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

Hello! Can I join please? I have been growing from seed in a propagator and just put my first seedlings (runner beans!) in to small hadopots on the window sill for the time being.

I have a spare bit of land at home, so no allotment needed. However, the ground is full to brim with weeds so I put down a weed membrane and gravelled over two summers ago. I will be growing in containers.

I have peas, beans, carrots, brocolli, rocket, lettuce, beetroot and aubergine. I'd like to put in potatoes and parsnips, but imagine will need plugs of those now.

So, any good sources for plugs or do I go with the many local garden centres?

My site gets equal sun, brick wall in morning, fence at night. The brick wall is not mine, but fence is, so there are some trellis options I guess... I have a joint condition so can't do kneeling on the ground etc which is another reason for containers... I will put the small ones on an old table, and the huge pots for climbers etc can go on floor as they'll be higher.

Any advice for me? Am I mental?

Photo of plot

Gah! Fence gets sun in afternoon, obviously not at night! What a Muppet.

You're not mad at all honeysuckle you can grow loads in containers and grow bags.

I've just been promised some tomatoes (varieties I don't have) and cauliflower plants by a colleague and I'm giving her some peas and courgettes.

Wooo, always good to know. I might be able to beg some sun gold cherry tomatoes from my grandmother.

I am wondering about fruits as well. Probably bushes, blueberries and the like. But there are loads of birds above my site so a bit worried that it would all get eaten immediately! Not sure I have patience for netting, etc.

Good Evening!

welcome honeysuckle - looks as if you already have plans :) potatoes - you can still find some places selling seed potato ( our local garden centre had quite a lot for example) and parsnips - I will be sowing some at the weekend, certainly not too late. Raspberries I find don't get eaten by birds much, nor gooseberries if that helps! as its quite small if you want to grow fruit, you could just throw old net curtains over when the fruit are nearing ripe.

Linski - its just horrible waiting - we waited nearly 5 years for ours, and now there isn't even a waiting list! And you just itch to get on with it if you are like me :)

So my day was quite busy went and checked after all the wind, but luckily no damage. I picked and then dug up all the last bits of sprouting broccoli and kale, also the last of the leeks. Also cut my first spring greens for tea - absolutely delicious.(winter jewel is the variety)
Beetroot and swede seedlings just showing and 2nd row of peas coming through nicely- its like true magic just as shove says
Was watching the weather earlier this evening on the local news and saw the overnight temperature. Frantically got up to the plot to cover asparagus and potatoes ( as were quite a lot of others ) - forecast 1-2º and as I drove home it was 15º - mad !

honeysuckle I've grown potatoes in containers before now. Plant them quite far down - you need a tall container or you can get planters that are like sacks - so that you can 'heap up' by adding more soil on the top. I saw someone on Gardeners World doing it with a pile of old car tyres once - he just added on more tyres onto the pile.
One disadvantage of growing in our raised bed has been that the snails lurk around the edges both inside and outside. We do have a ridiculous number of snails in our garden though!

Thank you agoodbook! I have some net curtains which my cats made friends with, so can do that quite easily.

Cedar I have some 50L sacks, hopefully that'll do! I read that you plant in a half full container, theb when you see a shoot, you cover with soil, repeat until container is full. Is that right? I was a bit confused as surely that will make shoots very long, but potatoes are a root vegetable? So I worry there won't be enough room for them to grow!

I don't know much about how allotments work - have they introduced stricter rules so that people who aren't able to manage the allotment any more can be moved on more easily, thereby reducing waiting times?

I'm at the five to seven years waiting lists.

I'm based in York and was very lucky to get a plot on the site I wanted almost immediately. Purely anecdotally, it seems that the council are now splitting plots as they become vacant and giving half plots to new people - then if a plot next to your half-plot becomes vacant, you have first refusal on it - provided you've cultivated 75% of your plot. I think it's a grand idea - a half plot seems an ideal size for a newbie.

I think my site take quite a broad view of what constitutes 'cultivating' - they won't allow you to leave a plot fallow, but did see one plot that mainly consisted of a well-manicured lawn with a swing and childs playhouse on it. The vibe I got was that they were happy provided the plot was in use.

I have heard that other sites are stricter but there is usually a bit of leeway provided it's clear you're doing something.

well Clash - I am only about 15 miles away! we finally got our plot when they split them in half - (now you can only have half,) but we are lucky as DH has one half - and I have the other now ( only for the last 2 months) as joint tenant with the other plot holder . We have inspections followed by warnings if you are not cultivating it-

Gosh, reading all the allotment rules makes me realise how lucky I am to have a .75 acre garden. Mind you, I'm sure DH would love to impose some rules.
He did ask me if I thought it might be a good idea to spend some time tidying my potting shed so I can get my tools in there - when I run out of room I shove them in DH's giant shed which annoys him.

I planted some courgettes out today. My lettuce looks good, I can't wait until I'm able to harvest some.

I waited about four years, I think. I was expecting it to be longer but, as others have mentioned, they've started splitting allotments and only letting people have a half sized plot so that's moved the waiting lists on a bit. Mine is about 5m x 15m and TBH that's a good size for me while I'm getting it established (and it'll have to continue to be a good size for me as there's nothing bigger being given out now).

