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

I've half gone ToughZebra already! Grrr. So, on Monday I ripped apart the roots of overgrown seedlings and shoved them into the ground (maybe less ToughZebra and more that they'd have died in their pot anyway so I may as well plant them out?).

Also, some of the tomatoes have gone straight in the cooler, sunny conservatory this morning. They've mot even gone into the warmer, sunny porch! Ruthless, me.

Runner ducks are lovely and sadly not practical here either in my postage stamp patch.

Hap we had Khaki Campbells. They were amazing. I used to carry one of them around in my arms like a baby.

I want a duck to carry round! Unfortunately it's not practical here either as I have a) also a postage stamp b) cats, and c) many prowling foxes. So it's a pipe dream. I also 'plan' to befriend an army of other birds -thrushes for slugs also, and robins, blackbirds and anything else really for things like leather jackets and chafer grubs. So I find one, put it in the special plate, and the trained bird swoops down to eat it.

Still working on that dream too.

I think my carrots were sown on the 20th so I know it would be early to see them showing through. I just fret about them when they are out of sight. On the bright side there's hardly any horsetail growing through in that patch so far.

I don't think I want to go and see what has happened at the allotment , and I'm can't get there til tomorrow, so just have to hope. All the babies here are looking surprisingly good considering the battering they took yesterday.- And more today- blowing hard and rain starting again.
This morning had a quick hour in the greenhouse and sowed my cucumbers, squashes and courgettes.
I have now run out of any vaguely suitable size pots and still have one pot of sprouting broccoli to prick out plus I need a great deal more compost ready for planting up hanging basket /tubs and tomatoes. - where has it all gone? - I think it must be my biggest expenditure !

Tragically - ooh - less horsetail, well done !. I read a tip from Bob Flowerdew to wear an old pair of woollen gloves over a pair of good rubber gloves, - use the woollen gloves with weedkiller on to rub it really well onto the plant leaves

Oh dear, apparently I have another order of cauli plugs coming (i am afraid i do most of my brassicas from plugs as if i plant in situ here they get destroyed and the seeds are so small)

I already have 15 in and another 20 are arriving. How? I must have forgotten I had already ordered some. Unless they have made a mistake and these are the ones i already ordered. So I will be re-homing them as the brassica bed has to be under the net frame it is half full already and I need to squeeze in kale, cabbages and sprouts. They are purple, orange and romanesco though so other are quite keen to take a purple one.

35 caulis! Oh my lord! I just got overwhelmed with 9 broccoli plants that all matured at the same time, so I guess if you can plant them in waves, it will help!

At least they are all different varieties. You'll have to get some barter system going where you turn them into a currency! : 'Landlord, I'll have as much wine as three cauliflowers will buy!'

35 caulis? that makes my 40 ish toms look sensible, nay conservative.

it would be great if we all lived near each other and could swap amongst us. 'Cos i dont have any caulis...

Where do you order plug plants from, btw? ive grown everything from seed thus far but i do like to make things harder than they need be.

haha at bartering cauliflowers

i have a lot of cauliflower recipes! i bloody love it. i'll swap you for brussels if/when they are ready. i seem to have managed to end up with 50 sprouts plants as DP planted them out and didn't want to throw/give any of the seedlings away! we will see whether there is any attrition ...

Its hammering it down again and still blowing a hoolie. So i too have been out to get more compost, and i got some more pots yesterday. i actually made a special trip to Poundland to buy their 15cm pots, at 5 for... yes, £1. i bought 10 sets .

So today i am finishing potting on and sowing my courgettes and squash. Finally. And they are going in the growhouse thing so fingers crossed it's warm enough in there for them

But it is going to be 5ish tonight. Just saying.

Dare i go to plot to see how my plastic bottles ans seedlings have been redistributed elsewhere?

Actually, cauliflower is very now, isn't it? For all that lo-carbing. You trendsetter.

35 caulis and 40 tomatoes - I feel positively restrained (as long as I try not to think about the hundreds of peas I have sewn)

I need to develop some of zebra's toughness. Last night I decided to leave some plants outside, then at about 11.30pm I chickened and ran out in the rain to bring my courgettes back into the potting shed.

