The 2015 Allotment / Veg Patch Thread Part 2

[agoodbook]

the previous thread is just about full, - well done spotted so welcome to everyone interested in growing their own veg!

Previous thread is here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2282529-The-2015-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-its-here?msgid=53650520

It's lovely to catch up, I'm definately an all the gear no idea gardener!! I'm always a bit scared about when I should harvest things and then leave it too long, or not long enough!!

The pallets are sorted, soil has been brought and filled, and the frost one has been played with salad seeds. Now I must remember to water if it's dry!!

I had a lovely hour planting on my seedlings although some were pretty big I'm glad to hear some of you haven't started your corguettes yet, mine seedlings have died!

If only my Ratbag son would go to sleep earlier I could get out for a bit longer!! I've lots to burn so a nice fire and an evening potter!!

I'm hopping to get more done over the bank holiday weekend!

Now then - advice please! I have just brought inside my tomato plants as another frost due tonight - they are lovely and healthy but I have the startings of flower clusters on the 'Marmande' beefsteak- miles too early to set I would have thought - do I leave them on, or cut them off....?

So, i am slowly getting there with the allotment I took on in February. See before an after shots!
I have planted peas, which didn't show, so after 3 weeks I planted broad beans in the same place...probably a big mistake?!! I have potatoes also, which have started coming up now, beetroot, no show so far, and lettuces, which I covered with fleece and have started showing now!

I am digging a section, then planting, then digging some more! See all the weeds and couch grass!

Sorry I can't advise on anything dos I don't actually know anything!
I have been hardening off my plants following the advice of a poster above.
I am worried though that the weather will get cold and all my plants will die if I put them outside!

Nothing in my first batch sown has come up (pwrhaps it got to hot in the propagator). A few leaves showing for the spinach beet and a solitary butternut squash from the second batch.

Amazing work piratespoo!

I also want to know the answer to agoodbook's tomato question

Thats okay pirates - maybe someone will know - I have been growing tomatoes for a few years, and it hasn't happened to me before
I am hardening off as well- its a move around dance-
things in greenhouse during day to house overnight
things in cold frame during day - covered or into greenhouse overnight
things outside during day - into (another) open cold frame overnight
and so on !
about 2 weeks from greenhouse to ready to plant is my usual time frame...
am very impressed with all that hard work - its satisfying isn't it? Just make sure you are not having a frost, as your potatoes will need earthing up to protect them :)

Wow Pirates that looks fab.

I also have an early flowering tomato plant - I've been googling but, of course, the advice is conflicting. Some say take them off ... others say leave them.

Many of my tomatoes are flowering too. It is very early for that, isn't it?

My instinct tells me to leave it (so it is clearly not the right thing to do!), as I am a right old wuss at pinching out, thinning out and other such murderous acts.

How do we now when it's frost? I don't really watch the news and weather. Is there a gardeners frost website?

Also, do potatoes that are just showing a little bit, an inch or two up with three or four leaves need earthing up? When earthing up do you completely cover the plant? I have always left an inch or two showing?

We are all in the same boat then - I wondered if it was the variety. I sowed my tomatoes about a week earlier than last year as they took forever to flower last year, and though I had a great crop, they were late.
I wouldn't mind, but my greenhouse is bursting with flower seedlings, and they have to be out for the tomatoes in their final size pots to go in properly.
I may have a look tomorrow to see if they all have flowers on, and then do the 'half off/half left on..

pirates - anything below about 2-3º will nip the tops and slow them down
it depends where you are - I'm in Yorkshire and most of the north is due that sort of temp tonight ,or lower if in the country ( as I am )

you can just cover with fleece or black plastic for the odd night - it should be getting warmer next week fingers crossed - earthing up is really to produce more potatoes during the growing season rather than as frost protection, but if they are just popping out, it won't hurt to cover them .

I cover potatoes completely but they soon pop through again.

Did anyone lusten to GQT last week? A retired meteorologist had temperature mapped his garden with little sensors and was saying there can be several degrees difference between ground level and a foot or two up, which makes sense to me. So plants on a patio table for example will be much warmer than sitting on the ground, it was an interesting interview.

