Allotment/Veg Patch -Thread 8 - Its spring - time to get busy!

[bookbook]

Thought I had better get a new thread ready to roll!
It has been a long, soggy winter , but the clocks go back soon, we may see the sun , so it will be all go, go ,go
Everyone welcome, join us the celebrate and commiserate on the joys of vegetables
previous thread HERE

Afternoon!
arghhh Spotted - maybe it wasn't meant to be ...
I did get out yesterday to sow stuff - quite a lot actually - so did two varieties of sprouts, ( Trafalgar and Montgomery ) two pots of leeks (second sowing of Blue Solaise, and a pot of Jolant) , Brokali Atlantis , ,perpetual spinach, leaf celery,; Chioggia beetroot into plugs . Also sowed peppers - a packet left from last year , but I only had 2 seeds so will have to get some more. Also sowed a load of flower stuff - cosmos, asters, echinacea, scabious and some mixed bee friendly packets.
Just need to pop to the plot to check things over and pull some spinach for tea. It is glorious sunshine, but the wind is going straight through you today

You're right, booky - and besides, had in really wanted it, I'd have been in it straight away, not months later.

So, now I need to sow/acquire plants to fit the space that I actually have...

Thus far today I have sown the first tranche of... tomatoes, of course. And some bee - friendly flowers too. And peas, more broadies (poss a bit late but they'll DEF not grow still in the packet). Also basils and other herbs, tomatillos (which I didn't do last year), and 'inca berries'.

I overwintered 2 inca berry plants, and they were a-ok until about 2 weeks ago when they suddenly died together. As yet, my 2 overwintered chillies are still alive... I don't have much luck with keeping that kind of thing over winter.

I'm wondering if I'll give leeks a miss this year, now that I don't have extra space to fill.

I proudly present my first harvest of the year!

It looks lovely though. How will you cook it?

Steamed I think (though it will look very lonely on its own!) and with a boiled dippy egg...

awww- it looks lonely all by itself. Definitely steamed with a dippy egg! :)

It is beautiful, Porcupino!

DH wants us to grow asparagus. (I say Us. He really means GrouchyMe.) I have an idea they require lots of space or something. Is this correct?

Aw! Congrats! Can't wait till I can say the same.

Didn't complete the asparagus trench but I don't know when it's arriving, it says "end of March". There's only about 30 mins more digging to do. I have a day off tomorrow. Weather dependent may spend a significant portion of it pottering on the plot.

Broad beans sown direct on Tuesday morning, and popped a cloche over to protect them till they germinate. I have aubergines and peppers sown in a heated propogator at home, and tonight I'm choosing a few more things to stick in the unheated propogator. I think I've chosen basil, orach, cardoon and cosmos. I want to have loads of basil, to make oodles of pesto later in the year . I need to order some tomato seeds asap as well. Keep dithering on varieties, need to just go for some really. I also have tomatillo and incaberry seeds to sow, might get a second heated propogator for those or maybe they'll do ok just in the unheated one on the windowsill.

Raring to go! Here's a picture of the neater half of my plot from the other morning. The shed & polytunnel beyond the fence is my neighbour; the end of my plot is the bark-covered patch (will eventually be my fruit cage) and my greenhouse. I've got mini dwarf fruit trees against those posts on the left - the idea is to train them into an espalier fence along that boundary. The trench in front is ready for the asparagus; there's rhubarb in there too and the beautiful pink blossom is my wonderful little peach tree . Elephant and normal garlic in the middle.

I love your peach blossom!

I think asparagus does need a huge root run but mine's inherited in a raised bed so probably not the best. I didn't cutit last year as I wasn't sure how old the crowns were, I just put loads of horse poo on every winter. I planted three crowns this year but they were rather weedy looking, will prob take years to get going!

I have two-inch high broad beans in the gh, and one has come up at the allotment from a double row sown about two weeks ago. I'm generally very late sowing, but,last year my squash, cuke, courgette came up in four days in the airing cupboard!

