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

Hello again!
just been exploring on a help to grow site, and saw this competition for a voucher for Marshalls
www.ukherewegrow.co.uk/competition

new site outage, new name...

will probably pull out the courgette next weekend, it's slowing down now.

can I sow carrots or parsnips in it's place? or kohlrabi?

Getting a bit late for carrots - they don't much like frost, and parsnips I've only sown in March... have never grown kohlrabi, but may do after shove rated it.
Spinach maybe, or spring green plug plants

I'm just ordering my seeds for next year! I grew Kohl Rabi ballot, book, and I'm so pleased with it I'm just doing it again. It is purple, rather than the more anonymous green ones, and boy is it a good-lookin' vegetable . It's that kind of vivid colour that just makes you happy to see. The taste is great too, especially raw in coleslaw. For something that size, it's surprisingly quick as a crop too.

I'm going to try Pak Choi next year as well. And more beetroots of many colours!

I also found something called Scorzonera, which is like salsify but apparently better-tasting. I just can't resist giving it a try!!

Also: I CANNOT COPE WITH ALL THESE NEW USER NAMES! WHO IS WHO? WHO AM I? WHERE AM I? WHAT DAY IS IT???!

Just kidding because I was too lazy to change mine

Morning!
my head hurts trying to figure out who is who as well :)
Seed catalogue has been flicked through twice, but am waiting for a rainy day when I have some spare time to write out a list.
Hoping to get down to the plot today and get the ground ready to plant my shallots , which are sat ready and waiting in nets, looking at me!

evening.
well, I did get down to the plot, but no real digging done. Went and had a look at the crown prince squashes. DH was there , and we decided to pick them. We only picked 3 - the others were having none of it . Picked a fair few runner beans, though they have slowed down now at last. . Also 2 sweetcorn cobs, which we have had for tea - they are so good when cooked straight after picking :) And I am now about to have a big dish of raspberries - joy!

book - hooray for sweetcorn. There is nothing quite like it fresh - so sweet and juicy.

I haven't been to my plot for a week. I've been so busy, but I think I am also scared of the runner bean harvest. I am going to be in trouble when I get there. Bet the weeds are having a party.

Shove our beans have stopped producing. I was quite pleased, to be honest. We had 10 runner bean plants (planted 12 to start with and two got eaten/died) and then dwarf beans as well. So we've had a lot of beans between 2 adults and one child who can't quite make up her mind whether she likes them or not.

On the plus side we've tried out new bean recipes and have a freezer full of beans. On the negative side towards the end I did feel like I was picking them just because they were there. Next year I have to get better at giving them away. . And I will be planting the same amount regardless of what anyone else says because I like them

I can't believe you're already looking at seeds for next year. (Although thanks to my mistaken over ordering this year I still have quite a few packets already to go).

We tried beetroot with stripes in called chioggia (I think) this year. It was good but didn't produce as big a beetroot as boltardy did. And we had a stray one which was a white stripey one which was also nice. I'm going to try more different colours next year.

Hi all,

I have just got my allotment yesterday.

It is a half plot (about 40ft by 13ft).

There is a lovely rubarb crown on there. But we are thinking for the rest hiring a rotivator to clear and dig the soil.

Has anyone else done this?

cedar - I totally understand the relief. I think I will feel the same, though I will probably also feel a bit guilty about it. It's strange how it feels 'wrong', isn't it? There are quite ingrained thoughts about food waste in there that I don't really want to explore

I have to do a seed order because it is a big collective one, and has to be in by 3 October. But it does mean I do get King's Seeds half price, which makes them bargainous! (Definitely recommend joining local allotment associations just for this perk!)

I am really into beetroot now. I never liked it much before, but the ones you grow yourself are so very much nicer than the tasteless and sometimes strangely sweet-and-sour things from the supermarket.

Buddy - welcome to the thread and to the world of allotmenting! It is brilliant. Good time of year to get one, as well, as you have the whole winter to get on top of the landscaping side of things before starting next spring.

For rotavating - there are a number of considerations. First, it depends a bit what weeds you have. It works great on leafy ones, but chop some of the root-generated ones (like bindweed, couch grass, dandelion, creeping buttercup) with it and you will essentially make a million small pieces all of which can produce a new plant!

Secondly - you can do non-dig methods which are just as effective and save the expense of hiring a machine, e.g. covering the ground with weed sheeting. In fact, you will probably want to weed sheet anyway, as it will keep things in stasis for you, and allow you to work on a bit at a time, without having to battle weeds constantly. The cheapest place I found was ebay - you can get a big roll on there that will cover the entire thing.

Thirdly - if you get going now, you have time to dig a couple of beds by hand and plant some green manure over the winter so that you have lovely, rich conditions for starting in next year! You're not too late for over-wintering broad beans and peas either, both of which will fix nitrogen for you in the soil and give you a crop next year!

Shove thank you for your fantastic advice! Here is a pic.

Oooh it's loooooooovely! And yes, great big rhubarb there! How nice to be next to an open field, too. What's that in the middle ground? It looks a bit like some kind of squash or courgette but I can't see very well from the picture.

