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

Oh wow Doreen, how amazing to have such a collection! Its my life's aim to have a national collection of something but Im not quite sure of what yet.
Do you have any of the Jersey pink varieties grown on the channel islands before the war? I have only managed to find a trace of them in New Zealand where immigrants took them after the war. And of course hard to export.
I grew Black Russian last year and got quite large tomatoes, some large beefsteak size off them. They were slow/last to ripen and low yield but absolutely delicious, with a mix of sharp tomatoeyness and sweetness that was quite unique. None made it to preservation, put it that way!

To be honest. until I did the research I wouldn't know!

Most of mine are Heritage or Heirloom, the Sungold F1 is the only F1 I grow apart from one Yellow courgette. Lots of them are bush tomatoes as I did a huge swap a few years back.

I am just about to do an audit and start selling on ebay again; I used to sell off all the end of year's freshly bought seeds in packets of 30/40 - with reduced numbers of seeds in each packet because who needs 500 swedes? And as I am going through, I'll see if any are the Pink Jerseys and let you know. You would be most welcome to them if I have them. Now that I don't have 14 gardens to supply I have far too many to use myself.

I did have a packet of the Heinz 57s that are THE tomato for ketchup that Heinz use - germination tested them last year and some grew so will be trying those this year. They had been sat in a warehouse for 15 years before I got hold of them. As they were a donation they will be going to schools if they turn out ok.

If you want seeds - become a saver and swap. That's how I got so many varieties.

Wow, Doreen - amazing information, amazing collection, and a 750g tomato?! I didn't know they even came that big!!

Wow 250 varieties of tomatoes!

All this talk is tempting me to have another go at them but we'll see. It's the blight that puts me off. Year before last we had a lovely crop coming but a fair chunk was lost to blight in the end.

Anyway nothing to report here as it's been too wet to do anything. I'm feeling slightly guilty about my new raspberry and blackcurrant which are sitting in pots in the garden because we haven't got around to planting them. I'll need to protect them, I think from the cold. Although I am in the south where it's not quite as cold as further north.

Welcome to the newbies.
bookbook pleased you've got your allotment to yourself and how lucky to be left all that stuff.
Cupcakes hope you are feeling better soon and don't over do it.

On the subject of long handled trowels I was bought one and a small fork for when I was pregnant. They were quite handy and are useful for reaching things in the middle of beds. I've carried on using them on and off (would use them more if I remembered to take them with me to the plot!).

Crumbs, this thread has moved on! I can see that I'll have to start logging into MN more often

bookbook I'm going to try cucumbers and toms outside as I don't have a greenhouse (although it's on the wish list...). I'm in a southern county but sunshine not exactly reliable here either!

You can grow cucumbers outside in the south provided you choose the right varieties. I was given a plant last year by my plot neighbour - we got a couple of cucumbers from it but they were the gherkin kind not like the ones you get in the supermarket. I've no idea on the variety though.

Ooh some lovely food for thought and inspiration on tomato varieties -thanks all.

Unfortunately, the heritage seed library is a bit out of my budget. For now...
More my budget is Lidl, and it was there that I bought seed for a cucumber variety that I'd do again I think. It was called Delicaße I think (maybe double ß ?) , and produced small, tasty cucs, about 8-10cm long. I grew it outside on the allotment, although started the plants off in the conservatory.

Back to tomatoes, I am currently v v tempted by Amish Paste, and Orange Banana.
arti I grew tomatoes outside last year. My gnarliest was Black Krim, which was also my favourite for its taste. They were big, but not giant. I also grew some quite big Fandango, they are part of the 'blight-resistant' seeds that Gardener's World were giving away free last year. They were very big and round and regular-sized, seemed to resist blight for a teeny bit, but we're nothing to write home about taste-wise. And they went off really quickly when I had my tomato mountain to work through.

Afternoon!
Ran and picked kale ,leeks and sprouting broccoli, this morning. Rain turning to snow and very windy now.....
Ipanema - you will however be at least a couple of degrees warmer I would guess! - up here my friend does her tomatoes and cucumbers in those little mini covered shelf greenhouses, and it worked well for her last year.
My favourite cucumber is La Diva - they are mini ones, and they can go outside ,though I grow it in the greenhouse.
The trouble with looking at tomato varieties, is that they all merge together when you are looking and how they decide to describe them. I grew Marmande last year, and they were okay, but not more than that. But as Doreen - the 'Sungold* is now a favourite cherry one here, and just kept on producing.
I may just go with 'Roma" again for the plum, but not so many plants- so maybe one plant of more varieties , rather than 2 or 3 plants of only 3 varieties

Hi everyone. I was on this thread (or one of its predecessors) ages ago. My garden is in now, so working on plans for what I want to plant in the Spring. (Have fruit trees planted already, and a few herbs in my herb wheel.)

