The 2015 Allotment / Veg Patch Thread Part 3 already!

[agoodbook]

Just seen the other is full , so here goes - we are heading for summer now! Welcome to everyone old and new :)

here is a link to the previous thread

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2350947-The-2015-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-Part-2?msgid=54546739

Zebra I DARE you to start a thread in AIBU. "AIBU to keep all of my tomato armpits?"

afternoon!
cedar - such a shame about the french beans , and something munching your shallots ? are they pecked, or nibbled , could it be rabbits - (not sure they eat them, but they certainly took all the tops off my leeks one winter.)
Diet I water squashes/courgettes/climbing beans , and then about twice a week , but really well. More if there hasn't been any rain, and a bit more when they are filling out the fruit/veg - ie the ones that put a lot of quick growth on really. Everything else is left to it, unless it is really, really dry. I just water in the plants when planting out, and let them get on with it. Especially brassicas - they need a good root system to see them through winter gales.
shove - have you complained about the lack of water? If you are all paying rent on the assumption , is there a case for a discount?
As you all probably know, we have a long established site, with standing water taps every 5/6 plots. But in our tenancy agreement, if we have a shed, you have to harvest the water - and they provide water tanks for this
Overwintering shallots - I bought 'Jermor' banana shallots as sets from D T Browns in September, and then some more in March from Amazon - but when i went to look, the second lot are 'Longor' banana shallots - I only just remembered that I couldn't get any more Jermor ! so now I cant properly compare.
*shove' -i use shallots a lot for quick cooking - much milder flavour than onions, but cook in just a few minutes, or not at all.
cupcakes - I have my DGS tomorrow - may just see about the suncatcher :)

agoodbook don't think it's rabbits attacking the shallots as I don't think we have a problem with them. It probably is slugs.

I bought onion sets in the spring and planted them. I've no experience of growing onions from seed but if they're anything like the leeks they'll take an age!

We have water tanks rather than taps so we can't use hose pipes. But I'm building up my muscles lugging the water up and down. And my daughter is willing to help with watering some times.

agoodbook suncatcher info (plus lots of other lovely ideas) here: theimaginationtree.com/2015/06/laminated-flowers-crown-and-art.html - we just cut out circles and hole-punched to make the suncatchers.

shove lots of benefit to overwintering crops on a large scale so presume its the same for us lesser mortals.
Reduction in soil erosion and compactionutrient scavenging.

Phone misbehaving, sorry, have also pmed you.

Cedar I have been to see a very knowledgable old school gardener and he haa shown me his onion damage...
And the well trodden path from onions to hole in the wall, he has been watching and actually saw the culpret and the long green stalk disappearing.
It was.what he called a woodmouse, larger than a house mouse, brown with white underbelly. It had eaten loads before his cat who was.also watching caught it.

I'm a bit scared of pinching out and I've lost track of which tomatoes are which! Does it really matter? please say no

The peas are coming along, I've failed at succession sowing - enough rocket to feed 5000 but nothing else seems to be coming up after we've eaten the last pak choi and other none hot salad leaves!! It didn't help that we have a self sown rocket patch which I've left!! That will come up when my over wintering brassicas show up lazy gardening!! I've ordered mine online

I need to water things tonight after mini kimmi has gone to sleep!!

evening!
thanks Cupcakes for that link - have pinned it to look at later :)
karate - it wont matter - you will still get tomatoes! Pinching out is easy though - once you have 5 or 6 trusses of flowers on the plant ( or fruit already!) just find the very top of the plant and nip out the growing tip with your fingers. It's really hard to succession sow - its all or nothing!
I do think having something to protect the soil over winter is important.
I did sow a green manure first year on the plot, but it seemed such hard work digging it in next spring - the stuff was really well established by then! For me, i cover with a thick layer of rotted manure on any area without plants. I tend to dig very thoroughly after harvest in autumn , when I know nothing else is going in , and immediately cover it for winter. It acts a s a good mulch to stop weeds, and then I just need to turn it over, and dig in in spring, ready for planting - though you do have to be careful with how you source manure, as pointed out by alternative on an earlier thread.

violet - you've just solved a mystery for me. I planted out some onions, grown from seed, a few weeks back. Every time I go to the plot, one has vanished. Not nibbled, not chewed - completely vanished. They are netted, too. I haven't been able to understand what could be doing it, but there definitely is enough room for a determined mousey to squeeze under and grab one.

goodbook - I haven't moaned about the water yet. I'm being charged a very low rent because there isn't any, so there are compensations . Rents here are very expensive compared to elsewhere, too, so I should probably just sit back and enjoy it while it lasts! Also, it's a completely new site that the council are doing, and I suspect they are under the cosh in financial terms trying to juggle the maintenance of all the lovely parks we have with things like allotments. Half of the allotments are done, but the other half are still under development, and there is progress, albeit slow. So I shall possess myself in patience (this is very much not my strong suit psychologically).

