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Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 5 - The Diggers Rest !

984 replies

bookbook · 01/03/2016 09:28

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....Grin

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59
didireallysaythat · 19/04/2016 13:21

Quick question - how do I find out when aldi has stuff in ? It's a bit out of my way and I don't think I can pop in every lunchtime on the off chance. I got some bulbs on a random visit that are doing well, but the idea of soft fruit.... That's appealing !

dreamingofsun · 19/04/2016 13:23

didireally - if you look on their website, they show the deals and the dates, as do lidl

TheSpottedZebra · 19/04/2016 13:28

Ooh, hello new people.

Morrisons for soft fruit! I bought 3 raspberry plants there last week, at £2 each (9cm pot), and they're really nice plants! I'd not really been to Mozzas before, but I was visiting, er Aldi which is nearby for me, and saw it had a plant bit on the outside. They had lovely fruit trees, loads of bedding plants and things, tonnes of clematis varieties, and some nice fruit plants too. They definitely had tayberry. Varieties of the fruit plants weren't specified however, ie I just bought 'autumn raspberries' - but the root system on them was excellent.

The Aldi fruit thing was a few weeks ago, so it's probable that any fruit plants there still will have been sitting about for a while, and in our condition, alas.

shovetheholly · 19/04/2016 13:29

The Aldi website used to be really good - it was much more organised by dates with a more general theme, and you could see what they'd just had in, as well as what was coming up. Now it's really heavily themed (like lidl) which is rubbish when you are looking for something specific, e.g. gardening kit. You can't find out what's just been in and I'm pretty sure that not everything is even listed anymore.

I would ring up and ask if they have any in if it's a special trip!

TheSpottedZebra · 19/04/2016 13:29

God I want a black raspberry now. And a Japanese Wineberry.

shovetheholly · 19/04/2016 13:31

After that big rant, I found they DO have some older stuff listed if you look under 'Home and Garden>> Garden'. Blush my apologies to the Aldi gods.

www.aldi.co.uk/specialbuys/all-specialbuys/home-and-garden/garden/c/garden/?q=%3Apopular&page=3

GrouchyKiwi · 19/04/2016 14:36

Hi to the new people. Grin I'm new to this gardening thing too and absolutely loving it, which surprises me.

Have planted the last of my seeds outside in the beautifully warm garden (well, I've got loads left over, but everything I intended to get in by now is in) and planted out my buddleia and hydrangeas. Shouldn't have done that last as my SPD is now complaining loudly but I really wanted to get them in the ground as everything is suddenly taking off. Feet up this afternoon.

didireallysaythat · 19/04/2016 18:48

Thanks for the Aldi advice - I had found their webpage but wasn't sure if they really put the stuff on the website in their stores (a friend dragged me along to get water butts once but they didn't have any). They don't answer the doorbell for the delivery drivers so I didn't think about phoning. Alas Morrison's is an hour away, while Aldi is just 30 mins. I don't think I can justify it. Back to eBay I guess !

GreenMarkerPen · 19/04/2016 19:09

why are my toms flopping?
this morning they were fine and now they look a bit sad.

Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 5 - The Diggers Rest !
TheSpottedZebra · 19/04/2016 21:18

Have you just potted them on, Green ?
Or have they got a bit too damp?

Original poster
bookbook · 19/04/2016 21:33

Evening!
Spotted just got in as I was reading :)
Have those seedlings germinated in those pots? and did you have them covered?
Could be damping off/shock/bad compost.
imnot - thats a goodly size in the garden, quite a bit of scope I would say. It would be nice to have things the children could pick. I grow in my garden at home ( not the allotment) raspberries, apples, pears, herbs, (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines also, but in a greenhouse) . Before I had an allotment I always grew french beans, strawberries, spinach , lettuce and tomatoes . A wigwam of runner beans and/or french beans doesn't take much space! But I think you certainly have room for a few raised beds.
Baymax - thats actually a good size after the angst of not knowing. Nettles show a nice fertile soil, but goodness knows what the hole could be - have they dug out something, or taken down a shed?
didi - have we naughty people forced you to look around garden centres? Grin

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GreenMarkerPen · 19/04/2016 21:33

they were sown directly in pots.

Original poster
bookbook · 19/04/2016 21:36

mmm - did you cover them to get them germinated? You have to whip the covering off once they are through.

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Original poster
bookbook · 19/04/2016 21:38

or could be the compost ....

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GreenMarkerPen · 19/04/2016 21:41

not covered.
it's coconut fibre (expanding compost)

GreenMarkerPen · 19/04/2016 21:41

thanks

TheSpottedZebra · 19/04/2016 21:49

Oooh, I've wondered about coconut fibre!
It looks like the pots are standing in water, so I'd guess that they're a bit too damp.
Could you empty out the water, and prop the pots up a bit so that they can drain?

TheSpottedZebra · 19/04/2016 21:51

Imnot your garden is huuuge! And you did make me laugh wih the 'moving the slide. And the sheep' comment Grin

Will you grow in the ground, or in raised beds?
Where are the sheep now? Or are they ex-sheep ?

Original poster
bookbook · 19/04/2016 21:57

not used that myself - is it the stuff you have to rehydrate first? Could be like Spotted mentioned, and too wet

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GreenMarkerPen · 19/04/2016 22:07

ok, have drained the pots and fluffed up the compost a bit.

Original poster
bookbook · 19/04/2016 22:08

fingers crossed! :)

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WhoKnowsWhereTheT1meGoes · 19/04/2016 22:25

Evening all,

Lovely to see some new people on the thread, welcome all. And yes to covering ground that you aren't using with cardboard/black mesh. I'm on the computer now but will go back to my phone in a bit and show you the result of me covering a grassy area in my allotment this time last year.

I feel I'm slacking in the fruit department! So far (this is my thrid year at the allotment) - I haven't planted any fruit apart from strawberries. I inherited a gooseberry, a redcurrant and raspberry canes, but nothing very exciting. I hear one of the GQT presenters raving about black raspberries a few months ago and made a mental note to get some, but haven;t done so yet.

A good couple of hours on site today (glorious weather here). I uncovered the aforementioned former grassy area (and it was solid turf this time last year) to find that it was completely clear apart from a few puny looking dandelions, so I was able to dig it out very easily and I will be putting my spuds in under cardboard/compost later in the week hopefully.

didireallysaythat · 19/04/2016 23:06

Ok. I feel it is my civil duty to purchase a black raspberry and report back. It's not that I want to, you understand, but it is my morale duty. The fact I have one in my online shopping basket... Well that's just a coincidence

TheSpottedZebra · 19/04/2016 23:10

didi it is. It really really is.
And just for er, monitoring purposes, where is this black raspberry you have seen?

Original poster
bookbook · 19/04/2016 23:14

definitely!

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