Allotment/Veg Patch Thread 6 - Weed 'em and Reap!

[bookbook]

Thanks WhoKnowsWhereThe Time GOes for the title of the new thread.
So, we head into summer, praying for sun, gentle rain and no slugs
Everyone welcome to join in and share joys and woes and advice, given freely!
Previous thread here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gardening/2582241-Allotment-Veg-Patch-Thread-5-The-Diggers-Rest?pg=1

Evening all,

Managed two shortish sessions at the plot today. Caught the committee site rep and chair prowling round (next inspection is this week) and they weren't too positive I have to say. Poor bloke next to me has only had his a month, has dug over about a 10 feet square section but the rest is running wild and they were really quite scathing. I said to them "if he was anything like me he was on the list for years and caught on the hop when his name came up". But they weren't at all sympathetic, I said I had had a letter in the hopes that they would say mine was looking a lot better now (it is) and they just said "well if you're struggling you need to ask for help". I don't consider myself to be struggling, just a bit behind. Clearly the goalposts are shifting, but our rules are very ambiguous.

Anyway, strimmered my edges and grassy bits and planted out my courgettes this morning, mainly just watering, tying things to canes and a bit of digging tonight.

You would be better off just buying a pitchfork.

Have one compost heap. Each week, turn it by pitching it forkful by forkful into a pile next to the pile you currently have. Do this on the soil that you want to add your compost to. Just take off the stuff that hasnt composted yet. As you turn it, it will leave a good layer of composted material where the heap was, which you can rake over the soil that needs it. I do this and work my heaps over the allotment and it all gets a nice mulch over the year.

The moer you turn and the smaller the stuff that goes in, the quicker you will have compost. I throw all my weeds onto the grass path and they get mown up at the end of each allotment expedition. It all gets added to the heap and turned a week or so later.

Raspberries. No tying in and no net. I bought 18 plants. 6 of 3 different varieties and planted them in 2 lines in the middle bed at my lottie. I merely cut each cane down once fruited, and weed them and apart from picking them i always have plenty.

I'm a bit shocked at the hard line your committee take whoknows. At our site, people give up and plots are vacant for months before anything is done. It doesn't help when brutal following of rules is combined with rudeness either, does it? It doesn't take much to give someone who is new to a site (or to allotments altogether) a few cheery words of encouragement.

I need a PITCHFORK!! (I am deadly serious, it would be awesome).

Yes you do!

They are awesome.

There is a shop near me that sells Tools, called (imaginatively) 'Tooools'. It has bare boards and wooden-handled tools in boxes and it definitely hasn't been dusted since 1972. But they are brilliant because they have many mattocks and other tools and you can feel how heavy they are and where the balance is before you buy. I am going to go down there and see if they have pitchforks.

As well as radically improving my lazy composting, I will be equipped in case of zombie apocalpyse!!

pitchforks: stable supplies should also have them.

I'm sorry, but I just laughed at Whoknows posting about allotment committee issues immediately followed by Dorreen's suggestion to buy a pitchfork...

My slug defences seem to be working so far and all of the beans are doing well. . The slugs don't seem too keen on Fosters, if anybody was wondering. Have switched brands again this week. I also found a toad hanging out by the beans last night so suspect he needs some of the credit!

I've got about half of my plot planted up now, quite pleased really! Think I'll have strawberries soon, they're starting to turn red.

Every evening I ask DS what his favourite thing about the day has been, and yesterday he said it was planting pumpkins.

Nipped up to the plot for 15 mins in between dropping DD at school and going to work (it's next to the school) and did a bit of extra tidying up / digging .

Cupcakes what are you putting the beer in, have you got special traps or just using plastic cups?

A question. I have put up a couple of birdfeeders on my plot, I am worried that I am attracting pigeons to the site and will piss off the other plotholders, any thoughts? Might I be breaking an unwritten rule of allotmenteering? although I haven't been ticked off for that particular activity yet by the powers that be

Morning! And hello, lovely new thread.

