Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 5 - The Diggers Rest !

[bookbook]

Thanks to teacuphalfempty for supplying the title .
so, its the 1st of March, the meteorological spring is here, and it's all systems go for the coming growing season. Let's hope for a good one -no pests and diseases, enough rain overnight and plenty of sunshine. Well, we can dream....

Yep, book we've has frosts this morning a d yesterday too - brrrr! Still, it's not rained for a couple of days, so that's nice.

teacup what a shame re re asparagus! Hope you get to eat a good harvest yourself.

Spring does appear odd this year. My cherries still have not broken bud - that's seems late. Yet my rhubarb is now as tall as my thigh. Only one more batch from the freezer to go, then I can start to pick fresh!

I have a horrible feeling that wretched mouse has eaten all of my peas again! There was a line of little holes where the seeds were and absolutely no sign at all of any germination. It is early, and quite cold, but these are the very early Onward peas. On the upside, I have loads of lovely winter cabbages heading up, some caulis that are well on the way, and my purple caulis are looking healthy for a May crop. My broad beans are through, too, which is good and my onion sets are just showing the first signs of life.

Any ideas what I should do regarding the peas? I was thinking about trying another lot in peat pots and then covering them as far as possible with enviromesh. Keeping out a mouse is going to be difficult, though, right?

Oh, and I wired up all my espalier fruit trees and started tying them into shapes. They've been left far too long without this so they are going to need a lot of persuasion this year and I fear they'll never look completely perfect. I'm using Gripple wire, which is my miracle product of the decade I think. It makes tensioning unbelievably easy.

Afternoon!
no plot today, too busy.
shove I tried overwintering the Onward peas ( and broad beans as usual) and had no success. The beans did germinate, and quite a few peas, and then we had the most horrendous weather- rain and gales didn't we , and by the time i got to go and check on them , there was no sign - the fleece had been torn away, so I din't know if the pigeons ( or mice, or slugs) got to them , or just the weather. I resowed direct about 3 weeks ago, both peas and beans, and sowed some peas in pots to plant up when they get going ( they are just nicely germinated and growing away now) I already had back up broad beans in pots, they are planted out now. So - fingers crossed. It is sooo annoying though - all that planning for nothing> I am impatiently waiting for my cauliflowers - they are planned for next month, looking nice, but no sign really of curds. And spring cabbage is doing okay, apart from one of the short rows, where the pigeons managed to peck at them through the netting grrrrr - but hopefully, now they are better protected, they are coming back.
On a side note - just been to Aldi, and they have little planted up vegetables - useful if you don't want many at £1.99

Morning!
Rain

will have to go and do some more pricking out in the greenhouse.
I noticed on Gardeners World last night, a woman was sowing sweetcorn - I haven't even thought about those yet , on the website I use, they say to sow inside in May

I know, i was a bit surprised by that. Also runner beans and cucurbits aren't going in indoors for at least two weeks down here and they talked about sowing cucs now and beans outdoors in two weeks. Really?!
I suppose if you were growing them on in a poly tunnel it might be a bit different?
I am however pleased that Monty's veg garden layout is the same as my lottie. Im doing something right!
Have anyone's autumn planted onions started bulbing? Mine seem to be doing so but I thought the days needed to get a bit longer first.

ethelb - how is the shedathon coming along? I realised when you reposted about your DH's idea, that this was what my DH meant, and I didn't explain very well- the corner posts on the outside of the shed not underneath . But DH suggests not nails, but screws (because if, heaven forbid, you need to move it, it is easier to unscrew than to remove nails.
Not done onions , may have a go next year.
I am waiting to put the tomatoes into the greenhouse from the dining table, but are still there. It doesn't feel very warm in the greenhouse at all!

