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

Diet you are having a real rollercoaster journey into allotmenteering! I hope that you get your plot.

I've done some weeding, planted out some more spinach and sweet peas and I've sown more french beans - I've also ordered some Cherokee Trail of Tears seeds because I remember growing them a few years ago and having a lovely crop.

DH kindly assembled my arches, (I totally stole the idea from shove ) so I now have two arches across some of my beds. One has sweet peas planted by it on one side. The other side will have my Fat Baby.
I think the second arch might be home to my french beans if I can ever get any to germinate.

Rooster my beans are through so hopefully yours won't be far behind.

My soinach thinks amazing - seeds have always failed before, but I have great leaves spreading over the plot. I'm thrilled.

Right, despite a lot of teeth sucking and comments of 'Ooh, you don't want to be doing that, gel', i have planted out some tomatoes at the allotment. Just a few, and I have more awaiting their final destination, aka still being hardened-off. And I have given some to my sister also and put some in their final pots at home, so my house and garden are finally emptying. Well, I still have a ton of cucurbits but I am getting there. I too some more beans (Cosse Violette) with me to plant out, but I forgot my wigwam topper thing, so i bought them back with me. I think they appreciated their day out though . Rain is forecast tomorrow, but if it's not too bad, I'll go back and pop them in. I've not assembled my plot arches yet. If anyone else is looking for them, I got mine on ebay, approximately £6.50 and super quick delivery. I quite like the sound of Cherokee Trail of Tears beans for next year -the name sounds so evocative. I might scrounge a bean or 2 from someone growing them this year, to see if the taste is better than ones I'm growing.

Diet - fingers crossed that you either get that plot, or one as good. It must be so hard giving up a plot that to know who is getting it after, and to know that they'll cherish it would be such a boon.

Do you know, I don't have a hoe, and I don't actually know how to use one!

Thanks bearleigh, I hope so as I love them.

One of our cats has just been killed on the road and DH is burying her on the other side of the hedge of my veg garden I feel so sad, she was such a shy little thing, only this afternoon she was sunbathing in the veg garden watching me weed.

spotted if you PM me your address I can send you a few cherokee beans - I won't be planting them all and I'd be delighted to share.

Oh rooster! So so sorry to hear your terrible news. Poor puss.

Hi we are part of a local community group getting families growing veg. I have 2 raised beds one with sweetcorn courgette broccoli and carrots in. The 2nd will be beetroot carrots and salads only it has a great big ants nest on it. Any ideas on getting rid?

epending what kind they are I would (gently) disturb them. they will just move to a quieter area.

Mousmous i have been raking the soil and tonight only saw about 20, there were 100's the first night

Oh no Rooster, so sorry to hear about your cat, that must be heartbreaking.

Diet - what a couple of days of allotment viewing you've had. I hope the man's plot becomes available, but failing that I can tell you mine was chest high in all sorts when I took it over 18 months ago. We strimmered the lot, cultivated the best third or so last year, and this year covered the rest in cardboard (it had all reverted to grass). The card is gradually weakening the grass and weeds and I have planted 6 rows of spuds through it this year using one of those bulb planters (soaked it first to soften it).

As for safety at the site, it's never even crossed my mind TBH. We live in a nice area, it is surrounded on 3 sides by houses and the 4th by my DCs primary school playing field. There are at least half a dozen plotholders that I already knew and a friend's house overlooks my plot. We keep gates locked at all times too. I always take my phone, but that's because it goes everywhere with me anyway. Also my plot is right in the middle, out of sight of gates and no one could creep up on me without me seeing them. Everyone I've met there has been friendly. And really I've taken it all for granted. There have been other threads on MN about the day to day harrassment of women by men where I've realised that I've been relatively fortunate in this respect and how big a problem it is generally and it's something I worry about for my DD growing up. Maybe we all need to carry a hoe round routinely.

Thanks Linskibinski

Debs apparently ants hate the smell of mint - if you crush mint leaves and spread them over the bed they will leave.
I have to say I haven't tested this on a bed but when I had an ants nest in my greenhouse I used mint and they left

Rooster - sad news :(
spotted - keep us posted on the outside tomatoes! Lots grow them in polytunnels on our site, but none actually outside , so it will be good to see how they go. My Cosse Violette beans are still hardening off , basking at the side of the greenhouse, with some protection still from the wind, but maybe I will plant on Sunday if its not raining, along with the runners.
All my back up squashes keep germinating now - I have 9, yes 9 crown prince, but still only 5 butternut. The plant sale will benefit at least.
hello Debs75 - there isn't much that truly gets rid of ants - boiling water supposedly if you don't want to use ant powder. But they usually just up sticks and move elsewhere - hopefully somewhere less annoying.
On the subject of hoes - I do have one, and do know how to use it, and sharpen it. Sadly, my plot never really gets to the stage of me spending time hoeing to perfection - ah well , in my dreams .......

