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....

And another thing - carrots. I sowed them about six weeks ago and there is nowt (Early Nantes). Going to try again with another sort. Must sow some parsnips.

apparently snails get randy from carrots. not doing them this year, last years failure(s) were because of snails/slugs, cats and foxes...

Evening!
well, it just seems to me from reading these posts, that germination is totally hit and miss this year - I think the combination of dry/wet and cold/hot has just confused a lot of the poor seeds.
Hiahia - I strongly suspect slugs re the tomatoes. They were in amongst my herb and flower border. I forgot actually that I did have a cherry tomato in a pot, and that actually wasn't too bad - terrible memory ( mind you - it wasn't a tasty tomato)
Biddypop - I sowed some extra french beans just as insurance against slug/snail munching. - not good - I think I kept them a bit too damp - had a poke around, and they seem to have disappeared . ( The first sowing came up in 7 days, and are now planted out) I have just popped a few more , for just in case.
WhoKnows - well, you gave it a go! You can never tell what does/doesn't work until you try, but what hard work...
teacup - I carry a trowel around with me when going around inspecting, so the slugs get chopped with a very blunt implement! But not sinister, just smug face , as I have got rid of a few more.
Cathpot _ i do suspect slug armageddon, but fingers are crossed for you. I have only ever seen elder trees as hedges and copses , so not sure I can help on that. DH had a friend who let us pick his elderberries to make wine, and they were in what I can only call a 'dell'!
I had an hour in the greenhouse tonight after DGS had gone home - thank goodness for light nights! - I have sown some small chantenay carrots in plugs to try - it worked quite well last year when I had some given. They grow almost like a bunch, just short and fat, but lovely none the less. My NDN on the plot has resown carrots 3 times now ( trying for the veg show) - he has sieved his soil, carefully placed the seed carefully apart, watered. He is convinced its ants..... The soil is now covered with ant powder, looking like icing sugar.
Everything else seems to be holding up apart from my kale plants - decimated . I have moved them to another tray far away from previous spot, and hope the tiny leaves can hold out. Whatever is eating them is shunning the spare sprouts/savoy/calabrese/ broccoli - typical.

Cathpot I love love love the black elder varieties... for example: www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/sambucus-nigra-f-porphyrophylla-eva/classid.2000004449/
there are a few more though... They seem so much more elegant to me than the normal green/white variety?!

Not sure how they fare with edible flower/fruits though!

Wow - that black elder looks amazing. Ive been reading they make good fast growing hedge plants which might work as we had a misunderstanding with a council notice to cut the hedge back from the road and the man we hired to cut the hedge back from the road resulting in 15 years of hedge becoming a series of nub like hedge stubs, and suddenly I can watch next door in her lounge. However I'm not sure it would enjoy trying to grow in the top of a dry stone wall. Definitely will find a place for one though.

The thing with elder is that you need a lot of flowerheads to make cordial - you could probably get enough off one fairly large elder bush for a batch of cordial at 20-30 heads or so per batch. Worth it if you have space for it and like the 'look'! I have had the black variety in my last couple of gardens - it's definitely more attractive but I don't think there are as many flowerheads on it as the 'normal' version, but I'm just working from observation here, not knowledge or anything scientific

I'm having slug issues at my allotment, particularly around my newly-planted brassicas, but they have also really torn into a courgette! And I suspect they are the reason I don't have a singe carrot

Morning!
off shortly to help DD, but wow, its wild out there - has been overnight as well. Worst of all worlds I think - warmish and windy for plants, but may deter slugs with a bit of luck.
I have just had a quick zip around, and I think moving the kale has helped -I still have the ones left from yesterday !
I forgot to say last night , in my greenhouse- slug slime over the lowest aubergine leaf - I turfed out every pot and tray to check , and there was the little beast , hiding under the lip of a drip tray. I suspect my fault, sadly on the introduction. Will now have to keep a sharp eye out.
Hoping my brassicas are okay too - will try to get there on my way home tonight to check.
Boo to no carrots shove - extraordinary times - no sign of my direct sown beetroot or carrots either - not germinated so far..., while old seed swede no problem!

Gosh, hope you're not getting too battered up there book. It's OK here at the moment but wind is picking up now.

I've done beetroots in the greenhouse - have given up with direct sowing due to sluggage! Am waiting until they are really cooking on gas before putting them out. I think I'm going to give up on carrots

Wild down here too, it's very windy and wet. I've just been round the garden on slugwatch but didn't find any.

Evening!
still very windy here, but no rain much to speak of at all.
Only had time to water and check everything at home, but all holding their own at the moment. And slug damage to some annual flowers have done damage, but has also acted as pinching out as well! I repotted peppers last night and they have flower buds on, tomatoes are starting to set on a few trusses, and the cucumbers have settled into their pots and looking happy and ready to go. Just need a bit of sun now

It's rained all day here - we've had at least 5cm! I've had to empty the pots and trays on my hardening-off table so many times. And my cherry tree (in a heavy pot) got blown over, and slatted my broadies.

Still, I am glad I planted out all those tomatoes yesterday, and watered everything so throughly

Cath will you not be able to forage for elderberries? They're everywhere, aren't they? Well, surely 90% of the country, anyway.

Poured with rain here yesterday. Rescued the tomatoes which were looking a bit drowned. No time to check at the plot. My poor French beans planted out over the weekend are probably in shock.

