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

ethel - how tidy is your plot? I don't think I will be posting pics of mine any time soon - maybe winter when its covered in snow

agoodbook - lovely of you to try to work it out for me, but I've grown about 95% of stuff at home and transplanted when strong with good roots! And I've added shed loads of organic stuff, and I have loads of worms too!

Well, some positive news from me (apart from the fact that the remaining asparagus pea plants are now, well, not - ie they're out of the soil and in my compost). My first plot tomatoes look to be ripening! Tigerella and Losetto. Yay.

Ooh, my sweetcorn seems to be starting to flower, but it's still mini. It's Sweet Nugget, which isn't meant to be tiny. Is it doomed?

spotted its just a very odd growing year then ! Though a lot of what is happening seems to be widespread - a friend of mine has given up on beans this year , but also has a glut of courgettes already.....

Also, barely seen a ladybird or a butterfly of any description sadly

corn is very hungry, needs lots of fertiliser and needs different plots each year. if they are in the same area as last year they need feeding. if you can get hold of horse manure, they like that.

I think I've seen 1 ladybird. 1 ! And I've been outside loads so have had plenty of chance to see them. And there's aphids galore for them to eat, too. And yes, very very few butterflies too. But more moths than ever.

My corn is in quite a manured spot, mous ! No idea what was there last year however.

I reckon I'm not the best grower . I'll just stick to tomato armpits I think!

My next bid for help is my rasps: (see pic). One shoot seems to be all blotchy - mineral deficiency? But the rest of that cane is fine. Any ideas?!

Some of mine at home ( summer ones) are like this - googled it - they suggested either virus ( and so a poor crop) or lack of iron possibly (if plenty of fruit) so I have watered with sequestene , as I'm on chalk, and will keep a close eye on them .

I hasn't been up to me allotment for a week, and boy I noticed a difference! I had one overgrown courgette and one good sized one and about 4 more growing. My potatoes seems ready so I dug up two charlottes and got a good amount , I think. My sugar snap peas have grown loads and I was well pleased! They taste so nice raw!
My corn seem to have heads growing and my beetroot are doing well, harvested two.
I even got some more digging done as I still have half the plot left to weed and dig over. Hard going in this heat!
My cucamelons in the greenhouse are still tiny, they grow so slowly compared to cucumbers which I have had several of. And my tomatoes are starting to turn red! Yay!

Oh, and I saw loads of ladybirds!

Ooh, lovely pics, Pirate !
I just popped up v quickly to plot today, to pick a load of chard and perp. spinach, and I made a sort of spanakopita which was lovely if I do say so myself! I used a ton of homegrown parsley and dill too. Some of the chard is bolting, which is most odd.

agoodbook I've had that many aphids this year (and no ladybirds ) that a virus would be very very possibly. But a mineral deficiency, hey? Interesting. I have no idea what to do about that so I'd have to get Googling.

I've sort of decided that perhaps my cucurbit issues are down to the overly-shaded bottom bed, and the crazy amount of blackfly. The courgettes/squash in other places are doing better - still not producing much but definitely healthier. The trees at the end have really shot up this year, and they're not a good 3 or more stories high. Next year I'll use that bed for shady stuff only. And I might also enquire about getting a nother/different plot too...

It's my future raspberry bed I think. And whatever other fruit will grow there. It's not total shade at all.

Spotted...my chard has bolted too. I should have picked it last week when it looked lush. The thing is I like to see it looking nice and don't want to pick it cos then it spoils it! How mad is that!! The leaves can still be eaten after it has bolted, can't they? Or do they turn bitter?

Well I ate it! I didn't eat the bolted stem bit, as it went really thick and stalky and I thought it would be too tough, so I picked the leaves off that bit.

It IS pretty, isn't it? I must sow some more...

I've been in London with dd, I got back and drove straight to my plot. Raspberries EVERYWHERE!! Had my best crop ever. Pulled a couple of lettuce that had bolted and chopped them with my hoe then dumped them into the compost bin. Cut a few more lettuce for the week ahead. Kept finding fat slugs sleeping under my lettuces. Cut off a lonely courgette and pulled a tiny amount of French beans. I seem to suddenly have lots of green growth on my beans, which is a relief, I thought they were unhappy in the corner. My lonely cucumber has quietly grown a couple of fruits so I was gushing in my praise this evening I noticed my brassicas have recovered a little but I feel they may be on a knife edge. One more slug fest and I'm back to aldi. I'm going to finish my long bed then cover it with compost ready for overwintering stuff. My beetroots have started appearing so I might cover them tomorrow to avoid mice or pigeons munching them. Finally, I have pea flowers so peas may be on the way!!

what do cucamelons taste like?
they look great but I don't yet know if I can feed them to my family.

lots of green toms here, they will probably start to ripen when we are on holiday...

