Allotment /Veg patch thread 4 "Lettuce and Peppers and Pears OH MY!"

[agoodbook]

as per Cupcakes :)
come and join in the harvest !

previous thread here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2386388-The-2015-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-Part-3-already?msgid=55842529

I am googling runner bean recipes- Vegetable chutney and runner bean ratatouille beckons. Though I can donate quite a few . After the poor start on germination in spring, they are really motoring.
It looks like being a bumper one for my conference pears at home as well- the rain will help to fill them out a bit more yet though.
I am channelling positive ripening thoughts to shove - there is time.- though the forecast is not for much in the way of warm, sadly.
I went back after my coffee this afternoon to get some much needed weeding done. Having a quick look around at other stuff, I think, fingers crossed, I will actually have managed to produce some usable celeriac. After 4 years of trying! And some sweetcorn :)

Does anyone know the best way of reducing ph level in my soil? I had one bed that nothing grew well in. I soil tested last week and got the highest reading my kit would show which was 8. So now that I am close to emptying that bed, what shall I do? Any advice gratefully received.

morning Twinkle - the easiest way to acidify the soil is sulphur, but you can use other things. But dont forget to think in terms of putting on rotted manure and compost as well ( unless you already have put loads on! )

Pine sawdust and pine needles should help acidify it a bit too. I've never tested mine, which is really negligent of me considering I am a chemist!

I've never done mine, either , and I trained as a biologist Mind you - mine is chalk, as I am on the Yorkshire Wolds, so its pretty obvious :)

I've just ordered some test strips

Good lord! That is a really high reading tinkle. Very alkali! You can get charts online that tell you how much sulfur to add per unit of ground.

Thanks for the ripening vibes book! I now have a sort of greeny orange. Fingers crossed! And yay for celeriac! I love it pureed - so soft and velvety and nutty!

I've done nothing yet to my soil. I was reading about adding sulphur. I presume my local garden centre will supply something?!? I have a half full compost bin of manure but it's not ready for use. I also have a massive bale of compost from the garden centre will that work better? If not, where can I get well rotted manure? It's no wonder nothing grew well in that bed. I knew something wasn't right. I'm testing the rest later today. Oh and exciting news! I'm picking up my free shed today thank goodness. I really can't wait to have somewhere to put my tools and hide in the rain. Then I can spend more time on my grubby plot.

Yep - or your local allotment society might do it cheaper if you have one. You can put manure to rot on the ground if you're not going to plant the bed up immediately and it'll break down over winter and be lovely by the spring. I get my well-rotted manure from a stable across town. They have a poo mountain and you can just dig out what you need for free. My car is an absolute state, as you can possibly imagine

A new shed is so exciting. It makes such a difference. I can cycle up to my plot and back now because I don't need to carry tons of tools (or water, bloody rain!)

What a good idea!! I have a farm just round the corner. I have been before and yes, my car stinks of poop sometimes too.

Sulphate of iron is the usual stuff for putting on soil. But I'm a big believer in lots of manure and compost. If you are on a local selling site on fb, you could ask on there maybe. Most garden centres have bags of the stuff, but as shove says, its much cheaper to get it yourself. Find out where your local riding stables are, and ask, they usually have tons of the stuff! We are lucky in having a local farmer who comes and delivers ours - an enormous heap for £25. Though Lethal had a bad experience with hers I seem to remember.

x post- excellent! -

Evening all,

Feeling in better spirits with my allotment now, I was really downcast when I saw the state of it on Monday. Spent an hour up there last night and the same tonight. Last night I strimmered all the grassy bits (which are gradually taking over again) and propped up my runner beans. Then I saw a couple of tiny frogs hopping around which cheered me up (although I worried I may have strimmered their relatives). Also took home a couple of corncobs which we had for tea tonight.

Tonight I decided to stick some black membrane over the worst grassy bits and hopefully forget about them for a bit while I reclaim the parts I have cultivated this year. Pulled out lots of thistles too. My raspberries, which I didn't get round to pruning after they cropped have developed another set of fruit, whether it will ripen or not I don't know. My brassicas are all looking very healthy too, but are bulging against their mesh, I may need to raise it up a bit somehow.

looks delicious AsTime - hope you had the water boiling ready for it :)

I had no plot time today , so hopefully tomorrow I will get down there for some weeding. Certainly doesn't need watering...

Got my shed! It's now in 6 pieces lying on my flags on the plot. Just need to clear the end of the plot to put it on. I've bought a thick piece of weed membrane which I am going to lay on the cleared section before putting flags down. Then my tatty shed will be plonked on top. I'm going to move my herbs into big pots for overwintering so i can put them into either the greenhouse or shed. Then I'm going to plant loads of flowers and spring bulbs to brighten up the plot. Getting there, slowly, very slowly.

Ooh sweet corn I must try ours I think it should be ready I hope. This weather isn't helping it, just need it a bit warmer. Last year is was warm all September and October. We went to see the poppies at the Tower of London on Halloween and worn summer dresses and short sleeves. This year I am wearing my fleece top already.

Well I made bramble jelly for the first ever the other day and it was very easy can really recommend it for anyone with blackberries. We harvested all our carrots as the slugs were getting them. We didn't thin them out properly so the crop was a bit mixed but we're enjoying eating them. Need to dig up the main crop potatoes for the same reason this weekend I hope.

Welcome back Tinklebinkle and lucky you getting a shed.