Gosh it was hot yesterday! The ground is becoming drier and less swampy as I type. Hurrah.
No allotmenting yesterday but I did pass a gentle few hours putting tomatoes into their final pots and places at home. I've not yet run out of pots, but I have run put of places. And I still have loads more tomatoes. I had planted out (at the allotment), some tomatoes that got frozen but somehow didn't quite die. I wanted to see what happened, how they performed though out the season. But actually I don't have room enough for such experiments, so I think they will be hoicked out and composted, and some more blessed tomatoes can take their place.

WhoKnows your plot people sound strict ! I'm so glad that mine are not. What are you putting in the bird feeders? Pigeons mostly eat from the floor, or sometimes from bird tables, and they prefer cereal based things in the main. So if you're putting nuts out, they'll not be interested. But they will hoover up any seeds, bits of fat balls that have dropped on the ground. They'll be at the plot anyway, however, waiting to see if anyone has left a growing plant accessible, so you'll not be attracting them really...

Amazing thread title.

Marking place for later.

Morning, managed to direct sow all of my squashes, pumpkins and salad crop yesterday. Think I'm going to run out of space in the garden soon. I've put my name on the local allotment waiting list, usual waiting time is around two years.
My raspberries are in a prime sunny spot and I'm considering moving them this winter to the back of the garden which is much shadier and using the space to extend my veg garden. I'm thinking that as raspberries do so well in Scotland they should in theory cope with some shade

ipanema - hooray! Another allotmenteer in the making!

Your rasps will thank you for the move - they like slightly cooler conditions. Before I had an allotment, I grew them at the end of my north-facing garden, which is basically deepest, darkest, dampest shade and they were rampant. They struggled a bit the first year with the move from there to a south-facing slope (but a shadier end of it). This year, however, they seem to have adjusted as they're covered with flowers at present.

Sometimes I think it must just take a little time for plants that can cope in a range of conditions to switch on the genes that allow them to thrive in a slightly different microclimate!

Ha, I've just listened to this weeks GQT and there was a question about dealing with officious allotment officers - it wasn't me that sent it in, honest!

Hello

No okay at the moment as I'm having the end of the garden done and it wasn't worth it this year, however I am suddenly missing it and wondering if it would be too late to start some runner bean seeds off. What do you knowledgable people think?

Okay? I meant plot!

whoknows - I've been pondering your situation, because what happened sounds quite upsetting. You've been on my mind all morning!

It's absolutely obvious you're not an undiligent plot holder, but clearly (and reasonably) your gardening is not the only thing in your life either. It strikes me as troubling, verging on discriminatory, that those with other commitments (work, family) aren't given a bit of leeway when it comes to these decisions. What on earth happens to those with physical problems or MH issues or a period of illness - or a period of manic study and work like you've had lately? Allotments should be for people of all ages and walks of life - provided there isn't a really out-of-control weed issue affecting other plots, accepting that some people are going to take slightly longer to bring a full plot into cultivation seems just common sense really. To be that critical after 10 weeks to your poor neighbour is suggestive of poor judgement, really.

(Sometimes DH has issues with new academics who mark students' work, and they think they are a bit special and have higher standards in their lives than other people because they are extra-harsh with marking and try to fail loads of people. All they are doing in reality is infuriating their senior colleagues, who have to remark all the papers and then give them a telling off for not having the experience to know where a 'normal' undergrad/MA standard is. I wonder if this is the allotment equivalent?!)

Is your site council run? If so, I wonder if you can speak to the council about the approach and suggest that it's maybe a little bit old school??

Interesting about raspberries and shade. When is the best time to move them? Winter presumably? I've got a bed that is shadier than where they are now but I think it might be quite dry as its at the bottom of a dry stone wall with a huge bay hedge on it. I'd put rhubarb in there vaguely thinking it could cope with anything but 2 years in and it's not happy. Would raspberries do any better there? My other plan was to put an irrigation drip pipe thingy in the bed.

book right, Chantenays sown in plugs on Saturday, 5 seeds per cell - will report news as and when.

The small furries that are eating my onions are also chomping their way through my ornamental alliums. I’m sticking the bulbless flowerstalks in the watering can in the hope that they’ll flower there - 14 so far ! ! !