Went down to my plot today after so long. Had a lovely and very productive day. In my head, I thought I'd have to start with weeks of back breaking digging etc like last year but when I got there I realised this year will be much easier as most of the hard graft was done last year. Still have some hard work to do though. We built a polytunnel/ greenhouse thingy last year that was unfinished. Need to get that done and dig it all up too.

My pic is of strawberry plants. I plan ted some runners last year and they seem to have shrunk. Some have disintegrated altogether whilst others have 2-3 leaves on them. Do they look like they'll produce anything this year?

Phoenix your plot looks lovely!

Looks like a lovely plot Phoenix -so tidy ( jealous! )
that just looks like this new years growth Lulooo - are they a nice bright green? they always look a bit dead just before hand - sort of dry brown leaves

luloo - my strawberries look exactly like that right now! I fully expect them to bounce back and fruit well!

phoenix - gorgeous!

morning!
shove - you just haven't learned the love !
Glorious here today , will start hardening off the potted broad beans at home , but will leave the fleece on the ones at the plot until the weekend - still going to be cold tonight I think. I am going to pop to the plot to shim the dratted chickweed that is popping up everywhere., and pick some sprouting broccoli.

thanks everyone - the photo was at a flattering angle and misses out the foot-high meadow and giant sprawling pile of perennial weeds that need taking off site, just out of frame!

Last night I sowed green and red/purple basil, red orach (like spinach apparently), cardoon, and a Sarah Raven cosmos mix.

I'm trying to prioritise jobs at the plot. Finishing asparagus trench definitely number 1 - after that there's so many things I could do.

• even out greenhouse floor/lay tile path in there
• lay central paver path
• dig out pond (it's mostly dug just needs tidying) and line with sand, order liner and fit it.
• re-dig the rest of the veg beds again to keep the weeds on their toes
• organise and tidy the shed, work out what drawers/organising boxes I need to go in there.

But today looks so grey...at least it's dry though.

That's a good looking asparagus IIporc

Love all the photos!

The only photo I have just now is the wee one eating mud on yesterday's visit for digging

Ooh how have I never seen a whole thread about veg. We've moved into a new place last year with beds and I am working out how to plant them

Got 12 raised beds, 2 with rhubarb, 1 with artichoke and 1 with strawberries.

I've just planted garlic, carrots, lettuce and am potting up broccoli, cauliflower, squash and leeks. Runner beans to follow.

Not sure if i am doing it right but will see how it l goes. Love seeing what other people are doing.

Is that your back garden, moonlight?

Yesterday I watched 'The Edible Garden' which is a series Alys Fowler did a few years ago and they're all available on YouTube. It follows her over a year making her garden productive food wise but also beautiful - it didn't look like a veg plot. It was very clever really, kinda higgledy piggledy organic polyculture. If that's an appealing style to you it might be nice inspiration 😊

moonlight what a lovely garden!

Phoenix that programme sounds good - I think I might have a watch too.

I love watching gardening shows on YouTube. it's basically the same as actually doing work, right?

I've just watched the peas and beans one - it's so relaxing to watch! I've got lots of ideas now, and wondering if MIL will notice if I pinch a load of her willow so I can make my own hippy style plant supports

I think she had runner beans growing over an arch which looked really good. I'm sort of looking for things that have nice looking supports, as I'll be looking mainly at those during winter time when there's not a great deal of colour left in the garden!

I too had runner beans over an arch at home - it looked great! (in my humble opinion )

Andi also went vertical at the plot, with last year, rolet squash and tromboncino squash over arches. This year, loganberry, and possibly blackberry and french beans will be archy.

I have also grown runners over arches. I think they are almost better as an ornamental than they are as an actual vegetable! This year, I'm skipping them to do other kinds of pole beans instead.

Thanks, I really love our garden. Great youtube videos as well, will watch some more of those.