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

Welcome to the thread Buddy that looks like a good plot you've got there. As others have said, its a good time to take on a plot as there's plenty of time to plan. I took mine on just over a year ago which was completely overgrown and put tarpaulins over it to keep the weeds off and gradually dug it over.

Bookbook - what a great haul of pears. I'm very impressed.

Puffy - cheeky chickens! Here it wouldn't be chickens it would just be the pigeons instead. They strip everything they can get their little beaks into if it's not netted. My kale - a few sickly seedlings given to me by a friend - got munched by the slugs.

Morning! I am sat here, when I should be away to the plot, lazy me
puffy - you have to decide on caging the chickens, or the veg :) Just check that there is nothing left - brassicas are amazingly resilient. I had rabbits decimate mine a couple of years ago, and yes, they were not brilliant, but they did re grow

book - your pears look wonderful! This seems to have been a bumper year for them - there is a tree on the side of the road near me that is laden (but you wouldn't want to eat those - full of car fumes!) Is that your hypericum too?

zebra - I'm imagining tomatoes on every surface of your house! It is AMAZING to have so many. I am v v v envious.

Buddy - I second the advice of book and zebra to have a good hard think about how to lay it all out spatially, because if you get things wrong it can be a right PITA!! Aspect really matters - make sure you use the sunniest parts of the site for growing things that like heat and light, and any shadier areas for stuff like raspberries which don't mind a bit of shadow.

Sitting down with a pencil and a pad and really, really thinking about what you want to grow and how much space you need for it is helpful. You say you're going to rotate (which is a good idea if you want to grow potatoes), so finding a balance between roots, legumes, brassicas and heavy feeders will be helpful! Deciding whether you're going to do raised beds or not is another early dilemma!

Cedar thank you so much. We are out this weekend to start to dig it over the patches of ground that are bare. For the rest, we are going to take pictures and see what type of weeds and identify them.

Shove thank you. That is good advice. Yes, finding a balance is going to take a lot of planning. Will def grow rasberries.

I took a picture of a plant which seems to be flourishing in my allotment. Can anyone identify, please?

well, on first glance I would have said perpetual spinach/chard - but are the blue flowers part of it? I'm not good on identification sadly

I think there are two plants there! Is it the larger-leafed one you're after? It does look a bit like spinach, but the underside looks sort of downy, which isn't right - though this may just be the light? Do you have a more zoomed out picture?

I am the worst at ID, as I thought that the middle thing looks a bit like something minty!

Off to plot this afternoon. I'll be gutted if other people have left their tomatoes in and they've survived. Yes, Shove, the tomatoes are everywhere in the house. EVERYWHERE ! And no one else can touch he stashes, as it's only me who understands my rotation. Even the cat knows to stay away, and he would sit on anything.

Oooh that is so exciting. I will be taking more pics.

if blue flowers are part of it could be brunnera - perennial forget me not, or omphalodes = navelwort, or there's one that is in the borage family cant remember the name, but it gets a really big tap route and is a nightmare to get out.....but i've read its good to compost.

buddy I think it's borage, lovely in your Pimm's!

buddy I think it's borage, lovely in your Pimm's!

or alkanet.
is the flower furry?

the leaves look more like alkanet.
great for making green fertiliser

I must admit , I googled blue flowers and it came up with green alkanet - but doesn't it have hairy leaves?

alkanet is slightly fuzzy but much less than borage. the leaves look like 1 year old digitalis leaves iyswim.
yes to giant root!

Such good suggestions. I am heading up there tomorrow morning and will have a feel of the leaves, and take more pictures.

All this help is so great. I have just started my RHS in practical horticulture. So, in about a year, I will be able to return the favour

alkanet

Tarzan thank you for the photo, I will make a comparison. Goodness knows what we will find.

Evening! -
well, my day ( apart from not identifying the plant on Buddys plot) was - manure management i.e - I shifted barrowloads of manure to mulch over the area where I have dug up the potatoes. I have a lot more left to move, but that will wait until all my beans are out, and I have pruned and weeded the fruit cage. I harvested cabbages , yet more runner beans- and noticed I have another 4 cauliflowers coming to fruition. Time for pickle making this week :) The raspberries are coming into their stride - this next few days of sun should really get them going

This is a close-up of both the plants growing in my alloment. They were both "spiky" to pick with small hair like stingers.

I'm pretty sure now it's alkanet.

Afternoon!
Been and done a couple of hours at the plot this morning. You can see that we have had a couple of cold nights ( going to work yesterday morning it was 3º at 7.30 ) the runners are looking sad, the borlotti bean leaves are going yellow.
I planted out my overwintering shallots -my garlic has not turned up yet, even though I ordered them at the same time , hope they turn up soon!
Harvested beetroot, sweetcorn and the late peas I sowed, and a big load of raspberries .
I went to clear up a bit around the artichokes and strawberry beds at the end of the plot , and how confusing is this ? - flowers, and set strawberries !!!
This season is just mad :)

Good haul this week - around 8 courgettes, a kohl rabi, a big fat white cabbage, garlic, a shopping bag each of chard and spinach, celeriac (still a bit small, needs longer), an artichoke (no idea what to do with this!) a tub of autumn raspberries, carrots, a nice fat bulb of fennel... and grooooooooan groooooooooan another 6 kilos of runner beans .

I have a squash! It's only tennis ball sized, though. Should I chop out all the other flowers and fruits to get the plant to focus on this one??

I have a few more ripe tomatoes in the greenhouse too. The black cherry ones are delicious, though slightly mushy in texture. The gardeners' delight are a disaster. My Dad grows these so I know how they ought to taste, and mine are really not there at all. They don't burst with flavour and sweetness, and they are definitely a bit grainy. I suspect it just hasn't been warm enough for them.

great haul shove wheres the pics? :)
With the squash, I would leave one more flower/fruit along the same trailer, - you may find it starts to rot back to the squash you do have. Check any other branches - you may find some on those, if not, I'd chop them off
definitely think the lack of sun has affected the taste of tomatoes- the marmande I have grown doesn't seem to have the flavour promised, but the sungold have been lovely, and the roma have been good as well - though I roast those so not a fair comparison.
Runner bean fatigue ?
DH has gallantly shimmied up steps and ladders for the rest of the pears - we have a lot - thats official ( 4 BIG buckets full )

I'm very jealous of all of your lovely harvests. I'm picking tomatoes but that's about it now. Picked my last cucumber today. There are a few beans left but not even enough for a meal. Next year I will be fortifying against the slugs.

Just for shove - a little pic of DDog 1 after a spot of gardening.