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

Morning!
well, a very busy weekend - guests have just nicely left. A little weary after a lovely, but late night- need to get to plot and its sleeting..... a little weary after a lovely, but late night so just need to get motivated :)
Chuck - nice to know you have matters under control. In charge of vulnerable adults , bullying , etc - totally disgraceful.
quince - take it easy on yourself, and do take as much time as you need . Have you a saw? could you saw a big cross into it and take some of it out that way?
shove - are not windows the most uninspiring of things , everyone seems to design the same thing in reality, no real interesting things - I thought you may end up with Crittal as the very epitome of 50's style :)
I have typed this, and its now heavy rain , with sleet. Mmmm lovely- maybe no plot. I did pick up a packet of Radar onions yesterday, so was going to plant those - ah well! a lazy Sunday is maybe not a bad thing

Thanks Book
Shove, that mattock looks lethal! I think it would be great, but I am pretty ham-fisted with anything sharp on the end of a long handle (even though I am a medic - fine with scalpels!).
I'll go for the saw option and digging up any bits I can manage until I've beaten it into submission.

We have just got rid of our 3 chickens too - combination of them not laying much in their 3rd year, coop rotting away after many years of good service, and a serious rat problem. It is almost impossible to get rid of the buggers without poison. That's not an option for us as we have a cat and dogs who have been known to scoff rats (just not enough of them!). I know they are everywhere, and we have managed the odd few previously with an air gun, but suddenly got huge numbers very quickly in the last month. Yuk.

Dh took them away to our nearby friend on a farm who has a large flock, so at least they have lots of new friends and can now free-range. We can still get lovely eggs from said friends too.

I am very much trying to make life a bit easier for myself currently, instead of giving myself unreachable goals which I then feel bad about. Seems obvious, doesn't it? At difficult times in life, more head space is needed. Decluttering like mad too.

Although the garden seems very lonely without the chooks, the upside for the compost heap will be more veg and fruit scraps to compensate for the lack of chook poo. I have my first Dalek almost filled in last 6 months, and 2 more empty ones to go.

Wow, quince, you're doing so much! I think it makes a LOT of sense to simplify sometimes - and to give yourself permission to have time out, time off, and a rest. You must be exhausted (physically, psychologically, emotionally) after everything you have been through. I think when gardening and plots become less than fun, it's time to make changes. There really isn't any point if it's making you stressed, tired or miserable.

Morning!
quince - it's hard to give up things that you clearly feel a lot about, but definitely wise in the circumstances. It is so important to look after yourself, both physically and mentally until you are in a happier place. Take care. Hope the saw thing works...I think they are tough beasts!
Well, I waited until the temperature got above 3º before going to the plot. I have had a good hour and a half down there. I planted up the winter onions, so now I have done all the overwinter planting ( mind you- I do still have some 'Meteor' peas from last year - so maybe....) I did a few more barrows of manure, and spread it all out rather than leave it in a heap for the next visit :) And a bit of veg picking before it started to look a bit ominous. The tray does look different in winter , but nevertheless tasty and even the leeks are not too bad. Still not going to grow 'Prizetaker' again though!

ooh - was it this thread that you noticed loads of ladybirds shove and didn't know if they were harlequins. Just seen this thread and there is a picture posted of the most usual spots/colours etc . Thought you may be interested.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2772659-ladybirds-everywhere#prettyPhoto

Your winter box looks lovely book. Those leeks are fantastic! And ooooh, I will check that thread out! Thanks!

(Amused by the panic over 'ladybird STDs').

Chuck that’s crap about your job after all the energy you put into it - peeved on your behalf .

Temperatures have taken a dive here, but not quite frost levels - around 2/3c for the last couple of nights. The only things still growing now are cabbage family, chard, parsnip and there a few beetroot still to pick. Oh, and some self sown lettuces and coriander.

Not sure if I’m going to bother with overwintering anything in the allium family, given that I’ll just be feeding the ‘locals’. I might just stick a few garlic cloves in a trug and leave it at that.