I also have 15 sprout plants

you can order them online as collections e.g. D.T.Brown will do a cauliflower collection or autumn brassicas etc. so you might get 5 cauli, 5 sprout, 5 cabbage etc. but you order them months before they send them which is what can cause the confusion.
Had good success in the past though, ordering the autumn ones and filling all the gaps in the allotment that have opened up and then having brassicas right through from November to May.

My ideal collection would be 5 cauli, 5 kale, 1 broccoli, 5 sprouts (no cabbage - doesn't do well on my lot) but sadly that is not a combo you get.

I generally give about half away to keep thing under control.

I am wondering if i can zigzag these in amongst the caulis that are already in on the grounds that those will be ready first but i am not sure they are far enough ahead.

I love cauliflower but you can have too much of a good thing as I discovered last year with peas.

And i never put in more than 2 broccoli plants now as they take up so much space!

The spare brassicas! - I have a family of brassica lovers, so I try to be scientific- Oct-April = 5 months x 4 weeks = 20, so 1 each of cauli/sprouts/kale/cabbage/broccoli per week sounds reasonable ?
-so far I have
32 sprouts
24 caulis- (but these will be harvested up to November, have more to sow later in the year for Feb-April)
12 calabrese
36 cabbages
and lots of different sprouting broccoli which start June into next April
and about 10 kale plants, as you keep picking them ....
and so on -
But we also have an allotment shop, and people leave their spare plants on a table outside for people to take. I would rather have a few too many
(especially after last years rabbit debacle) than not enough

OMG agoodbook that is my kind of maths. And a lot of brassicas. I love them. I want to grow on your scale! The only thing I've been self sufficient in was cucamelons and tomatillos, those 2 dietary staples. If I'd have been less lazy with my chillies I could have managed it, but I didn't dry any or turn them to powder.

Oh, maybe some herbs? The rarely used ones, like sage. Poss rosemary. Def bay.

Thanks for the DT Brown idea, mink - i shall have a squizz.

agoodbook that is so organised. I need to try and think like that.
I'm more in stick it in and see if it grows mode, then I'm surprised when we have to eat 100 courgettes.

I've just sewn another row of spinach and radishes, I love them both so they'll get eaten.
I've also potted on my tomatoes and planted some cucumbers.

Mink has worried me with her pea glut. I've planted loads, mind you, usually they don't even make it into the house cos I eat them like sweets while I'm gardening.

No sign of my carrots yet.

Horsetail was coming up all over the place on my plot the other day. I spent quite a bit of time breaking off the shoots. Once the potatoes get going they'll outperform - or they should do anyway.

I also chickened out and bought my seedlings back in last night. Mainly because of the runner beans which I thought might get wind damaged. They're getting a bit leggy and really need to go in the ground so that I have some space in the house for more!

I wish we had enough space for that many brassicas! My favourite thing is braised brassicas in cream, or just wilted in butter. And sprout tops are lovely

I haven't ever grown cauliflowers or broccoli - in my head they are very difficult but I don't know if that's true!

I must admit, it was a deliberate decision as to how many of what to grow -and how much of the space to use I nearly didn't bother with potatoes and carrots, ( they have been hit and miss with me) and I don't grow onions - these are all things easily bought. But the winter vegetables are really what make the allotment pull its weight for me ( along with all the gorgeous soft fruit)
Broccoli and cauliflower haven't been a problem for me at all- ( apart from those darned rabbits!) I just put them in and leave them to it really - they seem to survive on neglect -:)

That's good to know re cauli and broc

I don't grow onions either, or carrots, for the same reason. I'm sure they're worth it but space is at a premium. I do do leeks though. I don't eat potatoes but dp does and he loves them straight out of the ground so we do a few

Hi may I join in?

Although I'm not actually growing anything yet, I have just signed the agreement on my first plot!

It hasn't been cultivated before, but doesn't seem to be in too bad nick at all...lotta weeding to get done though!

That doesn't look too bad at all, Clash! Does anyone have a mattock you can borrow? That will make clearing it a whole lot easier. What was the land used for before?

Ooh, welcome Clash ! When did you get the plot? The grass looks all lush and green, maybe it's very fertile ground? What will you grow, do you think?