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

Thank you Dorreen - unfortunately DDog won't be getting any better. At best we will have a few weeks with him.

Lovely pics.

I mean recovers enough for the next few weeks.

Cupcakes good to hear that you'll hopefully have a bit longer than you feared with Murphy. I have a Murphy too! But he's a cat. And not the garden-loving, blackberry sitting-on idiot - it's his freakishly fastidious brother who likes beds and sitting on shoulders. Even though he's massive.

Not a single apple, funny? Yikes! Trees are laden with them round here. Did yours get hit by frost at the same time as the blossom do you know?

A v v bad courgette year for me too. I'd planted quite a few plants and was warned that I'd be overrun with them, but I really really wasn't. Just once or twice they seemed like a chore. The last plants have been pulled up and composted this weekend. As were my paltry Delicata squashes. I got 1 from each of 2 plants - one v small and the other titchy. My most successful squash continued to be by little gem, which I trained over an arch. V prolific and v attractive, but next year I want to replace with an orangey, sweeter squash, so if anyone can recommend one that can climb and has small fruits, let me know!

Still a chore, are my tomatoes. I think I picked them all when blight struck 4 weeks ago. And I still have plenty, just on the side, not in the fridge. Occasionally a couple go a bit too squidgy and I check them, but I amazed at how long they're lasting/taking to ripen! My freezing cold house may have a hand in that I suspect.

Doreen, as ever, your endeavours sound inspiringly immense! A geodesic dome? Oh my!

Morning-
quick hello, as looking after DGS today, so a bit run off my feet :)
Lovely to see its all active at your plot and garden Doreen -I think like everyone, the courgettes have been a real disappointment this year. Just enough, but no real time when I had too many.
welcome funny - no apples could well be they flowered at the worst time.
raspberries - were they summer fruits? normally I cut down the fruiting canes after fruiting ,and any poor straggly ones, then leave 6 strong canes for fruiting next year. You may find they fruit next year, but later in the season if you have already cut them all down.
Cupcakes glad to see you have a little more time with DDog.
spotted _ i haven't grown climbing ones, but I did grow uchiri kuri a couple of years ago - they look like a big onion on steroids, with quite a nice flavour

cupcakes - I'm glad you have a bit more time than you thought, but I know how heartbreaking it is to know you're in the last few weeks. (My beloved old cat died earlier this year and I am still not OK and miss him desperately). I hope that DDog can be managed medically so he's not in pain, and that the rest of you can spend those all-important few weeks together.

funny are they definitely autumn rasps that are treating you in this ungrateful way?

Doreen - you are inspirationally busy! I have never even heard of a Mass Rocket Heater but it looks and sounds fabulous. I do like the idea of a ready-warmed seat in the winter!

Don't kill me but I had lots of courgettes, both yellow (atena) and green (defender) - far more than I could eat. I only binned the plants at the weekend, and I got a large final harvest yesterday before composting. I oversow and pick the strongest seedlings and I also stagger sowing so that I get some earlier and some later plants. However, none of this is anything special so I am bemused why they have worked here in cold ole Sheff and not elsewhere. The only thing I can think is whether it's the difference between varieties - AGM courgettes seem to be very well-suited to the British climate, whereas I think perhaps other types may be more sensitive?? My green Defenders definitely produced more than the Atena ones by kilos and kilos. I feel bad because I was one of those telling zebra not to do 14 courgette plants because she'd be overwhelmed!! I'll shut up next year

I planted my overwintering peas in the newly-empty courgette bed!

Got my tomatoes in yesterday. I've had about 10 that are ripe - the rest in phases of orange and green. A few kilos in all, but nothing on Zebra and nothing to write home about. Am planning to move em into the much warmer front garden next year (may get a few odd looks from the neighbours, but who cares?)

Evening!
phew - tome to sit and read the thread properly!

