot, but ran out of steam half way through- so it's only a couple of feet high!

We actually got there today and dug and manured a small bed (no frozen ground down here!), which absolutely exhausted me. Rubbish...

Oh, I see....so the carpety one is green/food waste AND fairly innocuous weeds? Do they all get killed in the composting process?

On the plus side my plot is very close to home and right next to the DCs school, things will get easier in a couple of years when they don't need me at home straight after school. I go up there in the evenings a lot in summer, as I work 3 days too and study, but I can pop in before or after the school run for quick jobs.

Thanks, agood! actually, I think I know what the problem is now - a couple of months ago, I read somewhere that if you pull the crowns out then more shoots will start to form. So I did this, but instead of shoots, it's leaves that are growing!

yes stubborn - the carpety one is all my weeds, apart from the bad ones -I fill it up during the season and cover- it is nearly composted down now - it takes about 6-9 months , and yes it all rots down :) . The overflow from the water butt keeps it from drying out too much
it was almost 0º when I went up this afternoon - thats a leap from the -2º earlier! Its snowing now...
yes, luckily flat, but immediately to the east is the Wolds - I will post another couple of pictures now - one is my naughty bin , next to the water butt the other is my view from the plot
WhoKnows - cant wait for some light nights, thats when I go up most in the spring!

oops an enormous finger! :)

ceelo they will eventually I guess - I wait impatiently for the first sprout at the top , so I can get it going -when it does start to sprout ( probably when you need to dig it up !) you will be inundated