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

We are just very crap at putting up sheds! And only had a borrowed dodgy cordless power drill to do it that caused most of the problems. We also only had weekends to do it.

It took us a day and a half to get the base laid as it was v hard to dig down into heavy clay soil easily. Then just took sodding ages to get the shed up basically as we are crap. Never again!

However, decided yesterday to paint it pale jasmine and I've already bought my rambling rose to grow around it so it should be nice. Next thing to do is tool hooks and curtains!

I didn't do a thing this weekend! (It was my birthday, so was quite busy eating cake, biscuits and all kinds of other unhealthy things ). But feeling like I'm really running out of time to sort stuff out, especially as I'm away for a week from Friday. (Birthday present of a trip to Lisbon - hopefully there will be sunshine over there!). The weather here has been atrocious - not just rain, rain, rain but the sky has been so dark that some days it has felt like it hasn't got light at all! The hills don't help matters - at this time of year, I miss the big skies of East Anglia!

ethel - my tomatoes from a couple of weeks ago were definitely over! And they were under glass, too, which helps. I love the idea of hugelkultur - I've not heard of it before, but a quick Google suggests it's very interesting indeed! I'd love to know more!

Morning!
ethelb - with a good base, hopefully you will never have to. I forget how lucky I am that DH, as ill , old and decrepit ( :) ) as he is bless him, is a DIYer, so never really any problems, apart from me getting in the way when I should be holding/helping/hanging on !
My lord, its windy/gale force today. I was hoping to take DGS to the plot this afternoon, but I think that is scrubbed out, and I don't think its worth trying to rake leaves in this either -there are a load more dumped down, courtesy of said wind!
shove - belated birthday wishes - lucky you going to Lisbon, hopefully still lovely and warm. We had a holiday near there a few years ago in Caiscais in a fabulous Estelgem , hope you enjoy it as much as we did - Sintra was a nice place to visit :)

Hello hello. And Happy Birthday, Shove! Lisbon is lovely -have you been before?

Well, I have done next to no gardening at all, for ages. All your updates put me to shame! The weather is bad here - some rain most days, sometimes a lot, sometimes just a bit. So my clay has turned quagmire already. I need it to dry out just a bit so that I can get my rasps in! And my garlic, I've not planted that yet.

booky I have a goji. It's not done 'owt though - although it had a couple of growth spurts where some of its branches grew about 2m in a month or so. Odd. I didn't even get any flowers this year -last year I got some flowers, and about 4 berries. Despite my 2016 YOF, the goji is on a final warning. But I ought to figure out how, if, to prune it before it gets hoiked out. Has anyone successfully got any berries from a goji? Other than James Wong I mean?

I have a kiwi (Issai?) that has also not done much, other than have an odd growth spurt. It flowered beautifully but no fruit. It's in a pot now, and would probably prefer soil. It seems to really want to reach for the sky. Could that be grown through a apple tree, do you think? And if not, what could? Something edible, preferably...

Thanks book and Zebra And no, I've not been before - am definitely going to get to Sintra, though. It looks stunning!

How old is your gojiberry? I think they take 4 years to get revved up? (This put me off. I am impatient). Maybe you'll get bags of them next year? I think with some varieties you can eat other bits of the plants - like the new shoots and leaves - so maybe it can earn its keep in other ways while you wait?

Ooh really? I've had it 2 years, and bought it as a 1 yr old plant, so it shall be its 4th birthday next year! Hurrah! I shall await its bounty. You can eat some of it, really? I ought to better educate myself on the goji I think...

Hooray! I bet it's just been preparing for Year of Fruit.

According to my Chinese friend you can eat the leaves! Apparently they sell them in the Chinese supermarket here (I need to check them out!). But it might depend on the variety so definitely check. There are some recipes online, like this one:

hungerhunger.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/goji-leaves-with-egg.html

Gosh, that sounded a bit xenophobic, apologies . I just meant that they may be more familiar to non-British cooks! (My friend is a really good cook and has introduced me to lots of new veggies and a different way of cooking things!!)

