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

That looks beautiful

Evening!

• erm 30º here today in Yorkshire - it's all wrong.... welcome to the newbies Lalunya - that sounds like hard work. If at all possible, maybe strim all the waist high weeds, and cover with cardboard. We are now coming into a less 'growing' period. Then if you can get one patch properly weed free ready for next year, you have a bit of a head start. I think it's pretty hard going at first, and takes some time to get to the point where you can hoe. But a bit of hoeing every week will save time digging more intensively later IYSWIM. And if its going to be a bit 'au naturelle' why not make it raspberries and soft fruit. Strawberries are pretty good ground cover! Furbys - I will be planting garlic, overwintering shallots and spring cabbage all in the next couple of weeks, so time for all of those to plug gaps . ( I always think this is the hardest bit to plan - by next spring I nearly always curse myself for planting in the wrong place :) rebecca - join the 'I have too many beans in my freezer' group :)- nice to hear you are getting courgettes. I am also behind on butternut squashes - I have two tiny ones just set. Grouchy - snap - I'm hoping for a black elderberry ( I have been offered one that is going to be dug up in another garden, so have to hope it survives) shove - arghhh - the stress of technology failure is immense, so hope it all gets sorted soon.And a cold night? wow ! No plot today, just pottered in greenhouse while DGS liberally applied water via hose pipe to almost everything apart from plants.... The tomatoes are just getting to that rather tatty stage, plenty of tomatoes, but the leaves are starting to look sad... Don't mind as long as the tomatoes keep ripening on the vine.

Quick question - raspberries grow fabulously. I moved the strawberries to a weeded, manured bed (manured a year ago), and they barely grew (the weeds did). Should I just give up on them ? They didn't do much better when they were below the raspberries... I was hoping soft fruit might be my salvation but my black currant plants have also done very little (one hasn't grown and the other has shrunk down to a few little sticks - are they greedy plants?)

I have a working router! Still no phone, but it's progress

The hottest day of the year was a washout here. It didn't get much above 20, started clouding over at midday, and then poured it down all over my washing at 6. At least the garden got a drenching, I guess.

I'm after your recommendations for red cabbages! I've been growing white to date, which is silly because I like them a lot less than red. After a 'what the hell am I going to do with 15 hispi cabbages' moment, I have decided to switch! I've never grown them before - are they more difficult than white to get right?

I've also decided to use what is currently a potato bed for more fruit. My autumn raspberries have some kind of virus, so they are coming out and I'll put new ones in the open air and just keep the summer ones in the fruit cage, with a few more redcurrant bushes. I have been given some jostaberries, so I'm looking forward to trying those! I also have another berry - the name of which I have entirely forgotten - which has been a disappointment. It is very thorny, and the fruits are like slightly sticky raspberries, but tasteless. So I may bin that.

didi - I think a lot of strawbs seem to like a sunnier and more well-drained site than rasps. You could try digging in a load of grit and compost?

Morning!
um - strawberries not doing well? , mine are in full sun, no competition and a bit of a menace, so thats an interesting one. I suspect shove may be right about drainage.
hurrah shove re router. I can't believe your day was so different . In fact it never got very cool last night - we slept with every window open upstairs last night, and I still didn't sleep.
Can't help on the red cabbages though - I haven't grown them - the usual thing of I'm the only one that likes them ( thats why I was so pleased to be gifted one the other week).
I quite like jostaberry - I have one , it's already getting pretty big. DH not so keen. He was the one that chose it, as he loves gooseberries and blackcurrants so much. But he thinks it's less good than either. Nice in a crumble though :)
Autumn raspberries - there is a lot of leaf yellowing on everybody's plants this year on the site. So I am going to give them a dose of Epsom Salts first, just to see if thats the problem, doing the same for my summer ones too. I do still think my summer ones have virus, but they produced masses last year and this, so the jury is out on it.
Well, off to weed, pick and dig up more potatoes this morning, before it gets too hot.

I just came back from the garden centre with some purple sprouting broccoli plants. Only when I looked at them, I'd picked up cape broccoli by accident. Another trip later, and I now have both.

Honestly, though, I am having THAT kind of a week.

shovetheholly do you live in S8?

right, new house, new garden, new raised bed not very big.