Evening!
well, it rained all morning and up until about 1 today. But, it had its merits. I pricked out seedlings, and while mooching on the net found a good price second hand petrol mower for the plot for sale just up the road. I am thrilled as it will save having to heave our monster into the car to cut the grass, and then bring it back! And on the way home from picking it up , my DH gallantly offered to have a walk around a garden centre.( he hates shops of any description) - Fatal . By 4 o clock, it was warm , sunny , lovely. Spent it planting new acquisitions .
Plot tomorrow......!

I've done very little gardening wise this week as I've been busy painting.

Have discovered, however, that my children swapped my plant labels over so the row of what might have been spinach is actually lettuce. However! 4 of my spinach seeds have suddenly germinated inside after 4 weeks, and there are some in the garden as well, so I am very happy!

Now have little decomposing pots for the next seedling step so will hopefully get things potted up in the next couple of days and then start some more seeds before the end of the week. Although I've got two more rooms to paint and want to get them done asap too.

Evening all,

Still not been up to the plot, but lots going on in the potting shed.

Book - I planted my sweetcorn indoors this week, I usually go by what it says on the seed packets. According to my diary, I sowed them on the 31st March last year and they did very well. I've planted some more broad beans indoors today, my first lot are nice and bushy (still in pots) but I suspect they will get eaten when I plant them out so I want a backup.

Just had an email from the council saying they are going to tighten their criteria for how well you have to keep your plot cultivated, so I think I need to get up there soon and make it start looking as though it hasn't been abandoned. The lighter evenings now will really help.

Here in Melbourne, back to being dry again, but at officially mid-autumn, the dwarf and black beans have perked up and are putting out new pods. The telegraph cucumbers, which have a poor germination rate, have also put out some new fruit. They all seem to like the cooler, though still sunny weather better than really hot summer sun. I should say they are all container-grown.

bookbook it is going well thanks. I just got back from laying the shed base and getting the paving slabs AND breeze blocks on. I am very proud of myself as I have never undertaken such a big DIY project by myself. I'm a petite 5'2'' and my 6 footer DH is normally relied upon for these jobs, but as he is away dealing with a family crisis this w/e I just had to get on with it and I'm quite glad I did

Thanks for the explaination of how to keep the shed in the ground/stop it from blowing over. One of the nice old men on the allotment showed me how he had done what I think you had suggested and it all made sense as you had explained before. We will try and get that done before the next hurricane! Out of interest, how deep were the posts put into the ground?

I need to go back to repot my peppers and tomatoes this afternoon but I'm taking a quick breather!

Evening!
it is always easier to see something, than have it explained ethelb - and a determined woman can always get things done when needed. Though I am not so good at the finer points of carpentry. DH suggests you need to put it 18" into the ground, and at least 12" on the shed ( wood will need to be longer to allow for the gap between ground and shed as well ) and suggests you will need 5mm x100mm screws, or thereabouts -a couple in each bit of wood Hope that makes sense?
It was much too wet underfoot to do much today, so just checked everything - new sowing of peas are germinating. Picked a nice load of sprouting broccoli for tea. At long last our trailer arrived for green waste, so all the sprout stalks/cut raspberry canes/fruit bush prunings and other various piles of rubbish got cleared away It looks a lot tidier now.
After reading that Whoknows sowed sweetcorn, I thought I would take a punt, and sow half of mine today, and sow the rest in about 3-4 weeks, and see how we go.
And its wet again tomorrow. I was ahead of myself, but now need some nice dry weather to get finished ready for potato planting

Hello hello!

Not much plotting from me this weekend, hut I did nip up to drop off a few bits, and I got lots of jobs done in the garden too. Excitingly (no, honestly! ), there was hedgehog poo at both my allotment and in my my garden. Hurrah! I have a big stick pile at the allotment, where the hoggy hibernated, that I really ought to move, but still too soon yet I feel....

I planted spuds today - Anya and red Duke of York , IIRC. In pots/bags at home. And I sowed leeks, beetroot, a different chard, more broadbeans, some more flowers, all in modules to be planted out anon. I just went online and bought a few more seeds too -oops. I was looking for summer savoury, but accidentally bought tromboncino squash, perilla and purple sugar snap too.

