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'm growing wasabi this year- there's a stream running through my garden (not as nice as it sounds, it's more a drainage ditch and very close to the house), so I'm going to plant it next to it. Hopefully not as invasive as horseradish.

I have a stream just off the end of mine Bolshy and you've inspired me to grow watercress! The stream's not on my land though. I think I'll send a sample off for testing, just in case

However, I've just read that watercress will grow in pots too. I wonder if it changes its taste and texture? Does anyone know?

You can grow something called American Land Cress, which tastes just like watercress, but doesn't need to be in water all the time. It also lasts all season without bolting, which is a plus...

Plug plants wise, if there was one kind of veg I would buy like this, it would be brassicas. Because they're a bit of a pain in the bum with the "Sow- then prick out into larger plots- then plant" thing. Oh yes, and tomatoes, too- but it's dead easy to pick up cheap tomato plants from produce/ car boot sales etc.

The other time I buy baby plants is after disaster has struck- either non- germination or slugs.

I've had great success with LIDL seeds, especially spinach, peas and Swiss chard.

My Moroccan mint gleefully escaped its bucket prison, and is rampaging all over the herb bed at my old allotment, little minty fucker....

Thanks, stubborn, I'll look into that!

Delicious I agree the prices are a bit ridiculous but I did buy some plants half price in their sale last summer and they were big healthy plants that did well so am tempted! The spring garden is £40 and comes with 12 tomato plants at the moment. However as I already have potatoes and seeds I will continue with seeds for now unless everything goes wrong!

I have sown some onion seeds which have germinated pretty quickly but not sure what to do with them next, as you're supposed to plant out in mid March I think. I am getting some sets also in case the seeds don't work out.

stubborns I do my brassicas by sowing straight into individual fibre pots, they grow on nicely in those, and then I plant them pot and all- works a treat. I do have a paper potter as well, bought for me last year- that seems to be working well . I am no big fan of lots of little plastic plug trays , though I do use some as I often run out of pots !
and eek - I have just got the nod to have the other half plot! -i went and had a good look after my morning digging , though not official yet. For all he's been my next door neighbour, for 5 years ,I never really saw him, and too busy to be nosey :) so - a nice strawberry bed, more gooseberries and raspberries, a lovely little herb patch, and artichokes! Its another 20 metres long by 7.5 metres wide growing area plus loads of other patches I've got to fill it!
I think a Greengage and a Victoria plum, and some white currants . I already have redcurrants, blackcurrants, a jostaberry and a loganberry.
I would really like a bramble, but DH is against - too invasive sadly, and I suppose I agree......

Hello everyone can I join? We've just taken on a full sized plot in November, a well established plot with a few currant bushes, gooseberries, raspberries, rhubarb crowns, an apple tree and a plum tree. We've dug the beds over and added a bit of compost the previous tennant left behind.

First true leaves of the tomatoes and chilli's are poking their heads up. (We've got them in the house in a heated propigater under a lamp) 2 types of toms and 3 different chilli's. Ive planted garlic sets into modules for now theyll go in the ground later towards the spring. Just waiting for the potatoes to arrive to start chitting.

Feels good to actually make a start on things. I'm a bit worried we'll run out of space quickly as I went a bit overboard with my seed order over 60 varieties but anything we don't have room for we'll donate to our allotment's annual plant fundraiser sale in May.

How are you all sowing your seeds? We have a small growhouse (still needs to be assembled) but there are a lot of seeds to sow as I want a cut flower patch too..i think about 30 varieties of each (veg and flowers). I know I can sow outdoors for some of them but I'm not sure how I will manage sowing all the seeds then potting on etc

We are currently without greenhouse but every windowsill and the entire kitchen table, are currently covered. As thing grow, they'll go to the porch, then greenhouse/ windowed potted shed (will have one by then!).

Not everything needs to be sowed at once, so our seeds are stored in the order in which they need to be planted. Everything will be rotated through stages as they mature and as some are being planted out, we'll still be germinating others

I'm waiting a bit then mine will have to be done in one of those little plastic greenhouses, we've got very little windowsill space and the cats climb onto them constantly. The patio table tends to get used once they are potted on, it's quite big so we can still manage to eat there too. Kitchen table is in constant use for eating, homework, crafting and my OU studies, it's not very big, so that's out too. No porch, conservatory or anything similar here either, it's a Coronation Street style terrace.