Grass needs cutting - it's sleety raining - my carefully chosen expensive lawnmower has terminally broken. Annoyed.

morning,
On a nice note (ignoring just at the moment all the news) - I hope you had a lovely birthday shove - have you got snow there this morning? I think we may have had a little, but its just rain now, forecast nearly all day. So that means absolutely no plot. Maybe I will finish washing up things in the greenhouse. - I had done 90% of it, then we cleaned out the shed last week - oh dear how many more pots did I find ... these are the ones from plants I have bought, .

forgot to say - igardener - what is it with grass ?- I'm sure we didn't cut the stuff as late as this years ago, but ours needs doing too. And commiserations at the lawnmower - expensive sadly doesn't always mean reliability. I am very, very lucky in that DH is a whizz at maintaining and mending stuff like that. We bought a petrol Atco at an auction for a snip as it was broken ( a top of the range thing ) - it took him half a day , and a bit of Heath Robinson, but its purring like a good 'un now down at the plot.

Snow here this morning! Lots of it as well, big flakes for two hours or so, and it has settled a little bit as well. But it has now turned into gentle sleet and mist. Urgh. I am wrapped up in a new fleece I have bought, and am very chuffed with. It has ribs of material, so it is not bulky and I can move in it really easily - yet it is super warm! Looking forward to road testing it at the plot, but there's no way I can get anything productive done there today. The soil will now be really heavy and part-frozen!

Fleece sounds a good one - ribbed you say?
It is definitely a day for indoors I think - I was going to wash pots, but the temp is still about 3º

As DH and I have spent a lot of time outside, we have every permutation of fleece and down jacket known to man. ( At the moment for the plot I am using the Craghopper half zip microfleece - very thin and cosy)

Yes, this one: www.countryside.co.uk/north-face/womens-radium-hi-loft-jacket-winter-2014?gclid=CjwKEAiAr4vBBRCG36e415-_l1wSJAAatjJZpknOiUhORFlCcZtfJu6I0_jDPkfVXhfpk0CWR0yVzxoCJkXw_wcB

Only I got it considerably cheaper than that a few weeks ago! (DH got it for my birthday, which is why I only started wearing it today!). It's for climbing, I think, so it is quite well articulated. I have a Craghopper one like yours as well! It's been beaten up in the wash so many times, and still going strong. They are really indestructible!

ooh, that's nice ! I like North Face stuff. However, being tall, I buy the non fitted mens stuff, as otherwise I get that gap right in the middle of my back when I bend over...and I can get an extra layer underneath, and can still move, and look less like Michelin Man...:)
I have been making vegetable soup with lots bits of odd vegetables, along with quite a good haul of tomatoes which have been quietly ripening under a newspaper. Its till miserable here, though it has just stopped raining

Mm - another day I think with no plot - it was heaving down early this morning... Definitely pot washing calls now, haven't any excuses left

As someone who is short (5'4) and longs to be taller, I have envy of the back gap, even if it's a pain when it comes to chilliness! But I do often wear men's fleeces anyway (even though the sleeves are waaay too long) because I normally buy cheap ones and they seem to be more robust, warmer and better made. Also, less pastel, which is a nightmare colour in the garden.

Good luck with the pots!!

you mean you don't want to wear neon pink?
I do have to get up and get going though , and ind you the sun is out at last !

Morning! I am working today so no plot for me. We had torrential rain yesterday - more than we've had for months - so the ground would be too sodden to do anything much anyway.

quince my friend had to give up keeping chickens for the same reasons. The rats were everywhere and as the hens had stopped laying as much it didn't seem hygienic or worth it. The hens went off to a very nice retirement at a local community project.

I planted garlic on Sunday which was a beautiful day - sunny and fresh if very chilly.

On a more interesting note, we've been offered the vacant half plot below our plot. Since we took on our plot it's been languishing most of the time. Someone took it on a year ago and made a good start clearing part of it but didn't actually get around to planting anything in the part he'd dug over. Anyway, a while ago I told the allotment manager that if he was giving it up and no-one else was interested then we'd have it. And the other day it was offered to us! Originally the two halves were one whole plot and this half has a lot of neglected raspberry plants lurking and possibly some other fruit bushes in there as well. They are a bit overgrown with brambles and of course it's harder to tell at this time of year. So getting it cleared and into some kind of order is going to keep us busy.

ooh - exciting Cedar and hard work, but so worth it. It does take some doing though. I had my half plot all sorted, but while I have been sorting out the other half over the last year, the first half is a little less than perfect :)
With everything going on around the world , I am so grateful of my allotment - not only in terms of calm ,stress free time , but ( something I don't take lightly) some sort of food security. My daughters smile at me for that ...