Where will I put them all? Well, I also sent an email to see if there were any vacant plots, in case there is one into which I can expand my empire. We shall see...

Oh, and I cooked and ate some rhubarb. Still one more lot in the freezer, then I can pick fresh! Other than that, and herbs I have nothing to eat that I've freshly picked. I guess my broad bean tops will be the next thing, if I get them before the blackfly strike.

echt black beans might be my favourite beans! I wonder if I could grow them here? What variety do you grow?

Well, I spent ages at the plot on Friday night (yes, I know how to party) postcreting in stakes for my espaliers. Only to realise about 3/4 of the way through that I hadn't measured properly from the boundary and that they are really, really wonky . I know what happened - on the other side, my plot is next to a path so it was dead easy to get them in straight, and I was just on autopilot at the end of a long week. Aaaaaaaargh, though.

I'm wondering whether I should sow some sweetcorn in the greenhouse now. Last year, they were just too late to do anything (battle is against the overcast summer skies as well as temperature here) so perhaps I should try getting them on earlier? I've always thought of them as an outside-in-May kind of crop, but that spectacularly did not work last year.

Morning!
well, its miserable murky rain here. so not much to do at the plot, as its too wet under foot.
Hedgehogs Spotted - I am jealous. I haven't seen one for about 2 years in my garden, and I have tried to create some cosy heaps for them in quiet corners.
I have planted sweetcorn in pots, and have them inside on my kitchen windowsill. I think the packets of seeds are really stingy mind you. Only 25 in the packet, so I have sown 12, and the rest I will sow in about a month - still in pots though. I am much better at planting up than at sowing direct in truth! I did the same last year, but the germination rate was a bit poor for me I remember - I think I got about 16 plants out of the 25 I sowed

Sorry its been rubbish weather with you bookbook. We had an almighty thunder and lightning storm yesterday evening which bought with it even more rain but today has been ok with some sun even coming through.

I am very lucky in that allotment neighbours helped me get it back in place yesterday which I am very grateful for and feel much loved which is nice
I managed to pot up my peppers and chillis today and naughtily nipped to the Poundshop for shed painting materials and got some trellis for the rose for a quid!

Evening!
it has rained pretty much all day, along with thunder and lightning this afternoon.
So I have moved all my seedlings around in the greenhouse, tidied it a bit and sown spinach :)
Fingers crossed, dry tomorrow :)

and lovely you got help ethelb - its great when that happens :) . Shed painting materials - so what colour have you opted for ( all our sheds are dead boring dark oak - bought on special offer as we had 4 to do....!)

We've got rain forecast all week. Hopefully it won't be as heavy as they're saying.

I feel slightly envious of the allotment friendships and help. How lovely it sounds!

Hello I'm new and a complete novice!
Taken on an allotment - in a reasonable state but blank. Hoping to pick up some tips.

Welcome Tantric - please ask away, there is always someone who can come and offer advice .
Sounds like you have landed on your feet - reasonable state and ^blank* wow!

Zebra the beans are climbing beans Purple King by Fothergill.

sound lovely echt - I usually grow Cosse Violette, and already have my seeds , but may try those next year :)

Welcome tantric! We love having new members. What are you planning to grow? There are some real experts here I'm not one so ask away!

I'm also jealous of the hedgehog, but also a bit scared of them since a rather huge one tried to come in my kitchen last year. Ddog is also scared of them after an unfortunate ball/hedgehog confusion a fee years back.

DS wanted a sleepover at grandma's at the weekend so I actually had some uninterrupted time in the garden. Dug over and mulched my fruit bed, sowed lots more seeds and generally tidied up. Considered putting in my potatoes but my back was screaming by then. Will try and do them this weekend.

I am finding it very difficult to lose my Kiwi view of the hedgehog (damaging pest). Why are they so lovely? As native animals here they obviously have a very different status from in NZ, where they were introduced by nutty Victorians.