My poor tomato plants have been on the unheated greenhouse for a few weeks now, but seem to be okay (they were from Wilkos - 10pmfor all six plugs as they were "dead" 3 of them are looking good now!! Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't have the stomach for gardening - I buy all the cheap dying plants, can't bear to thin out, or discard seedlings, don't like pinching out. Sounds like a few of us need to toughen up!!

Don't nip your tomato flowers off, when they open give them a shake so that the pollen spreads and they will still mature in their own time. Once you do have flowers though, it is time to feed them. Either put comfrey juice into your watering can or use a store bought plant food. And tomatoes have feeder roots at the top so feed from the surface, even if you water by putting it in a tray for them to soak up.

Peas and broad beans will be more than happy growing together.

Earthing up potatoes - always keep the shoots covered until your last frost date. Then, if you choose to earth up then that is your choice but you don't need to after that. I only cover the shoots until mid May then leave them.

Karate and Pirates you've done LOADS in such a short space of time! Totally puts me to shame. Your patches look amazing!

Thanks Alternative for the tomato advice. I am taking heart from the fact that in this case my instincts (to not nip flowers) were correct. I never knew that about feeding from the top. Are the feeder roots the shorter fatter ones?

Without getting too technical - tomatoes put feeder roots out wherever their stems can find access to nutrients. So any stem that is underground will put out more feeder roots which is above the main root system. See the video to see this in more detail. If you leave the indeterminate [vine] tomatoes without anything to keep them off the ground, they will root the whole length of their stem.

Don't forget that you only need to grow one of each variety of vine tomato - you can use the sideshoots that you would normally pinch out as cuttings for new plants. Because they are the same genetic age as the parent, they start flowering much lower down the stem, so are shorter and more sturdy plants.

Ooh, interesting, Alternative ! I might try growing a vine one sideways if space permits.

I'm def going to try growing more plants from the armpit bits. Not that I need more plants, but it will be good to try. Also, that will force me to pinch out those bits, which I don't think I did before, as I am a wimp.

I wouldn't - the fruit gets slugged or trodden on...if you want to, then make sure you have lots of straw around it.

Ah, slugs, good point. They're rife around here so it's probably a non-starter! Will stick to growing toms upwards, and downwards (hanging baskets) instead. I do love tomatoes.

All these things I never bother doing I just chuck my tatties in the ground, mound over and leave. They are poking out now, am I supposed to cover them up- thing is last frost here will probably be mid June.

I nip out side shoots on my toms and then leave them to it. I tickle them if they are inside and if they get massively overloaded I might thin them but mostly they just do as they wish.

I rarely cover things against frost, except my precious globe artichokes which are covered between October and April.

Despite being in the frozen North most stuff seems to do ok.

Treat em mean

Guess I am lazy as I never bother with tricky crops e.g. asparagus or anything like dahlias that need dug up and replanted.

About earthing up potatoes... what do you recommend I do when I go away on holiday for all of July? Going away for a month and although I have someone to water the garden and pick off fruit/veg that is over ripe, I don't want to give her too much to do.
The potatoes are in potato growing sacks at the moment but I've rolled the sides down and as the leaves appear, I pack more soil around the stems so only the top leaves are showing. Am I doing this right?

And what should I do before holiday? Cover the whole plant in soil? Leaves too?

TheDiet - what potatoes have you grown, first earlies, main crop etc? If the former, should be ready by July!

A lovely couple of hours at plot just now. I've planted out chard, perpetual spinach and the dreaded asparagus pea seedlings. And did a bit of light tidying. There are signs of my beetroot coming up too -hurrah! New, ToughZebra will be called into action soon as my turnips are coming up in clusters all in top of each other. Clearly I didn't sow them particularly well! They'll def need lots of thinning.

TheDiet, if you haven't eaten them by then I'd just leave them as they are, ask your neighbour to water them as they'll dry out quite quickly if they are in sacks and the weather is (hopefully) warm. I only earth up while it's still cold.

I was planning to do battle with ground elder today but it has been raining all day. DH lit the fire so I've been sat crocheting and browsing gardening websites. I haven't bought any seeds or plants yet, but I've bookmarked lots of possibilities.