I wondered if anyone knew whether I could get cherry tomatoes to grow successfully in south eastern Scotland? My mother grew some back home in NZ in a similar climate, and our garden gets a good amount of sun in the Spring and Summer. There's nothing quite like biting into a sun-warmed fresh cherry tomato...

Welcome back Grouchy - I seem to remember a white rendered wall , a newish house?
I am further south - near York, but grow cherry tomatoes pretty well, but you would need a bit of protection I think. - I do mine in the greenhouse, sun warmed is a bit hit and miss

Hi bookbook. That's me. New build house, now with a happy garden space.

Hm. I will have to consider a small greenhouse but will wait till I know if I can grow things successfully.

I also now have a large stack of removed turf that will - apparently - turn into loam at some point. What do I do with loam? I forgot to ask that question of the guys who did the work.

hi Grouchy - Is it in a nice heap? It works best if the turves are turned upside down, on top of one another, and covered.Takes about a year, and then its all lovely crumbly soil ready to use to grow things- Just a fancy name for nice soil :)
You dont have to have a big greenhouse, as I said upthread, friend of mine has one of those bargain mini shelving units covered with plastic for her tomatoes .
Some nice fencing for growing fruit up on your photo!

They are turned upside down but not covered. Should we get some tarpaulin or similar for it?

We've got three apple trees espaliered against that fence and I'll grow some berries there as well as currants. I'm most excited about being able to make the blackcurrant concentrate my mother makes which is so much nicer than Ribena. And we've got a couple of plum trees along our other fence line, plus some climbing roses and clematis.

So my next step is another chat with a garden design consultant who's going to help me choose a mix of fruit, vegetables and flowers to grow in that patch, in mixed companion style. It's all very exciting.

I might be able to make a similar set up to your friend to go against the house. I do fancy tomatoes!

It will be okay uncovered, but covering will speed up the process, and stop the grass regrowing around the edges.
That sounds very organised! and wonderful, just patience needed now !

It was La Diva I grew last time I had a garden so will try that type again. Think I got the seeds from Sarah Raven.

I've got one of those mini greenhouse things, I'd forgotten . I dug it out of the shed yesterday but the plastic cover has perished. Sure I can replace that though.

I'm really looking forward to the growing season, got a serious amount of weeding to get through first....

Thanks for the tomato info, I really want some Black Krim now! Because it's my first proper year with more than a few pots I'm trying to be sensible and mainly grow 'bankers' so that I don't set myself up for failure. But it's nice to try something different too.

First frost here this morning. I'm itching to get on with something but have nothing to do really other than pore over catalogues. I'm pondering digging a runner bean trench though. Has anyone ever done it? It seems to be quite old skool (my FIL is insistent on it) but more modern thinking seems to be 'don't bother'.

Hurrah! Well, I finally went to the allotment - the first time this year! I have to say, my bindweed is flourishing. Er - yay. So too is my couch. And sadly my rhubarb is also, but that will soon get hit by the cold, so I hope the plants recover well to give me a nice harvest later on.

We had a lovely frost this morning, and it was a beautiful clear day for once so it was great to get out. I only did some weeding, and looked at my failed brassicas which I think I'll pull up soon. I am half hoping that the chap who said I could have his lovely big blackcurrant, meant it, as that would be a lovely spot for it. Ok, not half hoping at all - WHOLE hoping.

My oldest rasps seem to be multiplying fairly happily, and the ones I planted a bed couple of months ago have my been pulled out and some have bit of green, so that looks good too. My broadies are quite high alas, but where some have flopped, new shoots seem to be growing, so maybe they'll put themselves right?

I hope it stays good and cold for a bit, and freezes the ground so that I can get underneath he apple tree to give it a v v good hack. It's still too boggy at the moment.

