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....

Just asked DH about grass - I know nothing about it! He says 6 weeks after it is obviously green over, and then only a little bit off the top.

ooh - a minimum of 6 weeks!

thanks.
will try to set the mower to the longest setting then could take me a while
it's just getting too long and I fear too yellow underneath.

Hello all, not posted for few days as unexpected dash to ill parent (who is ok for now). Relieved too to find that seedlings ok on my return this eve. DH did open greenhouse, but not watered ... eek! To be fair, he thinks he might be accused of not watering correctly I can't imagine what he means
Tomatoes etc looking a lot more robust now and at last getting above 2cm. Beans yet to pot up, will do that tomorrow

zebra - I will put the lilies at the allotment so the kitty won't be anywhere near them! Otherwise there would be cause for concern, since he seems to be unable to go outdoors without brushing against half the garden and then bringing it in the house. DH had the bright idea of putting really, really light cream carpets upstairs - so I basically spend my time doing an impression of that Munch painting, The Scream, while hoovering.

Raining here this morning - I am secretly relieved as the allotment soil was getting really dry. I try not to water too much, but it was starting to become a dust bowl.

So sorry about your parent quince. Hope things are OK.

Hope your parent is feeling better, quince.

It's quite dry here too, though we had a bit of rain overnight. The only seeds that haven't germinated are the courgettes so I'll sow them again soon. There's not a lot happening in the garden, just a lot of waiting for things to grow.

My life is all about waiting at the moment.

Morning!
quince hope parent is okay
Grouchy - the last few weeks are always the worst... and my courgettes haven't germinated yet either - the crown prince and butternut squashes, which were a pain last year popped up no problem this, but those courgettes - grrrrr.
Well, been out to put out all the hardening off stuff - its supposed to be heavy rain here - hah! so far a half attempt at a bit of slight damp mizzle - I could do with a proper soak now.
I noticed yesterday that my potatoes are just peeking out of the ground - nicely timed after the cold nights ( good luck rather than good judgement!)

We have had All The Rain in the night, and have now moved on to a moderate but persistent drizzle.

booky and Kiwi I wish I were nearer to you, as I have an army of courgettes needing good homes. I always oversow, but then nothing germinated so I re - sowed. Then guess what happened...

It's hammering it down here, really annoying as it's my only morning off this week and I wanted to get digging, the soil has dried out a lot recently though so it will do it good. I'm going to have to go and write an essay instead.

Well, the last five days before I left last week were wet ones - so that inevitabley put all my garden plans awry. I did however manage to plant all my tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, courgettes (part 2) and butternut squash. It’s been dry there since Sunday (checking on internet daily) but will deluge rain on Saturday.

The morning that I left -

The Purple Teepee beans were being slow to germinate, only three poking through after more than 2 weeks. White Lady runners were looking happy.

Still waiting for my overplanting of onions to start swelling - space needed for other things.

My count of three beetroot seedlings had increased to a pathetic five.

Three of my seven Pink Fir Apple potatoes which were planted directly in the ground, showed definite signs of having been dined on underground before they really got going. The 5 Charlottes that were planted into big black trugs were looking fabulous. I’ve been topping them up with compost (from compost heap no. 1) as they’ve grown. Can’t wait to see the harvest from them.

The radishes are going to mature and go over before I get back (next week).

I planted seedlings of Pak Choi, Turnip and Celeriac and crossed my fingers - they definitely wern’t going to survive if I left them in their seedtrays.

Hope parent is doing well quince.

I am very guiltily happy about the rain in uk as I am fretting about trees I planted hastily at Easter and I while have someone who will come into the garden to water it's only twice a month. She emailed and said the parsley I planted is still alive but none of the directly planted seeds ( lettuce and Spring onions) have come up. I'm hoping they could still turn up- planted 4 weeks ago into warm raised bed - too optimistic??

Today I cleared the apocalypse tomatoes in outrageous heat and about 80% humidity. I was a sweaty heap at the end. i need to empty the soil from the many pots into various flowerbeds in communal areas as we have no composting systems. I'm not sure how the official gardeners will feel about that. Its a job for another day as it will also mean upsetting a lot of ants that I discovered are living in the pots.