I'm the opposite of you Amantes - gloves are purely for scratch protection for me, I hate wearing them otherwise.

for dirty nails and hands: my builder fil told me that he uses mil's best bodylotion to use as 'soap' . works a treat.

I have some hand scrub from Crabtree and Evelyn which does a good job. If I remember I rub vaseline all round my nails before gardening, that keeps the worst of it from under/around the nails.

Vaseline! I'll try that. Its not the general grime which bothers me. It's the tiny gritty bits of soil residue which get wedged right down between finger and nail. I think it's possibly some kind of phobia!

Soap works too - ie scratch nails across a bar of soap before gardening.

More new people on this thread - excellent! Welcome welcome! It's lovely reading descriptions of everyone's plots and patches although I still have plot envy and am now fretting that my plot is 'too small' and hearing what people have growing.

I've not signed my paperwork and will hopefully get key early this week, then I can get up here and see what I have got. I clambered along the back of my plot and have noticed that unfortunately my she'd roof is totally rotten and full of holes. Oh well, fixable I am sure.

Still holding off on the seeds though. But by jove it's tempting...

Yes, I've tried the soap in the nails too, but after a while it dries and falls out. Also it ruins the bar of soap!

I hate gloves too! I'm perfectly happy being filthy, me . Unfortunately I see that pregnant women are advised to wear gloves whilst gardening....I forget every time, and then have an attack of paranoia afterwards! Hopefully this advice is because of toxoplasmosis and the worry of coming into contact with cat poo, as our allotments are just that bit too far away from the nearest houses to risk becoming a cat lavatory- I hope .

I bought a second hand smallish greenhouse 2 years ago for my tomatoes and cucumbers, and I use that for sowing seeds as well. Its not big, but i also have the little plastic greenhouse which I had before, I use that for moving them on when they need hardening off. Also my kitchen windowsill takes the seeds I worry about so I can keep an eye on them while washing up :) .I sow straight into pots mostly, so they sit on a wide variety of old trays and such, so I can move them around as they grow :)

I'm not going to sow my seeds until March so I can plant them out pretty swiftly- I don't have a greenhouse (i did in my last garden- sob!) and find that seedlings get leggy if they're on windowsills too long. Plus, I only have one usable windowsill (hmm, just realised the baby is now in that room- arse)! Planning to get a little plastic lean to at some point.

I'm with you Amantes- a combination of very dry hands and my previous garden being full of the neighbours catshit mean that I hate gardening without gloves. I'm not generally squeamish but I also have a morbid fear of accidentally touching a chafer grub

Some good allotment discussion on GQT today (mainly about crop rotation)!

yes Bolshy - March for me too!
and I heard the GQT as well- Amantes - Bob Flowerdew did a bit on watercress on that

bolshy! Funny you should say that because even in primary school, I used to refuse to take a spouted flip sip cup for packed lunch - because I was absolutely certain a chafer grub might be lodged in the spout and that I might not see it before sipping

Is there a GQT podcast? Shall have to have a listen!

There's some great tips here. I must investigate getting one of those bulb planters to help get rid of dandelions. Our back lawn has several on it. Untilshe died last year it was always a bit of competition between ourselves and the cat who killed half the lawn with her wee. Its looking a bit greener now but on the other hand our daughter will be getting a pet rabbit this summer (long promised to her, we've put her off for about a year!) so that will kill it. Again.
I've grown potatoes in planters and found that the amount of watering compared to the actual crop wasn't worth the effort. Maybe they needed more feeding.
I will be waiting to sow because we don't have much indoor space for the seed trays and then plant out quite quickly. We have inherited one of those plastic covered cold frame things at the allotment. I think the zip is broken on it and it was overgrown round and through it. Last summer we stupidly started stacking up the weeds round it and now its at the back of our mound. So need to sort this out and investigate further.

Did manage some digging this weekend - notice that the dandelionswere sprouting under the tarpaulin which has helped to keep the frost off and warm the soil....

AIBU...
To turn the heating up, not for the humans but purely to encourage my windowsill seeds to sprout?

Amantes - stop making me jealous! I must not sow seeds -its too cold - - we are due more cold weather later this week :(

cedar - I know tarpaulins are supposed to work, but stop encouraging the weeds! :) Do you have a hamster ? When my DDs were little their hamster adored dandelion flowers and leaves - I managed to rid of them fairly quickly from my grass with them going out to pick them !

agoodbook, quite right! Awfully bad form of me. I shall desist. Right after this! eeeeeeek!!...