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....

when can my bean (well dc's from school) go out? should not go below 5 from now on.
courgette and pumkin will go out for hardening off at the weekend.
toms I sowed again...

What sort of bean is it? Broad beans are fine even when there are still frosts, others are more tender and I normally wait till the end of May, same for courgettes etc, so will start hardening off in a couple of weeks. We've had frosts the last two nights (brrr).

not a broad bean I think. very spindly stalk and big and thin leaves.

erm - a magic bean?
I still have my broad bean plants under a thin fleece, along with my early peas- just helps a bit up here.
I'm doing sweetcorn, and cucumber this weekend, possibly squash and courgette , french and runner beans if the forecast looks hopeful

exactly - the magic bean :o
including a papier mache castle on a stick

So last year, I collected some seed from my runner and borlotti beans and dried it.

This year, I planted a tray of each, using half my seed and half the seed from Kings. I chose beans from the plants that were producing the best pods, but even so my seeds were smaller and less colourful than those from the company, and I expected they would not do as well.

Actually, so far, the opposite has happened. My seeds are germinating, while the commercial ones are still underneath the soil. Whether the resulting plants will be equal in strength, I don't know. I will report back!

The same has happened with my aquilegias. The seed packets for these say: greenhouse for 3 months, then fridge for 3 months. I have 3 different varieties on the go, two from packets and one from seed I collected from my garden. I started all of them off together late Jan/early Feb. The ones from my garden have germinated in around 8 weeks without being in the fridge - absolutely no sign of the others (though this cold weather probably means I only need to fridge them for a short time!)

I am pretty amazed by this result. And starting to feel that buying seed is far more chancey than collecting your own.

Ooh, how interesting, Shove ! I too collected bean seeds last year - from runners, borlotti and also purple french. So I can do the same experiment!

My long weekend has started already. I had imagined that if be at the allotment, maybe planting stuff out today... Erm, maybe not. I still haven't put my blowaway up, it has been way too windy. I'm really behind on seed sowing as nothing is growing, my tomatoes in my growhouse thing are all long dead, and my house tomatoes are still in stasis. And I don't seem to be able to grow broad beans - all those shown this year either don't germinate, or grow roots but no shoots. I've tried different seed, pre - germinating, growing them inside, outside, at the plot, in a raised bed, in a pot.

Aren't broad beans, beetroot and radish meant to be the easy things, that even kids can't fail with? Ahem.

Morning!
I have a very busy day ahead, so no gardening , just shuffling plants to greenhouse and out into the cold for the day.
shove - thats really interesting - I did save some beans from last year, for the first time ,but I obviously didn't treat them right, as they went a bit powdery and mouldy. Suspect I hadn't let them dry properly. I shall try harder next year. ( Though the dahlias which got chucked into a tray and left to themselves - all but one has regrown, much to my surprise)
Looking at the forecast, its going to be fractionally warmer next week, so going to sow all the rest of my stuff this weekend. I am away for a few days next week, so they can sit on my dining table undisturbed :)

oh Spotted - my sweetcorn haven't germinated ( well- 4 out of 12) but not had too much trouble with anything else - well, apart from me standing on a tray with pots of germinating seeds, and flipping them all upside down.....its a bit crowded in my greenhouse at the moment, barely a spare square inch to stand. We just need some ordinary weather!

My beans and peas are bad this year too Zebra - it's not just you! Something keeps eating any pea I sow outdoors - I must have put 50 in and I have a grand total of 3 plants. About half of my broad beans did germinate (not a good ratio), but it's been so brutally cold and windy that they have also suffered. So much for 'child's play', eh?!

And yet my sweetcorn have germinated (just). In the cold growhouse.

NOTHING MAKES ANY SENSE ANY MORE

I was really planning a forest of broadies. And yet all I have managed is a very sparse patch of about 12, that overwintered and are growing at funny angles due to a series of gales, yet seem quite happy for it.

You've reminded me that we dried some beans out from last year and I should actually try planting some of those up. They are a mixture of our runner beans (St George) and some from next door's allotment which are a different variety. I think his packet said climbing french beans but the plants that resulted were definitely a runner. I didn't buy fresh runner beans seed as still had half a packet from last year so won't be able to do a proper test. But I am doing a viability test with the dwarf french beans which failed to germinate last year, purely because I am curious.

Zebra I couldn't get sweetcorn to germinate at all last year and I think they're actually supposed to be difficult so well done you for getting yours.

I had a quick trip to the plot yesterday, just to see what was happening. The wind and sun has dried out the clay into big horrid clumps but we did have a bit of rain overnight. I also sowed more seeds and pricked out my celery. I've restricted myself to 20 plants - if they all survive that will be more celery than I shall know what do to with

According to the radio this morning this year is going to be a bumper one for slugs. It was too warm for them over the winter so they didn't hibernate and are breeding like crazy. So we'll all need to watch out!

