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

Purple caulis, yellow rasps, orange beetroot, white and purple toms, purple goosegogs, yellow courgettes' - most of these are not GM though, they will have been bred using the usual cross fertilisation process. I grow golden beetroot, purple tomatoes, purple gooseberries and yellow courgettes every year - I don't grow yellow rasps as I find they aren't as tasty

Yes I remember all of these from my childhood so they cannot be GM. lovely memories of purple gooseberries in my uncles garden. And iirc the orange carrots were bred to celebrate William of Orange and before that there were more usually purple.

as for yellow rasps- they used to grow wild all round my grandmothers house. many happy days picking them and they are delicious. (Such a strong memory I wrote a poem about it when i was a teenager )

The yellow mangetout were indeed the heritage variety from real seeds.

and i know the caulis take up a lot of space but they are so satisfying.

plumping also salt- you can spray salt solution on your brassicas. they don't mind but slugs and caterpillars do.
The nematodes are so natural you can make your own if you have the stomach for it.

You can also try leaving piles of oats about. the slugs eat them which distracts them and also there are tales that the oats expand and kill them.

or leave orange and grapefruit peel halves or old squash outsides lying on the ground overnight then pick them up in the morning and bin them. I did it with the halloween lanterns one year and they had slugs crawling in and out the eye holes (and it got read out on GQT ).

I love the idea of slug distraction, plastic bottles cut down sound good, we don't use many, so how many slug rings can I make out of one 2l bottle?

And kudos for getting read out on GQT. Wow.
We have the yellow peas in, of the three types of pea we planted these have the best germination.

Salt! I can't believe I didn't think of salt solution!!

I've got Halloweeny images of disgusting pumpkin corpses with added slugs now btw

It's pouring with rain here today so no chance of doing any gardening. We planted out our runner beans and peas at the weekend so I hope they don't get eaten up by slugs.

I don't seem to have had any success sowing french beans or sweetcorn this year. I bought some sweetcorn plants at the garden centre and might get some beans although I might just try again with the seeds. I don't like to fail and have grown them before.

We have, on the other hand, got three pumpkin plants and five squash plants which will take up a fair bit of space. I think I'm going to dig holes in the undug bed and let them take it over.

One row of carrots are coming through but I don't think the first row were successful at all. I have a few leeks but am struggling to spot them among the grass at the moment so waiting for them to grow a bit bigger. Also waiting on radishes and lettuces which were direct sown (although I've also put some lettuces in pots which have germinated).

Potatoes are through but only in the last week or so. They were planted out at the beginning of April but the main crop didn't have particularly big chits on them. Our allotment neighbour very kindly lent us his contraption for heaping up potatoes which helped as the clay soil was really dry and horrid.

How many times/for how far do you need to cover up potatoes once they are through?

cedar03 we have a room at the end of our house which is very hot when the sun hits it and freezing in winter, so rather variable. I put my sweetcorn seeds in there and gave them a decent amount of water each day and they sprouted within 3 days I think the heat and water got them going super-fast, so maybe try that?

Are the slugs going to come out in force tonight? Please say no

Good evening!
1st trip to plot since Monday- I foolishily left the net off the peas as I was going back to put up the canes and netting for them to grow up- big mistake as the pigeons have had a feast on them. Have hurriedly covered them with wire netting until I can do a proper job tomorrow, so fingers crossed they will survive. Luckily the 2nd row is still small, so some back up....
Tragically - I only really do mine once, but I do plant them quite deep.
It really is an odd year for germination - I have resown runner beans for the very first time, !st sowing of leeks fine, 2nd sowing rubbish, and final 3rd sowing fine...
I do wonder if its the hot/cold variation. Today has been cold - best temp 10º cloudy and windy, and I shall still be putting the more tender beans in the greenhouse overnight -
I have loads of flowers already on my broad beans/redcurrants/strawberries and I wonder how well they will do this year, as it must be cold for insects

I have three blocks and one row of peas up, but only one solitary bean, I don't know if I'm allowed to feel sorry for it, are they self fertile or do I have to resow?

3 days for sweet corn! And there's me still looking hopefully at some planted a couple of weeks ago!
My runner beans germinated without any trouble. Strange that French beans have been a failure. I think you're right agoodbook the hot and cold weather probably isn't helping.

My sweetcorn have done really well, can't remember how long they took to germinate as it was a good few weeks ago, but they are looking healthy and strong. Broad beans on the other hand have been a total failure, I have bought some plants to hopefully put in at the weekend.

In the ground I have got rocket, carrots, radishes and spring onions all just coming up, some at the allotment and some at home. Haven't been up to the allotment today, I do like to get up every day even if it's only 5 mins to check things over at this time of year, but it has been raining ever since I got home from work.

My second batch of sweetcorn came up in about three days.
My runner beans and french beans just haven't germinated at all.

I've got lots of radishes, rocket, spinach and lettuce that have germinated this week.
I'm really pleased that all the soft fruit bushes we bought at Aldi in the Autumn are still alive, there were a couple that still looked like dead twigs last weekend but they are now coming into leaf.

The beans thing is just weird - I resowed the runner beans, and they are all just popping out now - sown 5 days ago, I also sowed some more sweetcorn
like Rooster. They are in the greenhouse , like the beans , and haven't budged. I think its just too cold - I didn't have the door or the window open in the greenhouse today

I've had shonky germination too. My 1st lot of sweetcorn came up quickly (but is now suffering innthe cold and damp), but batch 2 was sown 6 days and - nada. My courgettes and squash were sown daaaaays ago too, and I had all but given up hope. But today, finally, I can see sneaky peeks of green.

I'm going to try another set of french beans, but I think I'm going to give the runner beans a miss.
Just noticed that my cucumbers have germinated, I only planted them a few days ago.

No sign of my squashes or courgettes yet, so I have brought them inside onto my trusty kitchen window sill :) I think the runners came up , because I panicked and bought some seedlings - now I'll have something of a surfeit !

My first sowing of dwarf French beans resulted in just one coming up, and without proper leaves. I have sown some more but I chitted them first. The packet was still in date but was from last year so maybe a bit old, I don't know. My first lot of peas were the same, but after chitting the next lot they have come up well

Mmm I chitted my peas, but not the beans, resow and chit, or am I too late, I bet the beggars will sprout if I do some more....

No sign of my beans yet but have often has failures with french beans.
I'd resow.

I only chitted the second time to maximise chances after the first lot failed. Both the bean and mange tout packets are left over from last year, and although still in date perhaps they are better fresh each year

My failed beans are Real Seed Catalogue ones, this year, I'm afraid if it'll be supermarket cheapie if I get more

French beans - if they have failed by mid may then you sowed them far far too early. They need warmth to survive. Even the chilly nights in a greenhouse at the moment are too cold. They are French and delicate, not broad and hardy.

I sowed my first French beans last week. And only a few. The main ones I'll be sowing in at least a couple of weeks. Plus - white French beans have a lower germination rate than any of the ones that are coloured black, red or speckled in any way. And did I mention that they need warmth?

When you can safely sit outside with no cardi on, in the evening - that's the time to sow French beans.

i sowed them indoors though, in april

Well my french beans obviously heard me complaining as one has decided to germinate! I have sown them inside on a window sill. I only put a few in though so might sow some more. (When I've created a bit more space, its getting crowded!).

Oh, and of the yellow french beans that I put in a few weeks ago, three germinated but two don't have any leaves and are just a stalk. I am vaguely hoping they might produce leaves even though my head tells me that I should be tough and give up on them.

Might put some more of those in as well as they are the ones my daughter particularly likes.