I applied v v late one Friday night, and heard 1st thing Monday morning. Most odd, I was expecting to sit on the waiting list for years. I use this point to illustrate why I know nothing! As had I sat on the waiting list, I would have planned and educated myself My plot is abput 93 m sq IIRC. It's a bit small for me tbh, I am now thinking that I'd like more. But I could still be kidding myself as it is still my 1st year, there is still not much growing on it, and I've not actually got to the busiest time yet. Plus, I really should step it up a bit at work - I do contract work but have been v much foot off the pedal recently.

It rained all yesterday, heavily mostly, which of course is lovely for the plants but not great for me.I think there is less rain forecast today and not much wind, so I'll make it to the plot today after I have got my fill of election news.

Our plot - which is run by the council and doesn't seem to have much in the way of an association or politicking - is fairly laid back with rules and regs I think. I was told that I had to have started cultivation within 2 months, and then there is a clause about keeping it reasonably free of weeds, etc.

We can have sheds and greens houses, small polytunnels, chickens but no cockrels, rabbits (!) and we can grow fruit veg and flowers. We can't bring any tyres on site and supposedly they are quite strict about that. We can't have any fires on site, but er, people do so I guess they are not that strict about that one. I'm quite glad that it is not ruled with an iron rod, as I am not very tidy and would hate to be told to neaten my edges and cut my grass.

Yes spottedzebra I'm also scrambling for information.

I have purchased 'allotments for dummies' and am working through that, have also been on the Internet constantly.

I keep telling myself that everyone was 'new' to it all once and I'll (hopefully!) learn from my mistakes.

I have a few green-fingered people in my family but they all seem to contradict each other so I suppose the best way to learn is to get stuck in.

Can't wait to get the keys to my plot. Can I ask a stupid question, I don't currently have a shed on my plot - will put one on eventually, but it won't be within the first year, I wouldn't have thought. So, in terms of tools,I'm have a wheelbarrow, hoe, spade, fork, trowel and dinky fork. They're not new, and are all scrounged from other people. Do I have to bring them back and forth from the allotment each time I visit?

The site seems very secure, the manager said they'd never had an issue with break-ins and has a high security fence all around it and no houses nearby with lock and keys etc. Would they be ok covered in tarp and left there?

What do other people do?

I read a couple of books and lots of Web pages, but mostly I ask people on this thread and other plot holders. Then ignore the latter as they just tell me to cover everything in glyphospate, and build massive structures out of wood! No, they are actually v nice. Just obsessed with weedkiller.

I inherited a shed but it is v v broken, has not much of a roof and is very insecure. So I only leave chicken manure and stuff like that in there. But - I only live a few minutes walk away, and I only have 1 set of tools anyway, so schlepping them about is actually fine. Plus the spade belonged to my late dad, and id really hate to lose it. If I need to I can take my car there, eg if I have manure to take to plot. Also, much as I love it at the mo - and I really really do - I don't really know if the love will last, so I want to do it cheaply the 1st year. Hence no new shed, no new tools etc.

If I do still love it next year as I fully expect to, I think I will get one of those boxes instead of a shed, and leave a few bits up there. The only things I really use though are trowel, spade and trug, and a hand hoe thing. Plus I've used a rake a couple of times to spread mulches, also loppers and secateurs but I don't use them regularly. My soil is heavy clay so not really that rake-able yet. When I have stuff growing, I expect I'll need to use a longer hoe.

Maybe ask around and see if the other plot holders agree that there are no troubles with break-ins, and get a feel for what they do with their tools?

A box might be a good idea...wonder if I can disguise it as some class of garden seat?

You can get benches where the seat lifts up to reveal storage beneath...

We put a shed on ours and left it unlocked for the first two years. Only put a lock on it after a roll of black weed fabric went missing [they ignored the actual tools!]. Then it got busted last year but nothing taken - our lottie neighbour's sheds were also broken into and one lost around £2ks worth of work tools. If I had no shed I'd keep to the minimum [swoe, mattock, rake] and pop it under a dirty tarp myself.

I've got one of those bench box things now and love it, I'm only 5 mins walk away too but I'm often on the school run or on the way home from work too and quickly got tired of having to bring stuff. I keep quite a lot up there now, small stuff like plant labels, twine, stanley knife, pen as well as tools. It's not long enough for my rake and hoe though.
My best thing is a small folding sack truck for shifting bags of compost around, I've got various injuries and it's a godsend.

Just obsessed with weedkiller.

I ask them if weed killer kills weeds, why do they have to keep buying it? I'd rather save my money and health and carry on hoeing thanks. They spend as much time and effort spraying as I do hoeing! And hoeing is free.

For going back and forth I keep one of the small Ikea blue bags, sturdy, cleanable, roomy and goes over my shoulder so easy to carry. I keep it by the back door and pop in anything I want to take next time I go plus my thermal mug of coffee.

Well, tbf it's only ten minutes walk away so carry able. I think I'll leave my tools covered in old tarp until I can get a chest/bench and then move up to a shed.

So, the courgette and squash that I cruelly shoved outside are smaller than the ones that stayed inside a few days longer but they are still alive. One is now on the allotment. i dug up my old strawberry bed, thinned the runners, replanted them elsewhere and popped the courgette in the old bed.

The strawbs were inherited and absolutely delicious but last year they didn't do well. Presumably because they had been in too long. Will taking some of the runners and moving them bring them back or do i just need entirely new plants?

Why don't slugs eat dock leaves? surely if there were a pest that ate dock they would absolutely thrive! Niche there for you bugs.

and finally still precious little sign of any of peas, mange tout, beetroot, runner beans (all direct sown) so i don't know if they are coming up and getting eaten immediately, dud seed, or just hiding from the cold about to burst forth.