Ooooh, cedar your empire is growing! What wonderful news. Congratulations!

And book - I am terrible about food security! It's important for me as well, and I bang on about it and DH rolls his eyes and calls me an anti-modern!! One of the things I most like about having a log burner is that I feel that, in the event of a powercut, I can still be warm. I'm not quite at the survivalist stage of stockpiling 20,000 cans of beans yet though.

I do truly, in my heart of hearts, believe that we will need people with gardening skills in the next few decades as a matter of urgency.

Someone just offered me money, actual money, to help them write a book!

I have just had to register as self-employed in order to be able to invoice them. This is absolutely terrifying. I have no idea what I am doing and in my head, the FBI are already headed to my house with their fancy suits and shades to arrest me for international tax fraud and send me to gaol for 30,000 years because I have forgotten to fill in some vital form!!

I have literally NO CLUE what I am doing. But in between the panic attacks, I am a little bit excited.

Excellent. Well done. I'm off to Portugal tomorrow so have put the Radar onions into trays of compost for now. Just haven't got the time to put them outside yet.

Have harvested mu pumpkins [currently in my car boot] and the grapes - have washed and cooked the grapes and it is currently in a muslin, so I can make grape jelly tomorrow. It tastes absolute fantastic and that's before any sugar has been added. It is going to be scrummy and grape jelly is top notch with peanut butter on fresh crusty bread. Can't wait to taste it tomorrow. Moments before we scoot to the airport no doubt. Am living on the edge here!

Afternoon !
I'm glad I am not the only one shove - I do get a bit preoccupied with making do, self sufficiency and mending things. We have such a throw away society these days. And yes, I get the eye-rolling as if I am slightly odd to worry.. Maybe thats why my allotment is rather erm quirky in comparison with all the others with the brand new cages/sheds and greenhouses
I have got all my plant pots washed and put away!!! My greenhouse is tidy, I have dried and tidied up dahlias and pelargoniums for overwinter. DH 's yew cuttings are looking healthy in there, brought form outside to keep them happy overwinter. I am ready for early sowing of broad beans and sweet peas. Just have to sit and wait now...!
One small gripe - why can't plant pots all fit inside one another ?-even the same size ones theoretically don't- they have different rims and such . It takes me ages to try and get them put away well. But maybe that is just me....:)

X post with you both!
Have a great time in Portugal Chuck - and grapes ?
shove - that is incredibly good news! I was self employed for 30 years - honestly its not so bad!.Just make sure that you keep good records .

and grapes ?
Yes, here in freezy cold Derbyshire.

The trick is to leave them on the vine for 4 weeks after they are 'ripe'. Mine turned colour on 6th of Oct so were due to be harvested on Sunday but i didn't even get into the garden it was so rank.

Oooh, Portugal chuck. I went last November and it was GORGEOUS! Warm, sunny, but not ridiculously hot. I hope you have a wonderful time. One of my best friends moved to Lisbon a few months ago (she is Portugese and was missing her family and the sunshine, but I selfishly really miss her) so I am hoping I can get over there some time soon.

I love the idea of grape jelly! With peanut butter too. Smashing!

Hooray on the pot washing book. If it gets really cold again, you will be able to look outside and think "Haha! I have done all the horrid wet, splashy jobs that would chill me to the bone!". And YES to the nesting pots. I ended up giving up on creating huge nests and storing mine in shallow piles.

It is nice to reuse things. A good feeling. I have an old cream Anglepoise lamp in my office at home that is in need of renovation, so I plan to spend some of the winter evenings taking it apart and cleaning and restoring and rewiring it. (I'm not planning on respraying it though. It belonged to Malc's lovely old grandfather, and I like the idea of it having some of the 'marks' he put on it, like having him around us still). I wish I knew more about how things work inside, so I could fix more things, but I fear a lamp might be the limit of my ability for now!!

One of my resolutions is to pluck up courage and go to a lovely sewing shop that has opened near me. They have lessons on a Monday, for beginners. I have always been completely rubbish with a sewing machine, but I would love to be able to reuse old bits of fabric or even to make things with new bits when I get a bit better. Unfortunately, my textile teacher at school rather despaired of me, since I was absolutely the worst student in the class (including all the boys) and indeed once managed to sew my school shirt and tie to the fabric bag we were supposed to be making. So I fear the workshop leader may have their work cut out trying to transform me into any kind of seamstress!