Also, I am loving the Black Krim love on this thread, but I am feeling slightly fearful too that you'll all hate them

Kiwi your garden looks amazing! And I am inspired by your fruit passions too! What are your ideas for other fruit? Can you share your blackcurrant recipe? Remember that I have designated this year as (my) 2016 -Year of Fruit

Afternoon!
Glorious sunshine all day, even if it was cold. I didn't go to the plot, didn't really need to, so I have spent 3 hours inside the greenhouse, cleaning pots, drip trays etc , while singing along to cheesy pop songs :) I so enjoyed having the sun on my face, its what I have missed most the last couple of months.
Ipanema - its very easy to pick up a replacement cover for those things - Aldi often have them, or if you are near a Wilkos, they start at about £5 depending on how many shelves you have.
arti - sensible to think of growing bankers, but do think about what you really like to eat as well, thats almost more important! Nothing worse than looking at a pile of something, and your heart sinking ( I have parsnips. at the moment... I like them , no one else does apart from my son in law, so I sneak them into soup and roasted veg when I can ! ) .
Runner bean trenches are still on the go if you have a poorish soil. Runner beans like good rich ground. In fact isn't there a putting kitchen waste into a trench thing ? Not tried that mind .
Spotted - definitely hurrah for a nice day - my thug rhubarb is doing well also . poor brassicas - which ones, and what happened? Mine are fine , apart from being at a slightly odd angles after the gales. Obviously didn't plant them in with enough welly.
And I will second asking for the blackcurrant recipe - I have pounds of them in the freezer. Am ploughing through making jams and compotes at the moment to get through some

booky it was some donated brussels/PSB/cabbage. I possibly planted them too late, but they never really thrived. And then I think some (downy?) mildew has set in. I pulled one up today, and there's no club root by the looks of it, which is good news. I need to figure out whether it can be composted or needs chucking into council green waste. Any ideas?

But still my cavolo nero forest grows. That is my brassica success! It's massive, about armpit height and I'm q. tall. No one else's is that tall, and mine is just bog-standard, ie not a giant strain. It's a mystery, and I'm a bit bored of it.

I think I'll cut it down in the spring, and use cavolo nero space for something else. And maybe grow a small amount of it elsewhere. And that will be as much crop rotation as I manage. With my beloved chard and perpetual spinach, and some cima di rapa, that'll be my 'greens' for the year I think. Oh, plus trays of salads, which I WILL learn to sow successionally.

Spotted I'm thinking raspberries and blueberries. Already have a couple of strawberry plants and will extend the wee patch of them under the kitchen window when they put out runners. I fancy pears as well, but DH is less fond so decided to start with the favourites first.

And please do talk to me about perpetual spinach! I'm definitely growing some spinach as I prefer the baby leaves in sandwiches and salads to lettuce.

I'll ask my Mum for the blackcurrant juice recipe. Can also recommend blackcurrant muffins made from frozen currants so could get that too if you'd like? They're delightfully tart and perfect. My parents used to grow blackcurrants commercially so we grew up eating all sorts of delicious things made from frozen currants.

Evening!
Spotted - could easily be downy mildew - its certainly been wet and warm enough. But dispose, don't compost.
Shame though , might it be worth keeping the PSB ? depending on variety, it may not be ready until Feb-April anyway. Sprouts will soon be over - end of Feb probably at best . And yes, my green curly kale carries on regardless. I did try doing kale crisps, but we were not really impressed :)
Don't worry Grouchy - once your strawberries are established, it should be a case of keeping them under control. Check your soil if you want to grow blueberries - they like acidic conditions for best - though you can always grow them in pots, and keep well watered. ( Spotted - do I remember right that you have some?) And yes please for the blackcurrant muffins recipe with the frozen currants , that will truly make my DH a happy man !

Afternoon!
popped to the plot after lunch to harvest some sprouts and a savoy. The ground a bit on the solid side. No snow here, but -3º last night. I do hope its killed a few bugs....
I finally got my seed box out to put it in some kind of order.
The two new tomato varieties I have picked to grow this year, apart from the lovely Sungold ( and Roma, and the two freebies .....) are
Red Alert - slightly small fruit, quick ripening and excellent flavour
St Pierre - which is an old French variety, also with full flavour
we can but try :)

Hello everyone.

bookbook - yes the putting the kitchen waste into a trench for runner beans is what I've heard about. FIL says it's a must, Dad says it's nonsense

Popped into Wilko this morning. Nothing too exciting in Wilko except horseradish and ginger roots! Poundland has lots including fleece, small polytunnels, potato and tomato bags and lots of feed, fertiliser etc. I did get some red onion sets (Red Baron) from there. Has anyone started chitting potatoes yet? Both shops had them but it feels a bit early although I have been saving egg boxes like a loon.

Hi all, just popping in to say we had to say goodbye to ddog yesterday. It was time.

I shall be looking at some black tomatoes to grow in his honour. Any recommendations? Is black krim the one to go for?

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Cupcakes, I know you had been expecting this to happen but it must still be very hard