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

ooh, that sounds like a lovely day Cath , -and well deserved! I love the idea of stealth rhubarb planting. They will show you up eventually when the thug leaves dominate everything around them though {grin] ( btw - did you say you had slug pelleted around them? - in my garden, rhubarb is one of the few things the slugs and snails don't touch - I assume its the oxalic acid in the leaves)
Mmm - I can see the appeal of the dual pear, but have no knowledge in truth I have heard that some don't fare well - more due to one of the varieties tending to be more vigorous than the other, but it will be interesting to see how it does :)

Yes I thought it was probably novice gardener falling for shiny new thing. Having said that I've got a family apple tree as well so I have form. It's doing ok but not as well as the normal baby apple tree I planted at the same time.

Something was eating my rhubarb last year - what straggly bits had survived being planted in dry shade. Maybe I have some sort of uber pest out there.

Zebra - I've been thinking about you a lot, hoping you were coping with the tornado of emotions.

I think you've done amazingly to get up to the plot, I hope it helped rather than feeling dutiful. And never fear about the gardening weeks, my Aldi still has loads of stuff left, and they tend to repeat later in the year so I am sure you can get stuff then. Main thing now is for you not to be pushed around by arbitrary tasks and deadlines and duties, and to look after yourself and do the things you really want to do. Everything else takes second place as far as possible right now.

Anonymous - It's actually really comforting to know I'm not the only one! I had no idea I was that attached to it, it just came over me, as if I was putting a pet down or something. Stupid, I know!

cath - I think they don't grow as well, but let's face it - it's a wonderful talking point, isn't it?!! There's something about the curiosity of two different varieties on the same tree that is just... interesting. I have been thinking of trying to graft tomatoes and potatoes together for that reason, so I get tomatoes above ground and potatoes below. Practically speaking, there's no need for me to do this, but it feels like a challenge! I think it might be a job for next year, however - my greenhouse is already REALLY full.

shove I recently saw an advert for a potato/aubergine graft, with potatoes below and aubergines above (obviously!)

zebra, my local Lidl had loads of tools left - you might not be too late.

I'm off to the garden today in the glorious sun - think I'll finally plant my onions and cabbages and do the manure. And try my new tools!

Spotted, I hope the gardening helps.

I love coming here, you are all so lovely.

MIL gave us a "funky veg kit" to do with the children. I have started home educating my eldest now that she's five, so we're going to grow them as a gentle botany project. There are stripey tomatoes, purple carrots, yellow courgettes, red brussels sprouts (had no idea such existed!) and rainbow chard. I think the children will enjoy it!

I no longer have my plot (I had it for 5 years until DD was 6 - but it was 25 minute drive from the house, and I then had to lug all the tools a further 10 minute walk in from the road to the 3rd field in the plots, so I just couldn't dedicate enough time to it with a far too hectic life in general). But I still grow as much veg as I can in my pocket hankerchief back garden.

This week, DH and I had leeks and purple sprouting broccoli with a roast pork dinner, straight from the back garden. We should get some more PSB before we pull up the plants, but the leeks are very poor this winter and still only at pencil width size (we ate last years' ones this week!). So I might give up on those for a season or 2.

I sowed 3 broad beans and some radishes outdoors, and 6 broccoli (calabrese) indoors as well. Broc has come up, no sign of outdoor leaves yet though. But the ground is too wet to do much yet, and I need to give it all a GOOD compost treatment this spring, before putting in loads of peas (against the fence), broad beans, French beans (mostly in containers but some in the flower bed), and hopefully a courgette or 2, and then doing my hanging basket of cherry tomatoes and window boxes of salad leaves, radishes and spinach.

I would love a bigger garden, but that is not an option for the forseeable future. But I am going to try and be better this year at getting the most from my flowerbed space (about 3'x4' but not square) and my few window boxes and a couple of large flowerpots.

And if the weather is good at Easter, I MAY tackle DMIL's garden and re-invigorate DFIL's old veg beds, put in some peas the DMIL loves, and maybe onions and garlic. But I need to be careful not to step on toes (DFIL died 18 months ago) - she's not up to working it, and would like the veg, but also is finding it hard to come to terms with so I don't want to hurt her either.

Haven't commented for a while.

Managed to get to the allotment last week a few times with my MIL and we did a lot of tidying and making some fires in the furnace.
Yesterday after school we went and did some digging and another fire.

The youngest is now 9 months and he got all muddy yesterday too as he wanted to go out of his chair

Photo attached is where I'm going to make a seating area, behind the biggest shed.

Good Evening. I fell for buying one of the height size small greenhouses in Aldi on Saturday. Does anyone have any tips for keeping it upright? I put a couple of logs in the base but it keeps falling over in the wind. I've got it on the decking at the moment. I guess trays of seedlings might help but I don't want to get up and find those all over the ground in the morning.

