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

Wow, you've done loads in just a week! You're really going for it!

I'm paranoid I'll get kicked out if we don't do anything! But I'm really keen too - the novelty is bound to wear off once the weather turns!

No, it's great that you're all fired up. I am a big fan of using that initial enthusiasm to make a dent in it - this is how I approached it. It's good that you are planting, too, you don't want vast tracts of clear earth as you'll end up having to weed over and over and over - and you have an investment in it now, with your own baby veg growing!

You still have time to sow green manure if there are areas you can clear but don't want to use until spring, too.

In the longer run, as long as you get there once or twice a week, you should be able to keep on top of it, if you have the usual half plot sized allotment.

Apparently There is somewhere local to is where you can go & help yourself but don't really fancy transporting it in the car! It's a whole plot so might need a bit more time but I don't have a 9-5 job so I do have the time when the kids are at school. Hoping to do maybe 2 mornings a week then once at weekend weather permitting so DH can do the stuff I'm too weak to do!

A full plot - wow! thats a lot of poo - I have a farmers trailer load delivered for mine once a year, and its just enough. Mind you - plot sizes vary such a lot from the traditional sizing. We had a new person one take on half a plot at our site last year, and it was twice as big as the private one he left behind when he moved. But take it steady ! and don't worry about getting kicked off. At our site, a lot don't do much at all once they have done a major harvest- just leave it until spring. To my mind that is such a waste. The joys of picking fresh through the winter are a major source of satisfaction for me.
It sounds very like my set up weediculous ( btw can we get by by saying weed? - mm not sure....)I basically do about 2-3 hours on a Sunday morning, then about 4 hours during the week, as and when. Thats much easier for me now I have retired- it used to be an hour 4.30- 5.30 about 3 times a week, now I go in a morning when my energy levels are better. And DH comes when I need extra muscle power, or his technical DIY skills.
I love going in winter though- its hard, but it keeps you focused and gets the blood going round at that time of year .
Pear picking finished. As I said, a smaller , poorer harvest, ( about half of last years - about 20lb at a guess) with a lot going rotten where birds have started to peck away. A lot of misshapen ones too - probably half, at least, if not more- a sign of poor germination, though still fine for eating. A big plus with the conference.

I think plot sizes do vary even on our our site. Looking at my neighbour's plot which is a half, I would say mine is one and a half. I've just come back, such a beautiful day. Took my lunch there and burnt some stuff (still loads to burn! ) and watered the veg.

I'd like to have a pear or apple tree but that'll be something for the future.

How about weedi for short as weed or even weedy might get a bit confusing!!

One and a half is absolutely colossal! Blimey. I didn't think they gave out plots over the size of 1 now - generally, people really struggle to manage more than a half plot. I think book is the only person I know with a whole one!

book - my caulis arrived from Victoriana. They are by no means the best packaged mail order plants I've ever seen (think stuffed in a bag and then shoved in a box with only shredded paper to protect). There's quite a lot of damage on the leaves and root balls as a result - they definitely need potting on for a bit and some TLC rather than planting out straight away. Given that they weren't cheap, I'm a bit disappointed. Hopefully yours are in a better state, but just wanted to give you a heads up to say that the sooner the package is opened and the poor little things relieved of their misery, the better!

Haven't been on thread for a bit. Managed to get to the allotment on Monday. Need to get my potatoes out. Just waiting for a dry non windy day, so the wee one can watch the world go by.
Got most of the weed areas that doesn't get planted covered with strong weed fleece. Weeding is just about up to date.
Will read all posts soon.

well, shove - They arrived yesterday lunchtime, so quickly took them out of the packaging ( yes to crammed in, did have to shuffle about to find them, mine were wrapped in damp newspaper, then in a plastic bag, then in the box of shreddings. ) I had DGS yesterday, so I popped them in a little margarine tub on my kitchen windowsill, and popped them outside in the greenhouse this morning, ready to pot on this afternoon. Just been to do them pronto. They are definitely small for the price, to my mind . I also wondered if the email asking about them caught them on the hop - they were sent out nearly straight away. Here is what mine look like

Oops sorry I meant one and a half the size of the neighbour's! Which makes mine 3/4

Oooh, yours are in a better state than mine. Mine are all bent and the earth has largely fallen away from the cube root balls. I would take a picture but my phone is currently in a repair shop!! I think they'll live, though! (fingers crossed).

weed - that's actually good news, I think 1.5 fullsize allotments would be virtually a smallholding!! . It sounds like you have enviable space, though, which is useful.