Raspberries and strawberries - I have a 'free-range soft fruit corner' where they are left to get on with it themselves. All I do is weed round the edges and pull up any that stray too far. And pick them of course

Other news;

beetroot grindingly slow germination - previous count 5, new count 15.
courgettes - I have my first ‘baby’ despite half the plants having been eaten
broad beans - pods are setting, but I’ve had a bit of a battle with blackfly/ants.
tomatoes and peppers (outdoor) starting to set flowers
aubergines (outdoor) sulking
butternut squash - resown and now germinated. These were my last four seeds, if I loose these aswell I’m giving up until next year.

The self-sown tomato plant that has appeared where the Purple Teepees will go - gets to stay

Think I might want a pitch fork . . .

all sunflower seedling havd survived so far.
protected by garlic powder, chilly flakes and coffee grounds. smells really weird but I hope this wards off wildlife long enough for them to grow tall.

Evening!
I will hold my hand up - I have a pitchfork.... for the manure....I only have one compost heap at the plot. ( that mostly gets left, apart from covering it to get warm when its full. I then turf off the top uncomposted bit, and dig out the underneath to use, then tip back in the stuff I dragged off the top. Not quite as organised as Doreen as I don't move it, or turn it ,but same principle- ) but I also have a 'naughty' bin, and the manure heap...
Greengager - with a fair wind, you may be okay - they are taking about 7 days to germinate..but there are still plenty of plugs with small plants to buy - maybe an option? .
cathpot - I think it may have been the dry stone wall that is not doing your rhubarb any good. I seem to remember the lovely Geoffrey Smith saying something along the lines of 'water rhubarb even when its raining^
teacup - annoying furries.! a carrot race then ! mine have been sown since 30th May, and no sign of them yet

The spinach has just popped out, sown at the same time. And the few insurance runners and french beans are just starting to show signs of popping out as well. Today, it was so incredibly warm that I have decided they are better off outside, rather than in the greenhouse. My 2 crown prince squashes are positively motoring ( they are spares) - The little leaf I saw on each this morning have tripled in size today, I could swear!
WhoKnows - they don't seem a friendly bunch at all - our lot mostly are, and pretty understanding. I heard the question on GQT as well! So there are plenty of them around it would seem.
BluePitchFork - that could be a recipe for something weird ! I think once they get motoring, they seem to be left to themselves - at least thats what happened last year, the bets are off this.
I had DGS today, he was in charge of watering, so I can categorically say that most stuff is nearly drowned, or parched. he had favourites. We did sow some more beetroot into plugs, which he was helpful with, No more that 4 or 5 seeds per plug :)

I am just back from the lottie and my plot neighbour has strimmed through my brand new chilly pepper cloche which I installed last night! I'm so sad and so angry! No note, nothing. It was a right old pain to assemble too. Aaaaaagh

Otherwise things are going well. Beetroots will get thinned tomorrow and tomatoes have started flowering. A few volunteer rainbow chards too, on top of the 12 I planted... And we don't even particularly love chard! But it's just too pretty. If you have any delicious recipes PLEASE do share. No sign of carrots either. It's also very dry here now which is starting to worry me a bit...

Ugh bloody neighbour, I really am not sure what to do as I feel the urge to rant but also would love to keep the allotment blissfully conflict free!

Hmm. I did not mean to shout my plea for chard recipes, please forgive.

Thats incredibly annoying HiaHia - have you actually 'met' the neighbour? If not, maybe you can go and explain that they have been a bit overzealous? and perhaps not have realised the damage they did - they are vicious things, strimmers....
Mmmm - chard . I am not a big fan of the stalks, but I do like the leaves - I use it as slightly tougher than spinach, so Spinach and Ricotta canneloni, maybe -Spanakopita -a spinach and cheese pie in flaky pastry, or simply cooked lightly and added to any pasta sauce. Then spinach and potato curry of course :)

Chard is probably nice in a crustless quiche with bacon and onion. My mother makes one using silverbeet (a Kiwi thing, possibly the same as chard, I've never worked it out) and it's the only way I eat the stuff. It's properly delicious. Lots of bacon and onion, mind you.

I was going to sow some borage today but my seeds have gone missing. If I even bought them. There are many things that I have discovered were not as I thought post-pregnancy.