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

spotted - didn't see that earlier post . Weather permitting (!) I will be planting out these - all hardened off for 14 days
sweetcorn
my 2nd variety of sprouts - 1st ones put out last week
calabrese
1st succession of sprouting broccoli
cauliflower
summer cabbage
and some sad potatoes :)
and depending on my gut instinct tomorrow - borlotti beans

honeysuckle - thats a very good question! they will be in pots with you I think? how about a layer of gravel round the bottom of the pot /eggshells/coffee grounds as mousmous suggests - copper banding is supposed to work

Duelling, I'm trying celery this year, bought some plug plants on impulse but not got them out yet. Apparently you plant them in trenches, 12" apart and keep them very well fed and watered.

are you keeping to the recommended distance when planting out? I tend to plant much closer.

If they are in potsand the snails are not in the pot, wd40.

for honetsuckle, re. Snails

TheSpottedZebra, I had a letter sent to me by the council because I really neglected the plot and didn't weed properly. Totally my fault. Thankfully I talked lied my way out of it by saying I had been unwell. I am determined not to let that happen this year.

It depends mousmous - sprouts and broccoli yes- I do as recommended, but I tend to interplant with quicker growing things like lettuce.
with cabbages/cauliflower I plant closer - I tend to plant in staggered parallel rows. It was suggested in my allotment book as being good for the plants - each gets optimal sun/water/nutrients without wasting space I don't want enormous cauliflowers or cabbages - just enough for one meal. Mind you I have loads of extra space this year so I may plant one row just to see, and plant closer and then harvest every alternative plant

One of my allotment neighbours plants everything far too close, in clumpy rows, rather than thinning out. He plants too early, puts absolutely everything in at the end of March regardless of what it is.
And digs it all up again at roughly the same time regardless of whether it is finished producing its crop. His whole allotment is clear and under polythene by September.
And does things like growing broad beans under wigwams (less than an inch apart, this year).
His beetroot has been sown like cut and cone again lettuce.

It drives me nuts. It is like watching someone constantly fidget.

Everything he gets off his allotment is very small. Except courgettes. Last year he planted 15 courgette plants. He doesn't eat courgettes.

part of the issue is he overbuys seeds. Too many packets. Then insists on using the entire packet.

Plus he puts in at least 20 rows of tatties on quite a small plot. So crams all this veg in the tiny remaining space.

I know all this because he likes to come and tell me everything he has bought at great length and then complain about it being disappointing and/or tries to give it all away to me.this is the aforementioned allotment stalker

Oh no, I am sure that people look at me and think the same. That I plant too close together. And why have I done -that? And that I am forever moving mud around. They don't know about Ben Squash you see...

It's raining now, but I am off to plot all the same. Will the borlotti and their canes still be standing...?

I plant things too close together. Because I interplant and by the time the longer things need the space, the smaller ones have been picked and eaten. Like beetroots in between cabbages or parsnips. You can do this when you plant in blocks rather than rows.

my veg bed is only 2x1.5 meters so I tend to have things too close together. it just doesn't look right when planting out those tiny seedlings.

Oh I grow my stuff too close too but his is a whole different order. Think rows sown as thickly as you can about 4 inches apart.

alternative I am really interested in the block sowing thing though.
Do you do it in raised beds? (I don't/ can't have raised beds for various reasons)
And how is it for weeding?
And do you mark it out somehow?

I do stagger rows though. Glad to see that is actually a way of doing it as I was never sure if it was 18" apart already taking staggering into account iyswim.

I just sowed my celeriac in blocks, inspired by Alternative. Isn't that part of the point of raised beds - that they're more productive? However, it sounds like Mink is talking about ridiculously close planting - plants that are crazily too near each other - rather than just playing a bit fast and loose with the seed packet rules.

No markings - I tend to visualise the finished plant and then space accordingly. Not in raised beds as such, they are beds just not raised. A fair amount of my plants are grown from seed in the greenhouse and transplanted. For carrots, they get space sowed at block intervals inbetween things like beetroot.

That's when I am being good. I sowed two huge beds last week by putting all the spare seeds into one bucket and just sowing the lot over the soil, raking in and then watering and covering with hay.

alternative's plan is virtually what I do - maybe not totally square, but same thing :) - photo is the sprouts I planted last week with the yellow lettuce in between.
It rained this morning, but stopped at about 9.30. So I planted out everything apart from cauliflowers and cabbage ( even the sad potatoes!) - I ran out of time. Went to check on my broad beans, which are looking really well - and I have my first pods appearing, so nipped out all the growing tips, so as to discourage the blackfly

my 'cat proofed' veg patch.

Minks story about the man who plants all his seeds made me smile.
My dad always grew all my plants for me - he would present me with beautiful plants ready to go in the garden.
I thought I was a gardener, but actually I was not even an apprentice! The year after he died I was determined to keep going so I took his seed box, added even more seeds and planted - it hadn't occurred to me that you didn't need to plant the whole packet in one go!
It was only when I was telling my uncle that I didn't know what to do with my hundreds of seedlings that he kindly pointed out that
a) I didn't need to plant a full pack
b) I should be doing successional sowing to get crops all summer

As this thread is about to finish and so very few people will read this post it is probably safe to say that I have planted out
1 chilli plant
1 courgette plant
5 bean plants
today
My autumn fruiting raspberries are looking vigorous in the but have no flowers. boo.
Chelsea flower show had purple cabbage among the flowers which I thought very clever.

mousmous - thats a lovely sunny spot! Thing is - will it stop the cat/s ? :)
Rooster - it was my Dad who gave me the love of gardening. A lot of the things I have in my garden are cuttings he begged for me
the morning was at the allotment, but this afternoon I was planting up hanging baskets for my daughter and myself , and planting up cucumbers, potting up courgettes and squashes -but near enough to the greenhouse is this- a Kolkwitzia, which I love .

wow - its full, so have very quickly started up a new one here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2386388-The-2015-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-Part-3-already