Allotment/Veg Patch - Thread 7 - The Harvesters Arms

[bookbook]

Well, it's been an interesting summer, to say the least.
We are now heading into the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness :)
Everyone welcome to join in and ask for advice , share their woes and just enjoy growing!
previous thread here

shove I love having snoozy dog at the plot with me! I think other people come over more to say hello to her than me . If it hadn't been a dog friendly site I couldn't have taken the plot, she goes pretty much everywhere with me.

I got some plants in Morrisons today, spur of the moment, £2 each - two goji berry bushes and a red hinnomaki gooseberry, and probably far too many daff, tulip and snowdrop bulbs. Hopefully will be able to put the plants in on Weds morning, I gave them a good soak today, they look healthy. Dad has quite a few supermarket fruit bushes/vines so I figured they were worth a try.

For planting bulbs, does a special bulb planter tool really make it easier than using a hand trowel? I have a 'transplanting trowel' which is narrower and has planting depths marked on it

Phoenix snap with the red honnomaki gooseberry -sounds a bargain . I should be planting mine , will do in the next two weeks fingers crossed!
I think if the ground is soft enough a trowel is fine ( and you have been digging for England!)
Did anyone listen to GQT this Sunday? I haven't anywhere to put one but I really want a 'Scrumptious' apple now..

Yes I wanted a scrumptious too! I wonder if the growers are having an odd spike in sales.I've got two old scruffy apple trees that need some tlc and I planted two new trees so I can't really justify it. Thanks for the greenhouse advice. I think I might bleach then pressure wash it - when I get the time. New job is good but it's all a bit of a shock to the system!

Ooooh, I need to go to Morrisons now phoenix! All the plants I've had from them have been really good. I got some amazing hellebores that are romping away. I need a goji berry in my life!

It's been near freezing here the last few nights book - I think it's time to get all the tender things into the greenhouse - which means clearing space by getting rid of my tomatoes, which are very definitely over as well!

What did they say about scrumptious apples cath?

Evening!
shove according to both Chris Beardshaw and Anne Swithinbank ( both who have one )- , a good pollinator, easy to grow, good crop and tasty .
Well , supposedly the nights are not going to be so cold, but it was sharp during the day today in the wind. So no better really...

Pink Furs with steak pie tonight

I love Pink Furs.

Evening!
had a good hour digging at the plot this morning,( coming home like a scarecrow mind - so windy.) I am just about getting there , hoping to get manure sorted this weekend, but have the flowers to start digging up. The squash leaves got rather frosted by the cold the last few nights, so have to hope they can hang on in there. I was given a great big cauliflower by NDN - she had 6 , all needing to be used pronto...

they look lovely Ickle - I have never grown those - did you get a good crop?

I love pink fir potatoes -they are truly one of the tastiest varieties. They look smashing - really clean of any slug damage. I tried them a couple of years back, but the slugs liked them as much as I did!

My run of really bad luck has continued - remember I had a car crash? Well now a bloody pigeon hit the windscreen of my hire car on the motorway, so I have to sort that out. I am immersed in administration, insurance claims, installing new home appliances to replaces ones that have all mysteriously broken together. My plot and garden are being neglected .

Just joining the new thread.
Pink Firs do well in - my parents grew them several years. Only slight downside is that because they're knobbly they take a bit more cleaning.

Shove that is bad luck re the pigeon. The plot and garden will take care of themselves for a bit.

Will read the rest of the thread later.

Thanks cedar. I'm a little bit at the end of my tether. Not helped by the fact that my family are being v difficult at the moment! I could really use some time in the garden to calm me - hopefully I will get a chance at the weekend.

Morning!
Just popped in before a stint at the plot.
shove - oh no - life does get in the way, and not always in a good way. White goods buying is the pits - hate it, all the comparing, is it worth the money, will it fit ad infinitum.... And having a pigeon on the windscreen is such bad luck. Is your phone /internet all sorted now? When does the building work start- you really will not be able to garden, then and your plot will be a refuge I bet.
I am delaying here - feeling somewhat weary as have been doing some heavy duty gardening at home too with DH , but we are having a bit of a break from that for a few days.

book - I think when one is doing the very, very heavy stuff the tiredness creeps into your bones! You can end up physically exhausted at a fundamental level if you don't take breaks. So it's good that you're having a few days off.

My internet is back (thank God!) but my phone is still somewhere on mainland Europe being fixed, and my car is still in the body shop. Fortunately, the pigeon hit the windscreen so it's only going to cost me £75 to replace, instead of the full £230 excess (which I've already had to pay once on my car).

We've postponed the build to next May - given our current run of luck, the house would probably fall down if we started now!