Dug our weeds and bind weed have one donated brussel sprout plant (getting eaten by slugs??), and about 7 very leggy purple sprouting brocollis I only just put in that may well die/ do nothing.

I haven't a clue! We have a compost bin (like a black dustbin) which has grass cutttings, now weeds and veg waste in - should I find something to make dry layers in there (leaves? cardboard?) - it sdoesn't lend itself to mixing/ turning the stuff inside.

For the half of my bed currently unoccupied - shall i put some kind of weed barrier on? I bought some wood chippings but don't know if right thing. Is there anything veggie wise to be done now - or is it all wait until next year?

I've grown red cabbages, they were very easy. Last year I used plug plants, planted them out sometime in the summer, mesh covered them and harvested about 6 months later. Got some more in this year, haven't peeked under the mesh for a while (they share a tunnel of it with purple sprouting broccoli) but look to be growing well.

ooh thanks whoknows - off to google mesh. is your mesh held up by a tunnel frame (like a poly-tunnel?)

Afternoon!
am now lurking indoors...making soup for tea :)
I picked loads of runner beans, the last few french beans, some sprouting broccoli. And realised no-one had been to pick raspberries ( I had offered them out as I am sick of them ) so picked about 3 lb of raspberries, as I hate waste. they are going to a neighbour whose children love them. I was also given a lovely bunch of old fashioned chrysanthemums from a lovely man across from me at the plot.And then I realised that we had forgotten to look at courgettes on Saturday ...oh dear - 5 enormous things. Hence the soup, but thats only used the one really big one
shove - that was your unconscious talking - must get more brassicas...
Hi Woodifer - just check underneath the leaves on your sprouts and purple sprouting - you may find cabbage white caterpillars chomping away . The butterflies are out in force at the moment.( They are desperately trying to squeeze themselves through my protective netting, and some are managing ) You can buy enviromesh, which can just be popped on top and will 'float' on your plants, or you can buy /make hoops to drape it over. I prefer the latter as it allows the plant to grow nice and straight). Almost everything goes in my compost bin that is vegetative , and hasn't been cooked. All apart from eggshells, which do not break down, and perennial weeds. I don't turn it, but just fill it up and leave it, with some water now and then poured in ( mostly from flower vases) Luckily I have two, so I fill one up, leave it, then fill up the other one. Once the second one is full, the first is ready to use .I would try and grow something if its a new, garden/raised bed and not too big. Garlic or some lettuce/salad leaves maybe?

I use enviromesh, a long strip that is 2m wide, sort of pleated so it expands as the plants grow, supported by wire hoops about 30cm high, the cabbages don't grow much higher but the PSB does and pushes the mesh up and out. I have a row of PSB down the middle, cabbages either side in between plants.

More new people hello!

shove believe it or not, the same band of rain coming in off the Atlantic has been hitting both of us (been raining on and off since Mon night). And this is my first rain since mid June - and I'm very happy. Think we've had 6/7cms. A bit more rain due tomorrow, then back to a dry spell.

I have some autumn raspberries, but I haven't touched them. There were so many in the summer that I really can't get up the enthusiasm for this lot. Eating my little crop of apples from my new apple trees. Would like to report that I'm also eating pears from my new pear trees. But there aren't any.

When I first saw your photo of the two squashes book I thought they were figs

Looks like I'm going to have another half doz or so butternuts.

Thanks book! Raspberries sound like a great idea as i love them, the kids can't get enough and I have spent half a fortune buying them at the market this summer. My lovely neighbour has offered me some canes. Do i just dig them up and transplant onto my plot? Do they need any support? I'm guessing autumn is a good time to do this, right?

rebecca I think we might try the membrane for at least some of the allotment, thanks for the idea! Depending on how much of it we can afford . And potatoes for the majority of the uncovered soil.