I've asked for gardening vouchers for my birthday so that operation gooseberry can be implemented as soon as I'm home.

How easy is butternut squash by the way? Does it grow on wires or just along the ground? How many squash would you get from one plant?

Hope your parent is on the mend quince.

Evening!
Spotted - I would happily swap courgettes for any number of my brassicas . I have seriously oversown, and pricked out calabrese/kale/ various sprouting broccoli/savoy /cauliflower. But I have already managed to offload my spare celeriac .And tonight I have been busily picking slugs hiding amongst the pots , so I suspect I will sustain some collateral damage as well.
I have just had another crown prince squash pop out today, so I still have hope for courgettes. I do know they will, as I am visiting a nursery that sells germinated vegetables tomorrow. I am going to buy some celery, which completely slipped my mind , and have decided to bite the bullet and buy some..., so I know what will happen!
Ah WhoKnows - a glow of having done something necessary, however unwelcome !
It never did hammer down here - a gentle few showers - my weather station tells me we had 3.8 mm - just enough to wet, not soak...
teacup - you have arrived safely. Do you worry about plants while you are away, or do you have someone looking after them while you are not there? Though if only a week, not too bad i suppose.
cathpot - operation gooseberry indeed! - I think 4 weeks might be a bit hiopeful for small seeds, but I am probably wrong! Squashes can be grown on the ground, up trellis, or as my friend does, trained up and around very pretty wicker structures. Very easy to grow, but they need a lot of feed and water . I aim on anything from 2 to 6 squashes per plant, depending on weather, though on average about 3 normally. Butternut are a bit late up here, so need a good autumn to get them a decent size and ripened. My crown prince squash has been much more reliable for the last 4 years. Always done well with them - I harvested 10 off 3 plants last year Left on the ground , they are superb ground cover .

Vertical squash might work - I've got posts and wires along the back of the raised bed for peas etc. Do you liquid feed them or mulch with manure?

all sqashes need rich soil.
I planted my courgette and pumpkin in a deep hole and filled that with chicken manure pellets. plant on top. then when first flower appears I start with green fertiliser aka comfrey juice every week or so.

thanks for the kind thoughts, everyone. My elderly dad is better than he was thanks, although probably more to come, iykwim.
Feel very behind now in garden. Day off tomorrow, so planning a strimming, shredding and mulching marathon! Plus re- sowing courgettes as they all rotted, and some leeks for the first time. I love the idea of squashes grown vertically; all my pumpkin "Hundredweight" seeds have done well but sounds like they are more for Halloween than eating. Might try some Crown Prince as you recommend, book.

for you quince - it sounds like a difficult situation with your father.

My beans, squashes and courgettes are hardened off now and ready to go to the plot! I just do mine in loads of horse manure. My experience is that they are thirsty as well as hungry - we get loads of rain, which keeps them from going all mildewey and pathetic until way into October, whereas my Dad's (on hot, well-drained soil) go mental and then fall over in September. I am pretty sure my yield is lower per plant, but that's never really an issue with courgettes as there are always so damn many of the things once they get going! I'm doing 3 kinds this year: Defender, Atena, and a round one, the name of which entirely escapes me right this second!! I'm giving Crown Prince squashes another go too.

I'm wondering whether I can squeak in another attempt at peas, the previous one having been a total disaster. The packet for 'Onward' says you can sow up to May. Would I be crazy to try?

Morning!
I plant my squashes on a deep layer of rotted manure - about 6-8" and then water alot - I try to plant them near my water butt and trickle water while I am doing other stuff. I haven't tried trellis - as the crown prince I harvest are very heavy, I suppose they would need some support?
tough times quince - sending you strength....Crown Prince keep really well too - I have 1 left, but it does need eating up !
shove - you are ahead of me- another week yet on the hardening off. Why not peas? I sowed my main crop this week, and have Ambassador for when they have popped up. I do shorter rows, and succession sowing, which provides a nice , but not enormous harvest for longer. My NDN love peas, and they grow loads, and by the end are fed up of them, and offer them to everyone, but by that time, they are usually getting past their best. I almost eat them raw.. or just chucked in some pasta, so warmed through...