Morning!
cedar - definitely fleece top today - I have just been down to the plot for an hours weeding this morning - 11º , I needed to keep moving!
I am due back this afternoon to cut the grass and harvest more beans. And I can now sow some green manure ( mustard) now I have finished weeding the patch where my peas where..
Sweetcorn - I have only ever had one very poor crop last year, - (donated plants) and left the 3 cobs on for far too long due to ignorance- so can you just peel back the outer to see? The tassels are all brown, but I don't want to spoil them.

bookbook - I was wondering the same thing! I looked online and sites seemed to suggest that when the tassles were brown it was done! I guess if it feels nice and round too.

I have been pruning the apple tree in my garden. It sends up TONS of watershoots every year and I read that the best way to deal with this is to take some out in the summer and then prune as normal in the winter. Fingers crossed it works, because I am a bit sick of it going so beserk!

Evening!
well, I managed to get back and get most of what I needed to do. The joy of HMRC and tax returns caused me to not have as much time as needed. At least it was a bit warmer than this morning.
But I did chance my arm on picking 2 sweetcorn. So for shove - a picture and a description. I chose the 2 plumpest with brown, dried tassels. When I got home, and took off the casings, one was ready, one not quite. When I looked at the tassels, you could see right in the centre there were still some silvery strands right in the centre on the one not quite ready. I will say, they were both good , the ripe one was lovely.
I am getting pretty sick of picking runner beans. Miles more than last year, from no more plants. Picking about 5-6lbs every other day, and the freezer is stuffed. The borlotti beans are looking good as well - at least I don't have to pick them!
And good news - DH was with me , cutting the grass, and he spotted butternut squashes- very small at the moment, but counted 3. Do hope they have time to grow and mature- fingers crossed

Book - mine didn't mature properly last year, they were from 3 plants on the raggedy orphans table at out local greengrocers and I put them in too late I think. This year grown from seed they have been much better. My strands have looked quite dark for ages, so I was going by the plumpness and peeking in through the layers as well when I picked mine this week. I've still got about 10 more on the plants.

Cedar - yes, I made bramble jelly a couple of years ago and may do some more soon, we have got pounds and pounds of blackberries in the freezer and loads still on the bush, although there is quite a bit of mildew now with all the wet weather last week. I have been picking them and running boiling water over them before freezing them in the hopes of sterilising them a bit.

I think I'm going to tackle my onions in the next week, I have got enough small ones for pickling and enough big ones for caramelised onion chutney, which I made last year and has been absolutely divine, I'm just finishing the last jar now. Cost a fortune in balsamic vinegar etc IIRC but worth every penny.

AsTime - i too have about another 10 left - just have to be patient now :)
I love caramelised onion chutney as well - particularly in a tart with goats cheese! but never made any -may have to have a go!

I think this was the recipe I used. chutney. I cooked it for a lot longer than 30mins, it's incredibly dark and glossy, best chutney I've ever made.

book - my mouth is watering just looking at that! There is nothing like freshly picked sweetcorn. In our house, it doesn't agree with DH and I am all 'Oh, you poor thing, have some more runner beans instead' on the outside, but inside 'YAY YAY YAY I GET ALL THE SWEETCORN!' I will have a careful look at my tassles to see if they are all brown or whether a few are still silver - that is a top tip!!

I am in exactly the same place with the squashes. I am wondering whether I should put fleece over to hasten ripening, or whether this will just be counterproductive??

It will be chutney weekend here too when I get down to the plot! I still haven't used all of last year's batch, but home-made stuff is soooo delicious. I am a bit scared of jam and chutney making (due to my incompetence over the simplest things in the kitchen) but I do remember thinking last year that it wasn't too bad and I could probably give it a go again. I have an apple tree in the garden so it really is just the vinegar and sugar I have to add.

Morning! V v jealous of the cornucopious corn. I had some ripe, and I said that DS could pick it the day before he went back to school, as the corn is 'his', and 'his favourite' etc etc. So we went, picked a bit, and... It wasn't ripe. Oops. I thought he'd grizzle, but luckily he was distracted by picking 'his' apples from 'his tree' (the first picking). Well, he couldn't actually reach so he just told me which ones to pick and put them in 'his' bag. Which I then carried. He's very cute at the plot.

The apples are nice, but not that sweet, and I like sweet apples. They're massive, too! I also went and picked a load of wild damsons. Last year they were plums I thought as they were huge and sweet but this year they're smaller and you can't eat them raw. I don't know why I picked them greed as I don't really know what to do with them...

So, any ideas? We still have loads of last year's plum jam and assorted chutneys. It seems I like making chutney more than I like eating it, and no one really eats the plum jam unless there's no other jam about. I don't really want any clafoutis or sloppy type pudding. Maybe I'll make some kind of cake? I also have lots of tomatoes, courgettes (!!!!) and beans. But no freezer room as I have stashed a load of tomatoes, tomato sauce. And beans.

Maybe I'll make cordial? I did some plum cordial last year and it was lovely.

Off to plot for a few hours today. I think it's time to defoliate the toms per Monty's instructions. I took quite a few off the other day but nothing like he did. I have decided that I am excellent at growing tomato... leaves.

Tinkle welcome back! And congrats on the shed too! What flowers will you plant?
I need to start thinking about next year. My only flowers were 2 types of marigold, and borage. Good for bees, but I want to make sure that I have more for them, for more of the season next year. I might make a bee hotel thing too - well, get DS to.

I also need to sort out my shed, which is still broken and has 1/2 roof missing. By sort out, I really mean remove.

Ooh, and I have paid next year's fee (year starts Oct 1st) , so I am officially continuing.

Oh, and on that note - I have a small blackcurrant, and my Aldi rasps in pots. Is it worth planting them out sooner now, rather than later, so they can start to get established before winter? I guess they'll cope with all this sun were getting, ahem. Is it worth waiting a couple of months until I move the other bits to plant everything out, or would the potted plants gain from getting into the soil now?