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

the white cabbage butterflies are out in full force at the moment, and they love brassicas. The little white flies you will never get rid of, unless you are prepared to use insecticide. I just put up with them. Just keep a check every day until the cage is up. They will recover as long as the caterpillars don't chomp through every leaf ,though they will keep appearing if you can still see clumps of eggs under the leaf- the purple sprouting has a long growing period, well beyond any caterpillar damage.

Cathpot - I forgot to answer about the peas - sorry ( old age !) At that size, I think I would plant them out, - (they are easier to let dry out in pots, and look after themselves pretty much in the ground,) but protect them from birds - and put in the netting for them to climb around. I think you should be okay against pea moth by now.

Hello hello all! After quite an absence on this thread, I am popping back in to say hi.
And sadly, bye (for now?), to Diamond - hope things turn around for you soon.

My garden and plot have been rubbish, and no not the refuge that I wanted them to be. Everything is illing /dying /non-productive, basically. So much so that the effort: output ratio is embarrassing!

Although I have ended up with a few home ripe tomatoes oddly, that the blight didn't get. Just a couple here and there, so just to be eaten secretlyon their own, nothing to actually cook with.

#YearofFruit turned out to be a washout. Very few blackcurrants and only a couple of reds and whites. Less then a punnet of gooseberries too. The rasps are picking up now, but still don't have enough to actually cook with. The front garden tayberries are better - I've been stashing some away in the freezer. And one of my quince trees has does. Still the apple tree looks good, and there is always next year for more fruit...

In my huge void where the blighted toms were at the plot, I planted out a load of courgette and squash - as that is all I had left. And I planted them just as the weather turned scorchio, so I have been having to water lots. But er, they're a bit crap too. I have only had a couple of big finger side ones. Where is my glut?! I am now placing all my hopes on my tromboncino squashes which are looking very healthy in leaf, but their fruit has not yet ripened.

I can do my first pickings of beans now -runners and french. And I've just sown more beets, turnips, salads, oriental greens.

My basil has been good though. Yay.

Sorry - that was just a massive moan! Which was exactly why I hadn't been posting, as I don't want to be the moaning Minnie. Oops.

Where is our lovely Shovey ? Have i missed that she has gone?

I think its been a bit rubbish for everyone this year Spotted , but glad to hear from you. Just feed up those currants in the autumn and leave be. They are young yet . My best blackcurrant must be 25 years old. It was a twig that came back from Ribena coupons that my DD saved and sent off. It was in her garden/in a pot for years and years without any sign of it doing much at all , then she donated it to me when I got the plot 6 years ago. It took 2 years for it to settle in, and now its thriving. The courgettes/squash thing - mine have been planted out for weeks and weeks, and they are only just getting going this last 10 days. They need to get comfy, get the roots going , and then get going. Just hope for a long autumn. Yes, beans are coming, and I have seedlings of perpetual spinach and baby leaf spinach , and just showing are winter cauliflowers.
No, I don't know where shove is either
But moan away - we can all sympathise- it is the weirdest year so far for me, The slugs have eaten all my mint and parsley as well, at home in pots.....

Hi everyone any space for a newbie? I have just ordered our new raised beds which should be here at the weekend and I'm ridiculously excited about it. We will have three beds each of which is 4ft x 8ft and 60 cm high (they're going onto concrete). Could anyone give me some guidance on what I could plant at this time of year or is it too late to get anything started?

The area is outside of the kitchen door and is south facing but with a 2 metre wall along the west of the plot (rhs) and the house is on the north boundary. It should get a reasonable amount sun in the summer months but less at other times of the year since there are tall trees on the southern boundary of the garden.

I have rhubarb crowns on order for a spot along the garden wall but am keen to get planting in the raise beds.

hi red
I would go for leaves, winter veg (kale, cabbage) kohlrabi now.
if you get a courgette plant with flowers in a garden centre you might get lucky.

MIL has just given me £50 of garden centre vouchers and so I'm off there on Saturday to see what I can find!

Thanks bookbook!!! It's going then !!! And any ideas on this one!?

Thanks bookbook!!! It's going then !!! And any ideas on this one!?

Evening!
and welcome redhat plenty of space !
are your beds standing on concrete? make sure there is some drainage .
Lots can be grown now to get going - lettuce, spring onions , carrots- I am still sowing baby leaf spinach. Then if you are a a garlic fan, garlic needs planting later on towards Christmas, (you need to be thinking of getting the bulbs soon). If you have a good nursery/garden centre near you, then they may still have supplies of veg plug plants - I have been in two lately with loads- should still be leeks and broccoli around ,even beans! so well worth a scout around. Strawberries should be around - the runners are about to get going.
Sunnyshine - I am not sure what that is precisely , but I think its a weed that germinates out of my birdfeeder
well, no plot, and I was so sure it was going to rain, but guess what? it didn't --- still hope for overnight but I should have gone to water, and I didn't. Lots of raspberry picking here at home, along with 3 cucumbers. The first pepper is nearly ready, and my winter cauliflowers are steadily germinating :)

That's coming out as well then I feel quite silly it knowing what's a weed and what's a plant !!! Lots growing though apart from weeds do very exciting as this is my first year !! Does anyone know a cheap place to get the weed matting? Could do with covering a patch that nothing grew on .

sunny - your nearest supermarket for cardboard.