Thank you whoknows
Dh keeps saying that we gave her ten perfect months in a lovely environment - she was a rescue who had been classed as un-homeable (she'd been in a small cattery run for nearly 18 months) because she was so shy and scared. We took her and her brother and they were delightful cats.
I'm more worried about my elderly cat who got a new lease of life once she arrived - he adored her and they would lie in the sun grooming each other, curl up together in a basket or play games in the garden.

spotted I've put some tomatoes out - I had so many I decided to look upon them as sacrificial victims - if they survive it's a bonus

sorry about the cat.
I know I talk a lot about how to keep them out the veg bed but don't wish suffering on any creature.

Rooster, sounds as though she had a very happy life with you. We adopted two rescue sister cats (our first pets) about 18 months ago.

Mousmous- I can see both sides with cats and gardens, it is disgusting finding shit amongst your veg, I am happy for neighbours to shoo our two out, squirt then with water etc. They have litter trays, whuch they use daily, but my raised beds still get lots of shit in them, it might not be ours as there are loads of cats in our street.

mous it did occur to me last night that I was probably talking to people who werent all as enamoured of cats as I am my sister says I am mad cat lady in training. Luckily for me my cats use the field as a litter tray of choice. I think the fact they love to sleep on my veg beds helps, although it can lead to squashed seedlings.

On a br.ghter note the heavy rain last night has given the garden a really good soaking and everything looks green and verdant. I'm sure it'll help the weeds as well but I'm trying to be positive!

Oh Rooster so sorry to hear about your poor cat. We know that the cats would all have had a lovely life with you - you slightly gave that away with your detail of how you squeeze seedlings into your greenhouse around the cat beds!

You're very kind too for the offer of the bean seeds, but I will gratefully decline, as I have plenty of beans already. I have plenty of lots of things to be honest, it will be squeezing them all in to my limited sunny spot that will be the issue! That and figuring out what to put in the shady areas. Other than kale.

Rooster - I am so, so sorry to hear about your cat. My lovely old moggie died of cancer in March and (though I realise this sounds ridiculous) I am very, very far from being over it still today. They are so much a part of the family. I hope you can have a fitting burial 'ceremony' and a gentle weekend.

So sorry to hear about your cat Rooster.
Good luck with allotment search Diet. I think a plot full of weeds in a well used site is a better option as the weeds can soon be tamed. Ours was full of waist high grass last year plus other perennial weeds. We treated it once with glysophate (so not organic obviously)and that plus using tarpaulin has enabled us to tackle most of it in one year. Better to feel part of something than feeling isolated in the middle of lots of plots full of weeds!

We have rain forecast today. If it cheers up later we might go and check how things are doing. I've got beans and peas to plant out but will leave that until the weekend.

Good Morning
Its pouring here - has been since about 7.30 and no sign of let up. I may not get down to the plot due to that, but it will make such a difference to the plants I have put out over the last 2 weeks - its the first 'proper' rain we have had for some time. May need a scythe for the weeds though....
And DH sorted out the new water butt around the greenhouse yesterday, so it should be filling up nicely.
Instead I can prick out more succession sowing brassicas and put the last canes in to support my tomatoes, and hope it stops raining this afternoon :)

spotted - spinach/lettuce for shady bit maybe?

Hmm so the tomato planting may have been a bit premature... It's down to 8 degrees here today and it's teeming with rain. It was so lovely yesterday! The rain is doubly unfortunate, as not only it is stopping me from going to plot and checking on my plants/getting on, we're also having a load of windows replaced today, so the house is freezing and all the rain is coming in!

I've got perpetual spinach growing already there, agoodbook, along with chard and some donated leeks. I wonder if my ground is too sluggy for lettuce? I have seed though, so i will try. I wondered about investigating Asian greens. I love greens, so that ground surely won't go to waste. I might also move some cavolo nero there (aa risk as it doesn't like being moved, does it?), or perhaps I'll sow afresh. And some more broccoli raab I think, which I am loving and can recommend.

Do you find that lettuces get slugged worse than other things?

Ooh, and to counterbalance that shady rainy post... My jalapeño is doing really well! It has romped ahead of all my other chillies, even cayenne, which is usually pretty fast growing and prolific. I have 4 I think chillis that are big enough to pick now.

well, my lettuces at the plot ( inbetween the sprout plants) were looking good yesterday - how about pak choi - I've only tried it once, but it did okay - I was just a bit underwhelmed with it