I LOVE PEAS. Little balls of joy! They are my favourite green thing to eat! I will eat them any way with great gusto, raw, cooked - I've even been known to eat 'em frozen. i also love mange tout and pea shoots.

But I have sowed TWO lots this year, and haven't had a single one germinate for the first time ever. When I looked at the soil where I had put them, there was nothing but a row of tiny pea sized holes exactly where the peas had been. I can't imagine what could have removed them so delicately. But whatever it was had a big dried pea banquet on me - twice! This time I am going to try doing it under a net, as I suspect from the utterly clean way they were removed that a little beak of some kind may be to blame.

mice shove my over winter ones never did much - the gales and wet did for them in November. I then resowed March and nothing, so I set more off in plugs at home, resowed some direct . The direct sow are again a bit thin to say the least, but I have a half decent row of the ones I did at home. I put 5 peas in each plug, and planted them out like that. I will be waiting to see if the new row pops up- hopefully about 7 days , fingers crossed.

Mice, you say! Little buggers! If only my cat weren't a big lazy lump, I might be able to take him up there to earn his keep!

I will give it another go, maybe sowing at home this time. I still have a whole pile of loo rolls I haven't used!!

The man on the plot next to me sets traps around his peas - and catches them :(

book I'll be away from the garden for 13 days - I'll get back next Tuesday (left on 11th). No one to look after it while I'm away. Actually I wouldn't ask my neighbours as they've all got their own 'huertos' to look after and I feel I'm adding to their chores. Also, I now lock up thouroughly with chunky padlocks etc. due to the now sadly common occurence of thefts from rural areas (already been targetted).

Cathpot where are you leaving? I've planted one butternut at the foot of compost heap no. 1, another at heap no. 2 and a third near some of my courgettes. Relying on my famous salamanders to keep the slugs off them while I'm away

Shove I have direct sown some peas and also started some off in pots as when I inspected the direct sown peas I discovered one half eaten seed on top of the soil. Having assumed that something had eaten them I planted more at home and now some of the allotment ones have started to germinate (I think I was a bit impatient too as realised it was only about 2 weeks since I'd planted them). We won't be inundated because I've only sown about a dozen plants at home.

Last year I planted mangetout and normal peas at the end of May and had a crop in August and September. (this is in the Southeast though).

I have planted out my runner beans. Lots of people were doing the same thing. So far I've planted 6 that my neighbour gave me - two got slugged in spite of the slug pellets - and the 6 I planted. (Not seen the damage on those yet as planted at the weekend and haven't been over there this week). I've added the wool stuff around the plants as well as the pellets in the hope that that will put off the slugs from eating my beans.

At home I've french climbing beans that are climbing a lot but I'm still waiting to put out. And borlotti beans (also climbing) that are growing too leggy although they were planted after the climbing beans. I haven't managed to germinate any of the yellow french beans.

I've managed to germinate one butternut squash plant. So I might try re sowing. I've got about 30 celery plants (no idea how I'm going to fit those in). Some beetroot are up in the allotment (we'll wait and see). The potatoes are starting to come up. Not much sign of leeks, fennel, spinach so far. But who knows. Some of them were sown before the snow so the cold spell might have slowed them up. Otherwise I'll have to re sow.
There is a plant sale locally on Saturday so I might pop along and see what there is.

I'm in Saudi, end of a two year stint. We live on a compound in the middle of rubbish strewn scruffy desert and crazy roads . Inside the compound all is calm and there is lots of planting - frangipani trees are flowing, some sort of acacia looking things which flower red, palm trees , huge aloe Veras flowering etc and banks of tough grass. People do grow lots of things in back yards and in some of the communal beds- papaya trees, beans, lemon grass, all sorts. There are lots of nationalities living here so I don't always recognise it all. But this time of year the sun is like being hit by a weapon and even the main planting which is watered via feeder pipes looks a bit stunned. There are a few nests of tiny tiny bees in trees, but I hand pollinated my chillies as there don't seem to be many natural pollinators. There are -depressingly-still aphids and scale insects but I can't just buy in ladybirds so lots of washing them off by hand.