My tomatoes are still tiny . I think it might be the unseasonably cold weather we are getting up here??

Where is alternative? I miss her!

Are your tomatoes outside shove?.the cold really checks them. Also it depends on variety. Mine are quite large (compared to other people growing here) because of the variety as they are an outdoor/short season variety.
I have grown another outdoor variety latah that are designed for a long cool season so they grow noticeably slower then suddenly go mad and take over the lot.

If they are outside can you give them some shelter? Fleece? And note the variety, consider something else next year.

I have a question about my shallots- is it right that they don't need watering now they are well established? And should I earth them up as they are pushing out of the ground now they are getting bigger.

Shove Its good that your council are starting up new allotment sites. Mostly they seem to want to close them if they can get away with it.

Violet I hadn't considered mice (or rats I guess). I'll have to take a closer look next time I get up there. We do have rats round and about. Last year we had one which took up residence in the back garden. It was eating my pet friendly slug pellets - I vaguely wondered where they were going and then one evening I spotted it come out from under the shed run over to the border, have a nibble and run back. When I inspected it had ignored the carrots and peas growing there but the slug bait had disappeared.....

mink my neighbour at the allotment said to feed onions and shallots every now and again. That is the limit of my knowledge. I don't think you earth them though.

I didn't think pet friendly meant that friendly

Thanks for that. Did your shallot sets produce numerous shallot bulbs?

mink - no, they're in the bleeding greenhouse!

I've been keeping the door open because I saw a programme where Monty Don went all stern and told a couple off for having it closed: 'It's a greenhouse, not a hot house'. It has got up to 40 degrees in there when the sun has been shining, but the last week or so it's been overcast and it's only been at 17 or 18. The other thing is that my garden is north-facing, and despite it being right at the end out of the house's shadow, it does only get sun at certain times of day.

What is the optimum temperature this time of year? Should I be closing the door? I have automatic vents which open above a certain temperature.

Oh, and I'm growing gardeners' delight and black cherry.

Shovetheholly in order for tomatoes to grow the night temperature can not be below 10C. In order to set fruit it can't be below 14C.

Some pictures of them - I've tried to pull the camera back to give a sense of scale because I really struggle sometimes to see how big something is otherwise! (And a gratuitous one of my fireworky alliums, because the bees just adore them and it's so nice to have the garden full of their hum).

ethel - aha! I think that's my problem. Night temperature here has been well below that for ages.

That's not tiny! My tomatoes are about that size (outdoor in London) and other plot holder's tomatoes are a similar size. They normally get HUGE in July don't they?

I would also consider putting them in a bigger pot/grow bag in the ground. They could be pot bound if they have 'stopped' growing.

ethel - you think? That makes me feel a bit better. I have never managed to get tomatoes to July before. They always get blight outdoors here. So this is my first try indoors! (The white stuff on the leaves is blight prevention spray).

It's just that a guy at my allotment has some that are HUGE in his greenhouse. And they have flowers. sob

I have some growbags ready and waiting, but I read not to put them in until they have flowers. Should I ignore that and go ahead?

Mine have flowers on but they have only just appeared. Right now the plants should be growing their root system as much as possible before they set fruit.

I would go ahead and shove them in to make sure that the growth restriction isn't due to pot size.

Have you tipped one out and looked at the roots. Are they circling the circumference of the pot? If so they need more room.

I have some with almost ripe tomatoes. But I was cruel to that plant. Had it in a 5 inch pot with 3 inches of soil in it. (Indoors on window cill at work). It stresses them into early fruit. I repotted it this week tho (then forgot to water it). So goodness knows what it will do now.

Must aak my 'helpful' allotment neighbour not to.water my shallots. I don't want slimy onions.
Yes they have produced about 5 shallots per set.

ethel - I shall have a look at those roots over the weekend and report back! Mink I am at your ripe tomatoes in June!

In fact, about everyone's tomato flowers.

Comparison being the thief of joy should definitely be my quote of the day!