3 tonnes of slate Doreen - what have you done with it all !
I had loads and loads of yellow courgettes last year , so I went for a different variety this year ( genovese) - my mistake! and I also warned spotted
I have still got my plum tomatoes in the greenhouse outside - they are just about all red and due to be picked.
We are going away for a few days on Wednesday, so cannot decide whether to leave them on the plant, or pick them and put them somewhere cool. I have to pick my two butternut squash as well - they at least have kept growing, so at least they are a decent size now :)

Evening!
managed to get down and cut grass - why is it still needed cutting at this time of year I ask myself?
Picked loads of raspberries, and the 2 butternut squash, along with a couple of cabbages. Thats it until we get back at the weekend, which is a shame , as the bindweed leaves are starting to disappear - I tried to get all of it out as I dug up the squash plants, but doubt I did.

Loads of raspberries

sorry at the stealth boast spotted

Hah! You're obviously not boasting, I'm just very, very jealous.
But next year, 2016 Year of Fruit will be AMAZING if I ever do get round to buying more canes. (I will of course)

No gardening for me since the weekend. We did some more digging. H cleared the last of the old very overgrown strawberry bed and I dug over some other parts. Both H and our daughter spent their time treading on the green manure which at the moment just looks mostly like grass. In spite of me going 'don't tread there!' every two seconds. It's only on two beds (didn't germinate much in the other bed which was planted about a week or two later) and I have shown them exactly where more than once.

We're gathering up some of the fallen leaves from the cherry tree that is in a garden behind the plot but overhangs part of my plot so that we can make leaf mould.

I need to make a decision about potatoes for next year as my dad will get them from his allotment association for us. Definitely charlottes again not too sure about the other varieties.

at cedar's battle with wee feet on the green manure!! Hope it bounces back!

I'm doing sarpo potatoes this year. Mainly because my nerves won't stand the agony of weather-forecast-watching with non-blight resistant main crop potatoes!! Also Foremost (lovely flavour) and Charlotte.

Hello!
got home too late today to even go and look at the plot -its dark!!
Early there tomorrow to check out whats happened while I have been away. After all we have an extra hour in the morning....:)

Raining here again today so no plotting.
I've been trying to get hold of raspberries, but to no avail. I went to 2x garden centre, as well as b&q and homebase, and none. And none at the allotment shop either . V odd.

I'll need to buy them online I guess, but I really wanted to get them planted asap, and the online places don't seem to commit to quite when they'll dispatch them.

But I bought a pack of broad bean seeds at the allotment shop, as I would have felt bad buying nothing. So I hope they're not too late to start off. Not sure if I'll do them direct, or in pots. Possibly both?

I had a good 2 power hours on Thursday clearing up, pulling down, chopping stuff up for the compost. Only one wigwam of borlotti, and my climbing squash to go now, then that's all the annual stuff out . And 'my best bed' has now been weeded, covered in card, manure, compost etc so it's officially gone to sleep for winter. Ergo Project Fruit should now be a go...

Did you go anywhere nice, booky?

Spotted - to darkest Ipswich - we went visiting relatives . A long way for us , but lovely, apart from said relatives not being gardeners, so no chance to go and look around anywhere!
Raspberries come bare rooted, and probably not ready yet - one of my favourite soft fruit sites quotes dispatch for bare root canes from late November to May, so you may just be a bit early

Hi all,

Feeling a bit better about things now. DDog is doing OK, bit skinnier but other than that OK. I pulled out my remaining tomato plants yesterday and he had to get involved, checking there were no tomatoes he'd missed. Ended up absolutely COVERED in soil and then came into the house and shed it everywhere.

Think I shall be sticking to Maris Piper for my potatoes next year. They did really well.

spotted what raspberries are you getting? Still undecided about what to replace mine with.