Had a quick trip to pick raspberries, and I was offered a go at a bramble bush. Lovely, lovely ripe blackberries- I picked about 2 -3 lbs worth. On a plot not near me, where she is giving up , a plot with so much that could be picked - a whole row of raspberries rotting. Made me sad tbh. And due to the erm uncontrolled brambles, I am covered in scratches!
shove - I did almost immediately put water into the plastic bag yesterday, to keep the paper damp, so maybe that helped - yours has presumably been another day through the post by sounds, so drying out more.
Wigels - yes don't let the slugs get those potatoes!
weed - three quarter plot is a good size, I did boggle at 1 and a half

Ha ha yes 1.5 woukd be a bit much!

I harvested about 10 raspberries and 1 plumb. There were more plumbs but I couldn't reach them. I think I need to cut the tree a bit because it seems over the 2. 5mn

I have a question - now that the greenhouse has been repaired, what could I grow in it now? (eventually I want to grow tomatoes and lots of basil in it)

I hate seeing food go to waste book. There's a plot near me where there are the most beautiful, huge raspberries and no-one is picking them so they are rotting. I could make some lovely jam. But I just don't dare wade in and grab them. What if the people who 'own' it suddenly reappear at that very moment? What if someone else sees and interprets it as thieving? What if I am hauled before the magistrate and forced to explain myself and then sent on penal servitude in Australia??! Horrors!!

I start sowing in the greenhouse in around February/March. Before then, it's just overwintering stuff that needs to be kept dry (aeoniums), and a few cuttings really. I am tired now, though, so might be forgetting something vital!

Thank you "shove". Might just buy a flower in a pot for it to make it look cheerfu!

Evening!
weed - its all a bit downhill in the greenhouse at this time of year for me. However, I will be sowing some early broad beans and peas for an early harvest next spring ( I overwinter broad beans as well) You could do some salad leaves, and baby spinach..
I made a soup today of - 'bits of vegetables I have to use up' . Thanks to dahlias I put some of the jerusalem artichokes in amongst the random veg ( onion, celery, carrots, cauliflower, courgette, potato) . It was a real success - I'm sure they gave it a lovely extra flavour. I can admit to not really noticing much effect on the digestive system either :).

Nothing much to report here. We didn't make it to the plot last weekend but we spent time on Sunday afternoon clearing out the tomatoes from the back garden. They sadly got blight but we've done not too badly from them anyway. We picked off everything that looked OK and they're on a tray in the kitchen and some are ripening off. We've been eating a lot of tomatoes this week! These plants were extras from my parents as we weren't going to bother growing them but we found room to put them in the ground. They definitely did better - in terms of size of plants, number of tomatoes - when planted directly in the ground. And I did a lot less watering than when we've had them in pots or growbags.

Looking positively autumnal out there today but it is supposed to brighten up later.

It's my afternoon off, am trying to muster some enthusiasm to head down to the plot. It's grey and has been raining this morning but is dry now, so it doesn't feel very inviting! I'm just really tired and feel a bit under the weather, plus there's lots needs doing in the house as well. I want to just go and see how things are, do some weeding and a little digging.

Name changed.

Hopefully there will be no slugs on the potatoes Book.

Far too windy here to go out with the wee one. Think tomorrow will be better then we'll head over.

Name changed.

Hopefully there will be no slugs on the potatoes Book.

Far too windy here to go out with the wee one. Think tomorrow will be better then we'll head over.

Oops it said post failed.

Quick dip in -will be back later but
Phoenix - listen up - its a marathon, not a sprint ! You have been doing an immense amount. So take heed of what your body is saying , and rest up a bit. Lecture over :)

phoenix - do what you feel like doing, be that housework, plot or binge watching Parks and Recreation We are so close to the end of the season now that there is very little that can't wait a week or two.

Hope you feel better soon.

cedar - I always suspected toms might do better in the soil. I think James Wong says so too. Can't risk it here because of blight, though

Afternoon!
definitely autumnal here Cedar - really windy, so the trip to the plot made me feel like I had been pulled through a hedge backwards.
Ickle - sensible I think - the potatoes will keep.
Hope you are okay though Phoenix - I sounded a bit like a harridan there :)
I only tried tomatoes out in the ground once - they were doing really quite well, and then all the tomatoes disappeared - slugs/birds, who knows? But it stopped me from trying again.
I managed a good mornings work in the wind. Harvested the borlotti beans , so thats tonights job, podding those. Took down the wigwams , so now the plot is staring to have that slightly desolate empty look, even though there is still a lot planted up. Picked some beetroot ,sprouting broccoli and the runt beans gave me a picking too - runners and french. Then decided to have a couple of leeks for the meal tonight , as they are just starting to bulk up. These two confirm it - I picked one 'Prizetaker' and one "Blue Solaise '. the Blue Solaise wins hands down - more white, less bulbous at the bottom. They were planted at the same time, sown at the same time too- so its the variety that matters here - I think you can just see the leaves are a bit more blue tinged.
All feels a bit 'back end' now if you know what I mean - soups and casseroles instead of salads