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

I love plant swapping and gifting redbug, particularly for flowers!

My absolute favourite is a beautiful hydrangea from a cutting from a plant that dates to before WW2!

I've also been given a couple of potted plants as wedding favours, which I thought was a lovely idea. Our rosemary bush is one such plant.

evening!
Just a hello tonight -
eating - our site doesn't allow hose pipes either , and if you have a shed/greenhouse/building , they have to be guttered to harvest rain water - but they do supply big IBC tanks FOC . You can get very cheap polytunnel guttering kits these days, or look on youtube for DIY .
Did any one else listen to GQT on Sunday - an interesting bit on outdoor tomatoes and blight. It seems hanging baskets is the way to go ! :)

Evening, booky!

I didn't hear GQT (actually I never have -I must get onto it!), but I always do hanging basket toms. My anecdata is that they do indeed seem to outlast blight better then the cordons. One of the ones I do -Losetto -is meant to have been bred wih a bit of blight resistance.

eating How big is your plot? 2 polytunnels!
We're also not allowed hoses at our plot. In fact they got rid of the tap last year so we just have dip tanks for our watering cans. Annoying, as diseases are spread more by standing water. Yes, bloody blight.

So, it has begun. I have sown my 1st seeds of 2017 - broad beans. I've got some overwintered ones in already at home, but these will be for the plot. And I plan to buy more compost tomorrow, and to dust off the heated propagator ...

I heard that on GQT too, but I finding hanging baskets such a faff to keep watered (we go on holiday in August) that I don't know whether to try.

My first seeds are planted too, broad beans and sweet peas. According to my diary I planted them this week last year and they all did well (apart from the beans being attacked by aphids). I really must get up to the plot later in the week but it's a struggle for me until the clocks change and we get lighter evenings.

I heard that about blight on gqt.
I was missing the aspirin advice and the advice to remove the foliage below the flower trusses.

Morning!
It is lovely here this morning!
Spotted yay!!
No, I wont be using hanging baskets for tomatoes . I did try outdoor varieties for a few years, but up here, they just never do well, sadly. I will stick to the greenhouse.
I am doing 'Sungold' - its such a lovely cherry one, "Roma" a plum one for cooking, 'St Pierre" - best tasting salad tomato from last year and for one last time ( I also had some seed to use up ) 'San Marzano" which is allegedly the best one for Italian stye tomato sauce . Fingers crossed...
Just a trip to the plot to pick stuff today - just for once , I think I am on top of things.. ( famous last words )
WhoKnows - I was a tweak early this year- I think due to the fact it is the very first time I am well in hand for the year, so it felt right - last year I sowed a week later. The nights are really drawing out now - and only 2 weeks until the clocks go forward

I don't know if this is an old wives' tale, but I was taught to water tomatoes without getting the foliage wet as a protection against blight. I use big old trays for the growbags, and fork over the bottoms then water around them.

More potting and planting yesterday evening - first lot of Kohl rabi superschmelz (I am promised 8kg each by the seed packet, we shall see!), celeriac tellus and leaf celery (both in the wonderful load of seeds I bought from chuckdaffodils). Managed to pot on about 15 green roof plants too.

I always water direct into the soil around the roots- of tomatoes nice to know there is a proper reason- that was mentioned shove
Spring is getting going now, isn't it

Another waterer of the roots.

Hence the glut of "slicing tomatoes":o

I must go and try to get the podcast of GQT if there was a tomatoes piece - I love my tomatoes!

I used to do San Marzano on the plot, and another cordon of cherry sized ones (not a clue on variety). Nowadays, I have a big hanging basket with 2 red and 1 yellow Tumbler cherry tomatoes in it, and a big pot that I put 2 cordons into (I think last year was Sungold and Shirley something??). I got a spare tumbler cherry tom last year (different variety I think) and put that in a smaller pot, which was nice too. Lots of feeding means that they all do reasonably well even squashed in (small back garden), and they do get full sun most of the day.

Our plots only had a push button tap as well, and no greenhouses. On my plot, I had an old sheet of corrugated metal (scrap from building site next door) covering a few bits that I'd leave there (weed suppressant membrane, roll of chicken wire, canes, 2 watering cans, and a big (and secure) pack of slug pellets - I had that at a slight angle and 2 buckets at the end to catch the rain for one less long walk to the tap.

Calabrese has sprouted, but broad beans seem to be having a teenage sulk of "I'm not getting my head out of this bed yet!". But it is a glorious and even warm morning here, makes me wish I didn't have to put in a days' work in an office first before getting outdoors later.

A rookie question: I have pea and mangetout seeds. I'd assumed I'd be planting them indoors now-ish, but the instructions say to sow outdoors in May. Should I follow the instructions or should I do some seeds indoors? Or should I try both!?

