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

thanks TheSpottedZebra and bookbook

though it is not butterflies that are a problem here but the smaller whiteflies... I think they're not a dramatic end to my plants, but are quite annoying for kale leaves, am I right?

do you think 7mm would prevent those guys from coming in? they are quite tiny.

can you identify this plant?
it's not evergreen, about 2 meters high (needs lots of trimming!) and bees love it.

Cupcakes, I'm so sorry for your loss. Hope you and your family are coping.

I still haven't planted anything out as lots of extra hours at work this week. Just taken the dcs swimming and I am planning on planting out toms, courgette, pumpkin and gherkin. I need to rig up some kind of barrier round the 2 raised beds and 3rd not-very-raised bed, to stop our Labradors scoffing everything, as strawbs are now ripening. I can just picture our two tiddled on beer traps...
I did have 10 minutes therapy in the greenhouse before work this morning finding a few small slugs and squishing them. Wonderful. I love most animals but do make an exception for slugs and wasps...

Thank you for reminding me why I do not really want a dog after all Grouchykiwi

Afternoon all.

Would anyone have any idea why my one and only gooseberry bush has only made gooseberries on one side? I thought it hadn’t made any, but while I was weeding I found a couple on the ground and then realised that there were quite a few of them, but just on one section.

Was miffed delighted to see that your carrots were germinating book (peers at own with magnifying glass).

All the freezer raspberries have been consumed - and the first handful of this year’s fresh ones.

I think I might have 2 or 3 dozen self sown asparagus seedlings. Some of them are quite close together. Should I dig them up and put them in pots/better to leave them where they are/other?????

So sorry about your news Cupcakes 💐

PS Was that a Hori Hori I saw in Monty’s hands last night?

I'm almost disapointed that I missed the rain this afternoon. went to gardencentre for huge bamboo sticks (last years sunflower was almost 3m tall) and pots for my hibiscus. they are now happy in a sunny spot in pretty and new 30l pots.

Evening!
HiaHia - there is no real way of getting rid of whiteflies, unless you are prepared to spray. They are just so tiny, I have learned to live with them.
BluePitchFork - I am not good at identification , but could it be a deutzia, (though I think the leaves are wrong?) . We need someone better than me....
taecup - I am a week ahead of you re sowing carrots, remember!. I would try thinning out the asparagus, and planting up the thinnings. But how strange on the goosegogs - did you prune/cut back last year?
I had the quickest 20 minute weeding session this morning, but been busy for the rest of the day, so roll on tomorrow to get stuck in with some serious weeding- somewhat easier after all the rain for me

thanks book that looks about right :)
it's swarming with bees and smells lovely. had a look when I was at the garden centre but they didn't seem to have any to compars.

I mended my water butt setup today. I have three waterbutts on a large pallet and a bendy pipe that goes from the drainpipe but the weight of water in the bendy pipe was making it fall out of the end of the drainpipe.

So I've drilled a hole right through and bolted the buggers together. Then emptied out the full water butt, tightened the tap connector. And got a little damp in the process.

I got drenched yesterday - but took the opportunity to go out onto the newly prepped bed at work [one of many] and sowed seeds for 45 minutes in the thunder and lightening. It is the longest I've had at work since starting where I haven't been hassled, called over, asked questions of. Bliss.

Afternoon!
I had a good morning at the plot - it was lovely damp soil , so managed to get nearly all the important weeding done, as well as finally hoeing as well. Planted out a few straggly bits - the remaining 4 sweetcorn from my own sowing, away from the others as they are a different variety. A few odd brassicas, added 1 very well grown french bean to its mates.
I have a few peas set, and the broad beans are nearly ready - next week, I think. I have cosmos and dahlias in flower, but the sweet peas seem to be sulking ...they are a bit pathetic. And pigeons have been attacking my second row of peas. I have had to reinforce the netting so they cant push it over. Pests .
The rain has helped enormously :)

I've been to a plant fair.

I have mecanopsis, black and blue salvia [if you see this - they are fab and mine flowered last year right through til November] two indian mints, a blue basil, two nectaroscordiums [that wazy nodding allium], two geraniums, and some chocolate mint and orange mint. Wonderful.

I shall mainly be taking cuttings and planting out this afternoon.

Afternoon bookbook. If only it was just a bit damp down here. There are puddles on the plot in London. Poor Queenie, anyone here had a disasterous street party?

Still I decided to make the most of it and planted the leeks out as in my experience they need to be completely drenched.

But honestly, my pumpkins are practically hydroponic at the moment

Evening!
oh ethelb - commiserations. You should get bumper pumpkins at least. It rained a lot and again this afternoon - in fact threw it down , but that is one of the big advantages of being on chalk. It drains really well!
I was watching something called Beechgrove today ( a very old fashioned type of gardening show) and they had some beautiful mecanopsis in blue, white and pink. Not sure I can grow them on my soil ( shove has managed to germinate,and grow some which flowered this year).