Evening!
pirates - those veg look great, very jealous of the peas.
spotted I read up, and raspberries can suffer from iron deficiency in heavy, or alkaline soil. I keep sequestrene for two acid loving plants I have ( they are in pots) , so thought it was worth a shot.
Been busy today, but the forecast is for heavy rain all tomorrow morning, so I picked the last of the redcurrants, and the first pick of blackcurrants - I am thinking I'm going to get a good crop of these as well.
And strawberries....
I also dug some beetroot and chantenay carrots .
And Lethal was right -the swedes are making a comeback!
I do have a tomato going red- a way to go, but the first 'marmande" ! I haven't thinned them , as I don't want monsters.
And I have a nice little bunch of green peppers coming along on both plants ( I paid the princely sum of 40p each on a flog off shelf)
Aubergines are looking good, and I can see lots of flower buds, but they are doing a go slow on opening - I check every day, and its like paint drying....impatient as usual!

mous I'm told they taste a bit cucumbery and a bit limey. No idea though. Zebra probably does!

Loving all of the harvesting going on! I had a quick peek at my beetroot last night and I reckon I've got a couple ready to harvest. My beans are also making a comback. Swede a disaster. Hmph.

I have come to the conclusion that Slugs don't like cider.

No posts in 24 hours! What's going on?

I had my first Sungold yesterday. Lovely it was!

Slugs are back on the Ale and much deader happier.

Maybe everyone is out busily harvesting? Not me tho I too have had some yellow tomatoes. Tje Black Cherry are starting to colour up now too...

No plotting for me yesterday -work, and it rained all day. Good rain,not too heavy, but heavy enough and constant, so hopefully it gave everything a good soaking. I'll hopefully get to plot today for a good session - most of the spuds need to come out now, and I want to prepare some ground for some PSB I've grown, plus some Brussels, cabbage and cauli that I was given last week. And I have a few leeks to plant out too. Doubt I'll get all that done though! I need to think carefully about where stuff goes, actually I don't want it all to go where the spuds were as I want that to be fruit going forwards, so I want it clear again by November ish. Or maybe I won't turn it all to fruit this year?

My illing blackcurrant that I bought last week very reduced, has perked right up with some TLC. It has little buds of hope. It is the beginnings of my fruit empire, i tell you! I've been Googling for raspberry info and new cane sources too. agoodbook my soul is very heavy clay and slightly acidic at 6.5. But I read that too much calcium in soil or water can prevent iron from being taken up? Certainly our water is freakishly hard, so perhaps that's the issue? It's not all of the cane though, and it is fruiting so maybe I'll just watch it, and chop that bit out carefully at end of the season.

mous yes, cucumbery and limey is it. A slightly harder skin too. My DD found is she ate too many she got an upset stomach - but she was eating them by the bowlful. It didn't put her off, she just ate slightly fewer.

Remember that the first fruits seem sometimes to look ok then all drop off, to be replaced by lots more with set. This happened to me last year and a light Google suggested it was quite widespread.

Afternoon!
no post from me, as it rained all day yesterday-well, mizzle, drizzle, heavy drizzle! and today, just got in from work - (10 minutes to wind down!), so no plotting. Dh gleefully picked my first ripe tomato yesterday -( it was a plant given to me - a cherry one, no idea what it is ,and it is outside) the darn thing had been pecked around the back- I have been told to net it!
cupcakes - just waiting for my sungold - the marmande is going to win the race for first ripe though I think :)
spotted - yes to calcium stopping the iron being taken up. I'm pretty sure mine is virus though sadly, as some canes have it and not others. I am going to let them fruit, cut out the plants that have it, and see what next year brings. If more of the same, then I think new canes, and I will have to move them - they have been there for about 10 /12 years.
And the planning where things go always makes my head explode [grin} I am just about dug over ready for spring cabbage, which I will be sowing soon, and deciding what will be going in the gap where my garlic and shallots came out last week

Morning! Having been away at the weekend managed to get over there yesterday evening. The wet had helped the weeds spring up, that's for sure. So a quick bit of weeding. Harvested some more lettuce leaves and a few peas. First yellow French beans! Shame only one plant germinated as it seems to be a heavy cropper. Pumpkin fruits haven't set so far which is a bit disappointing.

We need to get up onions and new potatoes, do that at the weekend I hope.

OK, the waterbutts are full and the garden has had a good soaking. I'm ready for the rain to stop now.

Started harvesting my gooseberries yesterday - I've got loads! Not sure whether to freeze them until I've harvested the whole lot so I can do a big batch of jam or do it in lots of little bits. Hmm.

My Dad is having DS this afternoon so I'm planning to get some weeding done, resow my swede (again) and put a little slug trap down with them to try and keep them safe.

Still working on digging out the roots of my old raspberry canes - I fear I'll be doing it for months!

cedar can you remind me of the variety of your beans? Do they stay yellow when cooked? Heavy cropper sounds good to me!

book Eurgh. The PLANNING! I thought I had it cracked once, but then I realised I hadn't thought about succession planting and I suddenly had gaps where I wasn't expecting them. I have no idea what I'm going to put in after my potatoes come out (kale, maybe?). Has anybody ever used an app or anything?