Looking at the lovely side of growing, I have harvested another box of sweet tomatoes today, the last of the plums and more apples. My almost 1 tear old is obsessed with tomatoes and would eat all of them straight of the Bush if I let her including all the green ones. She has just discovered the almost ripe beef tomatoes.... My little parasite

Evening all,
Sorry for not reading everyone's updates, I'm a bit downhearted tonight and wanted to quickly post where fellow potholders would understand. We had an absolute downpour here yesterday evening. Almost a tropical storm in the amount of rain that fell. Thought nothing of it today but I got an email from the committee this afternoon to say that the brook next to the allotments burst it's banks last night and has flooded the nearest plots leaving a lot of damage and debris. My plot is one of the flooded ones unfortunately. I didn't have the time or the heart to drop in this evening and I'm at work all this week but DH said he'd pop over tomorrow morning to have a look at the damage for me. Fortunately I didn't have any crops to speak of but it's a bit gutting after all the hours of clearing the plot & setting out/covering the beds. Worrying now about my (mostly empty) compost bins, my new perennials/flowers and my little birdbath, hoping that they haven't been too damaged

plotholders even!!

oh no timtam , thats horrible news :( Fingers crossed for you...We have had no rain of any sort, but my sister in Leeds said it was like armageddon last night.I don't think I am anywhere near you? Would love to come and help..

Lalunya -they should be okay to transplant now . They will need to be dug up with some root attached. They are fairly bomb proof, but to get them off to a good start, get rid of as many weeds as you can, dig in and water and feed them. Two thoughts on support. If you leave them without, they grow stronger canes , but not very easy to harvest in my mind. Most of mine are between two stout posts, with wire to attach the canes to in spring.Autumn ones have 2 stout posts with a strong rope to stop them falling over everything. I am trying a new system with some I planted in spring . I have planted them in a block, so I can put a strong rope around corner posts to 'corrall' them and stop them flopping everywhere! It's what works for you :0

book that's extremely kind of you, I'm in the North West though so not close to you. The committee have said to give a shout out if anyone needs a hand with clearing up. Hopefully it won't be too bad. DH is pretty handy so we can sort it out I'm sure. I'm not the closest plot to the brook so won't be the very worst hit...feeling sorry for those who still had crops to harvest. This flooding happened last year as well apparently (never a problem before that) so I hope it's not going to become a regular event!

Evening!
nobody is near me sadly - back of beyond obviously! Nice to hear you are getting support.
I have been rather busy doing actual erm - gardening at home today. :) So veg stuff was limited to a lot of tomato plant sorting in the greenhouse - cutting back leaves etc, and picking a load more tomatoes.At last, the peppers are finally turning red too.
It is all feeling decidedly autumnal now - the nights are really starting to draw in.
No rain, but keep on hoping that tomorrows expected forecast actually turns up.

I'm sorry to hear about your flooding Timtam, how demoralising. One heavy downpour earlier here and thunder in the distance for the last hour or so, expecting a lot more rain in the next 24 hours. It's been so warm during the day, high 20s, but definitely autumnal in the evenings here. I love autumn, so quite looking forward to a reduction in heat and particularly humidity.

I have made pickled cucamelons this week, will post a photo in a moment (I'm on computer, photo is on phone). They look beautiful and taste delicious!

Pickled

Cracking idea WhoKnows - will nick that, as I can't find anyone who really wants them, and I have quite a few to pick. Hope all is well with you - I saw you had the horrible storm down there overnight...
We have been forecast rain this morning, but it keeps being pushed back to later. Was hoping it would be over and done by this afternoon, now not so sure.

woodifer - I do! How on earth did you guess?!

My terrible week continues. I have now managed to crash my car as well. Fortunately it was into parked cars at a very slow pace, so the damage is largely cosmetic (though my pride may be irrecovably harmed!!) I turned a corner on gradient and hit a bump and my engine cut out. With no ability to steer or brake, I just rolled into the cars. Fortunately, both owners have been absolutely lovely about it, even though it is clearly a massive inconvenience for them. I definitely owe them flowers.

I think I am going to hibernate until things start to get better!!! Naturally, though, hibernation includes gardening.

timtam -holding hands with you about your plot. It is demoralising when things go badly wrong. You will get back on top of it practically, but sometimes it's the emotional shock that is the hardest.

teacup - amazing that we're getting the same rain. It was quite wild here overnight, lots of thunder and lightning! Fortunately, we seem to have escaped the flooding other people are having. Hope all on the thread and their homes/gardens/plots are OK.

whoknows - that's really helpful about the cabbages, thanks!

lalunya - I got loads of weed sheeting membrane off ebay, much cheaper than the garden centre!