Dont be Sunny - a weed is only something in the wrong place. I just have more years of leaving something in, and then feeling daft when it really is a weed

just back in from watering the sunflowers. wow they need a lot of water, but the tallest are already 6ft tall!
peeping over the garden wall to neighbours: their plants are more rampant, but they use a lot of artifical fertiliser& all sorts of sprays and pellets.
I will stick to my comfrey juice :o

Evening all, welcome Redhat

Sorry things aren't going so well Spotted, a mixed bag for me too this year.

Raspberries - eaten by birds
Gooseberries - eaten by birds
Strawberries - very low yield but plants were moved after fruiting last summer and maybe need longer.
Courgettes, cucumbers and squashes - survived slug attack but very behind
Broad beans - ditto
Radishes - bolted without swelling
Carrots - sawn off at soil level

However:
Onions - brilliant, big, plump bulbs all
lifted and drying. Planted into cells in Feb and into the ground in April, so very late but they caught up.
Potatoes - earlies did very well, maincrop looking very healthy
Tomatoes - fruit still green but plants very healthy
Cucamelons - starting to swell
Sweetcorn -loads of cobs developing
Chard - growing very well, have started harvesting small leaves this week
Red cabbages - looking very strong and healthy (under secure mesh).
Leeks - ready to plant out.

Blue - I've just been having a chat with DH about attitudes to garden chemicals, here there seems to be a bit of a generational thing going on, some of my fellow plotters who are around my parents age (70s+) have immaculate plots but seem to be in favour of hardcore chemicals whereas us "youngsters" (under 50 just) tend to favour the organic approach (apart from slug pellets).

our neighbours are about the same age, mid thirties well we are early 40 . but forever using powders and potions.

Bluepitchfork doesn't the cardboard just get wet and rot though ?

yes, but that takes a while.

Cardboard takes a good few months to rot down, you need to weigh it down with something, a layer of compost is ideal. I also keep a stack of plastic milk bottles at the allotment for filling with water and weighing down anything that needs it (black membrane, cardboard, netting when I want to lift it regularly, eg over strawberries).

Afternoon!
not had much time in the last couple of days to go and do serious stuff at the plot. (Far too busy enjoying myself!) But I managed to go this morning and water ( a miserable amount of rain overnight ) picked french beans, the first purple beans and also the first runners beans , broad beans, courgettes. Also picked raspberries. Everyone here for tea tonight so it will all go.
Its an interesting choice on how to grow. I have (nearly) always been hands on organic - not that it was called that when I started. So an older gardener here :) But I did have a bag of growmore about 30 years ago. I also have rarely used slug pellets either. My go to if things are looking a bit sad is home made weed tea, or chicken manure pellets. My one big thing I guess that goes against this is tomato feed , which also feeds my hanging basket, as thats what is in the watering can :). Other than that it is digging /hoeing weeds and prevention and manual insect removal. Which means most of my fruit and veg do have minor prettiness issues - the cabbage leaves have a few holes, I have to chuck a few raspberries and strawberries away. But I would rather keep the wildlife going personally.
Thats an impressive list WhoKnows - its funny that every year, the highs and lows are different.
This year -
Garlic/shallots - poor
Peas - poor, just a few - poor germination/weather ruined/pigeon picked/mouse eaten before germination
forgot to sow parsnips
carrots - mmm - fingers crossed i get any
Asparagus - not had much to pick this year as hoped, slugs had a go at this as well
spinach - keeps on bolting on me - on succession batch 4 or is it 5 ?
squashes - munched by slugs , so late and just getting going- not sure if I will get any butternut, though good ole crown prince taking up the slack .
Gooseberries - 1 complete shrub stripped by birds, managed to net over the other one.

But - strawberries/raspberries and all the currants good
courgettes are getting going, as are all the beans.
Cabbages doing well, and cauliflowers are looking good, but no where near ready.
Brassicas - had to use virtually every spare insurance plant after slugathon

I am not sure on potatoes - they are actually looking really healthy, but almost afraid to dig them up and discover all the holes..

Sunny - cardboard works as a good mulch too, adding to the soil structure when it breaks down - you don't need to remove it

Having beef carrot stew, with my wonky carrots. At least they taste good not sure why they got wonky. The bed was dug. The only one I managed at that time when I was heavily pregnant.

I had a tiny cauliflower, it tasted very good. Didn't expect any so a nice surprise. Don't think my potatoes are doing good. I struggle with the earthing up, was 36/7 weeks pregnant and my husband couldn't help. He was/is very busy between work and his hobby, he has been invited for the common wealth team. So just me and the allotment and my MIL helping at times.

Next year will be better when the wee one is a bit older,eek but then back at work. I need 40 hours in the day. My extra hobby is wool spinning. I would have more, but no time.

I am organic too. Just naturally grown weeded

I'm planning on pretty much covering the whole plot in cardboard to start with, once I've hacked down all the weeds! I've been stockpiling cardboard from moving house and deliveries at work.

Letter arrived from the council today - I think this is the 'welcome pack'! It contains another form I have to sign and send back, then they will send me an invoice for a key deposit, then I pay the key deposit, and then they will send me a key. So I guess I might be on the site by Christmas??? I'm going to head down to the council offices on my afternoon off tomorrow and see if I can complete several of those tasks in one go by being there in person.

My goodness, the utter ridiculousness and bureaucracy of councils...Phoenix - they seem to be trying to put you off!
wigels thats an impressive start with a teeny one :) and yes, to things tasting good - and fresh. I try very hard to only pick enough for at the most 2 days, though I know I am very lucky to have the spare time to do that. It makes the biggest difference IMO