Weeds - bit difficult to say what you have there. I think I spy some nettles and some alchemilla(?) as well as lots of grass - turf, though, rather than couch by the looks of things! It's by no means in the worst state that I've seen, in fact, you can almost see where the old beds were. How are you going to do your growing? Are you going to dig over the whole thing, traditional style, or do raised beds and keep some grassy paths around them? If the latter, you could cover just the areas where you want to grow and mow the grass on a dry day before winter. You'll be on top of it in no time.

It looks as though you have fairly narrow beds there. For me, that's a good thing - if you keep them less than 1.2m wide, then you can easily get to the middle to weed without standing on the soil.

Thank you Shove

You are right, it is various patches of different squash. I don't know whether (once they have picked) just to leave the crowns where they are.

I am going to get the soil tested (I have just started the RHS gardening course).

We will probably do some raised beds with the grass in between.

What would you suggest be our first job on Saturday?

Welcome Buddy - a plot with a view, how lovely!
The squash won't survive through winter, alas. But the rhubarb will of course, so it'll be great to know tha you'll have an early ish harvest of something, without too much effort!

I'd have a good look to see if you can see what was where, and make a note, to aid with crop rotation if you're doing that. And note where the sun goes, where you get shade from. And have a dog about innthe ground to see what the soil is like, and what weeds you have. Have you a water source of your plot?

Afternoon!
a very quick dip in while my DGS is having his nap :)
welcome Buddy - exciting times First job is to go and check where you get water from. And also where the plot is sunniest-( though your plot looks lovely and open,) Is it a windy site? And then plan - I always advise only growing what you like to eat. And I also take into account how expensive things are to buy - so for example raspberries are never cheap, but grow really easily, and crop well. Decide if you want to have things which are permanent ( perennials which include rhubarb, artichokes, asparagus etc, fruit bushes/trees and the like)
And then measure it out as well as you can - and make a plan of the plot.
Hope that helps.
I have started picking pears - conference- at home .No plot today as I have DGS, so I am doing my bit by reaching all the easy fruit ( about a tenth of the fruit :) ) DGS was biking around on his balance bike and decided to help , luckily he had his helmet on - he was tugging, and they were falling on his head . Poor DH has to do the ladder thing,(I dont do ladders ) probably on Sunday as there are a lot!

My beans are slowing right down, too Cedar and I'm ok with that I think. I have so many stashed away in the freezer, and ,out of my borlotti still to be cut and dried and stored.

And I'm still being oppressed by my tomatoes, which are still everywhere in the house ripening, despite the fact that I've been cooking them for days (for background, I got blight 3 days ago and harvested all my tomatoes... 32.5kg ).

So much so that I gave away some of my precious corn, as I couldn't face any more cooking, and have absolutely no room left in freezer!

Wow that's a lot of pears booky ! What wil you do wih them all? I also have pears at home -a lot, but not as many as that. And lots f apples at plot. And I think my quince might be ready soon, tho not sure how to tell. I should Google that, really!

Hmm, so quince ready for picking oct/Nov apparently. Although mine (Meeches Prolific) are an early variety. It says that they have to be golden, not yellow. Er, I think they're golden!

you gave away cornspotted! and you be careful not to drown in a vat of passata!
I swap a lot of my pears for apples :) (pears dont keep that well) and I give away a lot. Its actually nice to get some - last year I didn't get many at all, as we had done quite a severe prune the year before. I poach all the slight bruised ones, and I have a lovely recipe for pear and lemon jam ( a bit runny, but lovely with ice cream or yoghurt )

The SpottedZebr thank you so much. When the squash has finished, I can use the stems to go into the compost.

Yes, I will go with crop rotation and soil testing. Great point about the sun direction and timings, I will certainly do that.

We have a tap about 20 feet away. I was also going to get a water butt, and make my own compost box from pallets.

Thank you BookBook Yes it is a pretty windy site. It sits on the edge of a massive cricket pitch.

My plan is to have one bed for salad stuff. Another for potatoes, asaparagus and another for soft fruits.

BookBook what an impressive pear haul!

Evening!
peace and quiet now :)
Buddy - obviously asparagus is a perennial. Try and plan where to put it - it grows very tall in the summer, and you don't want to have wind rocking the roots. Maybe if you have enough width in your plot, put another bed with raspberries or fruit bushes next to it that will protect from the prevailing wind, but leaving in as much sun as possible.
Just try not to panic and do it all steadily, maybe a bed at a time, and cover the rest until you have the time and energy, just like shove says. There are no medals for speed! Great time to start though - you have plenty of time, and if you get some digging done, there is time to sow some things to get you going into spring
Spotted - I'm jealous of the quince ( quince jelly is a favourite here) .We have many, many more pears to pick yet- that is just the low laying branches that I can reach up to!

forgot to say - Cedar - I did chioggiia beetroot this year, and they have been humungous! Still not woody, and so sweet , even at the size of a small turnip! I did Detroit 2 as well this year, and they have done well too. Enough water I guess....

Hello! Love this thread.
My veggie plot is still producing courgettes and runners, though not very many.
I had a joyous time planting some lovely new kale, broccoli cabbages and parsley the other day, and the bloody chickens have had the lot! They'd stripped them within a few hours

They didn't touch my veggies, all summer.... AND the big one isn't earning her keep at the mo (grumble mumble grumble)

I can't help laughing at the tomato doggie up thread, I dont envy pippy poop scooping my pooch shows no interest in fresh veg, ooooooh no, she's all about the bin, the cat food and the chicken food.....