Afternoon!
Spotted - no shame in not tramping over gurgling clay - it wouldn't do it any good anyway!
I'm lucky that being on chalk, it drains quickly, so though it has been awful, the soil isn't too bad- today it was just right for weeding- damp enough so that all the horrible bindweed virtually slid out with minimal effort .
I was listening to GQT , and heard about non fruiting Kiwi . it seems that only some are self fertile, otherwise you need two - have you any idea? The answer was to buy a self fertile one to put near it. I think they are quite big once they establish.
I often feel as if we miss out on a lot of leaves and such. I sent my sister in law off with some beetroot , and she didn't know you could eat the leaves as salad.

Evening!
well, a query here as its something I haven't had to deal personally before.
Getting ready to plant tayberry this week, and spoke to nice lady who butts up at the end of my new patch- she is fighting ( rather haphazardly, and therefore not very successfully ) ground elder. I noticed a bit creeping near - inow we have started to tidy that end, you could see it. I immediately went and got fork and bucket, carefully forked it out. Does it die down and hide in winter? I will obviously keep an eye on it, but am I better to put weed suppressant down now.

butts up doesn't sound quite right does it? You know what I mean though :)

Are people still looking for manure supplies? I don't know if I have shared this story on here already, but we have a man who collects manure from stables and delivers it to our plot. We pay him £2 per half plot for fuel costs etc. is it possible to contact your local stables to find out who takes their manure away?

Just be careful who you are getting your manure from - if they spray for Ragwort then the manure is contaminated.

Google 'Aminopyralid contamination'.

I seem to remember that happened to you once, didn't it Doreen ? But thats a bargain ethelb
Well, no plot today, but did sort out a very large compost heap at home that needed emptying, and moving from behind a shed, (which needs a bit of TLC ready for winter) . Some of it is for the asparagus bed at the plot
Rest of day I baked .. :)

Bookbook what do you do to get the plot ready for winter?
I was down yesterday afternoon and succeeded with nearly all the manure spreading I was planning on and getting some broadbeans in. Just need to pop the last remaining strawbs in and split the raspberries, then I am sort of done for the winter. Until chilli and potato planting time anyway!
It was good to be down during the week for once as I saw some people I hadn't for a while and had a good old chat about allotment gossip. Some of it made my hair stand on end but Im quite pleased I have managed to dodge the endless feuds, sniping and bitching. Some of it is really pathetic. Allotments hey? They bring out the worst in some people.

book - oh dear to ground elder. Yes, it does die back over the winter. But I think you can eat the young shoots, so maybe treat it as an unintentional crop?! Apparently geranium macrorrhizum significantly inhibits it - does mean you have to put up with the stinky leaves for a bit, but I think I'd take the geranium over the elder!!

Morning!
ethelb its ongoing getting ready for winter at the moment! I fork over and weed every bit of space which becomes empty as I harvest things, and put manure or compost on top as a mulch ( I know you do not need to put manure on everywhere, just for certain crops, but its been successful for me) In spring, I then just need to do a little bit of forking it in , as most of it has broken down over winter.
My asparagus is waiting to be cut down when it turns yellow - only some has turned so far - and then I use the best compost I have for a very thick layer of mulch on that bed ( Its a raised bed, - where does the soil all go? :) ).

Mulch around all the fruit bushes
Fleeced over the broad beans and peas that are overwintering.
I'm trying to get all the compost and manure used in the next 2 weeks, then I can get another delivery of manure to rot down for next year, and the compost bin is ready to fill up again
Then its maintenence which we have been doing a bit at a time -
Checked and mended leaks and holes in sheds. Cleaned out and levelled 2 of the big water butts - 1 left to go.
And one day, I will cut the grass, and it will not need cutting until spring -hah!
Sorry, that was a bit long!

