Allotment/Veg Patch - Thread 7 - The Harvesters Arms

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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

Rhubarb seeds- 'Harvest lightly in the second year'. I will wait and see. I also eventually got a couple of crowns from a colleague to satisfy my rhubarb envy of other allotmenteers.

my rhubarb is just poking out. fiery red leaves and curls.
hopeful for rhubarb crumble for my birthday in may.

neighbours have got a new cat. that bastard unfortunately likes my garden beds very much... so everything I plant has to go in cages (I use wire edging and strawberry netting)

Afternoon!
glorious one too - but this morning I was enticed out to lunch, so only got back at 2.30. Soooooo- when I came home - I have crossed all my fingers and toes and sowed my tomato seeds . I also got enticed into a bit of potting up as I checked everything I had overwintered in the greenhouse. A bit of time elapsed!
Will be interesting to see how long the rhubarb seedlings will take to mature elephant
and hooray for rhubarb Red - its a joyous sight seeing it come through.
.My thug is very nearly ready for a gentle pick...... Cats they have no regard do they - its all done as a lovely decorated litter tray....

Just back from planting my rhubarb crowns. I feel like one of the gang now . I had to smile as I experienced something that hasn't happened since I was a child - a bad case of 'welly sock'.

First allotment visit of the spring today. Too wet to put any onions in so I had a quick weed, hardly anything to do tbh, and went round the edges to keep it looking tidy.

I've got a mini plastic greenhouse ready to go in the back garden. Should give my tomatoes a head start.

We've had a small plot since Autumn - managed to get some overwinter onions, garlic and shallots in and some jostaberry bushes planted, and a trailerload of manure delivered which now needs digging in. Popped over today to do a bit of weeding and measure up the raised beds - now to get seed potatoes and strawberries ordered

Evening!
lovely new plotters meglet and mum welcome :)
It really did feel like spring today. But know what you mean about being too wet. It just doesn't do the ground any favours tramping over it in that state, does it.
They had some seed potatoes in Aldi yesterday. Only small nets (1kg for £1.49 I think) but for anyone wanting just a few , quite useful. They also had packets with a selection of vegetable seeds for 99p

Hello! Can I join please? My goal for 2017 and beyond is to grow my own fruit and veg. Today I weeded the veg beds and turned the soil over. I'd love to join the thread and read your comments and tips.

silly question: how big a plot/garden would you actually need to feed an average family? not that I want/need to but out of interest.

Hello Vanilla

Evening again!
welcome Vanilla! just jump straight in and ask away , we will do our best to help :) Have you a plot , or a veg garden at home?

Red - well, I think a full allotment ( traditional size 10 poles, or 250 squares metres) was supposedly big enough to be sufficient to keep a family in basics for a year.

I have 3 raised beds in a courtyard garden (about 15m x 1m) so I'm an allotment gatecrasher

no gatecrasher - just a veg grower :) - it says allotment/ veg patch in the title!

pah , my bolding has been spectacularly poor tonight ....

Hello. Another hectic day and long evening working - I'm trying to claw back some time actually off on my day off Monday as I have garden PLANS. Peas are already 10cm in greenhouse so I think I ought to plant them out ? Too early? They'll need support soon anyway before they start wrestling each other. Planted chilli seeds as well and ordered nematodes for the raised bed and some sort of anti slug wool mulch thing which I'm hoping to protect the rhubarb with. Was tempted by copper rings but it was all getting a bit expensive. Also bought corgette seeds- all mine went mouldy last year but I thought I'd try them again. Couldn't remember which type of marigold you plant with tomatoes and whether marigolds and candula were the same thing- so I've got a selection. Just thinking about it all cheers me up!

Morning. It's a glorious day here and I'm hoping to get to the garden for a couple of hours this morning while my DP takes my DD to soft play.

I've got to finish the last bit of weeding/clearing in the beds I've dug amongst the brambles and then I'm going to plant some onion sets. I've already got some autumn-planted onions (and garlic) in the veg trug in the back yard but going for a few more, white and red. Oh, and I picked up some sweetheart cabbbages baby plants from Lidl so they'll go in too.

And I need to do a bit more clearing - I bought some extendable loppers and a small saw from Lidl too so looking forward to trying them out!

I'm aiming to get some lawn down for a bit of play/picnic space (it's a big plot) and priced up some turf which wasn't as bad as I'd expected so very keen to get that bit cleared and ready.