I love both beechgrove and monty. both give great indpiration and tips.

Bookbook, my onions have doubled in size this w/e. And so have the weeds! I know what I am doing on my week off this week!!

My shallot leaves have died suddenly. Is it bad news or time to dig them up?

Very suddenly ethelb ?, or have they been drooping and going brown? If the latter, then I guess its time to dig them up - I'm supposing you overwintered them. Usually harvesting about 3 months after planting. and double yes about the weeds!

Evening all,

Well we finally had some rain today, a fairly short sharp shower, which has saved me having to water. Only managed a quick trip to the plot tonight, took up my tomatoes and DD, hoping to get the tomatoes in but after we'd been there 10 mins DD suddenly needed to go to the loo so we had to go again. Managed a bit of weeding and harvested some more rhubarb. I'm going to make rhubarb and vanilla jam when I get time this week.

Oh and one of my two butternut squash plants (the weaker one) has been chewed down to a stump .

No street party here, there was a town tea party in the park, but we all really just wanted to potter at home today, what with the exam, half term and time spent trying to catch up on the allotment the house has slipped into a massive state of disarray .

Managed to get thoroughly rained on Saturday afternoon by ignoring the fact that it was clearly going to pour with rain while frantically trying to garden

Planted out couple of extra pea plants and a bean. Pigeons have been at my unnetted peas so had to do something about that. First row of carrots seems to have resulted in about 3 germinated so which is rubbish. And the stupid little beetles seem to be attacking radish.

DH planted out tomatoes in the back garden while I was at the plot.

On Sunday we went over and killed some slugs when the rain stopped again. And did a bit of random weeding. Work today so no chance of gardening.

Morning! I saw not a sniff of a street party. Not even any real life bunting!
Saturday was my gardening day. It was mostly dry, so off I went to the plot. My 2nd arch finally went up, and more squash went out. And a few more tomatoes, and the last of my beans. And I have found a home for a few more squash, from someone who gave me a pepper plant in return. And I picked a ton of broad beans.

I had planned to cut my very long, seeding grass, and also to cut down the last of my last year's chard/spinach, but then it absolutely chucked it down and it continued to do so all Sunday. I did buy the last lot of compost that I need to plant out the last of my tomatoes, so perhaps I'll get that done today.

It's lovely now that the plot is starting to fill up. I still want to possess more plants, but realistically I have no room left, so I will have to stay away from plant sales. I've never actually been to a plant sale!

Over the weekend, with other things going on, I mostly just weeded. I planted out a pot of cornflowers, and 4 cosmos seedlings in another pot, into the flower bed in the front garden. And I pulled the leeks that were bolting (buttered leeks for dinner, and remains were frozen), and radishes for my lunch salads today/tomorrow (I make 2 days together to save time). I also had to pull up and destroy the only broad bean plant that may have given a crop before our holidays - something ate the stalk at ground level so it keeled over, and then it got attacked by blackfly/aphids.

I didn't sow French beans, or radishes for after holidays. Although I also didn't have to water as there was a lot of rain. Oh, I did put a few more canes in to support peas shooting for the heavens!

This week is suitably busy again that I probably won't get much done (committee meeting tonight, DH away for 3 nights, packing up for Cub scout camp, and away next weekend on camp - as well as a frantically busy week at work!). But if the weather allows, I may get the beans sown.

Look! Ikea seem to have gone into hydroponics and grow lights. www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/indoor_gardening/35170/

I'm pretty sure that I need grow lights.

Still raining here. I dread to think how much of my plot is in puddles now.

Spottedzebra, we have two arches up and got our second one up yesterday too! I am growing mini pumpkins over one and beans/maybe a cucumber over the other one.

Loads of people are putting them up on our allotment this year. Must be the 'thing'

Tra laaaa - Chantenay carrot seedlings visible in the cells. I waited for the rain to stop and popped outside to see if any of the outdoor-ers had emerged (sown 4 days before the cells) - well, they’ve shown willing but are definitely behind the others. Think I’ll throw out the rest of the Early Nantes seeds.

Yes, that seems sensible re the asparagus book. The goosegog hasn’t been pruned - it was previously being crowded out by other stuff (now gone), this is it’s first year with elbow room. Do I prune out old wood in winter?

Picking raspberries daily now.

I'm pretty sure that I need grow lights.

Picking raspberries daily now teacup ?

I love them, and I am very jealous. I've planted mostly autumn ones, and now I wonder if that was foolish. What variety is fruiting now, do you know? I think I'm quite far off a raspberry, alas. But I will def have much more fruit than last year, as the ones that I planted last year have multiplied nicely. And my front garden tayberry is looking v fruitful too.