Thanks shove - the previous man put in a lovely end of plot hedge of alternate lavender and rosemary - it was lurking near a lavender , I think I got it all, but as there is a big patch about 6' away on the other plot, I am not hopeful

bookbook at least you know it's there and can keep an eye on it and be ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble. Ground elder isn't one I've had to tackle although all the other weeds have been making merry across the plot in various places and we do have horsetail which is everywhere.

Didn't get up to the allotment at all last weekend or during the week as the weather was so bad or we were busy doing something else. Hoping to get up there this weekend but we do need to paint our garden shed so may not get a chance as that will be our number one priority. I have garlic bulbs, raspberry and blackcurrant which need to be planted up. Such a shame the days are getting shorter.

I snuck in a lovely 90 mins at the plot yesterday, just weeding. The great thing about the ground being so claggy is the the weeds just slide out, as if they had v been sat in soft butter almost. But I was hand weeding, so only did the bits of the bed that could reach, hence there is a big non - weeded patch in the biggest bed. I suspect that that bed is too wide -it sort fo came like that and I've not changed it. And I am not sure I can be bothered, as soon it will be mainly fruit, so I won't be as bothered about not standing on it at all. Maybe I'll pop some stepping stoney bits in? Maybe also ill take a hoe to it. I've never actually used a hoe, although I do have my dad's old one...

So, whilst I'm reminding you of my ignorance and ineptitude - a question! As you know, 2016 YOF etc etc. I've bought 2 pots of raspberry canes (with more bare roots hopefully to arrive soon...) - do I just plant the potted cane bundles in 1 blob? And they'll make new shoots eventually? I mean I'm not meant to tease the canes apart am I?

No, I don't think you're suppose to separate them when they come in earth like that, are you? (Looks at book for advice)

I have a twisty turny tool like this. It is v good for large weed patches because it sort of whirls the weed around and gets right down to the roots so the whole thing comes up, even tap roots like dandelions. It's also good for forking in manure to the top part of the soil (better than an actual fork, in fact).

I wouldn't worry too much about the width of that bed if it's for fruit - it'll become an advantage. I think my fruit cage is on a 3 x 3m square and I have three rows of rasps and currants with just about enough walking room inbetween.

Evening!
Spotted - if the pots of raspberry canes were mine, I would tap them out of the pot, and tease them apart to plant. They need a bit of room to breathe . Is it a big pot and lots of canes? It may be they have just bunged them all in a pot with soil to keep them happy until they are sold, and they are not tangled at all ( thats what I have done with all the canes that came bare rooted the other day, until I can get them planted).
If you could reach your weedy patch with a hoe, why not try- if its not too bad, you could put some mulch on it maybe .
I was out today, and now its looking a bit horrid for tomorrow pah!

Afternoon!
well , I tried - gave up after 45 minutes, blown away,and wet through. But got a bit more forking/weeding done before it started to rain, and picked a lovely savoy cabbage for tea. Now sat nursing a cup of coffee, eyeing a pile of really muddy gear that needs putting in the washer

Similar here bookbook. Popped down for half and hour to get the broad beans and bareroot strawbs in, and to have a bit of time to contemplate, and just got soaked to the skin!

Ooh Shove (hope you're enjoying your trip btw), I think I have a tool like that -I have a load of things from my dad that I don't know what they are and so have never used. I have both weeds, and manure!
Alas, I also have lots of rain. So much. I popped there yesterday to pick some greens and the ground was already sodden, so it will be awful now! No gardening from me for the foreseeable, and my fruit bushes remain unseparated and unplanted. And since then, I've bought... some more rasps! I finally used some tesco vouchers that were running out, to buy from T&M. I've not bought plants online before. I suspect I will again. Oh, and I also bought a pinkberry on an absolute whim, which is probably madness as I've not had too much success with blueberries.

My broadbeans, sown in modules, have come up. But I'm having to protect them from the hungry squirrels. I think I am anyway, - would they eat sprouted seeds as well as just planted ones? The direct sown ones aren't up yet.

And I've still not planted my garlic. But I might have a gentle furtle through my seed box later, and figure out what I need/want for next year. Or, just for a light daydream.