This thread is so inspiring! This summer I'd like to grow tomatoes, courgettes, nasturtiums and then broccoli, sprouts and cabbages. I'm new to all this so I won't be expecting much success!

Also starting our vegetable growing here in a large raised bed. Final soil coming tomorrow. Buying seeds today.

Luckily my father is a very experienced grower so he can help us as I am a bit clueless. Probably potatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, green beans, spinach and cabbage/broccoli as a starting point. Tomatoes and strawberries too in bags plus chillies in the greenhouse.

DH wants honeyberry bushes so will find somewhere to pop them in.

If it all works out then will build the next raised bed later on in the year for next year.

It's vile here, hence making sure I went over yesterday! I'm eagerly awaiting the delivery of a couple of cold frames so we'll have space to get some seeds in and started. We've got spinach, purple sprouting broccoli, peas, marigolds, spaghetti squash and courgettes to plant in modules, and carrots (nantes and a white heritage variety) ready to sow direct once it warms up a bit. May try rhubarb from seed as well having read this thread!

Please can I join you. I don't have an allotment but do have a garden with a veg patch and other bits scattered around. My veg growing has been appalling since we've had thus garden, probably due to nutrient-poor soul. When we moved in, it was full of overgrown shrubs. I've decided that I'm going to make a proper effort this year. I planted a rhubarb crown yesterday (with a load of chicken poo pellets) and some bareroot raspberry canes. Also sowed a load of seeds this morning - tomato, pepper, dwarf beans, beetroot and chard. I usually put them straight into the garden but the pasties get them so thought I'd try keeping them inside until they're all a decent size. I've also got some carrot and courgettes but not sure if it's too early to plant them.

wow. 250m2 is a lot! our garden is a lot smaller and the space for veg even less.

welcome all newcomers.
veg growing is fun and part of my zombie plan imo such an essential skill we really shouldn't lose.

wrt soil. if you have friends with rabbits or guinea pigs, their bedding is great for adding to poor soil.
I also use chicken manure pellets to put in when I plant out.
riding stables and riot police give me horse dung that goes on the veg patch from sept-dec, so by april the worms have worked it all in for me.

courgette (and pumpkin/cucumber etc) need warm temperatures to germinate, so better wait. they are thugs fast growing.

Morning! welcome to 123 and Trouble -:)
Trouble - spend some time in improving the soil, as much as you can- it will pay you back a thousandfold. Manure, mulch, home made compost - almost anything you can get your hands on . Chicken pellets are good, and maybe overwinter some green manure later in the year.
goodenough - you are really getting the bit between the teeth!
Cath - I think French/African marigolds are tagetes , and English are calendula , so they are going to be pretty whichever!
I am sure we are all of the same mind , regardless of how big/small our veg plots are , that is has to be good to grow things. When I started with a quarter plot, my aim was to grow things we loved, which were always expensive to buy. So I did not grow potatoes/carrots/onions. I have gradually added all these things as I have got a bigger ( and bigger) plot. And I must admit, the taste and satisfaction of eating something you have grown far outweighs other considerations.
Red is right - its a bit early for a lot of stuff - I have only sown hardy things in the greenhouse , and tomato seeds on the kitchen windowsill - but I am in chilly Yorkshire.
Well, I managed a good go this morning. A bit late to the pass, I cut down all the autumn raspberries - (shoots are popping up! ) And started digging out the ones that will escape into the rest of the area .Harvested leeks and sprouts for tea . Rain just starting......

I only managed about an hour and a half today as my mother in law was visiting and I had to get home for Sunday lunch. I'd have rather stayed in the garden 😂

It was beautiful - I was actually in shirt sleeves in the sun, properly warm, though I was digging so working up a bit of a sweat. I was digging over my first beds which are now pretty clear but everytime I find a weed and start digging it up I find dozens more! Mostly dandelions and horsetail. Anyway, it's almost ready for planting. I didn't manage to try out my new tools today, sadly.

I work part-time and quite flexibly/autonomously/from home so it's taking all my willpower not just go AWOL from work and spend all my time in the garden!

My plot is about 320 sq m - it'd be amazing to be more or less self sufficient with fruit and veg sometime! It may be a while though...

I bought some manure from the garden centre today. Am I too late to dig it in? I was thinking of putting it in the soil this week and then planting out seedlings in it around and April / May.