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

Guerrilla gardening sounds fantastic, but not so much fun if it's official, sort of like council run graffiti, it just doesn't seem right.

Brilliant love the guerilla gardening. I shoukd try that with my leftovers as well as handing them out.

I have been meaning to go to little sparta too! Love a good garden.

spotted - rust on garlic - fairly common - the bulbs should still be edible , but when you lift them, don't compost the affected leaves.

I ate my first garden produce today - a single radish. it was a bit small and i should have left it but curiosity got the better of me.
it was lovely!

oh how exciting!
the first 'harvest' is always the best.
the dc are eyeing up the strawbs (still green), and we had the first rhubarb crumble.

anyone know about scrub hibiscus? I had planted out my cuttings a few weeks ago an they are still alive but now am wondering what kind of feed they need. can't go wrong with tomrite, can I? or would a rose one be better?

What's scrub hibiscus?

I had my first stewed rhubarb yesterday (with greek yogurt and maple syrup, yum).

No idea what scrub hibiscus is though.

a typo
it's a shrub as opposed an annual malva.
mine are supposed to have blue/purple flowers but we will see (as so often depends on acidity of soil.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibiscus_syriacus

I hot calallo seeds today (amaranthus). Looks bonkers in the picture but I am guessing it does not taste as exciting.

When I tried growing amaranths before they got eaten the 2nd they appeared, everytime and by everything! Anyone got any tips/tales of sucess?

Also trying quinoa.

I want to do guerilla gardening! There are some flower beds on the estate near us that haven't been cared for in years - perhaps I could get something in those. Do I need a balaclava?

Yay for radish and rhubarb!

Not much happening over here - rained all day yesterday so didn't get out aside from to quickly water in the greenhouse. Hopefully will get more done today.

Zebra yes Chioggia is an excellent pumpkin to eat, as well as lovely to look at. I have no room for courgettes and pumpkins this year unless I grow them up, not along.

My tale of amaranth is that I sowed some a couple of years ago, and got one measly plant that died. This year it's all over, along with poppies, so maybe it grows once the ground has been disturbed, like poppies?

Thanks agoodbook re garlic rust. Do I pull up early, or try to take the affected leaved off, or do I just leave? Darn this wet weather!

mink I tried calalloo last year (the James Wong one? Pic looks amazing!) but it came to nothing, it just stayed as a patchy green 5 cm leave, ravaged by flea beetle. I still gave seed left, but I've not tried it this year. Does it like shade? Maybe I should try it again if so...

Bearleigh - I'm so glad that you liked the Chioggia, I know nothing about pumpkins and squashes and I just picked it from the picture, and so that I had a mix of round one, warty one, sausage shaped one etc. They are possibly the things that I am most excited to try to grow and eat this year.

mousmous - I have 2 hibiscus and don't do much at all- just the annual mulch of compost....they are about 20 years old and have coped with a lot of heavy winter weather, so they must be tough -- though the last couple of years they haven't flowered as well, I suspect because its been dry here. Though I may have to replace/move them as in that 20 years an Irish Yew near them is now really big, and that may well be affecting them.
spotted - unless the leaves are really bad, or dead I would leave them on - they will still be feeding the bulb

Well, I have my plot keys finally!! And I am the proud owner of a HUGE amount of mates tail. From my initial assessment if just a few dandelions, to Mares tail. Thistle, clover and dock ooh and strawberries! Lots of strawberries everywhere! I have spent a long weekend completely clearing one bed and pruning back the hedges. This morning I am hitting the strawberry beds to get them some room to breathe! Exciting!

Hooray! My top tip is to take loads of photos of it now. Then you can look back with satisfaction as you clear it. Works wonders for morale at those moments when you feel it's all overwhelming.

And yay for strawbs!

At last Linski ! - there are a few on the thread with mares tail, they will be on with advice I'm sure.
just take it steady though- its a long term thing, but it is perfect timing for clearing a space and planting /sowing straight away - don't try and dig it all over first as the weeds just grow behind your back :)

Hurrah, Linski ! Lovely to have strawbs, that'll be a nice harvest for you in not too long.
You can join the show and tell too, post a pic!

Should rhubarb be absolutely huge by now? Mine is pathetically tiny (less than a foot tall)

mine is small, too.
but I planted it only last year.

Oh no - that's even worse - mine was planted in February! I've been comforting myself by assuming that it will be gigantic next year!!

the first year mine was tiny, they need some time to establish the roots.
look forward to crumble for next year!

Plumping - be patient, mine took about 4-5 years to really get going, but its worth letting them settle in, you will get more rhubarb in the long run :)

I do have the option of transferring it to a raised bed - the problem is that the raised bed is currently very shady (under a tree). It will be fully exposed to sunshine from October-April though.

Do I leave it where it is, in a large pot with lots of sunshine, or should I move it? If so, when?

Rhubarb stress!

rhubarb should never be in a pot (so I have heard)
half shade is fine.
it needs rich soil best if you can put some manure (horse can be fresh) in the hole before you plant.