I'm trying to think of things I think it would be good to have in the garden apart from the usual salad crops. Are leeks easy to grow? Can you harvest them just 1 or 2 at a time through winter?

elephant does it have bars that run horizontally at ground level? If so, can you peg it down with metal pegs? I have ones that I mallet in, then I tie my greenhouse to a fence. It's not out yet though - too windy and cold! I and so put bricks on the bottom corners.

Erm, I too fell into aldi today. Not loads left, but I did get a(nother) blackcurrant, and also something I said I'd never grow - a blackberry! I'm surrounded by them in the fields and hedges, so I forage all that I can pick, eat and freeze, but now I'll hopefully have my own too. It's and Oregon Thornless, so that's exciting! It has 2 mini canes about 25cm long, and 4 or 5 emerging. But it fruits on 1 yr old wood, I think - so no tame blackberries this year

leaks are a great crop.
and yes you can pick then off one by one. of eat baby leeks (like spring onions)

Thanks Zebra, yes I think I will have to change its location and guy it like a toilet tent.

Was wondering if you could tether it to a wall/fence, elephant?

Kiwi it is going to take some scouting know-how so I don't rip the plastic cover.

Got some manure on one half of my dug bed. It was nicely rotted (and steaming hot!) at the bottom of the pile. I could probably have gone for a thicker covering but I was knackered!

Evening!
-had a very busy day with DGS , so nice to relax and check on what everyone is doing .( too nosey by half !)
Hello to BiddyPop - I can see why you gave up your plot, that was true dedication just to get there! Really hard to work out best for your MIL, understandably. Sounds like you are using every inch of your garden :)
elephant I have those , but they cower against a wall, in the lee of the wind. with 4 large concrete bricks in the corners of the bottom shelf to try and keep them upright ( I am really cautious now- I lost a load of seedlings hardening off about 3 years ago, it had tipped right over in the wind) .And the covers rip regardless - I buy lots of replacement covers when I see them cheap in the sale/flog off .
Grouchy - I grew red sprouts a few years back. I can honestly say they don't taste a tad different, but they were moe purply green than a true red :)
Spotted - put that blackberry somewhere out of the way - they scramble and root tip everywhere !
goodenough - you are finding out that its better than any exercise regime, and you get stuff to eat as well - win/win

missed out answering Trouble - one of the easiest is runner beans/french beans the climbing ones up a wigwam cane don't take up much space, and its lovely to pick them fresh , and prolific too . Leeks are easy to grow, and I just pick when I need them .Maybe a courgette plant? - You will only need 1 or 2 to get a good crop.
oh and Ickle - soil + 9 month old = mud, thats just the way it is !

Morning!
just trying to talk myself out of going to the plot this morning- it rained so much last night, it will be just too wet.
I do need to go and pick some sprouting broccoli so will see how it goes this afternoon.
I found my favourite sweetcorn seed yesterday, 'Mirai' so I am going to give it another go to germinate them myself - fingers crossed better rate than last year :)

One thing I need to work out this year is how/what to grow for a year-round harvest. How does one find that stuff out?

grouchy - I find it easiest to think backwards from winter: what would you want to harvest? Things like leeks, celeriac, kale, cabbage, beetroot, sprouts (why, why, why would you do that, though) are options. Then look for varieties that stand well and following the sowing directions. A lot of them need sowing fairly soonish, so good to be thinking about this now. Also, beans that you can dry are just brilliant - I still have loads of borlottis left from last year and I have been putting them in everything for ages.

Afternoon!
agree with shove - ( well almost - we love sprouts ) , what do you want to pick and eat? And also what makes best use of the space you have - , not letting it be empty for long.. It has all been a bit trial and error with me : I like the pick and come again things - kale, sprouting broccoli and perennial spinach/chard ( but you are not keen on that if I remember!) and things that stand over winter like leeks , when the veg patch really pulls it's weight IMO.
Managed a bit of time at the plot today, It was beautiful, sunny and I persuaded DH to come too. He has a head cold... ( enough said!) . We moved the plum and greengage to their new places before the buds have broken. It was a hard decision to make, but ultimately the right one. They have only been in less than year, so not really settled in, and I want them to produce for me in years to come. DH also pruned the blackcurrants, and red currant, so another job ticked off for the year. I then picked some sprouting broccoli for tea . It is getting into its stride now, so plenty to come

We love sprouts too.

Part of my problem is that I don't actually know what is seasonal. I shall have to do some research. shove's list is a great start.

Your broccoli looks delicious, books.

Grouch I bought this. I got from a charity shop but these don't look very expensive.

Thanks, elephant, that looks great. The "also boughts" linked to a book I already have but had forgotten about...