Thank you!

Also picked up some asparagus and a red gooseberry for £2 each from Wilko's! Yay!

do you have many mice, pigeons, slugs and snails on your plot?
if yes, sow in plugs and plant out seedlings.

I'm not entirely sure yet! Probably pigeons (so says my neighbour) but no evidence of mice or too many slugs or snails, bit maybe seedlings would be a safer option... Thanks!

goodenough - what varieties are they? Planting time for pea-type things depends on that! I would think you would be OK planting outside nowish, but any direct sown beans or peas are liable to mouse attack! I start mine off in the greenhouse for that reason, then net them when they go out.

This website lets you personalise planting dates www.gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/peas/grow.php

So 2 pears in one impulse buy pear tree arrived. It has roots breaking out quite a way above the main root ball - can anyone tell me of that all has to go underground?

Also I REALLY don't have any spare time before the weekend - how long can it sit in the bucket??

Cathpot personally I would take them out of the bucket, wrap the roots up to stop them drying out then put them somewhere dry and cool (e.g. shed).

Afternoon!
Had a quick trip to the plot to pick a savoy, and covered some ground to warm up for peas . It is glorious ( we have been out to a nursery this afternoon, to buy 2 things and came home with a boot full )
goodenough - as shove says, it depends on the variety. I am doing it in a few ways, as everything likes peas . I am putting some straight into the ground in about a week, also sowing loads in pots at home in the greenhouse at the same time , and then succession sowing short rows every 2 weeks after that. I mainly use Hurst Green Shaft, but then move onto Ambassador for the later sowings. That way, I may get some to pick .
Cath - is the pear on a graft? I can't tell from the photo. If so, it normally wants planting to leave the graft about 2-3" above ground. Not sure that leaving in water is good . I would bung it in a bucket with some compost tbh . It will keep better that way until you can plant it

Ok- I will wrap it this evening and put it in shed until I can get to it . Yes there is a graft - I can work back from there, poor thing, it looks a bit traumatised. Trying to be positive it is exactly the right shape to espalier if it survives....

My DH has just broken my new(ish) fork - snapped at the weld . rubbish eh? I want my all stainless steel one back , not these pretend ones :(
On a better note, after shove waxing lyrical about her rhubarb, I have pulled, poached and eaten rhubarb tonight :)

I am pleased that mini greenhouse has been firmly anchored for the last couple of weeks and is doing its job. Sweet peas, spinach and marmande tomatoes all waking up and starting to stretch.

Mine is probably not technically an allotment but a rented garden. They are long strips over a lane from houses but the lady who's passing it on to me rented it instead of her friend in the house. She's arranged to use the house's water in return for veg and they say I can carry on with it.

I planted a few things today and weeded strawberry baskets. It's a bit daunting still but not as bad now I've started.

Goodenough - I got the Wilkos asparagus too, and some horseradish. And a zillion packets of seeds Oh and the woman who had the allotment before me planted seedlings in cut off pipes to stop pigeons getting them, so that might be worth a try. I wondered why there were bags full of them!

Yes, I was thinking about the horseradish too, Eating. I presume you could make quite a lot of sauce out of one root.

I used to live in Poland where the word for horseradish is chrzan, which for some unaccountable reason is one of my favourite words, which seems like another reason to grow it!

The weather is beautiful here today. Pity I'm going to be inside working. Still I can see a neighbour's tree which has just burst into blossom and our amelanchier isn't far behind.

I managed an hour or so at the plot on Saturday afternoon. It was so hot! Lovely weather. So I have discovered the best part of an entire row of rhubarb trying to make it's way through. I tried to clear some of the grass around it without catching the shoots.
I've realised that one of the other bushes we've inherited has sharp thorns on it. I'm thinking possibly a gooseberry. Not sure on the other bushes. I thought they might be currants. The leaves were starting to unfurl so I gave one a squish but didn't get any scent of currant. I'll have to see when they're actually out properly.

We've got onions which I might try to get planted out soon but we're away the first week of April and busy anyway so I may just have to sit tight until we're back. And I'm not planting any seeds in pots until after then, I am just expecting everything to catch up

Morning!
Am not due at the plot today, but it is beautiful-I may go and sow things
Eating and goodenough Put horseradish somewhere a bit out of the way - it can be difficult to get rid of , if not positively invasive ( I hear it is so tough, you can dig it up, grate some off, and replant...!)
Cedar - hoorah for tough rhubarb. I have found only blackcurrants smell , not red or white, but that may just be me .
And for mini greenhouse people ( if its such a word) - a bit windy tomorrow, so anchor down !I have just taken off my strawberry runners and sweet william plantss onto the ground, just in case...