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

Cathpot what about a galvanised or plastic dustbin? You could always cut it down. There are lots going on our freecycle since we were issued wheelie bins.

oh dear Cath .... I think it depends a bit on where they are going to go, and whether you want a nice aesthetic look, or a practical bucket. And yes, a really big one will make watering a bit easier., though its a heck of a lot of compost too. Google plastic tree pot , rather than plant pot IYSWIM, but do check at your nearest nursery/garden centre - sometimes online prices incorporate a hidden p&p in the price .( We recently managed to get a 50 wide and 50 cm high terracotta cm pot locally for I think about £45 when the bottom fell out of a half oak barrel which had a big pieris in it -)

For cheap but not very smart or aesthetically pleasing big pots, I can recommend... B&M. Yes. My blueberries are mostly in these. They're fine.

Or tree pots - ebay seems cheap for these.

Make sure you don't get one with a too-narrow base, as it will be unstable with a top-heavy plant.

Thanks grouchy I think you are right - plastic is the only way to go

gnome this is the rootstock info

X posts spotted , I will have a look thanks.

Ok. Ordered a couple of big plastic pots and calmed down - thank you lovely gardening people. Now to fit buying compost and potting them up into a manic weekend.

Cathpot I picked this up off a website:

We do not recommend growing plum trees (or related species such as damsons) in pots or containers. They may appear to do well initially but will often fail to come out of dormancy. If you must plant a plum tree in a container, use regular topsoil rather than compost, and if possible choose a 1-year bare-root tree rather than a 2-year tree.

So soil not compost

Morning!
Oh, I can see why re topsoil - I only have a couple of things in pots ( acid loving stuff while I garden on chalk) - I tend to use either ericaceous or John Innes 3 , but fruit trees have to work hard.
Well, not sure when I can get to the plot today . Lots of road closures during the middle bit of the day. There is a big cycle race going through and its right past the entrance to our site......So I am thinking to go after they have gone.
I can prick out more seedlings - brassicas mainly, but some flowers too.

Lost a courgette and two tomatoes where the protection blew off but otherwise seem to have cone through intact. Hoping that's the worst of the weather over as I'd like to get everything else out before we go on holiday in 10 days time.

LOVE B&M zebra

Oh dear una. I think we came through unscathed. I see the forecast next week is looking absolutely glorious in west of Scotland where I am. I'm assuming it will be lovely elsewhere as we usually have one of the least good forecasts.

I just can't believe how DRY and WINDY April has been. And unpleasantly so. My hands are horribly chapped which they normally wouldn't be come spring time. We need to water the beds every day and our water butt is nearly empty!

It's been very dry down here in the South East. This week we've had the first proper rain we've had in ages - well it was hail in fact. I came back from a week's holiday just before Easter and my garden pots were looking very sorry for themselves as they'd dried out. Normally I barely think about watering them in April.

Horsetail or Mare's tail is everywhere in my plot. But it doesn't seem as bad in the parts we've been cultivating in the last couple of years - I don't think there is as much coming through. Chopping it off when you see it definitely helps. I've also tried growing green manure around plants in spare bits of soil and underneath my runner beans which I think sort of helped to reduce the amount that got going.

I might try the vinegar round the edges of raised beds- the previous tenant left a bottle she used for chips on Fridays! I'm glad mare's tail isn't too awful though- it's easy enough to chop off I suppose.

My perennial caulis arrived today! Although a lot quicker than expected - I don't have anywhere to put them yet

Delurking to ask about tomatoes!
I have a new greenhouse and for the first time have grown tomatoes from seed. The plants have grown really well and are definitely ready for potting on into their final position. I have them in the greenhouse by day, but have been bringing them inside overnight.
Do you think it is too early to move them into the greenhouse permanently ? Ive checked the forecast and it's threatening a ground frost during the 2nd week of May? Normal overnight temp in the greenhouse has been 8-9 degrees - but in the cold snap last week, dropped as low as 1.
Should I wait?

Also - what does everyone do with their unused plants? I have too many tomatoes, courgette, corn, beans - I don't want to throw them away

Ok- not compost! Have bought big pots and not sure where to find top soil but will think about that tomorrow , I think I can only do one of the plums - 'Opal' as it was the one the suppliers said would be ok in a pot. It hasn't rained for about 4 weeks and today I took a class out for an ecology prac and it rained. I should be rented out to farmers for weather bringing purposes. Tiny gooseberries on the new bushes which is very pleasing. Lots of blackbirds ripping up bits of lawn at the moment- for moss? Not sure- anyway will I need to net the gooseberries?

Also hello samandcj- I don't know about hardening off really as in a forgiving end of the country for weather and mind have been in the greenhouse for a while now. With spares I take mine into work and also press them on people who visit whenever possible.

Afternoon!
Gin :) - are they a good size?
Welcome samandcj to be honest , I wouldn't risk it, but if you are pushed for space and do keep them in the greenhouse, then you could at a pinch use bubblewrap as insulation. I will be leaving mine out overnight in pots soon, but not planting into their bags until the chance of frost is over. ( If I leave them in the pots, I can always whip them back inside if need be. I use 7º-8º as a guide.
Unused plants - either offer them on fb/gumtree or do you have a local charity plant sale perhaps? Most of mine goes by word of mouth.
Cath - I suspect leatherjackets , but I could be wrong ! You can buy topsoil in bags at garden centres/nurseries , just like compost.
Well, I did all my pricking out this morning, and then spent an hour at the plot this afternoon. Asparagus, plum and gage all fine ( I fleeced those) - strawberries full of flower, gooseberries and currants good. The new growth on the loganberry though has been zapped, as has all the new growth on the buddleia . Peony buds fine. So a bit hit and miss.

Evening! I've been tk the plot today and picked a bin bag full of chard - will bake a couple of spanakopita tomorrow - one to freeze, one to eat.

Alas, the new growth on my loganberry has also been zapped - as has that of my lovely new wineberry. They will recover, won't they?

samandcj I think it's way too early yet to out them out. I think a temp of 5 would be the lowest I would risk it. And probably not even then
With regards to spares, I am not very good.i re home what I can, then (wih tomatoes), squeeze the rest in. I may try some cordons hanging upside down if I have no more room. Who is it on here who does guerilla gardening, and sets the spare tomatoes free in the outside world? Obviously this wouldn't be a good idea for anything that could become invasive...

So, I mentioned before about my late blackcurrant - look at the difference between the front late one, and the one behind, setting fruit now I really hope the late one comes good. I will take cuttings of it (I have many blackcurrant cuttings from the last 3 years) to nicely extend my harvest if so.

Still not much blossom at all on my apple trees alas. So I shall be scrounging apples from my plot pals I think.

erm - sorry, can't see them from here !
My loganberry is fine everywhere else, its just all the soft growth with the flowerbuds , so sadly maybe no fruit this year.

spare seedlings: plant swap and guerilla gardening though it's a bit frustating if the courgette you 'set free' on the verge does better than the ones at home

just been in the garden. it's full of flowers including the first rose. and very fragrant after a few cold days and a bit of rain!

They seem a decent size book! I've just shoved them in pots for now. (Should I be bringing them inside?)

I'm also pleased to see some milder overnight temperatures back again!

booky

Here are my blackcurrants. Most odd.