Need to dig over and cover the beds that won't be used through winter. What's everybody doing?

letthereb - i've got polka as my autumn ones. they've been fruiting heavily from the end of august and are just coming to an end now. loads and loads in the freezer - i bought 10 plants i think. the only problem with them is they are like triffids and i keep having to dig escapees up

3 tonnes of slate Doreen - what have you done with it all

Some up in the courtyard, some to mulch the beds and make small paths so that I can get to my beloved quinces without treading on other stuff. Some about a ton I have stashed for my students to make some mini gabions as winter activities in the polytunnel.

Anyway - we are done! All the slate moved, all the paths bordered with bricks, all the paths lovingly raked and destoned, and finally, last thing on Friday, sowed with grass seed. Just before the rain yesterday. It's all in the planning and prep.

Now we can spend a month concentrating on the allotment, before I can go back onto the garden and move all the plants about.

Raspberries are often sold a bit later on, in November, as that's when the leaves are shed - mine have still got leaves on and they won't dig them up to sell until they are dormant. May I recommend getting a few varieties that crop over a longer period? I got two summer and one autumn - 6 canes of each, and all thornless, and get very long picking periods each year. I also never tie them into anything, I leave them to sway and get thicker stems that way.

Glen Moy, Glen Ample and Joan J I have.

I start my annual leaf mould collection today - I missed last year due to pleurisy but now I have a rechargeable mower I can mow them up rather than rake. Yippee.

Evening!
glad to hear that DDog is still with you Cupcakes and still making us smile
I am weeding thoroughly and covering with rotted manure as mulch here - well, as much as possible. I sowed green manure (mustard) over some areas as I don't think I will have quite enough manure for all the bare patches.
Doreen - no sitting down at your place! :)
My raspberries are still going strong, but as they were inherited on the plot, I have no idea what they are - I think I have been picking them for at least a month, and there are enough fruit and flowers for a lot longer yet, weather permitting. Freezing bags full at the moment - jam making is calling.
Tomorrow is splitting up rhubarb, and donating it.( I have 3 varieties at home which stagger the harvest, so the humungous one at the plot isn't needed.) Also need to pick the borlotti beans.
I picked the last of my peas today - they were lovely, so will definitely do some late on next year as well- its a nice alternative to kale/brocolli and cabbage, which are all in full flow for picking. Sprouts coming along well - about another 2-4 weeks to starting harvesting those .
I picked the last of my tomatoes today -( a washing up bowl full ready to roast ) so have emptied the greenhouse ready to wash and clean it all up tomorrow

Will the weeds come through the manure, do you think, book? I've never been organised enough to do anything over winter. Would like to get it right this year!

I need to find homes for my 2 blackcurrants. When's the best time to move them? And then move the Jostaberry into their place. Also need to repot my blueberries at some point. Lots to think about.

My NDN has been out all weekend with a leaf blower sucking up all of the leaves. She has severe OCD and this is one of the ways it manisfests. I keep looking at all of those lovely leaves in the bin and wondering if I could ask her for them but I have a feeling it would be inappropriate.

Gosh - just ask her! I'm sure she would be willing to let you have them.

I once found my lottie NDN chopping back a load of comfrey and putting it into bin bags as the lottie committee in their infinite wisdom told her to get rid of the 'weeds' on her plot [they aren't weeds committee, they are comfrey], so I took them to a local school the next day for a composting workshop. About 6 bags of them.

I bought these rasps a few years back Zebra. They've been brilliant: www.thompson-morgan.com/fruit/fruit-plants/raspberry-plants/raspberry-full-season-collection/cww3211TM

cupcakes I think if you take the leaves you will have to make sure that every... single... leaf is carefully put into your bag with none falling on the pavement. Otherwise she might feel a bit .

This time of year I feel bad for those with OCD triggered by garden stuff. It must be awful to feel invaded by every leaf. As someone who gets great joy from being head-to-toe mud, I feel sad that they can't share that.

PS book - my parents live in Ipswich!! Shame your rels aren't into gardening, as Beth Chatto's place is just up the road.