Shove my friend has made three sowings of carrots so far and not a single one has germinated. Mine have germinated. Her plot is just along from mine. Things do seem to be a bit erratic this year.

Morning!
Still no rain, just dark here - Flaming June!
Just a quick pop on to say - we are nearing the end of the thread, so new titles ??
And just incase WhoKnows is popping in today - Good Luck for tomorrow :)

Bah, it's like winter again here today. Not only is it bloody cold, it's utterly dark and miserable out there.

What happened to summer?!?!

book - good to know it's not just me with the carrots! I always struggle to get them through though - I think it's slugs.

In other news, my hardy kiwi 'Issai' is doing really well - am really pleased with it as a purchase. I am growing it to scramble all over my allotment shed and hold it up. I don't know whether I'll get any kiwis for #YearofFruit, but here's hoping!

cedar - i've made 2 sowing of carrots and had about 6 grow so far. i assumed this was just me....though to be honest i think i'm giving up on carrots next year.

those of you with slug problems - have you investigated hedgehogs. i could be wrong, but i read somewhere that its possible to adopt them from rescue centres. i have not seen one single slug yet this year and i'm wondering if thats because of hedgehogs living under my neighbours shed.

Oh, and very best of luck whoknows. I am thinking of you and hoping that this bad weather means that you're able to crack on without the distractions of a beautiful sunny day.

THis year, I may actually have a reasonable harvest in the garden! I planted the tomatoes in the hanging basket last night (finally!), and planted out a couple of broad beans and broccoli plants, and the courgette that germinated as well, and sowed more spinach seed and dwarf French beans. I need to buy some climbing French bean seeds as the older ones are duds.

I had a row of dwarf French beans, in a wide window trough, between 2 rows along the edges of dwarf broad beans, frenchies all germinated - but yesterday, 5 out of 8 plants just keeled over!! There seemed to be a hole in the stems but that wasn't what I expected in that trough.

I used to try and grow carrots when I had the allotment (I had to give it up for time reasons as I couldn't get there with DH away travelling all the time). Parsnips grew ok, but very few carrots would actually poke their heads up (and then those that did would get riddled with carrot root fly). I think most people up there had tried carrots at some stage, and only 1 small section of the 3 fields was reasonable for them (and it wasn't near me!). However, onions and garlic and potatoes were all very common. And there were a few growing some stonkingly good pumpkins!!

The artichoke harvest is in. 2.5 stems. Not bad considering the plants have been ground at least twice.

Ooh, artichoke ? Exciting! How will you eat it?

No gardening, again. Still it rains. The kids are on half term and are fed up with the weather.

But I am more fed up! And fretting a bit for my 20-something newly-planted tomatoes at the allotment. It's cold here too, and I've had the heating on today.

Best of luck for tomorrow, WhoKnows !

Evening!
well, still no rain here, but still have the wind and cold . Much the same tomorrow, so will not be planting out squashes methinks, but hopefully get down there to get some weeding done, and a possible sowing of some more peas. I did have some success with carrots last year, by totally not stressing about them. I had an area that was next to some spare rolled up enviromesh. I broadcast whatever old seed I had, covered them with the spare mesh, and promptly forgot about them. The weeds came up , so I left them until I could positively identify non carrots. I weeded after that, and had a reasonable few pickings.
Biddypop - check for snails - they climb up walls and hide on the sides of pots/troughs. Last year, I had one that had climbed the equivalent of Everest to snuggle into my hanging basket...
didi - I am ashamed to say we dug up and gifted out artichokes - one of the few vegetables we agreed not to bother with :)

Morning!
a cold, windy, and dry one again.
Just gone around and watered all my seedlings as its so dry , and everything in the greenhouse. I have trays in there - cauliflower, spinach etc, all waiting to pop out. But in my potting tray, which has a little pile of dry compost - at least 5 brassica seedlings, happily germinated...I must have dropped them !
Maybe one small mercy - no cabbage whites to be seen.
Forecast a heatwave next week.....!

We're having beautiful weather, which means the ground is drying out quickly. Really hope tomorrow's forecast rain does happen.

Going to sow borage seeds today (hope it's not too late).

Yesterday I moved my fatsia to a more sheltered position - I don't know what the gardener was thinking putting it in the most exposed part of our property - and replaced it with a lovely rhododendron. It looks beautiful out the front.

Tried to plant my amelanchier but didn't even manage to break the turf! Job for DH when he's off work next week.

Now have 5 courgette seedlings. And my potatoes are looking good. Broad beans are in full flower, everything is starting to look verdant and lush. I am definitely a gardening convert.

I've now sown some Chantenay carrots and will sow some more when I've harvested the rest of the radishes. But I might start some off in cells like wot book does. Also sowed parsnips.

My not direct resown Purple Teeppees are beginning to germinate. I'll wait until they're big and strong before planting out.

Sun came out on Tuesday and is still here .

Yesteray evening I watched as one of the hedgehogs crossed the lawn to a good 'snailing' spot. I think the wildlife is beginning to make inroads into the slug/snail population. Now the small furries are enemy no. 1 .

We had lettuce and spinach from my garden for dinner tonight. I am feeling a little bit proud of myself.

.

I'm back, exam is over (and went well I think). I can concentrate on gardening again!

Just had half an hour at the plot, weeding, watering seeds (1st carrots, radishes and spring onions germinating). Picked rhubarb. Next plot inspection is next week, I am determined not to get a warning again!