Thanks for the advice, cedar. Think I'll have to get a little rake.

Spotted I have 14 thriving broad bean plants that I'll probably need to thin. Could send you some if today's cold weather doesn't kill them.

• my sweetcorn, peas and broad beans are all doing really well. Sweetcorn were started in an incubator on a sunny windowsill then moved to the greenhouse. I've got about 12 plants out of about 20 seeds. Peas sown in greenhouse and ground on the same day both doing well, broad beans - I'm on my second lot in the greenhouse and all doing well.

However I don't want to get too complacent. My tomatoes are still tiny and spindly and my runner beans are obstinately refusing to germinate.

Just spent an hour up at the plot, finally got all my onion sets in, I know they are really late but they had developed strong roots and leaves in cells so hopefully they will be OK, I need lots of small ones for pickling anyway.

Hi everyone, can I join in?

I have an allotment that I acquired last year, in midsummer. I spent about the rest of the next few months knocking back as much of the overgrowth as I could. I cleared space for about 5 beds and planted in one of them.
I planted beetroot, peas, broadbeans, sweetcorn, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, courgettes, fennel and spinach. From all of the above only the courgettes, peas and broadband yielded anything. The rest all grew and looked promising but then didn't seem to develop much further and withered into sad reminders of my unsuccessful.
This year, the weeds are back (I made the mistake of not covering all my freshly dug beds) and once again, I've left it till too late to plant seedlings. Although, I'll put some peas, beans and courgettes in today hopefully.
Any advice is much appreciated.

Morning!
and welcome Lulooo !
Can I ask whereabouts you are ? - just generally. What sort of soil? And don't panic. Its still early, and I have not planted out much at all!
And there is lots of time to re weed to get ready for plants, another month here for some.
Now you say you planted all those things in one bed last year? How big is the bed, some things are much greedier than others - and need different conditions re food/water
I would hold off planting the courgettes today, its really a bit too cold, unless you are giving it some protection ( I haven't even sown mine yet!)
Let us know, and we can all come in and help :)

Agree, it's way too cold for tender stuff. But, on the upside, that means there's still tons of time!! Maybe start some seeds at home of things like brassicas and pot them on, only planting out once they are a few inches tall... Small plants tend to do a lot better than seeds for me as they don't get massacres by slugs. Alternatively, you can buy plug plants from garden centres and community gardens, which can save a bit of hassle when you're up against it in the first year (I wish I had done this).

Morning!

I echo booky - it's not too late to plant! I've not planted anything out yet. Well, part from spuds in pots/bags. It's just too cold.

Im going to the allotment today (hurrah!), so may pop out a few broad bean plants that are well hardened-off, and perhaps some limnanthes too. And I have a few peas, chard and perpetual spinach that I'll now harden off for planting soon - ish, but that's about it for me I think!

That will free up room for me to start sowing beans under cover, and courgettes and squash too...

Oh, maybe I'll sow some beetroot direct, although I have zero expectations of them growing (beetroot-edly cursed).

Yes to what Shove said also.
And the other thing is that lots of your plot neighbours will have over-sown, so will have spares looking for a good home. Last year (my first), I was given lovely leek, and cabbage and cauli seedlings.

And I gave away tomatoes, courgette and kale.

for Grouchy - just seen this on another thread!
garden.viralcreek.com/make-pond-small-pot-bucket/

Oooh, books, that is a good idea! Thank you!

Peas, beans and courgettes in today.

Where are you?

As I've just been to the greenhouse here in the midlands and had to come in as my fingers are frozen. I wouldn't even put peas out right now, it is far too cold.

Courgettes - will be shrivelled up in an hour if you put them out today. Unless you are in the South of France.

Even my chum in cornwall was pictured in hat, scarf and boots yesterday.

I am in fact revising my tender plant advice, to keep things sheltered from harsh winds until mid-June. That's often what kills things off even if the late frosts don't.

Incidentally - I teach hort, and I run a nursery, and I haven't even sown most of the courgettes, summer squashes and French or runner beans yet. Just hold off for another 6 weeks before you put anything outside.

Afternoon!
it was lovely this morning, but cooler this afternoon - but not as bad as yesterday :) Agree Doreen - I have had my broad beans and peas under fleece, and they are doing okay.I also have some planted up at home, which are ready to plant out, but are near a warm wall.
A very quick trip to the plot this afternoon, to pick a cauliflower - thanks to shove I went and had a look - there were none there, I could swear 3 days ago - I now have 8! Only small,, but the biggest has come home for tea - cauliflower cheese beckons!
I have spent the afternoon sowing sweetcorn, french (green and purple), runner, and borlotti beans, squashes and cucumber. All of these will be coming indoors once they have drained from the watering, just have to see what windowsills I have spare . I do have a completely empty one upstairs, but that is where DGS goes for a quiet time /nap after linch .. mmm think not :)