Very good crop Book. I planted 2 rows this year instead of pots at home. Haven't got them all out yet. Turning into a sunny day, will take the kids later to get more out cauliflowers are amazing. They always surprise me. Planting lots of red cabbage again next year.

Oh no Shove hopefully things get better from now on. I have less slugs in the allotment than in the garden.

I clean them lightly with a pot scrubber Cedar. That seems to work the best.

Bookbook seems like you're putting some serious allotmenting hours in.

I have been away from the plot for 3 whole days, which I think is the longest since I got it. Afternoon off today so the plan is to get up there later and plant the rhubarb, goji berries and gooseberry bush. The morrisons plants have been having a good drink and a bit of sunshine time out in their pots, they look quite happy. Fingers crossed! I need to have a good think about where the gooseberry is going to go though - it's got pretty sharp spines and it might be a bit of a vicious bugger if you have to walk past it too often when it's grown up.

hello again!
It does seem like it at the moment Phoenix , but I am retired, so can do this - up to last year it was an hour here and there! and I had taken on an extra half, so trying to whip that into shape too. :) . Once the manure goes on ( this weekend hopefully) , then I can relax a lot.
I did a very focused hour this morning, so nearly there. I dug up some carrots, and to cheer everyone up, I shall show you my less than pretty chanteney. I have a few uglies there, and where on earth did the white one come from? ( oh and by the way - those beautiful ones tasted amazing too - I asked, and they are called Sweet Candle)
On another note - across the road from us is having an extension done - they started on Monday morning ( goodness the noise! ) and outside until yesterday was a skip... . You lot will know where I am coming from DH had to have strong words about not needing anymore bricks , we have plenty . But the temptation !

Thanks ickle. And YY to thinking carefully about gooseberries and location - this is a mistake I have made and I now need to move one. Sod gauntlets, I'm going to need an actual suit of armour for that job.

Hahahahaha at your bricks book! Ohhh, I do love a good skip find, though. DH despairs as I rootle through all sorts to scavenge bits and pieces for the plot!

Your chantenays look so gorgeous that I can actually smell carrots looking at that picture.

Hello all. Shove sounds like you're having a bit of a rubbish time of it .
I'm feeling guilty because I didn't go to the plot yesterday and won't be going today because I've got a bad cold. Hope my veggies are ok. I also planted a few flowers (given by my neighbour - don't ask me what they are sort! ), which I really should have watered today

Don't feel guilty ! They are amazingly tough things are plants.( Mind you, I think we all do feel guilty, its in built to stress about things that are in our sphere.! Or is that just me? )
I am sat while soup is simmering away - an interesting combination of odds and ends veg - courgette/cucumber/carrot/cauliflower/onion. I have also poached pears ( the slightly scabby ones) in wine and a vanilla pod and popped into a Kilner jar.
I am a bit funny about not wasting veg too - I still have half of an enormous courgette, so really feel as if I should make something with it ...

well, have just sat down and browsed the active threads and noticed that Bella is famous- she has a thread in classics!

Well no time for the plot yet but for dinner last night we ate tomatoes, beetroot, garlic and potatoes that were all home grown.Only the fish was bought from the shops. So that felt good.

Tonight we're having pumpkin risotto made with celery, garlic, pumpkin from the plot. I don't think we'd have much luck trying to grow the rice though

Did get to the plot last weekend and harvested my carrot harvest. One measly little carrot. Just one from the vast amount of seed I threw at the plot last spring. Very disappointed.

My winter green manure failed to germinate very well. Think I timed it very poorly just before we had a mini heat wave and now the normal weeds are starting to take over a bit. Need to get over there and put some horse manure on it instead and get it covered over with tarpaulins. May manage a bit this weekend depending on the weather and the willingness of DD to help me.

Oh hello! Didn't see this area before. This is my second year with my allotment, my planting style seems to be throw it in a see what grows! I will be looking for tips from you lot!

What type of maincrop potatoes did you plant this year and how were they? My first year I went with King Edwards and had loads. Went for the same this year and the crop was small.

Hello Jaime - we all have our own planting styles!
being nosey ( as everyone on here knows!) - whereabouts are you - North/East?south/West? and a big plot, half or quarter?
I personally planted Picasso as my maincrop. I am not good with potatoes , but they were much better than expected. I have real problems with slugs but they seemed to hold up pretty well this year. I gave them a feed when I planted them with chicken manure pellets, so not sure if that, or the variety helped there

I did Picasso and pink fir last year. The former are smashing as roasters, some of the nicest I've had (they make even my cooking look good!!) This year, I did Sarpo, which are the blight-resistant ones, but they weren't nearly as tasty.

Oh and a golden trowel for you Jaime, even though you are not a beginner you still get one for joining!